kamloopsthisweek.com | kamloopsthisweek |
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2022 | Volume 35 No. 49
kamthisweek
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AN AWARD-WINNING SOUND Mike Miltimore and Riversong Guitars snare a big award STORY, PAGE B1
SD73 will keep school liaison officer program B.C. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER HAS RECOMMENDED ITS END UNLESS AN EVIDENCE-BASED NEED FOR IT, THAT CANNOT BE MET THROUGH OTHER SERVICE, CAN BE DEMONSTRATED SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER
sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com
Following a call from B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner to end the use of school liaison officers across the province, a representative from the KamloopsThompson school district said the commissioner’s concerns don’t apply locally. “We’re on the receiving end of a lot of good services and they’re all evidence-based,” assistant superintendent Vessy Mochikas said. Mochikas said the district has made use of school liaison officers for at least two decades. “We don’t have the same program, if you will, that I think is the cause for concern. We don’t have police officers staffed or resources in physical schools on a regular basis, which some districts do,” Mochikas said. On Nov. 25, B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender issued a letter to the BC School Trustees Association,
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recommending the use of student liaison officers be ended by all school districts unless they can demonstrate an evidencebased need for them that cannot be met through other services. Govender said she made the recommendation based on “significant concerns” raised by marginalized students, their families and their communities by having a police presence in schools. “There is an immediate need for research conducted in British Columbia that centres the experience of marginalized students and employs high-quality evaluation strategies,” Govender said in the letter, citing available research from the United States on how black and other racialized students there are impacted by student liaison officer programs. Govender added it is incumbent upon school districts that choose not to end their programs to provide evidence of the need for the police officers. See SCHOOL LIAISON, A7
16 TOYOTA COROLLA LE #U1993
$23,998 +tax or $206 bi-weekly 78 months @ 9.99%
12 RAM 1500 LONGHORN 4WD
#U1942C • $24,998 +tax or $289 bi-weekly 54 months @ 7.69% OAC
20 NISSAN MURANO SL AWD #U1983 • $42,998 +tax or $358 bi-weekly 84 months @ 9.99% OAC
21 NISSAN LEAF SV #U1992 • $46,998 +tax or $393 bi-weekly 84 months @ 9.99% OAC
18 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT
#M21099A • $79,998 +tax or $688 bi-weekly 84 months @ 8.99%
Mercedes-Benz Kamloops, 695C Laval Crescent, Kamloops, BC, Toll Free 855-984-6603, Mercedes-Benz-kamloops.ca Some conditions apply. See dealer for details. Payments based on financing on approved credit with $2000 down or equivalent trade and include all fees & taxes. Total paid: #U1993- $34,775 • #U1942C- $33,853 • #U1983- $65,218 •#U1992- $71,464 • #M21099A- $101,136