PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE INBOX

It has been a long and challenging trek since the Ford government announced its plan to overhaul Ontario’s publicly funded education system last March. Collectively, we spent the better part of a year rallying tirelessly and devotedly to counter the attack on our profession and protect adequate funding of Ontario’s world-class publicly funded education system.

On April 6 last year, many of you joined us on the lawn of Queen’s Park to protest cuts to education, and send a message that Ontario’s teachers would not stand by and watch as the Ford government attempted to dismantle Ontario’s world-class publicly funded education system. The show of strength by tens of thousands of teachers, parents, students, and education advocates marked the start of a year-long wave of protests.

By June 2019, the Association entered what was the start of a lengthy and frustrating round of provincial bargaining; a round that would play out like no other. Despite many months at the provincial bargaining table, and significant collaborative effort with the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA), we had no choice but to ask our members to ramp up support of our provincial bargaining efforts. And that you did! You supported our Provincial Bargaining Team with a resounding 97.1 per cent vote in favour of taking strike action if necessary. Building on the Association’s long history of political action, the 2020 province-wide withdrawals of service were the first of their kind for Catholic teachers since the Harris era.

I am incredibly grateful for the collective support of our members throughout the many ebbs and flows of this round of bargaining. A number of you were on the streets with us in 1997-98, while others remember the disruption felt as students in a system devastated by cuts. Together, we remained united by a range of experiences that create the fabric through which OECTA members have stood up for the best interests of teachers, students, and our communities.

We should all feel proud of the decorum of our Association and the manner in which we confronted adversity. Our picket lines were spirited and informative; they provided an opportunity to not only illustrate our solidarity, but to inform Ontarians. While we have reached an agreement that will protect Ontario’s Catholic schools for the next couple of years, and won victories along the way, our work is not done. The Ford government has created a crisis in education, and it is not going away until an education-friendly government returns to power.

With provincial bargaining behind us, we are facing unprecedented challenges for this Association, and the broader education community as the COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted our lives both personally and professionally.

On March 12, the same day we signed our tentative agreement, the Government of Ontario announced that school boards had been ordered to cancel classes and close publicly funded elementary and secondary schools for the two weeks following March Break, which, as we understand now, is an indefinite closure until the spread of COVID-19 reaches a manageable state. Coinciding with school closures, the government announced its emergency distance learning program, which is presenting another slate of challenges for our members and the students that we teach.

This Association and its members have always been committed to doing whatever we can to support our students, and I am proud that this continues to be our approach. On behalf of the Provincial Executive, I extend my thanks to each and every one of you for your quick and nimble response in these difficult times. We will get through this together.

Please take good care of yourselves and your families, and know that your Association is behind you every step of the way. God bless,

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

If you would like to connect with us to share your thoughts, ideas, or concerns, please reach out to us at communications@catholicteachers.ca. There is no voice more important than a member’s voice.

Michelle Despault Editor

Adam Lemieux Mark Tagliaferri Associate Editors

Cynthia Bifolchi Contributing Writer

Fernanda Monteiro Production

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Liz Stuart President

Barb Dobrowolski First Vice-President

David Church General Secretary

Mary Lachapelle Deputy General Secretary

Carley Desjardins Communications Specialist/ Writer Catholic Teacher is published five times during the school year. Opinions and ideas expressed in Catholic Teacher are not necessarily those of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association.

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