After a long, faithful, and dedicated career as a passionate defender of Catholic Education, Bonaventure Fagan is finally stepping down from his role at the CCSTA. His tireless advocacy, humble attitude, and respectful nature helped make him an extremely effective and inspiring leader in the Catholic Education community.

In 2015, Mr. Fagan was selected to receive the Justice James Higgins Award — the highest honour the CCSTA bestows. He truly dedicated his life to Catholic Education, beginning his career as a teacher in Newfoundland & Labrador before moving into administration, leadership, and advocacy roles.

“Catholic Education provides students with a moral guide, establishing a proper relationship between us as people and the God who created us,” says Mr. Fagan. “So many people today just keep God out of our lives directly — it’s the privatization of our relationship with God. And Catholic education says, no, that’s not right. There is a God, He's a loving God, and he requires us to be active, and active collectively.”

Among his myriad of contributions and accomplishments, Mr. Fagan is perhaps best known as a high-profile supporter of Catholic Education in Newfoundland throughout the 1990s, when the government began a movement to take away the constitutionally protected right to Catholic Education. As Executive Officer of the Catholic Education Council of Newfoundland, he challenged the government for the retention of denominational education in the province and worked tirelessly and effectively to put forth clear defence arguments.

Read more: Bonaventure Fagan Stepping Down From Role at CCSTA

With the Federal Election quickly approaching, elected officials will be our voice on key issues. Here are some important questions to ask candidates to understand their stance on issues that affect Catholic education in Canada.

• Education: With news recently that schools in Ontario are poised to strike, how will your party work with provincial governments to ensure a vibrant school system?

• Post-Secondary: Tuition is on the rise and it seems like more students are struggling to get by.  How will you support our high school students looking to further their education at a post-secondary institution?

• Environment: The faith community also cares deeply about how we steward the environment.  What are your respective parties committing to, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our planet?

Read more: 6 Essential Questions for Election Candidates

 The CCSTA would like to officially welcome and introduce our new President Paula Scott and our new Vice President Patrick Daly. They took office in June 2019 at the CCSTA’s Annual General Meeting.

President Scott was a teacher for many years before becoming a trustee in Saskatchewan — the province that created the Toonies for Tuition Trophy Challenge, and was the winner every year up until 2018.

“Being from a province with funded Catholic education, I understand the gift of educating our students in faith,” she says. “Toonies for Tuition gives students that gift in provinces where they wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise. It gives hope to families, which is so important to all of us as Catholics.”

President Scott has always been a staunch defender of Catholic education in Canada and believes that having a national voice is very important.

Read more: CCSTA Welcomes New President & Vice President