B.C.’s Ministry of Education will see a $300-million budget increase in the next fiscal year as money floods back into a system that critics say has long been underfunded.
The province’s school system will receive an additional $740 million over the next three years, with a large chunk of that money earmarked to cover the costs of hiring new teachers after the province lost a Supreme Court of Canada decision on class size.
“All of a sudden the premier says she cares about education,” NDP finance critic Carole James said. “Well, she was forced by the Supreme Court of Canada to put money back into education so it’s simply not good enough. It doesn’t show a commitment at all.”
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The increased spending over the course of the three-year fiscal plan includes $320 million to cover the costs of ongoing negotiations with the teachers’ union after the province lost the Supreme Court decision on class size related to special-needs children.
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has estimated it will cost the government $250 million to $300 million a year to bring in the additional resources that will be needed after the court decision.
The province has already announced $50 million for school districts to hire hundreds of new teachers. The money is a first instalment as part of an agreement with teachers after the province’s decision in 2002 to chop contract provisions allowing teachers to bargain class sizes.
The government is also promising to increase spending by $45 million over the next three years to eliminate school bus fees.
“We’re 24 months away from the next round of bargaining … so there’s a lot of things we’re going to be able to figure out in the short term, sort of on a provisional basis and move on from there,” BCTF President Glen Hansman said.
Social services are also set to see an increase in funding following a series of high-profile failures.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development will receive an additional $287 million over three years, including $120 million to address recommendations in a report on indigenous child welfare, after the deaths of children in government care.
Finance Minister Mike de Jong said the province can afford to spend more. B.C.’s children’s watchdog Bernard Richard agrees.
“Many provinces would like to be in B.C.’s position so it’s really not acceptable to have kids in the kinds of situations that we see every day in our office,” he said.
Throwing money at the problem won’t solve the real issues, critics say, as case workers continue to face an unmanageable workload.
“What we’re not seeing is a real strategy to address retention in these sectors,” B.C. Government Employees Union president Stephanie Smith said. “It’s one thing to train and hire new staff to fill positions that are so desperately needed. We can’t keep them.”
– With files from Aaron McArthur and The Canadian Press
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