OECTA responds to Supply Tax Benefit

Federal campaigns encouraged to acknowledge that teachers matter

TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2015 /CNW/ - The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association is happy to see that education issues have entered the federal campaign dialogue with the Liberal Party of Canada's announcement of a Teacher and Early Childhood Educator School Supply Tax Benefit.

This week, OECTA reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Liberal government following negotiations related to various issues that impact provincial teachers.

"Our teachers do so much for their students, and when we remove support and resources it has a very real impact on our classrooms," said OECTA President Ann Hawkins. "I'm pleased to see an acknowledgement that teachers often pay out of pocket to ensure that students have a positive classroom experience. We all need to recognize that teachers matter, and how they're treated matters too."

OECTA's comments come after the Liberals introduced a new Teacher and Early Childhood Educator School Supply Tax Benefit, accessible to all teachers and early childhood educators. The refundable tax benefit will provide a cash benefit of up to $150 annually, on up to $1,000 in school supplies and educational materials.

During the summer, OECTA launched its TeachersMatter campaign to keep the public informed about what was at stake during the negotiations with the Ontario government and Catholic school board trustees. To date, OECTA has obtained over 11,000 supporters on its teachersmatter.ca website.

"Our members are very committed to their profession and many of them spend hundreds of dollars of their own money each year on classroom supplies to compensate for cuts to school budgets," says Hawkins. "Today's announcement is an important acknowledgment of teachers' commitment and their worth."

Visit teachersmatter.ca to learn more about the issues.

About OECTA
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association represents more than 50,000 talented, passionate, qualified teachers in Ontario's publicly funded English Catholic schools, in classrooms from Kindergarten to Grade 12. OECTA cares deeply about the quality of education in our province, and we advocate for the professional and contractual welfare of our members to make sure they can focus on what they do best: teach. 

SOURCE Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association

Janine Druery, Communications Specialist, [email protected], 416-925-2493 ext. 472