What I can confirm to the member opposite is that under our Progressive Conservative government we have hired nearly 7,000 additional education workers, supporting our kids within our schools—and not only have we hired more, but we pledged to continue funding 1,800 additional education workers and 800 teachers, who will support our kids within our schools, as part of our program before the union.

Mr. Speaker, we fulfilled our end of the bargain—we said we would repeal Bill 28, and that was the biggest barrier to getting a deal, and then 48 hours after us doing so in good faith, they announced a strike notice. We said we would increase pay—335 million more dollars this week compared to last week, a material improvement for every worker, especially for the lowest-paid—and they’ve still rejected the offer. We have now moved to a flat rate, a demand of the union—not to differentiate wages for lower and higher incomes—and we still don’t have a deal.

It is abundantly clear what the fault line is preventing the union from accepting a deal; it is a desire for higher wages.

Our kids should be in school on Monday.

This is what’s becoming a casual invocation of a strike notice every few weeks in this province—every few years. That’s not acceptable.

The NDP wants to normalize strikes because they were standing with the union when kids were out of school. They should be standing up for parents.

Stand with this government. Let’s get a deal. Let’s keep kids in class.

Interjections.

We have significantly increased the pay—$335 million more in a week. We provided a flat rate. We are maintaining the best benefits and pensions and sick leave—and even still, the never-ending, moving yardstick and goalpost of CUPE.

Accept the deal before us, and make sure kids in this province stay in school every single day.