Below, please find the latest memorandum from OSSTF Toronto to its members. This post is being shared with ARM Chapter 12 members to inform them of the election activities of OSSTF Toronto members and to provide additional opportunities for ARM members to participate.

 

Provincial Elections: Important Information and Opportunities for Involvement #5 – Tuesday May 10, 2022 Introduction: The writ was dropped on Wednesday, May 4th. The 43rd Ontario provincial election will take place on Thursday, June 2nd. We are encouraging all OSSTF Members to #VOTE, #Volunteer, and #Donate: #Vote early! Check out elections.on.ca to find out ways you may vote, including mail, advance polls, on election day (find your polling station), and at the returning office. #Volunteer! 4 hours of your time with an education-friendly progressive candidate will help deliver 4 years of peace for our union and for Ontario. Campaigns need your help – no experience necessary. #Donate. If you are able, consider donating to a candidate or party. You may receive up to 75% of your donation back on your taxes next year. Reaching Out to Members: OSSTF Toronto has begun reaching out to members: You should have received your first call from provincial President Karen Littlewood this past week. More actions to come, including emails, texts, calls, and in-person phone canvassing by OSSTF Members to Members will take place in the coming days. Education-focused canvasses and events with endorsed candidates have started. Come meet the candidate, get out in the fresh air, meet other OSSTF members. Not comfortable going door-to-door? Campaigns need help calling constituents, data entry, and literature drops. Visit the OSSTF Toronto Facebook page for updates. Noel Semple (Liberal, Etobicoke Centre) Wednesday May 11, 2022 5-7pm. 460 Renforth Drive, Unit 15. Sign up here. Mitzie Hunter (Liberal, Scarborough-Guildwood) Thursday May 12, 2022 5-7pm. 4286 Kingston Road, Unit 8. Soo Wong (Liberal, Scarborough-Agincourt) Friday May 13, 2022 4:30-6:30pm. 11 Ivy Bush Avenue. Jill Andrew (NDP, Toronto-St. Pauls & OSSTF Member) Saturday May 14, 2022 10:30am-1pm. 1425 Yonge Street. Sign up here. Adil Shamji (Liberal, Don Valley East) Saturday May 14, 2022 1-5pm. 801 York Mills Road. Sign up here. Mazhar Shafiq (Liberal, Scarborough Centre) Sunday May 15, 2022 12-2pm. 1550 Birchmount Road, Unit 116. Sign up here. Farheen Alim (NDP, Etobicoke-Lakeshore & OSSTF Member) Sunday May 15, 2022 4-6pm. 2491 Lakeshore Boulevard West. Sign up here. More will be added as they are confirmed. Save The Date(s)! Candidate Meet-and-Greets (Virtual) OSSTF Toronto is booking Virtual Meet-and-Greets on Zoom so members can meet with candidates over a series of afternoons starting next week. A dinner rebate of up to $50 will be available for everyone who attends. More details will be available in next week’s email about upcoming Meet-and-Greet registrations. On May 16 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: Don Valley East, Don Valley North, Don Valley West, Willowdale. Register here. On May 17 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: Scarborough Rouge-Park, Scarborough North and Scarborough Southwest. Register here. On May 24 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: Davenport, Toronto St. Pauls, Parkdale-High Park, Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Registration info to follow shortly on the event page at osstftoronto.ca/events. On May 25 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: Spadina-Fort York, Beaches-East York, University-Rosedale, Toronto Centre, Toronto Danforth. Registration info to follow shortly on the event page at osstftoronto.ca/events. On May 26 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: Scarborough-Agincourt, Scarborough Centre, Scarborough-Guildwood. Registration info to follow shortly on the event page at osstftoronto.ca/events. On May 27 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: York Centre, Eglinton Lawrence, Etobicoke Centre. Registration info to follow shortly on the event page at osstftoronto.ca/events. On May 30 at 5pm, meet the candidates for the following ridings: York-South Weston, Humber River Black Creek. Registration info to follow shortly on the event page at osstftoronto.ca/events. Endorsed D12 Candidates Spotlight: We continue to spotlight candidates for the upcoming Provincial election endorsed by the OSSTF Toronto District Executive. Stephanie Bowman is the Liberal candidate for the riding of Don Valley West. She is a chartered accountant and former senior executive for ScotiaBank and partner