Bill 103 explained in plain English
Protecting the School Year Act, 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Protecting the School Year Act, 2015, mandated an end to strikes and lock-outs and established a mediation-arbitration process to resolve labour disputes between specific Ontario school boards and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation.
This Ontario law, the Protecting the School Year Act, 2015, was created to resolve labour disputes between three school boards (Durham District School Board, Rainbow District School Board, and Peel District School Board) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. It required an end to any ongoing strikes or lock-outs and established a mediation-arbitration process to settle outstanding issues. The Act also made consequential amendments to other labour laws and was set to repeal itself on a future date.
- It required the immediate termination of any strikes or lock-outs in place when the Act received Royal Assent.
- It mandated that the Durham District School Board, Rainbow District School Board, and Peel District School Board operate their undertakings, including any operations interrupted by a strike or lock-out.
- It established a process for mediation-arbitration to resolve outstanding labour disputes between the listed school boards and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation.
- It made changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995, regarding the exclusion of certain education sector employees from specific labour relations provisions.
- It specified that the Act itself would be repealed on a day to be named by proclamation.
- It defined specific school boards and teacher bargaining units to which the Act applied.
- Durham District School Board
- Rainbow District School Board
- Peel District School Board
- Teachers employed by these school boards (members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation)
- Students of these school boards
- The Minister of Labour
- The Education Relations Commission
- Listed employers (school boards) are obligated to operate and continue to operate their undertakings and to terminate any lock-outs.
- The bargaining agent (teachers' federation) is obligated to terminate any strike.
- Employees are obligated to terminate any strike and resume their duties, with exceptions for health reasons or mutual consent.
- There is a prohibition against employees striking or persons calling/authorizing a strike in respect of local or central bargaining under specific conditions.
- There is a prohibition against listed employers locking out or threatening to lock out employees in respect of local or central bargaining under specific conditions.
- Parties have the right to appoint members to a board of arbitration.
- The board of arbitration has the exclusive jurisdiction to determine matters related to local bargaining settlement, within specified criteria.
- The award of the board of arbitration is final and binding on the parties and employees.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent (May 28, 2015).
- Specific provisions (Section 20(2) and Section 21) came into force on a day named by proclamation.
- The Act itself was repealed on a day named by proclamation.
- The Act requires the board of arbitration to consider the listed employer's ability to pay in light of its fiscal situation when making an award.
- The Act requires the board of arbitration to consider the extent to which services may have to be reduced if current funding and taxation levels are not increased.
- Costs for the board of arbitration members (remuneration and expenses) are paid by the parties, with each party paying for their appointed member and an equal share of the chair's costs.
- Contravention of sections related to strikes, lock-outs, and operation of undertakings by a person, listed employer, or bargaining agent is an offence.
- Penalties include a fine of not more than $2,000 for an individual and not more than $25,000 for any other case (e.g., a corporation or organization).
- Each day of a contravention or failure to comply constitutes a separate offence.
- The specific day on which subsections 20(2) and section 21 of the Act come into force is not specified, but is to be named by proclamation.
- The specific day on which the Act is repealed is not specified, but is to be named by proclamation.
- The Act prevails over the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, in case of conflict, but otherwise, the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, applies.
- The jurisdiction of the board of arbitration is limited to local bargaining matters and does not extend to matters already covered in the central terms memorandum of settlement dated December 9, 2014, or matters within the scope of central bargaining.
- The specific procedure for mediation-arbitration is to be determined by the board of arbitration, though parties are permitted to present evidence and make submissions.
- The Act does not specify the number of members on the board of arbitration beyond requiring two party-appointed members and a chair.
Clause 3(f) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 was amended to clarify the status of teachers in specific bargaining units concerning strikes and lock-outs, and to include supervisory officers, principals, and vice-principals within the meaning of the Education Act.
Source: Section 20
The Protecting the School Year Act, 2015, applied alongside the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, with the Protecting the School Year Act, 2015, prevailing in case of conflict. The Act also specified that the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, would govern strike and lock-out rights after a new collective agreement was ratified.
Source: Section 2(2) and (3), Section 6(2), Section 12(4), Section 17
The Act references the Education Act for the definition of supervisory officers, principals, and vice-principals.
Source: Section 20(1) and (2)
The Arbitration Act, 1991, does not apply to the mediation-arbitration proceedings established by this Act.
Source: Section 14(4)
The Statutory Powers Procedure Act does not apply to the mediation-arbitration proceedings established by this Act.
Source: Section 14(4)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced