Governing Ourselves
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governing ourselves Governing Ourselves informs members of legal and regulatory matters affecting the profession. This section provides updates on licensing and qualifi cation requirements, notifi cation of Council resolutions and reports from various Council committees, including reports on accreditation and discipline matters. This edition also features instructions on voting and candidate information that will permit your informed participation in the upcoming Council election. VOTING BEGINS SEPTEMBER 5 Let your voice be heard! ELECTRONIC VOTING IN THE COUNCIL ELECTION Participating in your College elec- begins September 5, 2006 at 12:01 AM tion is good professional citizenship. and continues until October 24, 2006 Your College is facing a number of at midnight. decisions with far-reaching implica- As a member you may cast votes tions, such as for three to nine positions, depend- ® what qualifi cations teachers of the ing on your current employment. future will need in order to be certi- You can access your ballot through fi ed in Ontario your private account in the Members’ ® whether the College will accredit Area of the College web site. If you newly established teacher education haven’t yet opened your account you programs can do so by going to www.oct.ca A ® whether the College should pur- Members’ Area. chase its own building to reduce monthly occupancy costs. opportunity to consider and discuss It’s your College Who you vote for will determine issues with your colleagues that help Your vote is your voice in your profes- who makes these decisions. to identify and develop leaders in the sional licensing body. The electoral process gives you an teaching profession. ps WHO’S RUNNING? Get to know your candidates THE COLLEGE IS PROVIDING members with to this and what action the College provided by the College unless candi- a number of opportunities to get to needs to take to build greater public dates submit their text in both English know the candidates running for elec- respect for the teaching profession. and French. ps tion to Council and what their hopes And many candidates provided and plans are for their term of offi ce. short recorded statements telling you Many candidates have provided elec- why they would like you to vote for tronic leafl ets, which can be accessed them. These voice messages are also www.oct.ca through the Members’ Area of the available online. College web site at www.oct.ca. The Links to the questions and answers, A eVote 2006 leaflets submitted by candidates the leafl ets and the recorded messages explain why they are running and why are included with each candidate’s A candidates their colleagues should support them. biography and other election-related The College also invited candi- information. A Leaflet dates to respond to questions about These candidate messages are not A Audio statement their vision of the teaching profession, edited. Translations of the leafl et text how they see themselves contributing and of the questions and answers are A Q&As September 2006 | Professionally Speaking 79 governing ourselves ELECTION Q & AS Who, what, where, when, how Q: I think I may have been given Q: What happens to my ballot if I a ballot in another category. When the the wrong ballot. How can I get don’t select any of the candidates College verifies your eligibility we will the right one? for a position? issue a new electronic ballot and the A: Contact the College election infor- A: Your choice for that position will original ballot will be disabled. mation hotline at 416-961-8800 or be tagged “unmarked vote” and your toll-free in Ontario at 1-888-534-2222, ballot will be submitted showing the Q: I am a retired teacher and a ext 559 to reach our bilingual election rest of your choices. member of the College. Can I vote information staff and we will replace in the College Council elections? your ballot if it has not been cast. Q: I accidentally submitted my A: Yes. As long as you were a member ballot before I was finished voting. in good standing by August 25, 2006 Q: Can I move back and forth on Can I get another ballot? you are eligible to cast two votes for my ballot and change my choices? A: No. A ballot may be re-issued if the your regional candidates and one A: Yes, as long as you do not click on College issued it in error but only if vote for each of seven province-wide the Confirm button at the bottom of the original ballot has not been cast. system positions. the screen, which submits your bal- lot as final. Q: I am an elementary teacher in Q: How is information, including When you have finished marking the public system living in Ottawa. my ballot, kept confidential? your ballot you will be provided with Which Council positions am I A: The protection of confidential infor- a summary, showing your choice for eligible to vote for? mation is of paramount importance to each position. A: When you access the Members’ the College whenever the Members’ To make a change click Edit on the Area to vote you will automatically Area of the College web site is used. summary page beside the vote you receive a personalized electronic list- Information flowing to and from the want to change. This will take you ing of all positions you are eligible to Members’ Area is protected by the back to the appropriate screen. Or vote for. Full details on the electoral same 128-bit encryption used by banks you can click on Clear to start from categories and candidates are found for their online transactions. the beginning of the ballot. at www.oct.ca A eVote 20 06. Each member is required to authen- You are entitled to cast two votes ticate their identity to set up their Q: Is there a limit on how for your regional positions – one private account. The e-voting system much time I can spend reading full-time and one full-time/part- is designed to ensure that no one can candidate information and time – and one vote for each of the tell who you voted for – only whether deciding who to vote for? province-wide system positions, for you completed and submitted a ballot. A: For your security there is a 30-min- a total of nine votes. Overall system security and privacy ute time limit to complete your ballot. have been reviewed by the indepen- At the end of the 30 minutes your bal- Q: I am employed as a principal in dent audit firm of Deloitte Touche. lot will not expire but will time out. Windsor. Which Council positions After the time limit you can log in and can I vote for? Q: I have recently moved to begin the voting process again. The A: You can vote for three positions. another region. How will this ballot is only disabled once you click As a principal you are entitled to affect my vote? on Confirm to complete your vote. cast two votes for your regional posi- A: If you notify the College of your tions and one vote for the principal/ change of address online you will Q: Why does the ballot time out? vice-principal position. Full details have access to a new ballot that will A: To protect your privacy. If you were on the electoral categories and can- reflect your new electoral region. You in the process of voting and got called didates are found at www.oct.ca A will also continue to be eligible to cast away, this would prevent others from eVote 20 06. one vote for each of the province-wide accessing your ballot. system positions. Q: I recently assumed new Q: Why are some positions responsibilities as a supervisory Q: I became a member in good marked acclaimed? Why can’t I officer. What do I do if my standing after August 25, 2006. vote for them? electronic ballot no longer applies Can I vote? A: There was only one nominee for that to my current employment status? A: No. An individual who becomes a position, so that candidate is acclaimed A: You must provide to the College in member in good standing after Friday, and will take the position on Council. writing proof of your eligibility to cast August 25, 2006 will be added to the 80 Professionally Speaking | September 2006 governing ourselves ELECTION Q & AS CONTINUED College registry but will not be eli- the independent election auditor will letter, log on to your account in the gible to vote. complete a statement of the results Members’ Area and check the appro- accounting for all ballots received. priate box. Q: When will new Council The statement will be presented to members take office? College Registrar and Chief Electoral Q: Is there a helpline to get more A: Council members will take office Officer Doug Wilson who will for- information about voting? at the inaugural meeting of the fourth mally announce the new Council A: Yes. You can call the College Council on November 9, 2006. members on October 26. bilingual election information hot- The information will be posted line at 416-961-8800 (or toll-free Q: When will I know which to our web site at www.oct.ca and in Ontario at 1-888-534-2222), ext candidates were elected? sent out in our electronic newslet- 559. You can also reach our elec- A: Voting closes at midnight, October ter Your College and You. If you are tion information staff via e-mail at 24.