The most encouraging news item for the March 23 COVID-19 update comes from Vancouver, where local residents have embraced a new tradition. At 7 PM every night, they step outside, on their balconies, patios, rooftops, or sidewalks to applaud the city health care workers who are fighting the COVID 19 virus. This idea is believed to have originated in Europe, where the inhabitants of cities like Rome, Madrid, Paris, Athens and Amsterdam devote at least a minute every night to such pubic expressions of gratitude.
Tag Archives: Schools
Cleaning Up The BC Liberal’s education Mess
By Roy L Hales
The BC Liberal government’s 14-year-long war with the BC Teacher’s Federation (BCTF) left the province’s education system in shambles. At least 267 schools closed down. Many were old and in need of repair; others had declining enrolment numbers. The equivalent of 3,500 full time teaching and support jobs were lost. One of the government’s fiercest critics was the current Minister of Education, NDP MLA Rob Fleming. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the BCTF’s favour in November 2016 and the task of cleaning up the BC Liberal’s education mess was left to the new NDP government.
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Christy’s Classroom
The ECOreport interviews organizer Renay Maurice about the protest against BC’s diminishing education system: Christy’s Classroom
Why is there so much conflict between BC’s Teachers and the provincial government? An Interview with Renay Maurice, who organized the protest known as “Christy’s Classroom” (named after Premier Christy Clark) on the front lawn of the provincial legislature.
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Fassbender rejected the BC teacher’s offer to go to binding arbitration
By Roy L Hales
In a press release issued Saturday, BC’s Minister of Education Peter Fassbender rejected the BC teacher’s offer to go to binding arbitration because “the BCTF made it clear that they would insist on several preconditions – preconditions that would effectively tilt the entire process in the BCTF favour.”
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