The Silence of the Liberals: First letter to Jordan Sturdy, MLA

In May 2014, the struggle between the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and the Liberal government of British Columbia began to come to a head. On May 27, 2014, teachers began a series of rotating strikes; given the intransigence shown by the government, escalation seemed a certainty. I wrote the following note to the Member of the Legislative Assembly for my riding, Jordan Sturdy, on May 29.

I received no reply.

From: André Lambelet
Subject: Education in BC
Date: May 29, 2014 at 16:01:56 PDT
To: jordan.sturdy.mla@leg.bc.ca

Dear Mr. Sturdy:

I am writing because of the ongoing labor conflict with teachers. I am concerned that the provincial government has not done what it should to resolve the issues that have make the strike necessary — and, indeed, its decision to lock teachers out has significantly worsened an already bad situation. So far, the record of the Clark government on education has been poor, and its confrontational approach to the teachers’ union has simply made it more difficult to improve BC’s schools

Good schools are not just good for the children who attend them: they make the province a better place for all of us. They help create a skilled workforce; they enrich the cultural and artistic life of the province; and they make us competitive economically.

I would like to know what you, as a member of the Liberal Party, are doing to improve the situation. I am not interested in platitudes: I really would like to know what you will do to solve the immediate problem of the teachers’ strike, and what you think the province ought to do to improve public education in BC in the future.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

André Lambelet