The British Columbia Teachers' Federation and a number of its locals annually present to the Select Standing Committee. They do so because they think it is important to inform the committee and the public about the difference between the education funding decisions made by government and the reality of the needs in the schools. In reading…

Students in British Columbia are being shortchanged in comparison to students elsewhere in Canada. The teachers of BC are urgently appealing to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to recommend to government sufficient increases in education funding to reverse this situation and provide more educational services to BC…

There has been little attention paid to the issue of Year-Round Schools (YRS) in British Columbia's public education system since 1996. The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) Research conducted extensive research into the issue of year-round schooling in the mid 1990s, when the growth in student enrolment was significant. At that time…

This paper is a letter of understanding between British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) in response to Employment Equity for Aboriginal Teachers. The parties recognize that Aboriginal teachers are under-represented in the public education system. The parties are committed to…

Collective bargaining has evolved as a recognized way of creating a system of fairness and equity in the workplace. Full free collective bargaining is the fruition of the evolution of labour management relations. It is the mechanism that balances the power of the employer and prevents injustice and exploitation. The Supreme Court of Canada has…

Public schools are places where all students are welcomed and supported in their learning. Making changes to the Graduation Program should reinforce and support students' opportunities to learn and grow. In reviewing the current graduation requirements for the province of British Columbia (BC), the British Columbia Teachers' Federation…

Each budget year, the Ministry of Education responds to concerns about chronic underfunding of public education by asserting that the ministry is providing its "highest funding ever" during a sustained period of declining student enrolment. This assertion of the "highest funding ever" continues in "Budget 2011," ignoring the evidence of a systemic…

This brief presents the views of the members of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation on the provincial government's budget to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. It is a crucial time for public education in British Columbia and they take very seriously the chance to provide information and their perspective on…

Each budget year the Ministry of Education responds to concerns about chronic underfunding of public education by asserting that the ministry is providing "more funding than ever" during a sustained period of declining student enrolment. While the nominal amount of education funding has increased, this increase has not been sufficient to fully…

In 2006, there were an estimated 181,000 low-income children in the province, with British Columbia (BC) reporting the highest before-tax child poverty rate (21.9%) in Canada (15.8%) for the fifth year in a row. This was the news in the "2008 Child Poverty Report Card" recently released by the First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.…

A fundamental goal of teachers in public schools in British Columbia (BC) is to ensure all students of every age, through the principle of continuous learning, have an equal opportunity to develop their full capacity for artistic, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth. BC public school teachers believe that the primary purpose of…

This paper reports that the Education Program funding for 2009-2010 in the September 2009 budget update is about $128 million less than the funding allocated in the February 2009 budget announcement. As public-school funding comprises 95% of all Education Program Funding, this will have a significant impact on public education budgets. Instead of…

A new report by the Centre for Civic Governance of the Columbia Institute sheds light on why districts are struggling to balance their budgets while the Minister of Education claims they received the "highest funding ever." The $122 million increase in the current 2008-09 operating grant fell $15 million short of the $137 million required to cover…