An Open Letter from Catholic Teachers to Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has filed a request with the Minister of Labour to have a conciliator appointed to assist in collective bargaining with the government and school board trustees.

In a province-wide vote conducted this week, members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) delivered an overwhelming strike mandate, with 97.1 per cent voting in favour of authorizing strike action.

 

Four Ontario unions, representing teachers and education workers across Ontario’s publicly-funded education system, strongly condemn the passage of Bill 124 by the Doug Ford government today.

As Catholic teachers, we strive every day to live the Gospel values for our students. Chief among
these is the foundational belief that every one of us is a child of God.

Yesterday, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce once again attempted to mislead the public about the government’s education cuts.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has announced it will conduct a province-wide strike vote.

We will need some time to review the specifics of the new curriculum documents, but it is unfortunate that the Ford government’s haphazard approach has resulted in so much chaos and confusion.

OECTA is outraged by the news that the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), at any point, held shares in GEO Group, Inc.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) welcomes its 2019-21 Provincial Executive, which takes office on July 1, 2019.

With the introduction of this legislation, the Ford government is once again trampling on public services and Ontarians’ legal rights.

The Ford government’s agenda for education has become clear. The Association has made many attempts to engage them in genuine dialogue about how our schools work and what our students need to succeed, but their decisions are being driven entirely by their desire to cut spending on public services.

Teachers and education workers in Ontario have formed a common front to defend a strong publicly funded education system that is of high quality and accessible to all.

The government should be ashamed of the games they are playing with the collective bargaining process and our publicly funded education system, says the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ ssociation (OECTA).

Budget will erode quality education.

Tens of thousands of teachers, education workers, parents, and concerned community members came together on Saturday April 6 at Queen’s Park in Toronto to defend high-quality publicly funded education, and the optimal learning conditions that all students need and deserve! Check out our photo gallery of the event. See what people are saying about the rally on social media.

Today’s announcement by Minister of Education Lisa Thompson was supposedly about modernizing classrooms, but in reality the government is continuing to move backward on publicly funded education and collective bargaining rights, says the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA).

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is extremely alarmed by a government memo to school boards, recommending that boards stop hiring teachers and other staff, including hiring needed to fill vacancies for retirements and leaves, pending further announcements on education funding.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is writing to present issues that are of importance to our 45,000 members as the Standing Committee on Social Policy reviews and considers amendments to Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act.

Provide Your Input – Proposed changes to the OCT

Submissions on Class Size, Full-day Kindergarten, and Fair Hiring Practices

The Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association (OECTA) is pleased to announce that David Church will be taking on the role of General Secretary as of June 1, 2019.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) welcomes the opportunity to provide input for the development of the 2019 provincial budget.

In November 2018, the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) quietly released a Governance Review Report.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is alarmed that the government is cutting millions of dollars in education funding, mostly from programs meant to serve vulnerable students.

OECTA Submission to the 2019-20 Grants for Student Needs Consultation

OECTA Submission to the Ministry of Education Consultation

Most members are in a highly vulnerable financial position when they are confronted with a loss of income during a lengthy or permanent disability.

Keep up-to-date on Provincial Bargaining news. Update your personal email address.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is greatly concerned about proposed changes to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) contained in Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, which threaten to transform the OCT from a self-regulatory body into an arm of the government.

President Liz Stuart responds to latest government announcement on revisions to the HPE curriculum and government consultations with parents.

Following the government’s decision to revert to the old Health and Physical Education curriculum, there has been a great deal of misinformation and confusion about how teachers should proceed when the school year begins.

New analysis from Lancaster House, a leading publisher on labour, employment, and human rights law, offers important perspective on the recent grievance settlement between the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) and the Government of Ontario.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) expresses great disappointment with the government’s decision to revert to the outdated Health and Physical Education curriculum.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) welcomes its 2018-19 Provincial Executive, which takes office on July 1, 2018.

Canadians are rightly proud of our universal health care program. It enables everyone to get the care they need, regardless of their employment status or economic circumstance.

As of April 1, all daily Occasional Teachers in Catholic school boards are now eligible to enrol in OECTA’s OECTA Occasional Teachers Benefit Plan.