FEATURE
RALLY FOR EDUCATION Catholic teachers were well represented among the tens of thousands of teachers, education workers, parents, students, and concerned Ontarians who came out to the Rally for Education on April 6. With the lawn in front of Queen’s Park in Toronto overflowing, the beautiful spring day provided a splendid setting to celebrate Ontario’s publicly funded education system and let the government know the community will not accept the devastating cuts being proposed. OECTA President Liz Stuart was one of several speakers who took the stage to address the crowd. She said that while the government might try to mislead Ontarians about the cuts, and go on the offensive against teachers and our unions, the massive turnout for the rally should send a clear message that we will have no fear about standing up for our rights and beliefs. The event was organized by OECTA along with the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), the Canadian Union of Public Employees – Ontario (CUPE), the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF).
8 CATHOLIC TEACHER | MAY 2019
Several days before the rally, the organizations issued a joint press release and statement of principles, indicating our shared values and our commitment to work together for the common good. The agenda includes: • Sustaining investments in publicly funded education • Enhancing funding for mental health services and students with special needs • Promoting equity and inclusion in our schools • Providing funding to support teachers and education workers • Making schools safer for all students, teachers, and education workers • Protecting the current full-day Kindergarten model • Maintaining a commitment to smaller class sizes All teachers and education workers recognize the importance of coming together at this time to defend high quality, publicly funded education in Ontario. Catholic teachers will be doing everything we can to engage our allies in the labour movement and throughout the community, to inform them of the impact of the government’s cuts and encourage them to join with us in advocating for the common good.