YOUR FEDER ATION
SPRING REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
P
resident Karen Brown wel- comed delegates to May Rep- resentative Council. Reflecting on ETFO’s
recently launched report Promises Unfulfilled,
President Brown talked about the 27 con- crete recommendations in the report that are intended to ensure students with special education needs receive the supports they deserve and are legally entitled to. Te press conference launching the report, which can be viewed on ETFO’s YouTube channel, in- cluded parent voices from the Ontario Au- tism Coalition and special education advi- sory committees along with the expertise of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and ETFO members. Te report and associ- ated materials are available on
etfo.ca. President Brown also talked about how ETFO put significant energy and resources
42 ETFO VOICE | SUMMER 2025
into engaging and mobilizing members dur- ing the recent federal and provincial elec- tions. “Locals across the province released members to mobilize during the provincial election,” she said. “You held phone banks, texted your members, had school visits and workplace meetings. You asked other mem- bers not only to vote, but to bring others to the polls with them. Your locals recom- mended endorsements to the provincial Ex- ecutive, and distributed platform compari- sons and other materials to members.” “I am incredibly proud of the work we
have done collectively over the past year,” she concluded. “And I am so thankful for the work each of you do, every day, to sup- port our members and advocate for our public education system.” Guest speaker Mackenzie Kolton, di- rector of learning at Egale Canada, talked
about the purpose of Egale and how edu- cators can implement practices that sup- port 2SLGBTQ+ students in their class- rooms. Reflecting on her own experience coming out in high school, Kolton talked about the importance of having the sup- port of a teacher. “Without that teacher I don’t know if I would be here at all,” said Kolton. “And I definitely wouldn’t be do- ing this work.” Kolton encouraged ETFO member to
get curious, learn and grow. Talking about the significant number of 2SLGBTQ+ stu- dents who are bullied in schools and the importance of reflecting and supporting their experiences she said, “Together we can imagine a world that is different than what currently exists.”
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