The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) is expected to propose a member fee increase of almost 20 per cent for each of the next three years. While details of the College’s proposed budget for 2018 are not yet available, it is believed that the chief rationale for the fee hike is the College’s desire to pay off the mortgage on its office building in Toronto’s Yorkville area. The 2018 budget will be debated and voted on at a meeting of OCT’s Governing Council on December 7–8, 2017.

OSSTF/FEESO has expressed concerns in the past about the ways in which the College spends the fees collected from Federation members and the members of other teacher affiliates. From lobbying the government to increase the scope of its mandate, to attending political fundraising events, and even hosting wine and cheese events and golf tournaments, the College has habitually engaged in activities well outside its original mandate as a regulatory body. OSSTF/FEESO will be watching closely to see how the College’s budget deliberations impact our members.