These remain to be, and will be, negotiated . In relationship to five years of fiscal responsibility we take exception. This contract is for a two year period and will be based on the provincial funding and the Board ' s resources for that period. Problems in funding beyond two years may be of interest to the TDSB but do not impact on this round of negotiations. We take the position that we only have to deal with the resources that the Board presently has to settle a contract .
Future problems are just that and remain for subsequent bargaining tables to resolve.
To do otherwise would be akin to General Motors asking its workers to negotiate based on a possible downturn in car sales sometime in the future rather than examining the reality of the auto industry at the time the contract is being negotiated. It goes without saying that this response is totally unacceptable. Out of fairness to the TDSB, you should know that they see this document as their opening brief and have agreed to proceed with negotiations on both their brief and ours. At present, the principles they and the Federation enunciated and the resultant documents are on two different planets. In an attempt to bridge this enormous gap, the TDSB and the Federation have agreed to five days of negotiations commencing next week and extending into the following week.