Your Federation: A Roundup of Federation News

MPPs reception

Members of  ETFO’s executive committee  met with MPPs from all three political parties at a reception hosted by ETFO at the Ontario Legislature. The event gives Ontario politicians an opportunity to meet with the executive and to hear first-hand the federation’s concerns about education issues.

December 6 is the day that commemorates the lives of 14 women students killed at École Polytechnique in  Montreal  in  1989. NDP leader Howard Hampton joined Linda-Beth Marr (Keewatin-Patricia) at the St. Patrick subway station in Toronto to sell buttons to raise money for the December 6th Fund. Canvassers included members Sirkku Meldrum (Durham) and Liz Kay (Limestone) who, with Marr, were at ETFO working on an  anti-violence curriculum.  Along  with ETFO executive and staff, they raised close to $1,000 to help provide interest-free loans to women trying to leave abusive situations.

For more information go to dec6fund.ca.

ETFO joins in the protest against cuts

Federal funding cuts mainly to women’s programs last fall continue to create controversy. ETFO President Emily Noble was one of many Canadian leaders who wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to Status of Women Minister Bev Oda, protesting the cuts to budgets of such groups as the National Child Care Coalition, women’s shelters and transition houses, Status of Women Canada, and the Court Challenges program. By December many other groups had also written to Harper, including the members of the Nobel Women’s Initiative – six  women who are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. To date, despite a sizeable budget surplus, the government has not reversed the cuts.

ETFO joins the fight against global warming

ETFO is the first teachers’ union in Canada to host a carbon-neutral event. This spring the Tree Canada Foundation will plant 166 trees that, during the next 10 years, will offset the 3.22 tonnes of carbon released as a result of the travel, accommodation, and energy used to hold the February Representative Council meeting. Only noninvasive, native trees will be planted in appropriate sites. No herbicides will be used and a 60 percent survival will be achieved. Tree Canada, a charitable organization, works to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees to reduce the harmful environmental effects of carbon dioxide emissions. The ETFO executive has made a commitment that all future Representative Council meetings will be carbon neutral.

Alia Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women was selected as one of the women featured in the “Great Canadian Women” poster. She was one of  three women nominated by the Limestone Teacher Local. All three were honoured by the local in January at an event attended by directors and representa- tives  of  Kingston-area  women’s  shelters  and crisis centres; MPP John Gerretsen; ETFO Vice- President Barb Burkett; Ken Gee,  president of the Limestone Occasional Teacher Local; and the Limestone Teacher Local executive.

The Perfect Purse: Financial Management For  Women  is  a  popular  conference  that provides women members with an opportunity to increase their financial management skills. The  150  women  who  attended  the conference  in  December  considered  such topics as investment, retirement and estate planning;  the  Ontario  Teachers’  Pension Plan; creating a personal financial plan; and the role of women in the economy.

Aboriginal Day

The storytelling tent is a key feature of Aboriginal Education Day, an event that ETFO cosponsors with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. Support also comes from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and the Rogers Centre. Aboriginal Education Day, held this year on November 24, is part of the Aboriginal Festival. It recognizes the contribution of First Nations people to the rich mosaic of Canada through story, art, music and dance. Members of the Aboriginal Education Standing Committee organize ETFO’s involvement. Curriculum resources produced by ETFO members can be found at etfo.ca .

Women in Politics, Toronto: April 19-20

A conference for women members interested in political activism, be it managing  campaigns orrunning  for elected office.

• Guest speakers, expert panellists, and workshops on how to run  an election campaign.
• Opportunity  to network with politically active women from across the province.

Organized with the assistance of Equal Voice, a multipartisan action group dedicated to increasing thepolitical presence of women.

For more information go to etfo.ca>calendar  or contact Vivian McCaffrey, Mary Morison or KathleenLoftus at

provincial office.

ETFO Members Honoured

Gayle  Corbin  a  teacher  at  Central  Public  School  in  Renfrew, and  Kamla  Rambaran, of McMurrich Junior Public  School, Toronto, were two  of  15  educators   nationwide   who received  certificates  of excellence as part of the Prime Minister’s Teaching Awards.

Both ETFO members began teaching in 2000. Corbin, who was nominated  by   a   colleague, makes  extensive use  of technology in her teach- ing.  Rambaran,  nominated by a parent, runs several after-school clubs, including a documentary and filmmaking club.

The awards recognize the efforts of teachers “who better equip their students with the skills needed to meet the challenges of a 21st century society and economy.” Each recipient’s school receives $5000 for professional development, teaching tools, or resources.

Catherine B. Mackay, Victoria Park Elementary  School,  Toronto,  was  recognized with an award of merit, one   of  50  Canadian teachers  so  honoured. MacKay  is a literacy specialist who has been teaching  for  30  years. She  was  nominated  by a parent.  Her school received a $1,000 honorarium.

For more information about the awards go to Catherine B. Mackay pma-ppm.gc.ca.

Coalition Speaks Out on Media Violence
ETFO is part of a coalition made up of trustee, parent, teacher federation, principal and student organizations working to develop effective strategies to deal with violence in the media. ETFO President Emily Noble participated in a news conference calling attention to the issue. “As educators, we can help students become more aware of the negative impacts of media violence by teaching them the skills involved in critical literacy,” Noble said. The coalition is creating media literacy resources for kindergarten to grade 12 students. The coalition is recommending, among other things, that the federal government amend the incitement of  hatred laws to provide protection to girls and women and that the provincial government establish an age-based classification system for music recordings similar to that in effect for films and video games.

Leadership
Think on Your Feet provides communications training for women aspiring to local leadership positions, particularly in collective bargaining. The course is held twice each year. For information about the April session, go to etfo.ca.

More experienced local leaders who will participate in the 2008 round of bargaining attended a two-day conference to hone their skills and enhance their knowledge. Almost 200 members from across the province took part in Building for Tomorrow, The Next Generation, now in its fourth year.

Labour lawyer Howard Goldblatt was the featured presenter.