Horgan gets warm reception from BCTF, offers few details on new contract
Posted March 20, 2018 10:36 am.
Last Updated March 20, 2018 3:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – For the first time since the NDP formed government with Green support, Premier John Horgan has addressed the teachers union.
He received a standing ovation while speaking at the BC Teachers Federation annual general meeting, but there’s plenty of uncertainty ahead of contract talks in about 10 months.
The BCTF will be asking for a raise for its members–and especially an increase in the starting figure, which it says is too low–causing an issue for recruitment.
But while talking up the importance of what teachers do, Premier Horgan didn’t delve into the issues of wages during his speech–only promising to do more on the education file than the previous BC Liberal government.
“Despite the obstacles that other governments have put in your place, I want to tell you that I want to remove those obstacles to the greatest extent possible, and that’s why we’re investing $1.2-billion in the K-12 system between now and 2021,” Horgan said during his speech.
Horgan is, however, promising a new way of calculating funding.
“We’re going to have a funding formula that makes sense in every corner of British Columbia, not a one-size fits all solution,” Horgan said during the speech. “That’s the old regime. The new regime wants to make sure we’re putting in place tools that will help everybody.”
Horgan refused to take questions following his speech, with his staff saying he needed to catch a plane.
He did, however, have time to take a few selfies with teachers.
