On June 1, 2008, just days before the Prime Minister’s public apology to residential school survivors and their families and communities, the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established.
Participation in political rallies gives ETFO members an important opportunity to support their union’s bargaining position; it gives them a public voice on how contract provisions directly affect classroom working and learning conditions. ETFO members find themselves once again compelled to protest the government and employer stance at the bargaining table.
ETFO’s annual leadership conference for women, … and still we rise (ASWR), is known for providing inspiring ideas women educators can use to make a difference in their classrooms and communities.
ETFO traditionally has focused its political activities at the provincial level; the provincial government has the most direct impact on education policies and our members’ working conditions. Increasingly, however, ETFO has become concerned about the impact of federal policies on both our members’ welfare and the very fabric of Canadian society.
This compelling collection of articles takes up the challenge of turning the dial on the negative view of taxes that has come to characterize our political discourse. We’ve reached the point in Canada, including Ontario, where political leaders believe it would be suicide to raise the spectre of higher taxes.
As the new Ontario Social Studies Curriculum unfolds this school year, educators should be asking themselves one critical question: How will I engage my students in learning about Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples?
To refresh the government’s agenda and develop her own brand as Liberal Party leader, Premier Kathleen Wynne is spearheading a number of public consultations.
The minority government at Queen’s Park means Ontario could face an election this school year. ETFO members may still harbour strong feelings about the Liberal government’s attack on collective bargaining rights and the failure of anyone in the legislature to vigorously defend them, but we should not overlook the bigger threat to the public sector and to unions: the agenda of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.
If you’re like me, you may be waiting impatiently for the economic pendulum to swing back to a time when skilled workers could count on stable employment and a comfortable standard of living. According to a number of recent reports, however, we’re in the midst of a new economic reality, the dominant feature of which is “precarious work.”