Federal Politics

ETFO President Karen Brown Opens the 2024 Annual Meeting

President Karen Brown welcomed delegates to the 2024 ETFO Annual Meeting. Thanking ETFO’s 83,000 members, she also acknowledged local presidents and local leadership teams for their work supporting members.

The only way for us to ensure a just and equitable recovery and the safety and wellbeing of our communities is to organize, mobilize and vote for the government we need.

President Sam Hammond will be remembered for his strength, kindness and deep respect for members.

Given that education unions have memberships that are predominantly female, austerity in the education sector is clearly a women’s issue.

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.

The notion of what is fair resonates deeply with the students in my grade 7 class at Algonquin Avenue School in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Students clamour for fairness  in a wide range of situations. But what does “fair” mean? Why does “fair”  matter?