Canadian Teachers' Federation report

MEMO TO:

Local Representatives

COPY TO:

Local Presidents, Executive Committee, Administrative Staff

FROM:

Amber Mitchell

DATE:

January 17, 2022

SUBJECT:

Report to the Representative Assembly on the Canadian Teachers’ Federation

The BCTF continues to be actively engaged in the work of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) in efforts to co-ordinate federal advocacy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has included advocacy to highlight the challenges of remote learning across the country, including inequitable access to technology, critical food and meal programs, and impacts on vulnerable students. The CTF has also been amplifying calls on provincial, territorial, and federal governments to: • provide N95 masks to teachers, education workers, and students.

• prioritize booster shots for teachers and education workers.

• improve school ventilation. reduce class sizes to allow for physical distancing and actual cohorting.

• mandate contact tracing in schools.

• mandate the reporting of COVID-19 cases.

• provide rapid tests to education workers and families.

• consult and engage with education stakeholders when making decisions.

Other CTF updates and actions National Advisory Table on Public Education: The CTF is organizing briefings with members of parliament (MPs) and a number of constituency days in February, where board members will meet with local MPs, toward the call for a National Advisory Table on Public Education.

Solidarity with Afghanistan: The CTF, through ongoing work with Education International (EI), has launched a call for solidarity with Afghan colleagues in regard to the critical situation unfolding in Afghanistan where the Taliban, which seized power earlier this year, is reversing decades of educational and human rights’ progress and targeting schools and educational institutions to hinder girls’ education and erase women’s participation.

Ongoing efforts to provide support for Afghan colleagues, support for rescue and resettlement efforts of teacher trade union activities who are under threat, and pressure on government to support relocation efforts and provide humanitarian aid, including education, to support the human rights of women and girls in the country.

2022 Teacher Collective Bargaining Conference: The CTF, co-hosted with the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, is holding a teacher bargaining conference from February 27 to March 1, 2022. This event is currently scheduled to occur in-person in Montreal, Quebec, and will focus on connecting teacher negotiators and the Teachers’ Bargaining 1

Network members from across the country to reconnect and explore key bargaining issues that are common across the country, including: • distance and remote learning.

• preparing for arbitration.

• legislative interference in bargaining.

• teacher shortages.

• workload and mental health.

CTF anti-oppression advisory group: The CTF is in the process of forming an advisory group tasked with developing a plan for internal policies and practices in eliminating systemic racism, oppression, and discrimination. This advisory group will include representatives from the CTF advisory committees, with representation from all regions in Canada as well as from small, mid-size and larger member organizations.

Other CTF meetings A number of board and advisory committees support the ongoing work of the CTF. These include: Board committees: • Finance Committee (representation from Teri Mooring, BCTF President) • Pension Plan Committee • Constitution and Bylaws Committee (representation from Amber Mitchell, BCTF Executive Director) • Personnel Committee Advisory committees: • Advisory Committee on Diversity and Human Rights • Advisory Committee on French as a First Language • Advisory Committee on Indigenous Education • Advisory Committee on the Status of Women.

The Board of Directors will next meet on February 16, 2022. These meetings include reports from the President, Executive Committee, Secretary-General, Treasurer, standing committees, as well as member organizations. The Board considers recommendations from the Executive Committee, motions from member organizations, and finance and operations decisions. President Teri Mooring and Executive Director Amber Mitchell are voting members of the Board of Directors.

Common issues The CTF provides a forum to learn from other member organizations, and from the CTF itself, about issues that impact members across Canada. This has been a critical function during COVID-19 to share ideas, updates and help inform provincial and federal advocacy.

Over the past year, COVID-related topics such as health and safety planning, vaccine prioritization, teacher mental health and wellness, teacher shortages, accommodations, and Employment Insurance and tax implications have been a primary focus. Additional meetings titled “National Conversations” continue to occur, in order to provide a forum for key leaders of member organizations to connect and share strategy, advocacy, and updates on the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic and public education impacts.

AM/kd:tfeu

2