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Letter: Corporations trump education through government rebates

Dear Editor,

There’s nothing in the Charter of Rights or gas company contracts that says our BC Liberals had to refund gas companies $116 million last year.

A total of approximately $840 million has been refunded since 2004.

The Infrastructure Royalty Credits Program refunds up to half the cost of access roads and pipelines construction out of gas company royalty payments. The gas royalty pay-back decision to fund the private gas sector has been made annually each year, coming up 10 years now.

The Charter does guarantee that governments bargain in good faith with public employees.

With just this one example of government’s budget priorities ($840 million in gas royalty revenue kicked back to gas companies), I cannot accept Education Minister Peter Fassbender’s budgetary reasons for violating the

Charter to justify payments to corporations and launching his appeal of Judge Susan Griffin’s latest definitive decision.

To be completely fair to newly elected Minister Fassbender, he’s inherited his education budget problem from Minister Rich Coleman, Premier Christy Clark, and other BC Liberal caucus members who supported tearing up a valid, signed and sealed contract, a terrible example set by those who feel they hold the power.

Larri Woodrow, Walnut Grove