OCSTA Past President Patrick Daly new CCSTA VP

We are pleased to congratulate OCSTA Past President, Patrick Daly who was recently elected Vice President of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association (CCSTA) at the group’s 2019 Annual General Meeting and Conference in Canmore, Alberta.

We would also like to recognize the service of another OCSTA Past President, Marino Gazzola who is the outgoing CCSTA President.

OCSTA is grateful and appreciative of the commitment and service of the many Catholic trustees of Ontario who have answered the call to serve not only locally and provincially but also nationally for the benefit of Catholic students and families across this country.

Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019

On May 2, Bill 108 – More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 was introduced by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Hon. Steve Clark. The legislation includes amendments to Schedule 4 of the Education Act and focuses on the following financial matters:

• land expropriation, and
• Education Development Charges (EDCs).

OCSTA developed a submission to respond to the proposed legislation based on input and feedback from school board business officials and OCSTA senior staff. The submission brief was submitted to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy on May 31, 2019.

Autism Advisory Panel

On May 30, the Hon. Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services announced the creation of an Autism Advisory Panel. The 20-member panel will provide recommendations to the Minister in September and those recommendations will focus on the best way to incorporate consultation feedback into the Ontario Autism Program. OCSTA’s submission to those consultations can be read here.

The panel includes parents of children with autism, clinicians, autism self-advocates, service providers, former public servants ad others who have knowledge of and experience with autism. OCSTA was pleased to note that included on the panel is Anne O’Brien, Director of Education for the Durham Catholic DSB.

Ontario Campaign Success – Toonies for Tuition

At the beginning of this school year, OCSTA President Beverley Eckensweiler launched a challenge for Ontario to lead its most successful fundraising campaign ever for the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association’s (CCSTA) annual Toonies for Tuition initiative. This charitable initiative generates funds to assist students and families seeking a Catholic education in provinces where Catholic schools are not publicly funded.

At the recent CCSTA Annual General Meeting and Conference, Ontario was awarded the Provincial Trophy for the annual national Toonies Challenge in support of this important initiative.

OCSTA would like to recognize all of Ontario’s CDSBs who contributed to this worthwhile cause through the efforts of staff, students and trustees who participated in various fundraising activities throughout the year to help the province reach this goal.

Fall Regional Meetings

All boards are asked to participate in some advance preparation for the 2019 OCSTA Regional Meetings which begin on September 16 and continue through to October 4.

As in previous years, these meetings will include a discussion session where boards will be asked to discuss locally directed issues and questions in addition to a few provincially set questions. Those questions were included in a recent memo from OCSTA.

Regional Meeting Fall 2019 Schedule