October 17, 2005

The law is the very foundation of a civil society. The courts are our highest authority. The fundamental task of any government is to stand behind the courts and stand up for the rule of law. No elected official can condone or in any way support any group acting in contempt of the courts or in contempt of the laws that are democratically passed by a democratically elected legislature.

I understand that the BCTF does not like the law we passed to put class sizes and learning conditions in the School Act. I understand that it doesn't like the law that was passed in 2002, three years ago, and that they don't like the fact that my party was re-elected. I understand that the BCTF doesn't like the law that was passed a week ago last Friday, which simply extended the previous collective agreement for nine months, until next July, while we work to fix a broken bargaining system.

But that is no excuse to break the law and show such flagrant contempt for the courts of British Columbia, for the Supreme Court of British Columbia. We can disagree on the laws that are passed, and we often do, but the foundation of our society is that once a law is passed, that we agree to obey it. We do not get to obey the laws that we like and disobey the laws that we don't like, and that is the central issue here. This is not a labour dispute, as this illegal action has been characterized by some unions. This is a question of law and how to move forward.

I'd like to speak for a moment to B.C.'s classroom teachers. I want all teachers and all British Columbians to know that when it comes to improving learning conditions, we are pretty much on the same page. We agree class size is important, and that's why we put limits on class size in legislation. We agree that there are classes that are too large, and that's not acceptable.

If there are situations where there are 40 kids in a class, we want to know about that. The school boards should deal directly with those decisions, and the reason we established districtwide averages was to let school boards and principals make the best decisions for their students.

If we need to improve the School Act in that regard, we will, and that's why we established the learning round table. That's why for the first time ever, we are requiring school boards to report on class sizes for every school, class by class and grade by grade. Parents should know how their child's class stacks up compared to the average in their school, in their school district and across B.C.

We agree class composition is critical. If there are examples of classes with too many special needs students for any one teacher, that's not acceptable. We want to identify those problems, talk about them openly with teachers and parents and principals and superintendents and trustees, and we want to address them That, too, is what the learning round table is about.

I've asked the BCTF to join other education partners to talk about learning conditions. Our teachers will have an important place at the table to talk, to get their concerns out and to have their ideas heard. The learning round table is one new forum that we hope will make for better education for all our kids across British Columbia. We know that we have to do that with all of our education partners. A great public education system is critically important to this government and to the people of British Columbia.

As your Premier, I intend to join the Minister of Education at the round table and search for solutions that work for all of our kids. I also have said that we want to hear directly from teachers, and that's why we established the teachers' congress. The annual teachers' congress will give individual teachers, classroom teachers, the chance to talk directly to members of the cabinet, parents and others about the challenges they face.

The learning round table will hold its first meeting on October 24. We want to hold the teachers' congress as soon as we can.

We agree that resources have to be directed as effectively as possible to meet the needs of our education system. That's why we increased education funding by $150 million last year, and that's the largest increase in a decade. Elected school boards are responsible for investing that money to the maximum effect, and this year they're hiring 1,600 more people in our public school system. That includes 630 more teachers, even though we have 30,000 fewer students than we did five years ago.

But if we need to do a better job of managing our education resources, the way to do that is by talking directly with one another - with classroom teachers, with principals and vice-principals, with trustees and with parents. Again, the learning round table will be a very important component of carrying that conversation on.

I know how frustrated parents must feel today, and I know how frustrated many teachers feel. I've had an opportunity to talk with a number of them over the weekend. But let's be clear. We can end this impasse. It starts with obeying the law and respecting the courts.

Bill 12 put a legal contract in place that extends the existing contract by nine months. It will expire next July. We did not impose a multi-year contract moving forward. We did not impose wage freezes for the next few years or pass a new law restricting bargaining conditions. But we will not repeal Bill 12.

If the BCTF wants to improve the School Act, we're willing to do that. If the BCTF wants to talk with government outside the collective bargaining process about how to address class composition, we're willing to do that through the learning round table. We're open to finding new ways of talking with them and establishing a positive relationship with B.C.'s teachers.

We have already said that the next multi-year collective agreement, which will take effect next July, will include wage increases. To get there with a negotiated settlement, we need to fix the bargaining process, and we need to do that quickly. That's why we appointed Vince Ready as the industrial inquiry commissioner. So let's stop the illegal action, start meeting with Vince Ready on how to fix the bargaining system so that we can enter into fruitful negotiations for the next contract, nine months from now.

The bottom line is simply this. My government will work with teachers and all of our educational partners to improve learning conditions and the public education system in British Columbia. We are willing to meet and to talk to do that, but it has to put legal processes…. We have put legal processes in place that allow that to happen, but the law has to obeyed, and we have a duty as legislatures to stand up for the courts, stand behind the law and not allow anyone to put themselves above the law.

We can, in fact, create a great public education system in British Columbia where all the partners are players, where our students indeed do come first and to creating an education system that meets their needs in their classrooms in every part of the province. We want to do that. To do that, illegal action must stop, and we must get on with building a positive relationship for all British Columbians so they know we have a great public education system to meet the needs of their kids.

Teachers are clearly in contempt of court this time. And it's important for teachers to know that we want to have open discussions with them, but the way to do that is to stop their illegal action, to go back to the classroom and to work with us to improve public education in British Columbia.