VIDEO: Teachers Bill Passes
After weeks of back and forth, calls of violation of rights and tours of countless schools.
MPPs at Queen's Park have voted 82-15 in favour of imposing a contract on teachers and support staff who don't have a deal with the province yet. Both Catholic and French teachers have agreed to a two-year wage freeze and the end of banked sick days.
The Tories voted with the Liberals to help it pass.
Education Minister Laurel Broten says they didn't take the decision to impose the contract framework, however she says most unions just didn't take the time to negotiate.
Meantime, PC leader Tim Hudak says he hopes this is just the start, calling the deal a wage-freeze on training wheels. He continued calls for an across the board wage-freeze.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath says she's not surprised with the vote outcome. Horwath calls the legislation reckless, noting if the unions take the province to court like they have promised it will leave taxpayers with a huge legal bill.
Broten stands by the legislation calling it constitutional.