Following what they described as a tumultuous year, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation have elected Patrick Maze of Regina, as their new president.
The STF’s annual meeting of council led to the election where Maze was selected to lead the 13,000-member federation.
Colin Keess, the outgoing president, had announced earlier this year he was going to seek re-election for an unprecedented fourth term, after he was fully re-instated by an order of a Queens Bench judge earlier this month. Instead, Keess chose to withdraw from the race at the last minute, leaving the field open for a new president.
Keess had crossed swords with some members of the executive council and executive director Gwen Dueck in 2014 which led them to strip him of most of his authority and duties for about nine months. He sought legal recourse, which resulted in the QB order that stipulated the STF had over-stepped their boundaries.
The executive had said they no longer had confidence in Keess when they took their action, and accused him of breaching confidentiality by leaking information to a Saskatoon teacher during negotiations that ultimately led to a second failure to reach a contract agreement between the province and the STF members. Keess denied the charge. The stalled contract matter was eventually resolved with a mediation decision imposed on the membership without a third vote being taken.
Maze had bemoaned the lack of progress in key areas that included increased workloads for teachers, as one reason for his seeking the role.
STF vice-president Randy Cline, who assumed most of the duties generally performed by the president during Keess’s temporary banishment, was unsuccessful in his run for the top position in the federation.
“We have a very diverse membership, but we have to understand that many of the challenges are the same in every classroom. As an organization the STF has to reconnect with teachers and make sure their voice is heard and represented,” Maze said.
Maze has, most recently, served as president of the Regina Public School Teachers’ Association.
“It’s time to start a new chapter for the STF and we need to work at bringing the focus back to representing teachers, and I think I have a lot to offer,” Maze said, alluding to the work he has done with governance while serving as a board member at the University of Regina. He said the STF needed to strengthen their governance model.
