The Council of Canadians BC-Yukon Stands in Solidarity with BC Teachers!
The Council of Canadians BC-Yukon supports BC teachers who are standing up to the Christy Clark government to protect quality education for students and fair working conditions for teachers.
The BCTF says they have 3 key goals in this round of negotiation: a fair wage increase, smaller classes sizes, and more support for students with special needs. The Council of Canadians calls on the BC government to listen to BC teachers who know what’s best for children. And we want what is best for our teachers. An investment in teachers is an investment in the future.
The strikes come in the wake of more than 13 years of under-funding by the BC government. Teachers in BC make far less than teachers in other provinces. For example, teachers in BC make 20,000$ less than teachers in Alberta. The student-teacher ratio here is among the worst in Canada. Classroom crowding is getting worse and worse. More than 16,000 BC classrooms have four or more children with special needs. Nearly a quarter of those have seven or more. The BC government funds education $1,000 less per student than the national average. That means BC kids are getting short-changed.
The BC supreme court ruled twice when the government stripped protections for class composition and class size saying these needed to be restored. We call on the BC government to respect the court ruling.
How can the BC government claim to put families first when its neglecting our children and teachers?
Teachers don’t want to be striking. They want to be doing what they do best – nourishing children’s minds and hearts. Instead they have been left with no choice but to take a stand and fight for a fair deal! We stand with BC teachers who are courageously standing up for quality education, our children and our futures.
The Council of Canadians calls on our members and activists in BC to support BC Teachers by:
– Joining BC Teachers on a picket line or at a rally in your community. Click here for more information and updates on the BC Teachers Strike!
– Sending a letter, email or make a phone call to your MLA demanding a fair deal for teachers! You can email your MLA by clicking here
Take Action: Stand in solidarity with BC Teachers and support them in calling for a Fair Deal!
