Minutes of Council Meetings

Minutes of the Special Meeting of Council of the Ontario College of Teachers held via teleconference on April 29, 2013 in Council Chamber A, 15th Floor, 101 Bloor Street West, Toronto

1. Call to Order/Welcome

2. Agenda

3. Conflict of Interest

4. Business

5. Adjournment

Present in Person: Stephanie Achkewich, OCT, Irene Dembek, OCT, Monica Ferenczy, OCT, Robert Gagné, Myreille Loubert, OCT, Liz Papadopoulos, OCT, (Chair), Louis Sloan, OCT, Michael Salvatori, OCT (Registrar)

Present via
Teleconference:  Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT, Ahmed Bouragba, OCT, Maria Bouwmeester, OCT, Shabnum Budhwani, Marie-Louise Chartrand, Monique Châteauvert, Angela De Palma, Gale Dores, OCT, Dobi-Dawn Frenette, Clyde Glasgow, Jacqueline Gray, OCT, Mel Greif, Allyn Janicki, OCT, Matthew Kavanagh, OCT, Bill Kirkwood, Shanlee Linton, OCT, Mary Lou Mackie, OCT, Terry Price, OCT, Pauline Smart, John Tucker (from 4:18 p.m.), Demetri Vacratsis, OCT

Regrets: Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT, Christine Bellini, OCT, Marc Dubois, OCT, (Vice-Chair), Vicki Shannon, OCT, Kara Smith, OCT, Wes Vickers, OCT

Staff: Tan Crombie, Myrtle Herzenberg, Richard Lewko, Charlie Morrison

Call to Order/Welcome

The Chair, Liz Papadopoulos, called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and spoke to the teleconference procedures for the meeting. 

The Registrar took a roll call vote to establish attendance.

2. Agenda (GC20130429-35)

It was moved by Robert Gagné, seconded by Terry Price, and
CARRIED,

That the Agenda for the April 29, 2013 Special Meeting of Council be approved.

3. Conflict of Interest

No conflicts were declared.

4. Business

4.1 Communication Strategy – Council Confirmation of Guiding Principles (GC20130429-36)

The report prepared by Scott Ferguson, of Progress Consulting, Raising Public Awareness, Ontario College of Teachers, Results of Council Planning Workshop, was received.  The Registrar spoke to the report and noted that the purpose of this special meeting of Council was to confirm the guiding principles that Council members had developed at their April 4, 2013 facilitated workshop session to guide the development and implementation of a communication strategy to raise public awareness of the College.

It was moved by Monica Ferenczy, seconded by Jean-Luc Bernard, and
CARRIED,

That Council approve that the College’s Communication Strategy to promote public awareness shall be guided by the following definition of “success”:

To significantly increase:

1. the public’s and members’ awareness of the College
2. the public’s and members’ understanding of the College’s mandate and work
3. the public’s and members’ respect of the College’s mandate and work
4. the public’s and members’ understanding of how best to interact with the College relative to other organizations that are key players in Ontario education
5. the public’s and members’ confidence in the College.

Roll Call Vote:

It was moved by Bill Kirkwood, seconded by Jacqueline Gray, “That Council approve that the College’s Communication Strategy to promote public awareness should be developed and carried out according to the following guiding principles:
It should:

1. be consistent with the College objects and the College’s duty to serve and protect the public interest
2. reflect the ethical standards of the teaching profession to which all Ontario Certified Teachers aspire – care, trust, respect and integrity
3. be designed for lasting impact on public awareness levels and sustainable over a multi-year period
4. provide adequate messaging in both English and French
5. be appropriately sensitive to Ontario’s diverse population including different generations and cultures
6. provide adequate geographic coverage of Ontario
7. take due care to prevent controversy or misunderstandings that undermine public confidence in the College and the teaching profession
8. be efficient, timely and meet its budgets
9. be regularly and objectively assessed to measure the strategy’s impact and success
10. be the subject of progress reports by the Registrar to Council at each Council meeting.”

It was moved by Maria Bouwmeester, seconded by Angela De Palma, and
         CARRIED,

That Council approve that the above motion be amended by the deletion of the words “including different generations and cultures” from point 5 above, to read:

That Council approve that the College’s Communication Strategy to promote public awareness should be developed and carried out according to the following guiding principles:

It should:

1. be consistent with the College objects and the College’s duty to serve and protect the public interest
2. reflect the ethical standards of the teaching profession to which all Ontario Certified Teachers aspire – care, trust, respect and integrity
3. be designed for lasting impact on public awareness levels and sustainable over a multi-year period
4. provide adequate messaging in both English and French
5. be appropriately sensitive to Ontario’s diverse population
6. provide adequate geographic coverage of Ontario
7. take due care to prevent controversy or misunderstandings that undermine public confidence in the College and the teaching profession
8. be efficient, timely and meet its budgets
9. be regularly and objectively assessed to measure the strategy’s impact and success
10. be the subject of progress reports by the Registrar to Council at each Council meeting.

Roll Call Vote:

A vote was taken on the main motion, as amended, and it was
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED,

That Council approve that the College’s Communication Strategy to promote public awareness should be developed and carried out according to the following guiding principles:

It should:

1. be consistent with the College objects and the College’s duty to serve and protect the public interest
2. reflect the ethical standards of the teaching profession to which all Ontario Certified Teachers aspire – care, trust, respect and integrity
3. be designed for lasting impact on public awareness levels and sustainable over a multi-year period
4. provide adequate messaging in both English and French
5. be appropriately sensitive to Ontario’s diverse population
6. provide adequate geographic coverage of Ontario
7. take due care to prevent controversy or misunderstandings that undermine public confidence in the College and the teaching profession
8. be efficient, timely and meet its budgets
9. be regularly and objectively assessed to measure the strategy’s impact and success
10. be the subject of progress reports by the Registrar to Council at each Council meeting.

Roll Call Vote:

It is to be noted that the deletion of the words” including different generations and cultures” from point 5, of the guiding principles, was made to ensure that the principle was as inclusive as possible.

5. Adjournment

It was agreed that Council members would claim up to one half day for preparation time.
The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.