Vote for government trusted to put kids first — BCTF
By Nelson Daily Staff
The BC Teachers Federation is firing the first shot over the bow as the province nears the upcoming election with a new ad expected to hit the airwaves Monday.
The ad is the first part of the BCTF’s campaign leading up to the provincial election and the period when school district budgets will be set for the coming school year.
It can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube.
“On May 9, we’re asking British Columbians, especially teachers and parents, to vote for candidates who can be trusted to put BC kids and their education first,” said President Glen Hansman in a BCTF media release.
Hansman made the comments during his opening remarks to the BCTF’s 101st Annual General Meeting.
“For 15 years, our schools and our students have been short-changed by government underfunding,” Hansman said.
“An entire generation of BC kids lost out because of Christy Clark’s unconstitutional legislation that stripped teachers’ working conditions from our collective agreements.”
The BCTF began its AGM Monday at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Vancouver Saturday.
The BCTF said Premier Clark’s government fought teachers every step of the way adding the Liberals showed time and time again that they couldn’t be trusted to put kids and their education first.
The BCTF said it wasn’t until teachers won at the Supreme Court of Canada, and the government had nowhere else to go, that they backed off their attack on teachers’ rights and students’ learning conditions.”
The BCTF’s campaign launch also puts pressure on the BC Liberal government to follow through on its commitment to fully fund the costs of restoring teachers’ working conditions.
“After 15 years of waiting, BC students and teachers are finally on the verge of getting the smaller classes, better class composition, and more specialist teachers they need,” said Hansman.
“Teachers and parents must continue working together to make sure it happens.”
“The BC government promised it would cover the full costs of our court win and subsequent agreement on restoration from its $400 million contingency fund. School districts need certainty that funding is actually coming.
Parents and teachers must keep the pressure up to ensure this government, after 15 years of cuts and broken promises, finally funds BC public schools properly.”
