Hunting City slickers get sanitized version. p6
B.C. Winter Games were a blast. p20
THE NEWS
Coldest Night The streets of Maple Ridge were friendlier. p3
www.mapleridgenews.com Wednesday, February 26, 2014 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
B.C. moves to four-year civic terms Change takes place this year, politicians like the idea by M on i sh a M ar ti n s staff reporter
COLLEEN FLANAGAN/THE NEWS
Maple Ridge Teachers Association president George Serra said the government’s ignoring of court ruling on class size was ‘straw that broke the camel’s back.’
Teachers taking strike vote Zero wage increases last two years, but no walk-outs planned
by Nei l Corbe tt staff reporter
B.C. Teachers take a strike vote next week and the results will be known by next Thursday. “I’m disappointed to hear that’s the action they’re going to take,” said Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Doug Bing, adding that Education Minister Peter Fassbender
has said there has been progress in negotiations. That wasn’t the assessment of the BC Teachers’ Federation on Tuesday. The union noted after more than 40 sessions and more than a year of bargaining, it will take the strike vote “to push back against major concession demands, an unfair salary offer, and a deliberately confrontational attempt to reverse the recent B.C. Supreme Court decision on class size, composition, and staffing levels.” Bing noted Victoria is appealing the Jan. 27 court decision to reinstate class-size contract language
from 2002, and said that process could take years. But the government would prefer a negotiated settlement. Bing said parents have had enough of teacher job action in recent years. Report cards haven’t been issued, and teachers have refused to take part in extra-curricular activities including grad ceremonies. “I think they (parents) are very frustrated,” said Bing. “We all have the same goals – we all want the best education possible for our children. That’s hard in this climate.”
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BCTF president Jim Iker said the government continues to negotiate in bad faith, and has tabled “unreasonable proposals” which would strip class size and composition from contracts. The government is asking for a 10-year deal, and Iker said teachers are being asked to accept no increase for the first two years, four years of increases ranging from 0.5 to one per cent, and then the final four years of “an ill-defined indexing scheme that not even the BC Public School Employer’s Association negotiators can explain.”
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Opinion Letters Looking Back Health&Wellness Arts&life Sports Classifieds
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The province is extending terms for municipal politicians from three years to four years, bringing B.C. in line with other Canadian provinces. Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Coralee Oakes announced the changes Tuesday saying the current legislative session will seek to switch local elections from a three-year to a four-year cycle, starting with this November’s civic vote. “My experience as a municipal councillor convinced me that to succeed in today’s complex world, local governments need enough time to plan and complete projects that build strong, inclusive communities,” said Oakes. If approved, the next civic election after November 2014 will be in October 2018. See Elections, p5
‘Punk, zombie rock n roll’ comes to Maple Ridge. See story, p17 Serving Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows for over 50 Years! 11926 227th Street, Maple Ridge
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