"The BC Conservative Party has released an education platform that shows a deep misunderstanding of public schools and what students in them need. Each promise represents a leap backward for BC families at a time when we need smart and strategic investment in students and schools—not cuts, privatization, and partisan political interference. 

John Rustad and his Conservative Party’s platform will strip funding and resources from public schools to subsidize elite private schools. It also includes promises to eliminate SOGI 123, an evidence-supported resource that is proven to reduce violence and discrimination for all students, and to replace portables with modular classrooms instead of investing to build schools at a pace that keeps up with population growth. 

The party has previously committed to adding more kids to already full classrooms in order to eliminate portables and create a politically appointed committee to screen school materials for their definition of “neutrality.” Some of those promises have been scrubbed from their website, while some changed just enough to not draw as much attention. On Sunday, the party once again released promises that it later deleted. This does not instill confidence. 

Missing from the platform is any commitment to address the real issues facing public education. Every student deserves to learn in a fully resourced school with qualified teachers and staff who are supported in providing the education, care, and attention that students need to succeed. 

We still need a long-term plan to solve the teacher shortage, and the BCTF will continue advocating for this as we approach the next round of bargaining set to start in 2025. 

Teachers want what parents want—a robust, inspiring, and engaging public education system that lifts everyone up."

– BCTF President Clint Johnston