FROM THE PRESIDENT
STANDING TOGETHER FOR ALL ONTARIANS
W
hat moves us forward is the strength of our relationships, acting in solidarity with the peo- ple around us. There are
serious challenges ahead. The economy here in Ontario and in Canada is not as robust as we would like. There will be pressure on governments at all levels to scale back pro- grams and supports at a time when there are more people in need than ever. We need to remain vigilant – speaking out not just for our members and students, but for all who can benefit from our strength. Affecting positive change in our class-
rooms and our communities is an essential part of what we do. It is one of the reasons we fight so hard when we bargain our con- tracts. We know that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions and we take responsibility for building better schools in this province. As a union of educators, this means ensuring our members have profes- sional development opportunities that re- flect our commitment to equity, anti-racism, anti-colonialism – social and economic jus- tice for all. As activists, this means looking for opportunities to create broader social change for everyone in our communities. In recent weeks, ETFO local leaders and
I presented at pre-budget hearings across the province. The education funding for- mula must be fixed. Money lost two decades ago has never been replaced. We need more supports for students with special needs, improved resources for English language learners and reduced class sizes for kinder- garten and grades four and eight. These are issues that we advance with the government and identify in our building better schools website and parent portal (buildingbetter-
schools.ca). As a union, it is our responsibility to stand
with social movements that call on us to be allies in the fight for Indigenous rights, eco- nomic justice, equity and democracy. Our February Representative Council speaker Desmond Cole urged delegates to actively
challenge the legacy of colonialism and the impacts of systemic racism and white privi- lege in our own learning and in our class- rooms. He urged us not to be complicit in the racism that is part of the world we share, but to actively fight against it. Part of our work is to amplify the voices
of our allies and to add ours to these im- portant political struggles. One of the ways that we do this is through our work with the Canadian Labour Congress, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and local labour coun- cils. Together we have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Syrian relief efforts. ETFO staff have developed a workshop to assist members in meeting the needs of Syr-
ian and other children arriving as refugees to smaller centres and rural areas. We have also come together with others in the labour movement and the not-for-profit sector to call for public hearings on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a far-reaching trade agreement negotiated in secret by the previous federal government with the potential to seriously weaken education and other sectors. As a federation, everyday we have the op-
portunity to walk the talk – to actively work for social justice and equity and to dem- onstrate that, in the immortal words of J.S. Wordsworth, “What we wish for ourselves, we desire for all.”
– Sam Hammond ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO 5
PHOTO BY KATHRYN GAITENS
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