Burnaby NOW • Friday, February 22, 2013 • A07 Seminars & Events at
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Smart to teach Mandarin
NDP gov’t would cost us
Dear Editor:
Dear Editor:
This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend the Burnaby Board of Education meeting. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Forest Grove Elementary had a program put in place to give primary age children a chance to learn Mandarin in school. Language acquisition has been proven to be easier the younger a person happens to be when starting to learn the language. I understand the importance of maintaining our historical languages of English and French, but especially in the Lower Mainland, Mandarin is an important language and spoken by many people. It makes sense for our students to start learning the language at a young age. Congratulations to the Burnaby board of education for taking on this pilot project. I hope as time and funding allows, the program is expanded to more elementary schools and serves as a compliment to the French language program, not as a competitor to it.
History has shown that the NDP will always focus on helping big unions rather than people if they are elected. An NDP government would not be focused on the economy and would simply scare business and investment away from B.C. This has happened every time an NDP government has been elected in this province, and it would happen again. NDP governments want to spend more and more money – your money – and to do that they will increase taxes. That will really hit small and medium-sized businesses hard, as it did the last time the NDP governed this province. In the end, businesses will have to reduce workers’ hours and even lay people off to pay those taxes. It’s a slippery slope that we’ve seen before, and it would not be long before people stop investing in B.C., which would make things even worse for our economy. So, for anyone considering voting for Adrian Dix and the NDP, ask yourself what it really means for you and the people of this province.
Trevor Ritchie, Burnaby
The latter has become the quintessential generational city, where people own homes primarily if they got into the housing market long ago or are among the richest of the next generation. Fact is, postponing more, working more, and scaling down expectations for the size and location of housing are key coping mechanisms for many younger people today. Ironically, others routinely overlook these coping strategies when judging younger generations to be lazy, consumerist, even entitled – a charge that flies in the face of data showing governments annually spend nearly four times more on benefits and services for each Canadian retiree compared to each Canadian under 45. Although they try to cope, most in the younger generations have a big problem because they can’t work their way out of the time and income
squeeze unless they give up something fundamental – the opportunity to have the family they may want or the financial foundation they’ve patched together. Since two earners barely bring home today what one breadwinner did in the 1970s, we’ve gone from 40 hour work weeks to closer to 80 hours. The result? Generations raising young kids are squeezed for time at home. They are squeezed for income because housing prices are nearly double, even though young people often live in condos, or trade yards for time-consuming commutes. And they are squeezed for services like child care, which are essential for parents to deal with rising costs, but are in short supply, and cost more than university. We can change this. While the deck may be stacked against younger generations now, we can get “A Better Generational Deal” – one that gives all generations a chance. A
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Raw deal: Change needed continued from page 6
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deal that safeguards our medical care and retirement security without sacrificing our children’s present and our grandchildren’s future. As it turns out, residents of Burnaby, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge have particular power to bring about this better generational deal. Why? Because as I’ll show in my next column, these cities are home to provincial ridings where recent elections have been especially close. So if even just a few hundred people add their vote to “reduce the squeeze,” it can make a big difference to the next election result. That’s precisely when politicians are most likely to listen. ◆ Paul Kershaw is a policy professor at the University of British Columbia and can be reached at gensqueeze.ca. This is the first of a series of columns running in the NOW.
The Burnaby NOW welcomes letters to the editor. We do, however, edit for taste, legality and length. Priority is given to letters written by residents of Burnaby and/or issues concerning Burnaby. Please include a phone number where you can be reached during the day. Send letters to: The Editor, #201A-3430 Brighton Ave., Burnaby, B.C., V5A 3H4, fax them to 604-444-3460 or e-mail: editorial@burnabynow.com
•NO ATTACHMENTS PLEASE• Letters to the editor and opinion columns may be reproduced on the Burnaby NOW website, burnabynow.com The Burnaby Now is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org.
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TOWNHALL MEETING The Burnaby Teachers’ Association and CUPE Local 379 invite Burnaby parents and residents to attend our
TOWN HALL MEETING concerning
PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH, 2013 7:00PM - 8:30PM SCHOU EDUCATION CENTRE 4041 CANADA WAY, BURNABY BCTF Vice-President Jim Iker, CUPE National researcher John Malcolmson and Burnaby School Trustees Baljinder Narang and Gary Wong will be speaking and taking questions from the audience. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided.