The past three weeks have been incredibly challenging.
I have heard hundreds of stories about all aspects of the state of public education in our local school district.
Most recently, the message is crystal clear that families on the Saanich Peninsula are desperate. The cost of this languishing labour disruption on their budgets that are already stretched is overwhelming.
Parents face a dilemma. The reality of not having the financial resources to continue to pay for day camps or miss more work, is weighed against the understanding that a resolution without actually fixing the problem of wage disparity is also not good for their children. We need the provincial government to solve both the short and long term problems.
As we end the third week and look to the prospects of a fourth week, I must repeat and amplify the words of the emails, phone calls and personal conversations I have had. The Minister of Education must get our schools open. I stated this at the end of the first week in question period, I still believe this issue is his to solve. The provincial government must step in with a remedy.
“It’s tearing our community apart!”
There is tremendous tension in our communities right now. People have legitimate questions. Will the province support families financially like the BC Liberals did in the labour disruption five years ago? Why are families shouldering the financial burden and the province benefitting from the millions of dollars saved from the school closures?
“Of course the province has no urgency on this issue,” one parent said to me. “They are getting a whole bunch of money back into general revenue! They should be investing it back into the schools and providing my family some relief for the crippling cost of childcare.”
When we return to the legislature next week for the final two weeks of the fall session, I will be asking some of these questions on the record.
Between now and then, let’s hope the Minister of Education acknowledges the families on the Saanich Peninsula. I encourage him to use all the tools available to him to get our kids back in the classroom and solve the wage disparity in Saanich schools. Up until now, all we have heard from him are the crickets.
Image by Cole Stivers from Pixabay
The province has more time and money invested in
buildings ,infrastructure and destroying our coastal old growth forests than the investment in our children’s education.
I know you are doing all that is possible to get through a complicated process of our own making.
Bottom line Is money again .. who’s held hostage our Children who messed we did.
Please take this down. The wrong message was sent. Very happy it’s over.
My concern is that the Premier will simply use the “union busting” method of many of his predecessors. Beck to work legislation further erodes the possibility of reasonable negotiations