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Letters: Government leaving kids out of negotiations with teachers

Dear Editor,

Have you noticed that the government’s reasons for not settling the teacher lockout/strike have nothing to do with kids.

They argue that they don’t want to raise taxes or share the surplus with the teachers, that they want to avoid further court actions, and that they want to get rid of past court rulings, they don’t want to set precedents that may affect other union bargaining.

As well, they can’t give the teachers “double” what others got (a myth).

And of course, they have to put the “greedy teachers” (another big myth) in their place.

And as for the facts that the government is putting forward, they are at best suspect.

But one fact is clear to me: they – Christy Clark, Peter Fassbender, Mike DeJong, et al – just don’t seem to care about the kids.  So much for “families first!”

The kids should definitely be in school now, and their parents are right in being concerned about their children’s education.

But if we are worried about our children’s education and future, then we should also have additional concerns about the society in which they will live. Will they live in a healthy and true democracy and a free and just society that is respectful of the law, all of its people?

Will they live in a society that really does care about its children?

Just what is this government’s real agenda? It’s not kids, that’s for sure.

Jack Williamson, Fort Langley