CTF President Heather Smith
Newly-elected CTF President Heather Smith from the New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation addressed delegates Wednesday morning. She spoke about Education International priorities as well as the Canadian federal election.
She addressed the Education International campaign for the next four years against privatization and the commercialization of education. Wall-street investors have come to see education as a potentially profitable investment, with an estimated global value of 4 trillion dollars. She singled out Teach for Canada as an example of public money being directed to a private group, while the federal government fails to meet its funding responsibilities to First Nations schools.
Although education is within the provincial jurisdiction, there are many federal policies that impact the well-being of children and youth. A recent CTF survey found 95% of CTF members wanted to focus on child mental health and 93% to focus on child poverty federally. In response, CTF launched the Hear My Voice campaign – http://vox.ctf-fce.ca.
She thanked the 14 ETFO members who volunteered their time to participate in Project Overseas this year and thanked Maureen Weinberger for her contribution as CTF Vice-President.
She concluded by reassuring delegates that education workers all across the country will stand in solidarity as ETFO continues to bargain.
