Ontario Teacher Voting Bloc
In response to a newspaper article published in the Ottawa Citizen outlining the determination of Ontario's secondary school teachers to seek to take time off teaching and apply themselves to assisting during the fall provincial election campaign to successfully re-elect Dalton McGuinty in a gesture of appreciation for his support for the teaching profession, a published letter from the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers' Federation's first vice-president is immensely revealing.
She identifies herself as the chair of the political Action Committee taking umbrage at what she perceived as a news item that did not portray Ontario's teachers in the positive light she feels they deserve, in their dedication to assisting the current Liberal-led government into another term of office.
The argument brought forward is the teachers' federation belief in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. Are they kidding? How many people in the province earn the plump salaries that teachers do, and how many ordinary taxpayers can boast the rich benefits and gold-plated pension plans that teachers enjoy? How are constant demands for salary increases far beyond anything granted in other public-service sectors helpful in narrowing that gap?
In a listing of the Financial Post Magazine's 500 of Canada's largest corporations, the top ranks of the public sector pension funds finds the Ontario Teachers' pension plan at number 2 (that's across Canada) with staggering assets and market value for their 178,000 active members and 185,000 retirees. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is funded handsomely, ensuring that their members have few financial concerns for the future.
Yet the claim is that "We believe in employment equity. We believe in fair taxes for all. We believe Ontario should make lifting children out of poverty a priority. We believe workers have a right to bargain terms of their labour and to participate in the democratic process. Most of all, we know that good public education is the cornerstone of a thriving economy. Children who are unable to succeed in school often progress to lives that are less satisfying personally and less economically productive."
Quite. Doesn't everyone believe in employment equity? Find it if you can. As for fair taxes, there's nothing inherently fair in grandiose salaries for one segment of society who declare themselves fundamentally invested in believing everyone should share in their good fortune through employment, but few can. The union demands for pay increases for teachers have been meekly met by the McGuinty government. And this is the major reason that teachers are urged to support them.
Teaching is a noble profession, but few teachers are capable of really teaching their charges. Being able to convey knowledge and stimulate an interest in learning to children is invaluable; patience and dedication to the task at hand is required, and this is beyond the capabilities of most teachers. Most people have memories of their school days and few of them have fond memories of their teachers' efforts on their behalf.
If children today are scoring better in the three Rs than previous years it may be due more to the fact that their parents are more educated than those of previous generations.
As for the question how will tax cuts lift children out of poverty, referring to the promises made by Tim Hudak to lower taxes; well, it's fairly obvious isn't it? If families are burdened by too heavy a tax load and steadily increasing at every level of government, a bit of relief will be useful to those families, enabling them to pay their bills and benefiting the children through a less straitened familial tax burden.
She identifies herself as the chair of the political Action Committee taking umbrage at what she perceived as a news item that did not portray Ontario's teachers in the positive light she feels they deserve, in their dedication to assisting the current Liberal-led government into another term of office.
"Our political Action Committee is asking four things of our members; to become educated about the past political actions of the three main provincial parties, to make an informed decision, to become politically active with the party of their choice, and to vote and encourage their friends and family to vote." (Janet Fraser)But that's just the point..."the party of their choice" has been pre-chosen for them. And they are being encouraged by their unions to ensure that the opposition Conservatives do not gain an advantage by having teachers' supporting votes. One can only suppose the alternative provincial NDP hasn't the track record of the current Liberals; there is always the memory of the Bob Rae government and its "Social Contract", unloved by unions, and "Rae days", equally loathed.
The argument brought forward is the teachers' federation belief in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. Are they kidding? How many people in the province earn the plump salaries that teachers do, and how many ordinary taxpayers can boast the rich benefits and gold-plated pension plans that teachers enjoy? How are constant demands for salary increases far beyond anything granted in other public-service sectors helpful in narrowing that gap?
In a listing of the Financial Post Magazine's 500 of Canada's largest corporations, the top ranks of the public sector pension funds finds the Ontario Teachers' pension plan at number 2 (that's across Canada) with staggering assets and market value for their 178,000 active members and 185,000 retirees. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is funded handsomely, ensuring that their members have few financial concerns for the future.
Yet the claim is that "We believe in employment equity. We believe in fair taxes for all. We believe Ontario should make lifting children out of poverty a priority. We believe workers have a right to bargain terms of their labour and to participate in the democratic process. Most of all, we know that good public education is the cornerstone of a thriving economy. Children who are unable to succeed in school often progress to lives that are less satisfying personally and less economically productive."
Quite. Doesn't everyone believe in employment equity? Find it if you can. As for fair taxes, there's nothing inherently fair in grandiose salaries for one segment of society who declare themselves fundamentally invested in believing everyone should share in their good fortune through employment, but few can. The union demands for pay increases for teachers have been meekly met by the McGuinty government. And this is the major reason that teachers are urged to support them.
Teaching is a noble profession, but few teachers are capable of really teaching their charges. Being able to convey knowledge and stimulate an interest in learning to children is invaluable; patience and dedication to the task at hand is required, and this is beyond the capabilities of most teachers. Most people have memories of their school days and few of them have fond memories of their teachers' efforts on their behalf.
If children today are scoring better in the three Rs than previous years it may be due more to the fact that their parents are more educated than those of previous generations.
As for the question how will tax cuts lift children out of poverty, referring to the promises made by Tim Hudak to lower taxes; well, it's fairly obvious isn't it? If families are burdened by too heavy a tax load and steadily increasing at every level of government, a bit of relief will be useful to those families, enabling them to pay their bills and benefiting the children through a less straitened familial tax burden.
posted by Pieface | 6:51 PM
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