ANNUAL COUNCIL WORKBOOK 2021 Delegate Name: th Representing: annual April 30 to May 2nd, 2021 council OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT DR. TOM PARKER BUILDING April 30, 2021 Dear Sibling, Pjila’si, bienvenue and welcome to the 100th Annual Council of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. All of us continue to adjust and adapt to the complications the COVID-19 pandemic has created in our lives. For us as NSTU members, this includes planning for and participating in our first ever comprehensive Annual Council to be held virtually. Despite a virtual format for participation rather than the in-person experience so many of us have come to cherish, many things about Council 2021 remain constant. 249 voting delegates, made up of members from every Local and Professional Association in Nova Scotia, remain the supreme governing body for the entire Union. We will debate and determine the disposition of 113 resolutions, elect a First Vice President, debate and approve a budget for 2021- 2021 and elect members to committees essential to Council’s operation. There’s no question that your vote matters. Our work in approving a budget is vital. It will steer the course 9300 members will follow until Annual Council 2022. Our hybrid pre-voting/live debate format for resolutions coupled with your decisions regarding the 2021 budget will provide the Provincial Executive with direction needed to govern throughout the year until Council meets again- hopefully in person in 2022! Just as the pandemic has required us all to pivot in our classrooms and schools, adapting and approaching things we have done for many years in new or altered ways, this year’s fully virtual format is not what we would choose. Nonetheless, I thank you for your willingness to make a shift to ensure we can carry out the essential business of our Union. I’m grateful that your participation also helps the NSTU comply with public health directives as part of keeping each other and our province safe from COVID-19. I salute you for your commitment to excellence not only in your classroom, but in our Union. Your voice, engagement and vote are vital components of the strength and solidarity we need to ensure the NSTU remains a powerful force for teachers and public education. All my best as you engage in Council 2021 in support of all members during these times of upheaval and challenge. We make the way forward by working together! In solidarity, Paul Wozney, President Nova Scotia Teachers Union 3106 JOSEPH HOWE DRIVE, HALIFAX, NS B3L 4L7 LOCAL TELEPHONE: (902) 477-5621 1-800-565-6788 FAX: (902) 477-3517 [email protected] WWW.NSTU.CA ii Nova Scotia Teachers Union | Annual Council 2021 ANNUAL COUNCIL 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS Greetings from Paul Wozney, NSTU President OVERVIEW REPORTS Draft Agenda.................................................................... 2 NSTU Annual Report of Activities................................. 87 Biographies of Speakers at the Annual Council 2021 ........ 4 NSTU Group Insurance Trustees Report ...................... 113 Opening Remarks at Annual Council 2021 ...................... 6 NSTU Shaping Our Future Report in Answer to Draft List of 2021 Council Participants .......................... 10 Resolution 2018-7 and Resolution 2019-74 (Appendix B) ......................................................... 141 Summary of 2021 Council Elections .............................. 13 Delegate Information for Virtual Annual Council 2021 . 15 INANCIAL NFORMATION Rules of Parliamentary Procedure ................................... 18 2021 F I MINUTES Draft Minutes of Annual Council 2020 ......................... 21 RESOLUTIONS 2021 Resolutions NSTU Governance ........................................................ 23 Costed ............................................................................ 37 Economic Welfare and Working Conditions .................. 43 Curriculum .................................................................... 59 Government ................................................................... 61 Professional Development .............................................. 72 General .......................................................................... 