Letters to Education Minister Peter Fassbender and Premier Christy Clark: Dear Peter Fassbender, I am a property owner and taxpayer in Vancouver. Although I do not have children, some of my tax money goes into public education. As I understand the current situation, Students want to be back at school, Parents want their kids back at school, Teachers want to be back at school, Businesses want kids back at school. It seems like the only people who do NOT want kids back at school is the BC Liberal Party. My questions for you: 1) Are you not responsible for Delivering Education to the youth of British Columbia? Isnt that why you were ENTRUSTED with the portfolio? 2) Are there not hundreds of thousands of children in this Province waiting for YOU to make good on a promise to deliver education? 3) What is your hidden agenda? Is your goal to do away with Public Education in favour of a Private Corporatized system? 4) Has the Ministry of Education portfolio expanded to include Bribes and Daycare? What are we getting from you, if not education? I have read and watched your interviews and press conferences. You have shifted blame squarely onto the shoulders of the BCTF, yet you deny any personal responsibility in the labour dispute. Did you not lock out the teachers in June? Is it not a fact that the BC Supreme Court has found this Liberal Government twice guilty of bargaining in bad faith? I deplore the tactics used by you and the Premier: You deliberately avoided negotiations in May, and then locked out the teachers in June. Then the government offered up a blatant BRIBE to BC parents: $40 per day per child to prolong the labour dispute. Then the government distorted the facts about the Unions demands. So far, all you have done is this: FAIL to deliver education FAIL to bargain fairly BRIBE the parents STARVE teachers and their children LIE about the Unions demands LIE about Classroom Composition and Class Size BLAME OTHERS when only your own stubbornness has stalled negotiations WASTE TAX DOLLARS on Deceptive Political Advertising COVER UP your Agenda to Privatize Education INCREASE TAX SUBSIDY to Private and Religious Schools REJECT binding arbitration that would put kids back in school FAIL to serve the needs of the people of British Columbia For someone who claims to be a Promise Keeper, you come across as dishonest, heartless, and egotistical. You must have a very distorted sense of Right and Wrong, to feel good about keeping children OUT of school. I expect Government in a democracy to be Transparent, Accountable, and Committed to Serving the Greater Good. But Christy Clarks regime has demonstrated the opposite: Deception, Absenteeism, and a thinly veiled Agenda to promote Corporate Interests and Welfare for the Wealthy. In light of your failures and deceptions, I demand your immediate resignation as Minister of Education. You have FAILED the People of British Columbia. Sincerely, Chris Robson Dear Premier Clark, I am a taxpayer and property owner in Vancouver. Although I do not have children, I see the value and importance of a well-educated public. It seems almost everybody in British Columbia is upset about the Education Crisis, because it affects almost everybody - that is, everybody but the ones with children in Private or Religious Schools. I am deeply disappointed by your Governments actions in recent months. There is absolutely nothing good that can come from our Youth being denied access to education. The only thing stopping our kids from getting back to school is the Government. Yet the official story coming from you and Peter Fassbender is that the Teachers do not want to negotiate. My first question for you is this: Who do you think youre fooling? Both you and Minister Fassbender claim to want to negotiate a settlement to the labour dispute. But you were both responsible for locking out the Union in the first place. You could have shown real leadership and initiated negotiations in May, or even earlier. It is obvious that your stalling was a tactic to pit the Parents against the Teachers. Anyone who was not clear on your agenda became enlightened when you had Finance Minister Mike DeJong offer up a blatant BRIBE to parents of $40 a day per child. This was not a move designed to facilitate or speed up negotiations, but rather an obvious ploy to starve out the BCTF. You campaigned on a families first platform, emphasizing jobs and economic growth. But BCs families have been the hardest hit by your schemes. If only half the Teachers have families, that is still 20,000 families now acutely suffering because of your arrogance and hidden agenda - in addition to the hundreds of thousands of families struggling to cope with their kids being denied school. More Questions that demand Answers: 1) Explain how 40,000 newly out of work people are supposed to benefit the economy? 2) If our Public Education System boasts superior results, then why do you want to wreck it? 3) If our Education is so good, then why do you choose to put your son in a Private School? 4) Do you think you know more about Education than teachers? 5) Why have you increased taxpayer subsidy for Private and Religious Schools? 6) Are you trying to woo more ethnic voters with this policy? 7) Are you attempting to privatize education? 8) Why are you spending my tax dollars on Political Advertising? Isnt that illegal? 9) Are you and Peter Fassbender above the law? 10) Do you want a multi-tiered system that segregates children based on their races, religions, and parents wealth? 11) Do you think the wealthy deserve to receive more government services and support than the poor? 12) Why have all your MLAs closed their offices? 13) Do you think you have a right to be unaccountable to your constituents? 14) Why have you waged a 12-year war on Public Education? 15) Why did you drop out of 3 different Universities? 16) Why is it so difficult for you to admit you are wrong? Your arrogance and deceptions are destructive. I demand Transparency, Accountability, and Responsibility from government. Your actions have been reckless and have exacerbated the problems, not solved them. I dont know anybody that voted for you. You failed to win in your home riding, and forced an elected MLA to step down to serve your own ego. Your absence during the Mount Polley mine tailings pond breach disaster reveals your unreadiness for office. The disaster is still a disaster - just like your handling of the Education Crisis. It is still a problem, and with you as Premier, the problem will not be solved. You are too stubborn to accept binding arbitration - and we all know that is only because you would be forced to accept the BC Supreme Courts guilty verdicts. You seem incapable of showing real leadership and serving the urgent needs of the People of British Columbia. You appear to have an agenda to break public services like Education and BC Ferries, to bust Unions like the BCTF, and to entice wealthy and corporate interests to abuse our democracy. You are unfit to carry the responsibilities of Premier of British Columbia. I demand your sincere apology to the Students, Parents, and Teachers of BC, for stalling negotiations, lying about the issues, and misusing tax money to distort, bribe, and subvert the process. I demand your immediate resignation. You have FAILED the people of this once-great Province. Sincerely, Chris Robson Christy Clark: [email protected] Peter Fassbender: [email protected]
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 19:45:16 +0000
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