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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - October 25, 2005
Sir,
Looked out the back window early this morning and saw a mess strewn over the hill in our back yard.
Thought it was another visit by the Bear family but was informed the garbage was left by BC Teachers Federation.
President Ms. Ginny Simms in hot pursuit of Premier Gordon Campbell.
God help Gordy if she puts the bite on him!
Regards,
Joe Schwarz, Princeton
Dear Editor;
I am increasingly concerned about the teachers, their union representatives, and their self-serving disrespect of students and their parents.
I am tired of being lied to, and blackmailed by people who are more than well paid, have amazing benefits and job security in a place where most are choosing or struggling with paying living expenses and feeding their children.
Who do these people think they are?
They say we have a budget surplus and that they should be able claim it for salaries and even better working conditions. I say we should be investing in affordable housing and helping low-income folk feed their families or at the very least give the money back to us it is our money.
They say they want smaller classes and better learning materials but when given money to do this they use it for personal benefit, training, and personal computers.
They say they are looking out for our children but rob them of their education and teach them to disobey and disrespect the law.
How can they even think about telling me it is all about the students and us when their strike is cheating low paid support and infrastructure workers of their right to earn a living? A living that barely pays the bills. Is their union going to cover the rent and food costs of these low paid workers?
The arrogance of these so-called academics who fail to recognize and address learning styles and needs of their students is unbelievable. Like it or lump it, most cannot afford to pay for a university education for our kids and the majority of kids would be better served learning skills for the real world.
Why are students forced onto classes designed for university entrance rather than towards the trades and job skills they will need in the real world?
They want more money so they pull out the need for better resources and smaller classes and try to snow us with rhetoric. If their intentions were even remotely true, one would think they would use their higher education to inform and educate the parents so we could take the information to our elected representatives for action. Instead, they steel from their students and blackmail the parents. They cause us to miss work or pay for childcare we cannot afford just so they can have more of our pie.
If they really want to know what we want and need, maybe they should be talking to us, quit lying, stop stealing from our kids, do not ever use blackmail tactics, and get their greedy butts back to work! If you do not like your job, Quit. Find a new line of work. You will certainly learn a different perspective and realize just how good you have it.
I encourage you Mr. Premier and the Courts of British Columbia to set these over indulged people right. Send the criminals to jail, take our tax dollars back from these greedy self-serving teachers, and hire people who are willing and able to provide ethical, honest, and usable skills and knowledge to the students.
Parents, stop sitting their taking this abuse from these spoiled brats. Teachers are stealing our tax dollars, robbing our children, and breaking the law. Protest their actions, tell them they do not have the right, and stand up for yourselves and your children.
Teachers, enough is enough! If you do not like where you work, if you think you can do better elsewhere than do it. Quit robbing us of our incomes and rights, quit robbing our students of their education and rights, quit disrespecting our society, laws, and people.
- B. L. Cole, Port Moody
The Editor;
I'm with those who want to support the pool borrowing referendum with a vision for overall recreation planning and programming.
Certainly, residents who support borrowing to build an indoor pool want our Recreation Commission to have a plan to successfully manage the pool through the future.
Those with experience in the ups and down of community rec know that the best recreation plans have broad appeal in all programs that draw in all ages to some or all of the playground, track, hiking trail, playing field, workshop, gymnasium, racquet court or swimming pool.
The proposed Keremeos indoor pool is a four lane main pool, a wading pool, a hot pool and a fitness room.
Consultants who presently do pool workups for the Town of Oliver did pool workups for the District of Houston, B.C. and suggested that Houston's four lane aquatic centre have a $467,000 a year operating cost with a $302,000 operating subsidy from taxation. Houston has a population of 3,500. A $270,000 a year operating subsidy from taxation is proposed here. If the actual operating cost is $450,000 then about $180,000 may need to be made up from the pool admission fees. We have a population of 5,000 to draw upon.
In the areas of Keremeos, Hedley, Olalla and Cawston we would require 36,000 swims a year at $5 admission to make up the operating costs.
That's seven or eight swims a year for each of us. Some will use the pool more than others; some not at all.
The goal would be to keep the pool open and busy and to get as many of us into the pool for as many reasons as the pool management team can come up with and widely promote.
A new indoor pool will need a knowledgeable, imaginative, resourceful and energetic pool management team with firm direction from our Recreation Commission. It could happen.
- Dave Cursons, Cawston
To The Editor:
When the Leader of a provincial government has lost the trust of a large portion of the population it can only lead to further severe turmoil down the road.
In BC it will not be a positive thing for our province for our Premier to stay in power.
We can no longer put up with growing crime rates, increased addictions, mentally challenged people with little help and bull headed labour laws that are passed on a whim.
We need a change...Thank you..
- Bob Ritchie,
Qualicum Beach
To The Editor;
Why are these facts always missing in the media reporting of the BC Teacher's Strike? Surely there is somebody in the media interested in the full truth rather than just reflecting political agendas?
The BC government is acting in contravention of international labor agreements that Canada is a signatory to. Teachers have mounted an 'illegal' strike in order to preserve their rights under International Law.
International Law must be unconditionally respected or you accept that the strong will control the weak and might will determine what is right.
The BC government has 9 rulings and directives against it from the ILO including one that ruled teachers are not 'essential service' and a directive to the government to repeal that designation and restore teacher's democratic rights to bargain and to strike. These rulings and directives are ignored by the Liberal government.
Punitive measures against the BCTF are based on the government's choice to ignore the ILO rulings.
The 'issue' of class size, salary etc are NOT why teachers are on strike. Those were only the issues that were to be discussed had there been bargaining. Teachers walked out because a contract was 'imposed.' A contract, by definition cannot be 'imposed.' Any government that abuses legislative power to make laws that violate worker's democratic rights in order to meet their party's goals and agendas is in the company of countries like Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, and Guatemala.
Mass, non-violent civil disobedience, has been a morally acceptable method of opposing unjust laws in many countries and throughout history. The public needs to understand that this fight is not just about teachers, it's about the preservation of the very fabric of a democratic society.
The outcome of this fight is the concern of ALL unions, and ALL workers.
Everyone has the right to know these facts as everyone will be affected by the outcome of this challenge to democracy in this country.
- Donna Rivet, Terrace
The Editor;
When Conservative Economist Clyde Prestowitz voiced his alarm at the degeneration of the American Education system relative to the reality in Communist China, it became clear that a fundamental rethink was in order - and make no mistake, Americanization of our System is Mike De Jong's objective.
The battle between the Teachers and the Provincial Government is but the tip of an iceberg representing the ongoing disintegration of Canada as a Nation.
There are those within our borders who have been instilled with such thorough contempt for our way of life that they are willing to adopt the American model. Most do so in ignorance, Gordon Campbell and his government as a matter of ideological extremism.
Unfortunately for Mr. Campbell, as with Stephen Harper, support for the current American administration has sunk to such a low point domestically that it is becoming difficult to project that power into Canada - put bluntly in the political sense, the Canadian voter is not buying American these days.
Gordon Campbell passed legislation placing himself and his government literally above the Laws of the Land at about the same time the Bush administration was at the apex of its domestic political power. With Bush now weakened, it is possible the same legislation Mr. Campbell thought would protect him in the process of destroying BC's Unions may well end up being the stuff in which his nose is rubbed.
Democracy requires Gordon Campbell to be subject to the same laws as Jinny Simms.
- Robert MacKay, Merritt
