TORONTO, ON – The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), the unions representing more than 125,000 teachers and education workers in publicly funded schools across Ontario, have released the following statement in response to the new Policy/Program Memorandum 168 – Reading Instruction and Early Reading Screening (PPM 168), which was released Friday without notice by the Ford Conservative government.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce has repeatedly claimed that “stability is critical to Ontario students,” but his government continues to introduce sweeping changes without providing the necessary time and resources for proper implementation. These changes will violate collective agreements when the new requirements mandated through policy memorandum are implemented, ignoring the collective bargaining rights of the professionals who care for and teach students across Ontario.