College Governance Must be Truly Democratic (From the President)

Our education minister Sandra Pupatello is someone I’ve had the honour of working with in the past. At her invitation ETFO became a  sponsor  of   Finding  Common  Ground,  a conference on domestic violence that was another step in educating the public and the professional community about domestic violence.

I have had several occasions to meet with the Minister since she took office and I am looking forward to continuing the  positive relationship we  forged  with  the  former  minister,  Gerard Kennedy.  Kennedy  spearheaded  the   revival of   public  education  in  Ontario  creating  an atmosphere where public education and teachers began once more to be  appreciated and valued. We wish him well in his quest to become leader of the federal Liberal party.

Nevertheless, despite the positive relationships we  have   forged  there  are  challenges  to  be addressed. One of those challenges is Bill 78, the education omnibus bill.

There  are  provisions  in  the  Bill  that  we support:  the   increase in  professional activity days and the new teacher induction program are two examples. But there are also provisions that cause us serious concern.

A major issue is that Bill 78 shifts a number of aspects of education policy from statutory to regulatory control. The  government’s rationale is to provide flexibility with a greater  ability to respond  to  issues  quickly. We  are  concerned with the loss of accountability and transparency that goes hand in  hand with this kind of shift. If this Bill passes without  amendment, changes in important working and learning  conditions–  such  as  class  size  and  professional activity days  –  can   be  put  in  place  without  debate in  the  legislature. The  flexibility it  gives this government can be used by future governments that  do  not  share  a  commitment  to  public education and want to erode the improvements that have been achieved.

The reforms to the Ontario College of Teachers to make it a truly self-governing body are another concern. As  Hilda  Watkins points  out  in  her column (page 36) this was a Liberal promise prior to the 2003 election. She enumerates a number of the problems the Bill creates. On the positive side, the Bill increases the number of elected members on  the  governing council  by  six,  thus  giving teachers a one vote majority. Other proposals in the Bill undermine this improvement.

The government proposes to exclude a significant portion of  College members.  This  includes occasional  teachers who don’t work a minimum of 20 days in the year prior to the election and teachers on leaves – such as maternity leave or leave to work as members of teacher federation locals.

Local federation leaders are particularly targeted. The implication is that they will not serve in the public interest, as governing council members are mandated to do. There is no evidence to support this notion and it is offensive to our members.

ETFO will be working hard to ensure that the College is governed by a truly democratic body representing the teaching profession. (For details, see page 40.)

Despite these challenges we have had an interesting and fruitful year. ETFO made significant contributions to education here at home, nationally and internationally. Winston Carter outlines some of those in his column (page 37). I particularly want to take this opportunity to recognize your provincial Executive who join me in  sup- porting initiatives to improve education here and abroad, and those members who will take the spirit of  ETFO excellence to their colleagues in developing countries this summer.

We have much to be proud of. We bargain to protect your wages and working conditions, but we also care about your rights as citizens of the world.

Enjoy your summer!