Friday, March 16, 2012

There is a new petition on change.org calling for the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
to deny Royal Assent to Bill 22 (the "Education Improvement Act"). It states:
The Bill erodes democratic rights and due process, for educators but potentially for all labour negotiations. It puts the government beyond the jurisdiction of the courts and thus denies citizens the opportunity to pursue recourse and to negotiate fairly with employers. The bill is totalitarian, unnecessary, and does not belong in a democratic country.
This petition is now closed for signatures (I imagine the goal was to submit it prior to the bill getting passed). It gathered over 3100 online signatures during the short time it was open. Here are a couple of the comments left on change.org:

Ed Berlando: "This Bill destroys what teachers have worked and bargained for these many years. The most important points are the cuts to students in our classrooms and the supports our special needs students must be able to receive. The unconstitutionality of it has been proven in the courts with previous attempts. Teachers have fought for students. This Bill does not simply cut to the bone, it scrapes out the marrow of our educational system in British Columbia."

Ashley Vince: "Bill 22 violates my freedom to speech and freedom of association. It will assess punitive financial damages to me if I use my freedom of association and freedom of speech with my colleagues. It once again removes my rights to discuss my working conditions. This last point was reinforced by the Supreme Court when they overturned Bills 27 and 28 as unconstitutional. This bill seems to act in contempt of court to this ruling."

Bill 22 was passed on Thursday.

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