VANDER ZALM CONFRONTATION Back in our schools He's doing it again. Creating confrontation in our schools. A few years ago, as education minister, Bill Vander Zalm was a key architect of Bennett's restraint pro- gram. : He brought us bigger classes for your son and daughter. Fewer teachers. Ended consideration for “Teachers’ working conditions are kids’ learning conditions. You can’t interfere in one without affecting the other.” Mark Rose, MLA Coquitlam - Moody children with special needs — the children with handicaps or learning difficulties, and the exception- ally bright kids. Thanks to him, many of British Columbia's best, bright young teachers were forced to accept job offers from school boards in California. Today, after taking a break from politics to plant a Fantasy garden, Bill Vander Zalm is back. Again, he’s attacking our schools, our teachers, and as a direct consequence, our children’s ability to get a good education. His latest attack goes further than ever before. Bill 20, “The Teaching Profession Act”, proposes assembly-line education of British Columbia's chil- dren in schools that are managed like factories. It's embarrassing! The Canadian Federation of Teachers (CFT) is taking out ads in major newspapers across Canada, warning teachers that B.C. is an undesirable place to practise their profession. “Bill 20 is the most vicious, the most monstrous, the most insidious attack upon the teaching profession ever perpetrated in the history of education in this country,” says Frank Garrity, president of the CFT. Vander Zalm seems to have something against teachers and schools. One can only speculate as to what in his background causes him to hold this grudge. Clearly, he doesn't realize: Teachers’ working conditions are kids’ learning conditions. He can’t mess with one without hurting the other. Vander Zalm’s unilateral legislation is arbitrary, undemocratic and in many ways very unfair. There was no meaningful discussion or consultation with teachers and parents. A Royal Commission set up to look into educa- tional issues hasn't even been given a chance to make recommendations, or hear what the public has to say about education. Massive changes are simply imposed. This Vander Zalm “style” of government — quite different from the openness and consultation he promised British Columbia parents and students — guarantees more needless confrontation. He seems to enjoy it. But it’s the last thing your kids need when they're trying to get an education. “What we need right now is a period of peace and stability, when teachers can get on with the job of teaching, and students with the task of learning. This Bill has jeopardized that.” Barry Jones, MLA Burnaby North Bill 20 is a recipe for confrontation in our schools. Here are some of the ways Vander Zalm attacks teachers and the very structure of education. © Principals are turned into managers, rather than education leaders. Schools will be run like factories. e Principals and vice-principals could be fired at any time, with or without cause, with no appeal. This amounts to a gag order. Principals will be reluctant to talk about problems in their schools, because the school board might take offense. e A teacher can be fired with 30 days notice if a school board thinks the teacher — for any reason whatever — is “unsuitable”. Teachers will be afraid to speak out about problems in their classes because they can be fired without due process. e A new College of Teachers is another device to control and regulate teachers. Just three members of “This bill reduces the independence and responsibility of every teacher in B.C. It destroys professionalism in the classroom and replaces it with bad labour relations. Darlene Marzari, MLA Vancouver - Point Grey the 20 member college board will be able to suspend a teacher, without a hearing. The college of teachers is an idea that has been rejected by every other province. © The B.C. Teachers Federation (BCTF), the pro- fessional organization formed by teachers in 1919, is directly attacked by taking away professional func- tions, and by taking away the right of principals and vice-principals to be BCTF members. Most British Columbians a WORKING MEN AND WOMEN PAY MORE The average B.C. family will pay an extra $566 in taxes each year, thanks to the Vander Zalm government. New Democrat finance spokesperson Dave Stupich says the Vander Zalm budget “picks the pockets of low and middle income people.” ‘ tir aN Provincial income taxes have been increased from 44 percent to 51.5 percent of the basic federal tax. User fees have been imposed for visits to chiroprac- tors, physiotherapists and other health professionals. And health care premiums have been increased by 10 percent. THE SUPER RICH PAY LESS One privileged group comes out ahead with Bill Vander Zalm. The super rich will pay a smaller share towards government services. While work- ing people pay higher taxes, those who earn $180,000 year, will pay $50 less, according to a report from the large Clarkson Gordon accounting firm, And the more you make, the more you save. Before Vander Zalm, millionaires and the very _ wealthy — those in the very highest tax bracket — enjoyed the third lowest marginal tax rate in the _ country. Vander Zalm acted immediately, in his first budget, to reduce it to second lowest. Vander Zalm is doing nothing to create jobs, nor to the creation of jobs. re The provincial budget — which is the government's blueprint for economic action — has no provision whatever for job creation. The Vander Zalm budget actually predicts that unemployment will continue to increase over the next year, but it does nothing to reverse that trend. The government has not even allocated the $350 million collected through the softwood lumber export tax to reforestation programs that would provide jobs in the future. STUDENTS SHORTCHANGED Students in public schools, colleges and universi- ties have been shortchanged again. Small increases this year do not even begin to make up for the years of cuts. But private schools win big, with a 42 percent funding increase. New Democrat education critic Barry Jones says for every dollar per student increase to public schools, Vander Zalm has budgeted a five dollar increase to private schools. “This is the sixth year in a row the public school system has been short-changed. We've had five years of service cuts, and this year we get a further shortfall in funding,” Jones said. SMALL BUSINESSES The Vander Zalm government has increased taxes on small businesses by more than one-third. “Hoodwinked, insulted and hammered,” is how Oksana Exell, provincial affairs director for the Cana- dian Federation of Independent Business, reacted to the first Vander Zalm budget. ATTACK ON SENIORS Seniors have been hit with new user fees, new charges for drugs, and higher property taxes. It’s estimated that single seniors who own a home will pay an extra $584 a year as a result of Vander Zalm tax and fee increases. Homeowner couples over 65 will pay an extra $1,069. Starting in July, persons using “supplementary” medical services like physiotherapy or chiropractic treatments will have to pay $5.00 per visit. “It will really hit the older population. The ones living on old age pension just can’t afford it, no ifs, ands or buts,” says Victoria physiotherapist Anne Appleton. 2 paying more oh a Seniors must also pay about $5.00 for every pre- scription. Previously seniors’ prescription drugs were free. “It's a slap in the face to those who built this province,” says New Democrat seniors critic Anita Hagen. “Senior citizens are the last group in our society who can afford these kinds of charges,” Hagen said, calling on the government to immediately rescind the fees. “These fees hurt the people who are in the greatest need.” Seniors have also been hit with a greatly increased minimum property tax. Previously, after the home- owner grants, seniors were required to pay $1. Vander Zalm has increased that to a minimum of $100. ELUSIVE DREAM Young people have received another kick in the teeth from Bill Vander Zalm. A new tax on homes makes it even harder for British Columbians to realize the dream of owning a home, and it’s particularly tough for young couples who are saving for a down payment on their first home. The tax is one percent on properties valued at less than $200,000, and two percent after that. For people already stretched to their financial limit, preparing to make the largest purchase of their lives, the Vander Zalm home tax really hurts. On a moderately priced home in the Lower Main- land, the tax amounts to more than $1,000. Lumber Worker/ July, 1987/5