Closed tendering robs Essex students of their educational resources

Closed tendering robs Essex students of their educational resources, says Nicholls.

The same rot that has infected Toronto-area schools boards has landed in Southwestern Ontario, says Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls, and it is forcing one school board to divert crucial educational funds away from students and into legal disputes.

Chatham-Kent Essex M.P.P. Rick Nicholls.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak questioned Dalton McGuinty on the Liberal government’s failure to address the rampant fees Toronto school boards were being forced to pay labour unions for minor jobs, including $148 to install a pencil sharpener and $3,000 to install a new electrical socket.

“Now, the Greater Essex County District School Board has spent nearly $400,000 simply trying to have the right to make the tendering process more competitive and to make the best use of their funds,” said Nicholls, who also serves as the Ontario PC Deputy Labour Critic. “Yet they are forced to hire union workers thanks to Ontario’s antiquated labour laws.”

The school board will be heading to court to appeal an Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling that labeled them a construction employer, thereby forcing them to hire only union contractors.

This summer, Tim Hudak and the Ontario PCs released a policy white paper titled Paths to Prosperity: Flexible Labour Markets. The document laid out ideas for a stronger, more mobile labour industry in Ontario, among them a call for open tendering to allow competition.

Nicholls said the Ontario PC call for an open tendering process across Ontario’s municipal and broader public sector must be heard by the Liberal and NDP parties at Queen’s Park.

“This is one Southwestern Ontario school board that is missing $400,000 that could have gone to student programs, special needs, or promoting healthier kids. Instead, that money has been tied up in legal battles as the school board fights for the simply right to hire the best workers for the job.”

For more information:

Steven Woodhead | 416-318-6728 | steven.woodhead@pc.ola.org