Oh, the spin.
The press releases from the provincial government are coming in fast and furious right now in advance of the provincial election.
Every penny they’ve ever handed out to anyone is getting a thorough review and press release as the Liberals try to show the voters how wonderful they’ve been before we all head to the polls in May.
And each press release from the government, of course, prompts an answering press release from the opposition parties, countering with why we should ignore all that stuff and focus over here on the gaps instead.
But most of all, tis the season of funding announcements.
It’s all to be expected, as it happens every time an election is pending. Nothing new here under the sun — or the snow, as the case may be.
But there’s one area that we find especially curious this time around.
Announcements for largesse to public education have been particularly thick on the ground the last few months.
And then came the news that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the province, deeming their stripping of class size and composition from teachers contracts back in 2002 illegal.
This was a long, expensive case that is a particular black eye to the present government because none other than now-Premier Christy Clark was Education Minister when the stripping was done. It went to the B.C. Supreme Court, then the Court of Appeal, and finally to Canada’s top court.
You can imagine what the legal bills have been; paid for by us, the taxpayers, of course.
You can also imagine the funding announcements this ruling has forced on the government, as they must now move to comply with the terms they stripped from the contracts in 2002, which means hiring a lot of teachers.
The funny thing is that you won’t find any acknowledgement of the fact that they’re being forced to spend this money against their will because they lost in court.
Oh no, in both written statements and remarks from Liberal candidates it’s all about how the Liberals are spending the cash because they care so very deeply and recognize the importance of public education.
Spin was to be expected, but this is a divorce from reality.
If they cared so much about public education the money and changes would have been forthcoming long before now. Sorry guys, try again. This isn’t one you can wear with pride.