OTTAWA, Sept. 30, 2015 /CNW/ - On Oct. 5, World Teachers' Day, teachers from across Canada will be taking to social media with the message "On Oct. 19, I vote for Our Canada. Our Students. Our profession." This action is part of a national campaign by the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF), to raise political awareness about public education issues that need federal government action. Teachers are hoping to elect a federal government that will provide enhanced mental health services for children and youth and will commit to ending child poverty.
"Although provinces and territories are responsible for education, we know federal government programs and policies directly affect the lives of students and teachers," says CTF President Heather Smith. "Federal policy decisions relating to funding transfers to the provinces and territories directly affect the capacity of many provincial/territorial governments to appropriately fund and administer their health care and education systems.
"In a 2014 national survey, 5,000 teacher respondents told us to focus on child and youth mental health and child poverty in this federal election. Under the banner of the 'Hear My Voice' campaign, the CTF engaged with major political parties at the national level and with its Member organizations at the provincial/territorial levels who shared CTF resources and social media tools with teachers for use in their own ridings.
"As a non-partisan federation, the CTF does not support any one party but rather advocates with all parties regarding issues that are significant to the teachers of Canada. We believe it is important to provide information so that teachers may make well-informed decisions when they head to the polls on Oct. 19.
"World Teachers' Day is an opportunity to celebrate the great work teachers are doing in support of public education around the globe. The federal election is the opportunity for Canadian teachers to take positive action by making their mark in support of policies benefiting the students in their classrooms," concludes Smith.
Founded in 1920, CTF is a national alliance of Member organizations representing nearly 200,000 teachers across Canada. CTF is also a member of Education International (@eduint) which represents 30 million educators around the world. Follow CTF on Twitter: @CanTeachersFed and @EnseigneCanada.
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Heather Smith, CTF President
SOURCE Canadian Teachers' Federation
Francine Filion, CTF Director of Communications, 613-899-4247 or [email protected]
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