Board Meeting Highlights — January 2023

The Board of Directors and Executive host board meetings three times a year to review past and upcoming events, provincial reports and any other business related to CCSTA and Catholic education in Canada. This is January’s highlights.

Justice James Higgins Award

The Board is pleased to announce that Albert Provost, from Saskatchewan, is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Justice James Higgins Award.  The award is given annually to an individual or group who have made an outstanding contribution to Catholic education in Canada.

Mr. Provost will be recognized at CCSTA’s 2023 AGM on Friday, June 2.  Further details on his achievements will appear in a subsequent CCSTA newsletter and in the 2023 AGM/Convention program.

“Rooted in Faith: Catholic Education in Action”

2023 AGM & Convention

Registration for the 2023 CCSTA AGM and Convention will be opening soon.  The event is taking place from June 1-3 in Saskatoon.

CCSTA is accepting applications to host the 2024 AGM/Convention.  Please contact the CCSTA office for more information.

Government Relations

This year’s Lobby Day, held on January 31st marked the first event on Parliament Hill for CCSTA after refraining from holding in-person events in during the pandemic. The Board of Directors were delighted to be back on the Hill to pursue dialogue and inform 14 Ministers and MPPs from constituencies across the country about the about the value of Catholic education and the impact it has on the fabric of Canadian society. The Directors also welcomed the opportunity to watch the live proceedings during Question Period in the House of Commons.

Members of our CCSTA Board of Directors were honoured to meet last week with several Members of Parliament in Ottawa to share more about our organization and further advance the mission of Catholic education in Canada.

Communications

The Communications Officer shared the Communications Goals for the upcoming year:

1. To share Good News Stories about how Catholic Education is impacting the lives of Canadians.

2. To provide AGM coverage and Registration encouragement

3. To continue to foster connections and strengthen engagement with individual school boards/schools/associations to learn more about the good work happening “on the ground” in Canada’s Catholic schools.

4. To continue to utilize social media to support CCSTA’s 2023 goals

Budget 2024

The Board approved a proposed budget for 2024, based on a 2% membership fee increase.  The budget proposal will be presented to the membership for approval at the 2023 AGM in Saskatoon.

Audited Financial Statements

The auditor’s report and financial statements were received by the board for review at the AGM.

In 2022, CCSTA incurred a deficit of $13,711, largely due to increase in costs related to Communications.

New Board Member

CCSTA would like to welcome its newest Director, Jerome Niezgoda (Saskatchewan). We are grateful to have Jerome step forward to serve in the mission of Catholic education at the national level.