The purpose of OPSBA’s Advocacy Day meetings are to re-introduce OPSBA and its priorities to the government and the opposition parties. It is also an opportunity to increase and elevate the overall awareness of the Association and its advocacy efforts.
February and March 2021
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Top Left: OPSBA Virtual Advocacy Day meeting with Minister Stephen Lecce, PA Sam Oosterhoff, and PC MPPs – February 19, 2021
Top Right: OPSBA Virtual Advocacy Day meeting with Green Party Leader and MPP (Guelph) Mike Schreiner – February 24, 2021
Bottom left: OPSBA Virtual Advocacy Day meeting with NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, Education Critic Marit Stiles, and NDP MPPs – February 27, 2021
Bottom right: OPSBA Virtual Advocacy Day meeting with Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, Education Critic Kathleen Wynne, and Liberal MPPs – March 5, 2021
OPSBA secured a series of meetings for OPSBA’s Executive Council to participate with one provincial party caucus at a time over Zoom. Joining the Executive Council were representatives from the Indigenous Trustee’s Council and provincial student trustee leaders. The meetings were an hour in length and included two agenda items: 2021-22 Education Funding and The Future of Public Education.
The purpose of OPSBA’s Virtual Advocacy Day meetings was to re-introduce OPSBA and its priorities to the government and the opposition parties. It was also an opportunity to increase and elevate the overall awareness of the Association and its advocacy efforts. We also encouraged trustees to reach out to their local MPP(s) to set up a phone call or virtual meeting during the first 2021 constituency week, which occured March 15 to 18, 2021. OPSBA staff have developed a PowerPoint slide deck that could be used.
November 25, 2019
OPSBA’s Advocacy Priorities
The Whole Child and Student Well-Being
More than 50 public school board trustees and student trustees from all regions of the province were in Toronto on November 25, 2019, to take part in OPSBA’s second Advocacy Day. The day began with a news conference that released the results of polling and research done in partnership with Nanos Research. This initiative bolstered OPSBA’s advocacy position on key issues, such as the importance of investment in public education, Indigenous Education, curriculum, mental health supports and the importance of electing trustees.
Overwhelmingly, Ontarians support public education and see it as an investment for the future.
Other highlights from the polling include:
- Nine in ten Ontarians say it is important or somewhat important to invest in special education
- Seven in ten Ontarians support or somewhat support having a mandatory Indigenous education curriculum
- Nearly two-thirds of Ontarians think funding for education should be set based on number of students and inflation rather than overall provincial spending
- Just over four in five Ontarians support or somewhat support school boards having more autonomy to ensure their budgets reflect local needs
- Nine in ten Ontarians say it is important or somewhat important to invest in school maintenance and repairs
Some highlights of the day included:
- A breakfast meeting between the Minister of Education Stephen Lecce and the OPSBA Table Officers.
- The OPSBA/NANOS news conference – which was carried live on CP24 and reported on favourably by several media outlets including the Toronto Star and CTV.
- Attendance in Question Period, where many individual trustees were recognized by their local MPPs, and OPSBA was formally welcomed by all parties.
- Meetings with 54 MPPs – 24 PC, 23 NDP, three Liberal, one Green, and one Independent.
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- An evening reception attended by many MPPs, the Deputy Minister of Education and two Assistant Deputy Ministers, and featuring remarks from Minister Lecce, Education Critic for the Official Opposition Marit Stiles of the NDP, Liberal Education Critic and former Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Leader of the Green Party, Mike Schreiner.
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April 8, 2019
On April 8, 2019, OPSBA President Cathy Abraham was joined by Executive Council members and OPSBA senior staff in the Association’s first Advocacy Day at Queen’s Park.
OPSBA Advocacy Day provided an opportunity for OPSBA representatives to build on collaborative relationships with provincial stakeholders – both MPPs and political staff.
OPSBA Advocacy Day featured meetings and conversations with all four political parties – the Progressive Conservatives, New Democrats, Liberals and Greens. President Abraham and Executive Director Rusty Hick also met with staff from the Premier’s Office, the Ministries of Education and Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Treasury Board Secretariat.
