Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition from English language teachers who are highlighting the removal of the teach English as a second language accreditation requirement from its funding agreement with the federally funded language instruction for newcomers to Canada programs in Ontario in October 2013, which has resulted in some service providers hiring individuals who lack TESL training.
They note that current practices fail to deliver high-quality language instruction to newcomers participating in federally funded programs in Ontario and that they bring up significant language teaching inconsistencies and underestimate and underutilize the skills of the over 4,500 TSEL Ontario accredited teachers who care deeply about the high-quality language instruction they provide.
They ask that the government reinstate the funding agreement that requires federally funded programs to hire only TESL Ontario accredited teachers and to designate language instruction for newcomers to Canada instructors in a national occupational classification.