The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is a union (not-for-profit) incorporated in Ontario that represents approximately 83,000 members, including public elementary teachers, occasional teachers, education support personnel, professional support personnel, and designated early childhood educators. ETFO provides protective and professional services for members and promotes equity and social justice within the education system and broader society.
This statement covers the financial year ended June 30, 2023, and is made out of an abundance of caution in support of the principles of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.
ETFO is opposed to all forms of forced labour, in both historic and current contexts. As a labour organization, our principles are strongly rooted in the safety, equity, and security of widely enforced labour laws. We are steadfast in our belief that labour laws need to be in place to support all workers and that children should be in school, not work. Ensuring children can feel safe, learn, and explore their imagination within their communities is not just a priority, it should be a minimum expectation for all children globally. We support policies that fully protect workers’ rights and make sure they are applied at work and in the community. These requirements, entrenched in our Policy and Position Statements, are outlined below:
3.1 That in the purchase of products, ETFO give priority to Canadian, union-made goods.
3.2 That when a Canadian, union-made product is unavailable, ETFO give priority to products that have had some part of their manufacture completed in a Canadian union shop.
3.3 That when a Canadian, union-made product is not feasible, ETFO locals give priority to purchasing products and gifts made by local artisans or available from organizations which contribute to the social welfare of the community.
3.4 That a list of vendors and/or suppliers of union-made goods be created and maintained by ETFO and made available to locals.
17.1 That ETFO use unionized facilities, where available, for provincially sponsored programs.
17.2 That ETFO locals give priority to the use of unionized facilities for local programs.
17.3 That when the use of a unionized facility is not feasible, ETFO locals give priority to the use of facilities that contribute to the social welfare of the community.
17.4 That ETFO encourage members to purchase goods from unionized retailers.
The Federation sells products through our retail store, shopETFO, and may distribute some of these items during member programs. As a small, primarily online operation, shopETFO has limited supply chains. Majority of the goods sold through shopETFO are Canadian and union-made. For all other products purchased by the Federation, ETFO staff are encouraged to shop locally rather than from large suppliers with complicated supply chains, and to be actively conscious of supply chain risk mitigation. Staff responsible for making contracting or purchasing decisions are made aware of ETFO’s position, supporting Canadian union-made goods, to eliminate the risk of using forced labour and child labour in supply chains.
Products such as fair-trade coffee are frequently bought for our office to reduce our contribution to unethical businesses. Supplies such as paper are sourced from large retailers who are environmentally friendly, and external printing, when required, is sourced from a local unionized printing shop to reduce both environmental footprint and human rights impact. With this approach, ETFO strives to carefully assess and manage the impact of forced labour and child labour risks across our supply chains.
We are committed to continuous improvement and recognize that we are on a journey to improve our forced labour risk identification and mitigation strategies. We will continue to engage our suppliers to ensure that they understand and undertake the required risk identification and mitigation activities within their businesses and supply chains to ensure human rights are protected. We will continue to invest in staff discussions to stay up to date on our ethical sourcing and human rights commitments.
In accordance with the requirements of the Act, and in particular Section 11 thereof, I attest that I have reviewed the information contained in the report for the entity listed above. Based on my knowledge, and having exercised reasonable diligence, I attest that the information in the report is true, accurate and complete in all material respects for the purposes of the Act, for the reporting year listed above.
I have the authority to bind Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.
Karen Brown
President, Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Share