76 Annual Council 2021 | Nova Scotia Teachers Union iii Overview WELCOMETo the 100th Annual Council of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union Annual Council 2021 | Nova Scotia Teachers Union 1 Overview NOVA SCOTIA TEACHERS UNION 100th Annual Council – April 30 – May 2, 2021 FRIDAY, APRIL 30 6:30 p.m. OPENING SESSION General Session - Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory - Call to Order - National Anthems - Remembrance - Introduction of the 2021 Council Chairperson Business Session - Adoption of the Agenda - Adoption of the 2020 Virtual Annual Council Minutes – October 3, 2020 - Presentation of the 100th Annual Council Anniversary Video - Reports to Council 2021 - Question Period on Reports - Report from the Annual Council Elections Committee and final call for nominations for CTF Delegate and Committees (Discipline, Professional, and Resolutions) - NSTU First Vice-Presidential Candidates Q & A (30-minute Q/A session, candidates’ presentations prerecorded and posted to website pre-Council) At Close of Business Session Final Call for Nominations – Report from the Annual Council Elections Committee and final call for nominations for CTF Delegate and Committees (Discipline, Professional, and Resolutions) Deadline (submission, in writing to NSTU Central Office, of proposed amendments to 2021 Resolutions being debated at Council, moved and seconded by Voting Delegates) SATURDAY, MAY 1 SESSION I – MORNING SESSION (Elections to be conducted from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. via email ballots, an accurate email address upon registration is required to ensure Voting Delegates receive appropriate ballots) 8:30 a.m. Housekeeping Announcements TIMED ITEM 8:35 a.m. Presentation of the Audited Financial Statement/ Statement of Closed Session Financial Condition, Budget year ending July 31, 2020 (followed by Q & A) 8:50 a.m. Presentation of Proposed Budget for 2021-2022 (followed by Q & A) Closed Session Processing of 2021 Costed Resolutions 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Break (15 minutes) 10:45 a.m. Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break 2 Nova Scotia Teachers Union | Annual Council 2021 Overview SESSION II – AFTERNOON SESSION 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Break (15 minutes) Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Break (15 minutes) Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 4:50 p.m. Announcement of Election results 5:00 p.m. Deadline (submission, in writing to NSTU Central Office, of proposed amendments to 2021 – 2022 Budget, moved and seconded by Voting Delegates) Deadline (submission, in writing to NSTU Central Office, of New Business Resolutions, signed by Local President or NSTU President) 5:00 p.m. Recess for the day SUNDAY, MAY 2 SESSION III – MORNING SESSION 9:00 a.m. Debate on proposed amendments to Closed session 2021-2022 Budget (if required) 9:00 a.m. Discussion and Adoption of the Budget Closed Session August 1, 2021 – July 31, 2022 Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Break (15 minutes) Processing of 2021 Resolutions resumes 11:30 a.m. New Business Resolutions (New business will only be allowed if truly new business and cannot be accomplished by the Provincial Executive post-Council) Closing Remarks 12:00 p.m. Adjournment Annual Council 2021 | Nova Scotia Teachers Union 3 Overview Biographies of Speakers & Guests at the Annual Council 2021 Paul Wozney, NSTU President Steve Brooks, Paul Wozney was re-elected as 45th president of the Nova NSTU Executive Director Scotia Teachers Union on October 28, 2020. He is the eighth NSTU’s executive director, Steve Brooks, began his term NSTU president to be elected by universal suffrage. Prior to on January 14, 2021. From Newfoundland and Labrador, beginning his term as NSTU president, he taught at Charles Steve most recently served as the executive director of the P. Allen High School in Bedford and represented the Halifax Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association (NLTA). County Local on the NSTU provincial executive. He began his career at the NLTA as Administrative Officer Paul began his teaching career in Montreal, returning to Nova in Programs and Services before being appointed Assistant Scotia in 2002 to work as a substitute teacher before earning Executive Director, and then Executive Director in 2016. his permanent status. He has worked at elementary, junior A former district leader, school administrator and teacher, and senior high levels and served as a mentor/support teacher Brooks holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum and within the Halifax Regional Centre of Education. Instruction from Memorial University as well as a Bachelor He has a BA in English Literature (Dalhousie), a BEd in of Education (High School Social Studies and Religious Secondary: Language Arts/ESL (McGill), an MEd in Studies), and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science). He also has Curriculum Studies/Technology Integration (Mount Saint a Certificate in Industrial Relations from Queens University Vincent) and a Certificate in Media Production (John Paul and has completed numerous training programs including II Media Institute). Paul is the first non-practitioner of law Labour Relations Foundations, Negotiation Skills, and Dispute to be admitted to Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Resolution. Law to pursue an LLM; his graduate thesis aims to explore