Tag: Canada
Ottawa, Monday, April 1, 2024 – The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) expressed their appreciation to the federal government for taking a significant step towards ensuring all Canadian children have access to healthy and nutritious meals while at school. The government’s announcement of a significant investment to support a Universal School Food Program is a monumental step toward addressing the critical issue of food insecurity in our nation and to helping all children thrive in school. The federal government will invest $1 billion, to be distributed by provinces and territories over a period of 5 years, with $200 million being allocated each year.
The CTF/FCE has been advocating for this program for over a decade, collaborating in recent years with organizations such as the Breakfast Clubs of Canada and the Coalition for Healthy School Food to make it a reality. We firmly believe that such initiatives are essential in fostering equitable access to education and promoting the well-being of Canadian families. “We are thrilled that the Government has taken this momentous step for Canada and joined the rest of the G7, and most other countries in the world, in recognizing the critical importance of school food,” said Debbie Field, Coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.
The President of the CTF/FCE, Heidi Yetman, emphasized the importance of this investment, stating that it is not just a matter of policy but a moral imperative. “With more families struggling to afford basic necessities, including food, the implementation of a Universal School Food Program is necessary to ensure that students have access to nutritious meals. This program will also contribute greatly to creating more conducive learning environments and supporting students’ overall success”.
The CTF/FCE thanks the federal government, leaders in the school food sector, its members and partners, and all Canadians who worked together to ensure that every child in Canada has access to nutritious food, empowering them to reach their full potential.
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
Ottawa, March 12, 2024 – Canada is among the world’s top 10 wealthiest countries; and yet, millions of students are going to school hungry and under nourished. This needs to change.
Regardless of geography or family income, every child deserves access to healthy and nutritious meals at school.
As record number of families are grappling with the skyrocketing cost of living, it is imperative that the federal government take action to make life more affordable: this includes ensuring students in our public education system are well-fed. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland to ensure that a Pan-Canadian School Food Program is included in Budget 2024.
Join our call to ensure all students in Canada have access to nutritious food.
“When students are not fed, classrooms suffer. A Pan-Canadian School Food Program would alleviate food insecurity and contribute to a healthier school environment for all.”
Heidi Yetman, President, CTF/FCE
Email your Member of Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, urging them to ensure that a Pan-Canadian School Food Program is included in Budget 2024.
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
Media contact
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
Ottawa, November 21, 2023 – The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) Board of Directors is set to convene in Ottawa on November 21 and 22, urgently tackling the nationwide challenge looming over public education: the teacher retention and recruitment crisis. This critical meeting is poised to address the need for immediate, collective actions to combat the challenges faced by education personnel across the nation.
Poor working conditions lie at the heart of the crisis. Untenable classroom sizes and complexity have only increased. Students with special needs lack adequate support and resources. Psychological and physical violence is statistically on the rise. Other complex factors have contributed to this crisis, including fluctuations in student populations, and declining enrollment in education faculties. Regrettably, 100% of the CTF/FCE’s Member and Associate Organizations have indicated that unqualified teachers are holding positions in schools from coast to coast to coast.
Heidi Yetman, President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, underscores the gravity of the situation: “There is no shortage of teachers, but rather a shortage of decent working conditions. Canada has reached a critical juncture, and it is imperative that provincial and territorial governments invest in public education. Collaboration with union counterparts is crucial in finding solutions. Only through working together can we ensure that every child has a qualified teacher in their classroom. Quality publicly funded education is indispensable for a healthy and prosperous society.”
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
Media contact
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
MEDIA ALERT: Elected Leaders to Talk Teacher Recruitment and Retention Crisis on World Teachers’ Day
OTTAWA, October 3, 2023 – The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) welcomes Members of Parliament (MPs) and education stakeholders to its World Teachers’ Day town hall event in Ottawa, “The Empty Classroom: Challenges and Solutions to the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Crisis.”
This celebration of the teaching profession will include a panel discussion, moderated by CTF/FCE President Heidi Yetman. The panel will be a unique opportunity for MPs and education stakeholders to listen to teachers’ voices, address their questions, and share possible approaches and strategies to improve working conditions and thereby address recruitment and retention challenges facing Canada’s entire education community.
Q & A will follow the panel discussion.
Speakers include:
- Martin Shields, MP for Bow River
- Jenica Atwin, MP for Fredericton
- Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill–Keewatinook Aski
- Carol Sarich, President of the Canadian Association of Principals
- Kristina Salciccioli, Department Head, Cathedral High School, Hamilton, Ontario, and Instructor and Ph. D Candidate, Faculty of Education, Brock University.
Date
October 5, 2023
Time
5:30 p.m. ET
Location
The event will be held in person at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins, 333 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The town hall will also be livestreamed via Zoom (The Zoom link will be shared with registered participants two days prior to the event). A recording of the event will be available after.
Bilingual Event: This event will be conducted in both English and French with simultaneous interpretation.
