OSSTF/FEESO Supports the Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - June 04, 2015) - The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) supports all of the recommendations put forward in the recent report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. In particular, OSSTF/FEESO endorses all of the recommendations related to improving educational opportunities for all First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Canadians, and the need to better educate all Canadians about the history and impact of residential schools.

"The importance of educating all Canadians about the residential school system and the adverse effects it had on our country's Aboriginal Peoples cannot be stressed enough," said Paul Elliott, President of OSSTF/FEESO. "As well, because per student funding in federally run schools for Aboriginal students is thousands of dollars less than for students in provincial public education systems, I call upon the Harper Government to properly fund education for our First Nations, Métis and Inuit students so that they can have the same access to a high quality education that all other Canadian children enjoy."

OSSTF/FEESO has been involved in a number of FNMI initiatives that support educators at all levels, including the release of Common Threads V-Full Circle: First Nations, Métis, Inuit Ways of Knowing in 2012, a curriculum resource for teachers. In addition, OSSTF/FEESO has been involved in networking with Indigenous educators in the western hemisphere, and offers workshops to teachers and support staff on how to better integrate FNMI learning into their everyday practices.

"Our Federation will continue to work with our members to improve our knowledge and understanding of FNMI history, culture and issues, and to encourage governments at all levels to end the unfair and unnecessary inequities that exist between our country's Aboriginal Peoples and the rest of Canada," continued Elliott.

"We want to impress upon the federal government the need to adopt all of the recommendations from the Commission so that true reconciliation can occur," he concluded.

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.