Quebec makes another offer to teachers as strike approaches one-month mark
READ THE LATEST: Teachers' union calls government's latest offer a 'step backwards'
The Quebec government has made another offer to the teachers' unions as the strike has nears the one-month mark.
"Today, we are making an important formal submission to the unions representing teachers (FAE and FSE-CSQ/QPAT) with a view to reaching agreements," wrote a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "We'll let the unions have a look at it first, but we won't be commenting on it for the time being."
Teachers under the unions, largely in the French school network, have been on strike since Nov. 23.
The FAE, which represents 66,000 elementary and high school teachers, confirmed on social media that a new offer would be delivered in the afternoon, but declined to comment further.
Before the new offer was announced, teachers staged a sit-in at government offices and once again marched through downtown with a clear message: they're not going away.
"We've had enough of them keeping us out of school, keeping students out of school, keeping parents held hostage. We've had enough, parents have had enough, we need to be back in schools," teacher Marion Miller told CTV News on Tuesday.
To show how serious they are, teachers occupied the downtown office of the transport ministry.
"We're fighting for our working conditions, and also for the learning conditions of public school students," said Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, president of the Alliance des professeures et professeurs de Montréal (APPM).
After nearly a month of striking, without pay, many Fédération Autonome de l'Enseignement (FAE) teachers say they are distraught.
"It's just been long. We're very tired, we've been walking, being outside the schools everyday for three, four hours every day, walking all around the city and nothing is moving. We're just very tired now," one teacher said.
They were bolstered by a new poll, however, that found 56 per cent of respondents support the teachers and that support rises to 63 per cent among parents.
"I think the government is losing the public support, because they’re seeing that it’s in their camp, they’re the ones dragging this out," Miller said. "We've moved at the table, we need them to move"
Alissa Gutman has been a teacher for the past 20 years. Her husband is also a teacher, and as much as she loves the job, she's now started a business, and is considering leaving teaching.
"It’s highly discouraging," she said Tuesday. "The income for teachers is proving to be unreliable and we're a family of four and I literally cannot afford to go without an income."
The hope is the government's newest offer will put an end to the strikes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
How much more Canadian consumers are paying, compared to this time last year
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.