TORONTO — Ontario’s education ministry is recommending school boards freeze hiring ahead of the provincial budget and as the government consults on class sizes and hiring practices.
Deputy minister Nancy Naylor sent boards a memo Thursday noting that the government implemented a hiring freeze in June and that school boards may wish to institute similar measures.
When that public service hiring freeze was instituted, the government said it didn’t apply to front-line staff such as police and fire services, and Premier Doug Ford said it also didn’t apply to nurses or teachers.
Naylor advised the boards this week to defer filling vacancies for retirements and other leaves for teachers and other staff until the minister gives them an update by March 15.