The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) issued the following statement today in support of the decision by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) not to extend the re-employment limit for retired teachers and administrators from 50 to 95 days. Students, families, and educators need a real solution to the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, not more band-aids and half-measures:
“This is an emergency – a crisis that the Ford Conservative government is refusing to address. Ford and his government are actively exacerbating the crisis by their refusal to invest in publicly funded education, their obvious disdain for the teaching profession and its importance, failed policies and unconstitutional wage suppression legislation, and their willful ignorance of the supports and resources students, teachers, and education workers need to succeed.