The Hook: Political news, freshly caught
Vancouver School Board seeking PR professional
Two months after cutting their communications employees to save money, the Vancouver School Board has announced it's hiring for a new public relations position. Read more…
Should There Be More Regulations on Big Tech?
- Yes.
- No.
- I don’t know.
- Tell us more…
Are you watching the winter Olympics this year? Read the results of that poll here.
Parents' Voice their displeasure with Burnaby's anti-homophobia policy
A group of parents are accusing the Burnaby School Board of having a "hidden agenda" for proposing a district policy to prevent heterosexism and homophobia. Read more…
$8.1 million for education not new: Bacchus
The only surprise about Education Minister George Abbott's announcement of $8.1 million in holdback funding for the province's 60 school districts is that it's less money than trustees had expected. Read more…
Education Minister defends insurance premiums decision
Minister George Abbott says school district staff have known these changes were coming for at least a year, and it's no different than the liability insurance premiums they already pay. Read more…
Ministry unloads insurance premiums onto school districts
School districts were hit with more financial bad news on Friday when the provincial government laid the responsibility for paying property insurance premiums at their feet. Read more…
Clark says she's listening, but disappoints parents' group organizing debate
Premier Christy Clark said she wants to listen to the public, not politicians, during her run in the Vancouver-Point Grey by-election.
That approach is disappointing to Jane Webster, a parent advisory council member at a local school who is organizing an all-candidates meeting scheduled for this evening. Read more…
Carson likely to elude ethics punishment: Democracy Watch
Stephen Harper’s close advisor, convicted fraudster Bruce Carson, very likely committed ethics violations by having dealings with government less than a year after he left the PMO’s employ.
But don’t expect Carson to be found guilty, says Duff Conacher, Coordinator of the corruption monitor Democracy Watch. Read more…
Langley schools adopt 'varied calendar' to reduce costs
To reduce costs, Langley School board has voted to adopt a varied calendar for the 2011-2012 school year. This is part of a four-year plan to eliminate a $13.5 million deficit incurred between 2008 and 2010. Read more…
'Mob rule' breaks out on BC campuses
"Vote mobs" are erupting on campuses across Canada, including B.C. universities. They are already having an impact on the federal election campaign. Read more…
Lambert: Court decision 'restores our faith in democracy'
Susan Lambert, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, says today's Supreme Court decision "restores our faith in democracy," and she expects a prompt call from Premier Christy Clark with an offer to put things right. Read more…
BC Supreme Court upholds BCTF in major case
The B.C. Supreme Court today overturned the 2002 laws that stripped teachers of their right to bargain class size. Read more…
Pact saves term for strike-bound Vancouver Island University students
Anxious students attending Vancouver Island University have one day to relax before returning to class Tuesday for a sprint to complete their semester by the end of the month. Read more…
Vancouver School Board lays off communications department, six other employees
Faced with a budget shortfall of over $8 million, the Vancouver School Board issued eight lay off notices to District managers yesterday, warning more office positions could be next. Read more…
Ministry grants encourage rural schools to embrace 21st Century Learning
Ministry of Education awards $300,000 to UBC researchers to supply 15 rural school districts with grants supporting innovative 21st Century Education school projects. Read more…
Public Education Forum to address "crisis" in provincial system
A coalition of south Vancouver Island teachers, student union representatives, early childhood educators, and public employee unions are holding a public forum April 2 at the University of Vancouver to discuss what they call a "crisis" in British Columbia's public education system. Read more…
George Abbott addresses BCTF, asks for 'peace'
For the first time since 2001, a BC minister of education has attended the AGM of the provincial body that represents the province's teachers. On Tuesday morning, March 22, Minister George Abbott spoke to 700 delegates at the Victoria convention of the BC Federation of Teachers.
"I'm told that minister of education sightings are relatively rare at your gatherings, rather like a Sasquatch in Stanley Park," said Abbott. "We need to find a way to make peace." Read more…
- Education and
- BC Politics
Teachers' union prepares to fight wage freeze
By the end of June this year, when contracts for BC's 41,000 public school teachers expire, the province's educators are hoping to reverse two key policies of the Liberal government, its removal of class room size and class composition from collective bargaining and its insistence on "zero net" as its bargaining position on wages for civil servants. Read more…
Yamamoto as advanced ed minister gets praise from faculty
The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators has given cautious approval to the appointment of Naomi Yamamoto as Minister of Advanced Education in Premier Christy Clark's new cabinet. Read more…
- Education and
- BC Politics
Hundreds of Vancouver teachers receive possible layoff notices today
Two-hundred-and-eighty-two Vancouver teachers will be receiving some unwanted mail today: notices of possible layoffs at the end of this school year. But while it's raising some alarm, the Vancouver School Board says the number of layoffs will likely not be that high. Read more…
Surrey rally challenges Christy Clark to build more schools
Christy Clark says she’s for families. Now Surrey parents and students want her to prove it, demanding eight new schools be built immediately. Read more…
- Education and
- BC Politics
