Today, the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Education, issued the following statement:

"The Ministry of Education invited teachers' federations, education worker unions and trustees' associations to meet to begin discussing ways to improve teacher hiring practices, while also seeking feedback on class sizes in kindergarten to Grade 12.

We are modernizing the way we fund education in a responsible manner and we are eager to hear the innovative ideas of educators and sector partners.

This meeting is the launch of a consultation process with our partners in the education sector on the following topics:

- class sizes - reviewing the regulation that addresses class sizes, as a follow-up to the recent consultation on the Grants for Student Needs (GSN);
- teacher mobility - examining the mobility of occasional and permanent teachers or principals and vice principals;
- interviewing the most qualified candidates - reviewing the elements school boards should take into consideration when inviting candidates to interview for teaching positions; and
- basis for hiring - discussing which factors should be taken into account when school boards make hiring decisions, to ensure more transparent hiring practices.

In 2018, the Ministry of Education conducted a successful consultation on the 2019-2020 GSN to seek feedback from education partners on ways to improve efficiency and accountability in education funding.

Today, we continue this dialogue through a series of deeper discussions with our education labour partners.

We look forward to hearing feedback from our partners. We value their experience and perspective and we would like to offer them an opportunity to share this information to help us ensure greater financial responsibility in the education system while providing the best outcomes for students."

source: media release, Ministry of Education