Dear Editor,
As a parent of young child in Langley School District, I am simply appalled by what has been going on in our government with respect to education.
I read Education Minister Peter Fassbender’s statement of appeal, and I must say I am disgusted. He is just spewing Christy Clark rhetoric.
I thought a change of education minister would improve the negotiations between teachers and government, but it obviously hasn’t.
I am amazed by the amount of money the government is willing to spend on lawyers’ fees in the courts, doing battle with the teachers, and how the government is not willing to negotiate in good faith with the teachers.
It is just part of Christy Clark’s agenda, and it is becoming perfectly clear that Mr. Fassbender is just her puppet willing to do her bidding.
How far is Mr. Fassbender willing to go in suppressing his moral conscience which is telling him that the government policies are unconstitutional and wrong? The Supreme Court of BC has twice stated that, yet his government continues to believe it is above the law.
So here we go again, wasting more tax money.
Mr. Faswsbender stated, “B.C.’s students are doing well because they have great teachers. Imagine how much better they could be doing if we were to achieve true collaboration at the bargaining table.â€
As a parent, I am ashamed with the way the government has treated teachers over the past 10-plus years. If that’s how they treat “great teachers,†I sure wouldn’t want to be just a good teacher.
As far as collaboration is concerned, the judge herself said there hasn’t been any. She also indicated that the government just passes whatever law it wants, including several bills that have been unconstitutional.
I don’t know what Mr. Fassbender means by “true collaboration†at the bargaining table, but I’d say teachers would settle for “fair bargaining.â€
S. Gerbrandt, Langley