at Ernst & Young, and most recently a member of the board of the Bank of Canada. She strongly believes in the power of community, is a firm believer that education will make the world a better place, and that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. A long-time resident of Don Valley West, she has volunteered with a myriad of organizations, including the United Way, Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and with her local church. Please reach out to Stephanie here. Arlena Hebert is running as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Eglinton-Lawrence. With a business background, Arlena has been the president of the Lytton Park Residents’ Organization, and a founding director of the Federation of North Toronto Residents Association. She has led volunteer teams with Out of the Cold, organized area clean-up programs for the Chatsworth Ravine for decades, and fought for years to keep TDSB schools open in her riding. A long-time resident of the riding, Arlena believes in a strong public education system from pre-K to post-secondary, protecting the environment, affordable housing opportunities for all, and accessible mental health and addiction services. Please reach out to Arlena here. Soo Wong is once again the Liberal candidate for the riding of Scarborough-Agincourt. Serving the constituents of the riding as their Member of Provincial Parliament from 2011-2018, she previously served as a trustee for the TDSB in the riding, first elected in 2004. Prior to entering elected politics, Soo was a member of the City of Toronto Board of Health and a Professor of Nursing at Humber College. She most recently served as a front-line health care professional and executive director of a not-for-profit long-term care home. She believe is senior care, a strong health care system, and has been an advocate for public education. Please reach out to Soo here. Mazhar Shafiq is the Liberal candidate in Scarborough Centre. Trained as an engineer, he immigrated to Canada in the early 2000’s seeking a better life for his young family. He worked in different roles in the automotive sector, and became involved with local and provincial politics, eventually working for the Federal Liberal MP in Don Valley West, then shifting to become a senior advisor to Premier Kathleen Wynne almost a decade ago. He has been involved in the community, supporting charities, community groups, and the Scarborough Hospital. He believes in publicly-funded education, serving at his children’s school council as chair, running youth programs in the community, and supporting OSSTF’s strike action with community support in 2019/20. Please reach out to Mazhar here. OSSTF Education Platform – Strengthening Public Education: Rebuild Ontario Each week leading up to the election we will highlight one of the five pillars of OSSTF’s education platform Strengthen Public Education: Rebuild Ontario. This week’s isImproving Learning Conditions For All. Addressing systemic inequities in access to technology, curriculum opportunities, programming, and educator supports will lead to greater student success. Providing culturally relevant learning opportunities for all students benefits all communities. Specifically: In-Person Learning. We know it helps to diminish inequities in education for marginalized, racialized, Black, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQI+ students. Better supports are available in-person for the social and emotional growth of students; Smaller Classes. Students achieve greater success in smaller classes. Smaller class sizes keep smaller community schools open, ensuring robust opportunities for learning; Supports for Students. More school and community services should be made available to students to help address the increase in mental health issues. More school-based speech and language services are needed to support students in the classroom, and an increase in funding for services provided by board-employed practitioners; Supporting Specialized, Culturally-Appropriate Programming and Staffing For All Students. The removal of school resource officers or similar programs from all Ontario publicly-funded schools, and dedicated, sustainable funding for violence-prevention initiatives from early learning to post-secondary. Towards 2022 And Beyond: Please check out the provincial OSSTF election resource here for lots more information about how you may become involved! Reach out to your provincial election organizer Richardo Harvey richardo.harvey@osstf.ca with your questions!     OSSTF Toronto 1482 Bathurst St Suite 300, Toronto Canada