The Victoria chapter reports that last night, the Greater Victoria School District (SD61) unanimously passed a motion expressing strong concerns about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and Europe (CETA). The text of the motion (unofficial version) is as follows:
That the Board of Education of School District 61 (Greater Victoria) request Prime Minister Harper to change the terms of the draft Comprehensive Economic and Trade agreement (CETA) that will not protect the autonomy of SD#61. Further, this Board of Education requests that all school districts in BC be exempted (from CETA).
That this resolution be sent to the provincial and federal government ministers responsible for CETA negotiations, the BC School Trustees Association and any other relevant bodies for consideration and circulation.
The SD61 district passed the motion after a presentation by Victoria Chapter activists Bharat Chandramouli and Barbara Mitchell Pollock on how CETA would affect school boards and education autonomy in B.C., and how CETA would open the door for education privatization. We thank Trustee Bev Horsman for introducing and championing the motion and all other trustees for their strong expression of concern.
The Victoria school board joins Chilliwack, B.C. and the Hamilton Wentworth District School board in seeking an exemption from the Canada-EU trade deal. We have added it, and another municipal council motion from Waterloo, Ontario, to our interactive map: http://canadians.org/action/2011/CETA-resolution.html.
This post will be updated with links to the official SD61 meeting minutes as soon as available.
