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39 Renfrew Ave.W., W., Unit Raglan St. S.1, 39 342 Renfrew Ave. Unit 1, Box 100, Renfrew K7V 4A2 Renfrew K7V 1R5 P.O.P.O. Box 100, Renfrew K7V 4A2 Pager Pager 1-888-717-9181 Pager1-888-717-9181 1-888-717-9181
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Proudly serving Renfrew and surrounding area since 1870
Year 142, Issue 22
Thursday, December 6, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ 48 pages
www.yourottawaregion.com
Horton Township resident Darryl Mooney has received a Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jubilee honour. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Page 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
LUCY HASS/METROLAND
Furry friends on parade Valley Heritage Radio had a Holly Jolly time Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Page 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
Joining some furry friends for the 2012 Renfrew Lions Club Santa Claus parade last Saturday are, from left, Zoe Mosiondz-Sagmeister, Ali and Marikge Devries and Phoenix Mosiondz-Sagmeister.
Elementary teachers withdraw support for extracurriculars Steve Newman steve.newman@metroland.com
Wrestlers met on the mats in Renfrew for a major tournament on the weekend. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Page 25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
Resistance to the passing of Bill 115 is mounting. As of Monday (Dec. 3), about 400 teachers withdrew support of extracurricular activities at all 24 elementary schools in the Renfrew County District School Board. The Dec. 3 action by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) means the teachers wonĘźt participate in school meetings, professional development, provincial assessments, administrative duties, or extracurricular activities, including ďŹ eld trips. Similar sanctions will be initiated Dec. 10, when secondary-school
teachers in most of OntarioĘźs public school boards withdraw involvement in extracurricular activities and restrict their work days. Arnprior District High School athletic director Phil Moore said the dispute means all high school sports will be put on hold Monday â&#x20AC;&#x153;for the foreseeable future.â&#x20AC;? That means the basketball and volleyball games this week at Renfrew Collegiate Institute will be the last ones played until the teachersĘź sanctions end and there will be no Sunday RCI Christmas band concert this year. Allison Ryan, president of the Renfrew County local of ETFO, says the work action initiated Dec. 3 is in response to Education Minister Laurel BrotenĘźs shutting down of a negotiation session with ETFO Nov. 11. Ryan says Broten not only shut down the session, but then misrepresented the nature of the session to the
media. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ultimately, itĘźs a response to Bill 115 and taking away our ability to freely negotiate a contract with our employer,â&#x20AC;? said Ryan. The provincial bill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Putting Students First Act â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was passed Sept. 11, 2012. ETFOĘźs online petition to repeal it says Bill 115 â&#x20AC;&#x153;strips education professionals of their right to collectively bargain, and places the government above the reach of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Ontario Labour Relations Act, and the courts. It sets a dangerous precedent.â&#x20AC;? Bill 115 freezes the teachersĘź wage grid, sharply reduces the number of annual sick days, eliminates the payout from banking more than 200 sick days, and gives the education minister the right to intervene in collective bargaining. Elementary teachers, in the local public board, have been without a con-
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tract since Aug. 31, 2012. The teachers had a four-year contract, but Ryan says the education ministry is pursuing a two-year contract this time. If local agreements are not settled by Dec. 31, 2012, the Minister of Education is in position to impose agreements. ETFO has also informed the public school board it plans a one-day walkout across the province. ETFO will provide 72 hoursĘź notice. In response, the Renfrew County District School board has placed an update on its website from director of education Roger Clarke. The board also dispatched a similar phone message to studentsĘź parents and guardians Dec. 3. Clarke says the parents should make appropriate childcare arrangements, since the board would close its schools the day of the walkout. See TEACHERS, Page 6
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Secondary school teachers to do the same Dec. 10