I have been reading that the B.C. government plans to reimburse parents of children ages five-11 $40 a day to offset daycare costs if the strike goes into September.
This is disgraceful conduct for any elected body. All government has a social responsibility to act in the best interest of the people they represent and giving parents money to cover daycare costs instead of providing education to our youth is a dereliction of duty by the government.
The provincial government must act now to end this by one of the following options:
• Get back to the table and negotiate a collective agreement with the assistance of a mediator or if this is not possible and the sides are too far apart.
• Introduce back-to-work legislation imposing a new collective agreement.
This approach may not be popular with politicians because it will put them at odds with the teachers and some voters but frankly, the government has a moral obligation to act on behalf of our youth and it’s the right thing to do in the circumstances.
John Alexander
Coombs