Garry Begg, MLA for Surrey-Guildford
Once again it’s that time of year when teachers and families across the province are gearing up for a new year of learning. Over half a million children and youth, like my grandkids Ryder and Jordan, will be returning to school. Parents will be onsite helping to quell nerves, pack lunches, and establish new routines and teachers have worked hard to set up welcoming classrooms to prepare students for another year of learning.
Our government has been working hard to ensure we’re taking the right steps to set our kids up for success. Within 12-months we’ve been able to accomplish a lot, but we know it’s going to take more time to repair 16-years of poor BC Liberal decisions.
Between chronically underfunding classrooms across the province, to a decade long legal battle with teachers, BC Liberal cutbacks to public education led our province from being the second best funded jurisdiction in the country to second worst.
Instead of providing the necessary support to teachers and students, the BC Liberals chose to close down over 250 schools across the province and in my community of Surrey, they increased the number of portables by almost 50%. Their actions of course had consequences: an entire generation of students was shortchanged on the quality of education that they deserved. It’s a testament to the hard work and creativity of our teachers that students have done as well as they did over the past 16 years.
But we can do better.
Since forming government New Democrats have stepped up to the plate to correct the systematic failures of the previous government.
We’ve funded a historic 3,700 new teachers and education assistant positions. We’ve also added more teacher training spaces to ensure that we have the necessary number of French, Indigenous and specialist instructors to help young learners across the province.
To support growing communities and ensure kids are safe in the event of an earthquake, we’ve invested the highest levels of capital funds in history – fast-tracking seismic upgrades and building new schools to ensure our kids will be safe in the event of a catastrophic earthquake.
And in my community of Surrey, we’ve already invested $147 million to create 2,510 new spaces and families can expect more to come. As the fastest growing municipality in the province, our government is committed to meeting the needs of learners in all corners of the city, including addressing the longstanding issue with portables.
Our commitment to public education over the course of our first year in government hasn’t gone unnoticed. Surrey Board of Education chair Laurie Larsen acknowledged the Province’s considerable investment over the past year in the fast growing district, and even BC Liberal MLA Stephanie Cadieux thanked our government for taking action in announcing new school construction projects in Surrey.
BCTF President Glen Hansman praised the government for increasing the province’s investment in public education, particularly for the investment in education specialists and Indigenous language revitalization to better support students.
Whereas the previous BC Liberal government was more concerned with photo ops with no follow-through, New Democrats remain committed to delivering the public education system students and their families across this province deserve.
Like all grandparents I want the best for my grandchildren and I want to know they’re getting the best start possible, which is why I’m proud to be part of a government working to turn the page on the BC Liberals’ war on public education. In collaboration with educators, parents, and school boards across the province, we’re working to maximize the power of public education for the benefit of all British Columbians.
MLA Garry Begg with his 2 grandchildren.
