Given Ford government nepotism, let’s not re-open the door to nepotism in public education hiring practices

Toronto, ON – The exposure of nepotism in hiring by the Ford Conservatives comes just as the government is proposing to weaken a regulation put in place to stop nepotism and favouritism in hiring by public school boards.
 
“Ford’s former chief of staff Dean French has showed us all what nepotism really looks like and how damaging it can be,” said Sam Hammond, President of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
 
“It would be hypocritical for the government to proceed with watering down Regulation 274 which is designed to stop those same kinds of unethical hiring practices by school boards.”
 
Under the Education Act, Regulation 274 establishes steps for all Ontario school boards to follow when hiring for long-term occasional and new permanent teaching positions. Its stated purpose is to promote a consistent, transparent and fair hiring process.
 
“Teachers should be hired based on their qualifications and experience, not based on who they know or what connections they have. Whether school boards like it or not, experience counts. That’s a key reason why Ontario has one of the best education systems in the world,” added Hammond.
 
A year after Regulation 274 was enacted in 2012, a study commissioned by the Ministry of Education showed that when implemented properly, the Regulation results in a more consistent, transparent and fair hiring process for occasional teachers. It also found no negative impact on hiring for diversity nor any increase in unsatisfactory teacher performance. The report also conducted a detailed review of literature that clearly demonstrated that teachers with more experience are better teachers.
 
The Ford government put out two consultation papers proposing changes to the Regulation. ETFO’s briefs can be viewed at http://www.etfo.ca/aboutetfo/publications/briefstogovernmentagencies/pages/default.aspx.
 
ETFO represents 83,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province. Its Building Better Schools education agenda can be viewed at BuildingBetterSchools.ca.
 
For more information, contact ETFO Media Relations:
Valerie Dugale, 1-888-838-3836 x2331, cell: 416-948-0195, vdugale@etfo.org
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