‘Ontario is an outlier’: Auditor General finds little precedent for $3.8-million payouts to teachers’ unions

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk

Ontario’s multi-million-dollar payouts to teachers’ unions is a rarity unmatched in other provinces or for other public service unions, the auditor general has found.

Bonie Lysysk’s review of $3.79-million paid to several teachers’ unions since 2008 was launched following media reports last fall, and her report released Wednesday confirms many taxpayers’ concerns.

“We found very little evidence of governments paying education-sector unions for significant bargaining costs elsewhere in Canada,” the report states. “Accordingly, Ontario is an outlier with respect to this use of taxpayer funds.

“We also found no evidence of the Ontario government paying other large public-sector unions for bargaining costs.

She also uncovered an additional $80.5 million paid to the Ontario Teachers Federation — an umbrella group for four teachers’ unions — of which “$22 million was disbursed in 2006 as unconditional grants with no accountability or control provisions.”  (more...)

‘Ontario is an outlier’: Auditor General finds little precedent for $3.8-million payouts to teachers’ unions

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