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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 12 ,2 02 0 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow, Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Sheri-Lyn Blair, Chris Rego Managing Editor Doug Coxson Online Editor Adam Jackson Reporters Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 475 Thompson Dr. Cambridge, ON N1T 2K8 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-623-9155 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA LETTERS & COMMENTARY FIND A WAY TO RECYCLE FINE PAPER FROM SCHOOLS Re: Here's where your trash gets a makeover (the- record.com, Feb. 28). It's a great accomplish- ment that the region recy- cles 90 per cent of blue box materials! However, the region does not have the capacity to recycle the volume of fine paper from local schools. Currently the region ac- cepts one large cart of pap- er per school, but even smaller schools typically have two paper carts, and larger schools would have more. That means for every paper cart recycled, anoth- er goes to the landfill. This is not sustainable. Fine paper is recyclable and our landfill is reaching its limits. DONNA ZINK, WATERLOO PROPOSED LAW PUTS FARM ANIMALS AT RISK Please, fellow Ontari- ans, let your MPP know that you do not support their vote for Bill 156. I believe the majority of farmers treat their animals well. However, when a large factory farm is owned by a corporation whose main focus is profit, and the peo- ple looking after the ani- mals are employees rather than owner, the welfare of the animals on that farm are at risk of abuse. This proposed law is re- presented as protecting farmers from trespassers, however it is actually de- signed to protect the own- ers from public scrutiny of how they treat the animals. Ontario relies on a com- plaint-based system to lay charges of animal abuse. Footage from employee whistleblowers is often the only way to bring animal abuse to light. Let your MPP know we want legally binding stan- dards of care for farmed an- imals and proactive en- forcement of those stan- dards. ANITA WATSON, KITCHENER SPRING BEAR HUNT SET UP TO PROTECT CUBS Re: Spring bear hunt is cruel to defenceless cubs (therecord.com, March 3). It would behoove letter writers to be better in- formed and actually re- search what it is they are writing. Spring bear hunts are done by baiting the bears. The baits are elevated so as determine the sex of the bears. This ensures that sows and cubs are not shot! Boars travel by them- selves. They themselves are a danger to newborn cubs because they will eat them. Sows always travel with the cubs and usually the cubs come first so the baiting acts as a height gauge to de- termine the age of the bear as well as the sex. Only boars are harvest- ed. They are a great source of lean protein -- and not only can the hunters fill their freezer, but they also can tan the hide and have a nice rug as well. A responsible hunter makes sure that no part of the harvested animal goes to waste. ROBERT STEPHENS, KITCHENER EDITORIAL The Ontario government's abrupt backpedal on class sizes and mandatory e-learning is a smart piece of political strategy in its fight with teachers. It's not ethical labour relations, however. If any- thing, announcing the climbdown at a news confer- ence as opposed to at the negotiating table is more like bad-faith bargaining. But that's what we can ex- pect from the Ford government. Education Minister Steven Lecce is doing what he can to change the public perception that most of the blame for education disruptions is on the government as opposed to teacher unions. By backing away from two key elements of its bar- gaining platform but sticking with the one per cent wage increase ceiling, Lecce puts the ball squarely in the court of unions. If they refuse to sit down in spite of the conces- sions, they will be seen as largely responsible for keeping the disruption alive. Unions have been saying it's not all about money, after all. So the government is putting that to the test. As we said, smart political strategy. Will it work? Early indications are it might. As the minister announced the concessions, the union for secondary school teachers was already at the bargain- ing table in early discussions headed toward resum- ing talks. Not surprisingly, Lecce's grandstanding ended up bringing those talks to a halt. Lecce and Ford know, and have for some time, that the one per cent isn't the biggest issue on the table. The union for English Catholic teachers has already said it would accept the wage offer, but continue to challenge it in court as unconstitutional. Education workers have lost far more than they would have gained even with two per cent due to strike action so far. Their major issues are class size, forced e-learning, special education funding and pre- serving full-day kindergarten (the last two are key issues at the elementary level). So why the climbdown on class size and e-learning? Probably because the government could see it has lost the public relations war on those matters. Class size and e-learning are both about removing teaching jobs from the system and saving money, not what's best for students or educational outcomes. Even Lecce seems to acknowledge that when he says: "The ball is in their court now. We've made a significant move that is in the interest of students." He probably doesn't realize it, but Lecce has admitted the class size issue and forced e-learning were not in the interests of students. Perhaps he now knows what parents have known all along. For parents and teachers, there is now, at least, a light at the end of the tunnel. It's too soon to predict a constructive conclusion, but one is closer today than it was just days ago. That's some good news, at least. LURCHING TOWARD AN END TO EDUCATION CHAOS