As classes begin, Ontario's education minister and the president of the union representing secondary school staff found common ground on one thing: maintaining stability in schools throughout possibly tough contract negotiations.

"We look forward to having an open discussion with them that is focused on stability for children," Stephen Lecce, Ontario's education minister, told reporters at the province's legislature on Tuesday. "We will not, and cannot, as a society and province, tolerate disruptions for children.

"Parents have been very clear on their expectations — (and) frankly, so have educators — they want these kids in schools so they can learn some life and job skills and get back to the basics."

"That's one thing I can agree with the government: students need to make up a learning loss that was caused by COVID and this government's handling of the pandemic," Karen Littlewood, the president of OSSTF/FEESO, said earlier in the morning at a press conference held at Earl Haig Secondary School in North York.

OSSTF/FEESO is one of the province's five major education unions that are renegotiating their contracts with Ontario's government after having their last deals expire at the end of August. It has about 60,000 members, most of whom are teachers, but who also include educational assistants, secretaries and other support staff, who mostly work in the province's public secondary schools.

Littlewood and Lecce also each suggested that they're entering the intensified stages of the union's and government's talks with an open mind.

The two sides recently agreed on which terms the provincial government will negotiate, versus which local boards and their employees will decide — concluding the earliest significant stage in their negotiation process.

The next stage starts next Monday. The union's and government's negotiators will meet from Sept. 12 to 14. The union's teachers' contract terms will be the focus of the first two days, while education workers' terms will be the priority of the third day, Littlewood said.

Early next week could be the first time one side presents specific contract terms to the other, although it's not guaranteed.

"We're hoping that they're going to come with something that's acceptable," Littlewood said. "Our plans as far as bargaining will be determined at the bargaining table."

The two sides' next bargaining dates after next week are two days near the end of September, according to the OSSTF/FEESO president, and they've agreed to "about a dozen" dates before the end of October.

Littlewood said the most important thing for the union to secure its members in negotiations is "respect for the workers" from the government. She added that one piece of a new contract that'll be important for support staff, who tend to work low-paid positions, are wage increases that'll be secured.

Teachers, meanwhile, want "the best for education," according to Littlewood, who also said both groups in the union feel strongly about securing "the overall health of the system."

One of Littlewood's main calls — hearkening back to what she says will ensure stability in Ontario's education system — is increased funding overall.

The Progressive Conservative government planned to spend more in its budget this year than any government before it, and intended to have the largest amount of money earmarked for education ever as well. However, its increases in education spending haven't kept up with its spending elsewhere.

Littlewood wants to see unused funding transferred to the Ontario government from Ottawa used on education, as well as greater long-term investments in the system.

Without saying when exactly it'll be delivered, Lecce said Tuesday the government looks forward to presenting OSSTF/FEESO with a contract offer and continuing to negotiate. He emphasized that his oft-repeated main goal — "keeping kids in class" — is the government's priority.

With the two sides early in negotiations, Littlewood said OSSTF/FEESO is "nowhere near" discussing the possibility of striking.

"That happens when you're having difficulty at the bargaining table," she said. "The bargaining table is actually quite agreeable. What's not agreeable are the comments from the minister that are highlighting the potential job disruption when we're not at that stage."

Lecce wrote in an op-ed directed toward parents in the Toronto Sun over the weekend that the government "will stand up for your child's right to learn." Opposition MPPs characterized this as dangling the possibility of back-to-work legislation as a public threat. Asked on Tuesday about the possibility of taking this step at an impasse, Lecce avoided directly addressing it.

"We are negotiating with the aim of getting voluntary deals that we can keep kids in school," Lecce said. "Nothing matters more for this government."

"We want to make sure that we have that full school experience that the minister says," Littlewood said. "We want normal, stable, enjoyable — I agree with those words too.... We have the same goals, we just have to get there together as opposed to (having) massive cuts that are damaging the system."

Secondary staff union head, minister agree on need for stability as talks set to accelerate

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