St John, NL, June 1, 2016 – The national presidents from provincial teacher unions/organizations who are meeting in St. John’s this week have released a Belief Statement and Call to Action (see attached). They are calling on the provincial and territorial governments across Canada to take immediate action to address their overwhelming concerns on educational reform, inclusive education, austerity budgets and teachers’ mental health and wellness.
Belief Statement and Call to Action
The Presidents of the Canadian Teachers’ Organizations met in St. John’s, NL on May 29 – June 1, 2016. The Presidents have developed the following Belief Statement and Call to Action due to overwhelming concerns on educational reform, inclusive education, austerity budgets and teachers’ mental health and wellness.
Belief Statement
WE BELIEVE… that austerity budgets undermine the strength of our public education system as students and their teachers lose out, and families are left out.
WE BELIEVE… that publicly funded public education must be fully funded to support student learning.
WE BELIEVE… that a successful inclusive education model requires sufficient funding and teachers/educators to ensure student needs are addressed.
WE BELIEVE… that assessment of students is best left to the professional judgement of teachers.
WE BELIEVE… that fiscal deficits must not be solved at the expense of the public education system or on the backs of our children.
Immediate Call to Action
On behalf of our over 300,000 teacher members, we call on the provincial and territorial governments across Canada to take immediate action to address the concerns expressed by the national presidents of the provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations.
This Belief Statement and Call to Action is supported by the following:
Canadian Teachers’ Federation – www.ctf-fce.ca
Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens – www.aefo.on.ca
British Columbia Teachers’ Association – www.bctf.ca
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario – www.etfo.ca
Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement – www.fse.qc.net
L’Association des enseignantes et enseignants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick – www.aefnb.ca
New Brunswick Teachers’ Association – ww.nbta.ca
Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association – www.nlta.nl.ca
Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association – www.nwtta.nt.ca
Nova Scotia Teachers Union – www.nstu.ca
Nunavut Teachers’ Association – www.ntanu.ca
Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association – www.oecta.on.ca
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation – www.osstf.on.ca
Ontario Teachers’ Federation – www.otffeo.on.ca
Prince Edward Island Teachers’ Federation – www.peitf.com
Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers – www.qpat-apeq.qc.ca
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation – www.stf.sk.ca
Syndicat des enseignantes et enseignants du programme francophone de la C.-B. – www.sepfcb.com
The Alberta Teachers’ Association – www.teachers.ab.ca
The Manitoba Teachers’ Association – www.mbteach.org
Yukon Teachers’ Association – www.yta.yk.ca