LONDON, ONT. -- As Catholic teachers walked the picket lines in London on Thursday, some younger faces were among the crowd.
Three siblings, students at St. Theresa Catholic School, decided to spend part of their strike day on the picket line.
Neither of their parents are teachers, but their mother is a social worker and advocate for school mental health programs.
“We’ve just to come and support our teachers," says Findlay Lalonde, in Grade Six.
His sister Molly wishes more students would come to the picket lines, "A lot of students don't know why the teachers are striking. They are striking for us, our education."
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said the government will back down on raising class sizes and add an option to opt-out of e-learning classes. Both were major sticking points in ongoing negotiations.
But for now, Catholic teachers say they aren't willing to stop picketing. Local strike captain Julie Cybulski-Malik says teachers want something in writing.
"The problem is that Lecce needs to bring his new proposals to the bargaining table. And until he's able to bring that to the negotiations, teachers feel they need to stand up for the cuts to education, to make sure we stay strong for the students."
For his part, Lecce has repeated the picketing should end while teachers and the province hammer out a deal. Still, he has hope for a resolution.
"I think it's regrettable that they opted to escalate today. But as I say, I'm not losing faith in them, or in the process,” Lecce concluded.