Registration: Media must register for the event in advance through the event webpage.
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
Media contact
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) is alarmed by the rise of organized hate across the country. Along with the teachers’ organizations we represent in every province and territory, the CTF/FCE opposes any agendas that aim to intimidate vulnerable people, spread misinformation, and propagate hate. We stand in solidarity with students, families, educators, and the vast majority of Canadians in the protection of 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights.
Over one million Canadians identify as members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. Attacks on them are an attack on our collective freedom and peace. We urge all Canadians, regardless of your political or religious affiliation to reflect on how intimidation poisons the wellsprings of our national identity. We thrive as a nation due to our inclusivity and ability to embrace change. Canadian farmers understand this logic better than anyone: a field with diverse crops yields the richest soil. A country is no different.
The CTF/FCE is disturbed by various provincial governments across this country changing policies in education that cause harm to already vulnerable populations, particularly sexual and gender diverse students and school staff. We are equally troubled by maligned and misinformed groups organizing aggressive hate-filled events.
The CTF/FCE represents over 365,000 teachers from coast to coast to coast, and our policy is clear. The CTF/FCE advocates for educational systems that are safe, welcoming, inclusive, and affirming for people of all gender identities.
We are seeing a disturbing trend emerging that defies common sense:
On June 8, the New Brunswick government revised an education policy which would forbid New Brunswick teachers from using students’ preferred pronouns if they are under 16 years of age, without parental consent.
This summer, during their Manitoba election campaign, Conservatives promised to expand parental rights by changing the Manitoba Public Schools Act.
On August 22, 2023, the Saskatchewan Minister of Education announced a near identical policy to New Brunswick’s.
On August 28, 2023, the Ontario Minister of Education told reporters he believes parents should be told if their child chooses to use a different pronoun at school.
Now, in Alberta, a hate group is organizing an anti “sex-education” convoy targeting teachers and their association in that province.
These actions are not coincidences, and their perpetrators seem to ignore the fact that many teachers are in fact parents.
The CTF/FCE recognizes the immeasurable role most parents play in their children’s upbringing and safety, and safe schools are at the foundation of a peaceful country. To ensure this, teachers need to be trusted as the professionals they are to do what is best for students while in their care.
On October 5, we celebrate World Teachers’ Day and recognize the monumental and noble work of educators everywhere.
Join the celebration HERE.
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
Media contact
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
Quebec’s Heidi Yetman begins her term as President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation
Ottawa, July 14, 2023 – Heidi Yetman, former President of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT), began her two-year term as President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) following the Annual General Meeting in Ottawa.
Yetman succeeds outgoing President Sam Hammond.
“I am truly humbled to be stepping into Sam Hammond’s shoes as President of the CTF/FCE,” says Heidi. “Sam has been an extraordinary leader and a strong voice for the Federation, and I am honoured and excited to be able to continue the incredible work. Education across this country is facing significant challenges and our Federation will have an important role to play in ensuring that quality publicly funded public education becomes a true priority. I look forward to working with this talented Executive and amazing staff team to provide the best possible representation for teachers from all provinces and territories of Canada.”
Before becoming QPAT President, Heidi was president of the Pearson Teachers’ Union in Montreal after teaching Science and Art for 23 years at the high-school level. She has served as a Vice-President of the CTF/FCE from 2018 to 2019 and again beginning in 2021 before being elected as President-Designate in July 2022. From 2021-2023, she held dual roles of Executive liaison for the CTF/FCE’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women and Advisory Committee on French as a First Language.
In addition to various committee work, Heidi attended the Education International (EI) 2019 8th World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand where she facilitated a women’s caucus session. Her journey has also led her to moderate the 2019 AGM Women’s Caucus and a women’s panel at the CTF/FCE Women’s Symposium. In 2020, Heidi was a keynote speaker at the Manitoba Teachers’ Society Women’s Symposium.
The following newly elected CTF/FCE Vice-Presidents will join President Heidi Yetman and Executive Director Cassandra Hallett to form the Executive team:
- Anne Vinet-Roy, Vice-President (Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens)
- Connie Keating, Vice-President (New Brunswick Teachers’ Association)
- Jenny Regal, Vice-President (The Alberta Teachers’ Association)
- Justin Matchett, Vice-President (Nunavut Teachers’ Association)
- Karen Littlewood, Vice-President (Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation)
In addition to the newly elected slate of Vice-Presidents, Shelley L. Morse, a member of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and a former president of the CTF/FCE, was elected as the CTF/FCE candidate for the EI’s Executive Board at next year’s 10th World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
About the CTF/FCE
Founded in 1920, the CTF/FCE is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations that represent over 365,000 teachers and education workers across Canada. The CTF/FCE is also an affiliate of Education International, which represents more than 32-million educators.
Media contact
Nika Quintao, Director of Public Affairs
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE)
Contact
Mobile: 613-606-7809
