Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC

Post-secondary education is a key to prosperity, not just for the society that is prepared to provide that education, but also for the students who are prepared to take on the opportunity for learning. For post-secondary educators that statement is more than just common sense; it is a fact that we see play out every day in our classrooms, our lecture halls, our research labs and our trades training centres. We see the transformation that happens to our students as they acquire new skills and expand the boundaries of their current knowledge and insights.

December 6th marks a tragic anniversary, one in which 14 female students at Quebec's École Polytechnique de Montréal were killed by a lone gunman. Ten other female students were also injured during the shooter's rampage.

What happens when a government relentlessly cuts corporate tax rates? The public treasury ends up in the red. That's part of what has happened in BC, but to hear Finance Minster Kevin Falcon talk about it, the obvious math seems strangely mysterious to the Minister. He searches far and wide to try and explain that it wasn't his government's policies that have led to the fiscal problems that he outlined in late November, but rather "other factors" somehow beyond his control.

This week in post-secondary institutions across Canada faculty and staff are highlighting the problems that non-regular faculty face in their demand for fair employment. It is a struggle that every local in our Federation takes on at the bargaining table and throughout the term of their collective agreements: the struggle to achieve fair and secure employment for every member.

For as long as there has been a women's movement in Canada, there has been an active campaign to both highlight the ways in which women are discriminated and change the conditions that allow that discrimination to exist. The labour movement has played a major role in changing those conditions by using the power of the bargaining table and collective agreements to ensure that contract rights trump discriminatory practice in the workplace.

August has not been a great month for BC's Premier Clark. The results of the HST referendum showed that even in many of the BC Liberal held ridings, the majority voted to get rid of the HST, a troubling outcome for a government that wants to rebuild its approval ratings with voters. Adding to the Premier's troubles was the fact that her plan to call an early Fall election looked increasingly ill-advised. More recently, an Ipsos Reid poll, commissioned by FPSE, showed a majority of those surveyed gave the government a failing grade on their handling of post-secondary education in BC.

The news of Jack Layton's passing has led to an outpouring of tributes, tributes that span the entire political spectrum and reflect the profound impact that this man had on our lives, our communities, but most of all, our country. The common theme that runs through so many of those tributes is the recognition that Jack Layton's approach to politics and engagement with voters has transformed more than just his party. It has also changed the way in which Canadians see themselves, a change that will be one of the lasting features of his legacy.

There was no press release or briefing document to substantiate what had been decided, just a tersely worded letter to senior administrators that "core" funding would be cut by more than half effective immediately. If any of this sounds like a re-play of what happened in British Columbia throughout the early days of Gordon Campbell's first term as Premier, it's because it comes from the same playbook as Mr. Campbell.

It only took thirty-five days to play out, but by the time that the final ballots were counted in last night's federal election the results may well represent the most significant changes in Canada's political landscape in more than a generation. Stephen Harper's Conservatives achieved majority status while Jack Layton's New Democrats emerged as Canada's new Official Opposition. Rounding out the major changes were the virtual collapse of the Federal Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois and the single seat success for the Green Party.

When members of the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association voted 296 to 31 to accept the terms of a proposed memorandum that would settle their four week strike, the attention of those at the Bowen Park Auditorium was focused at the front of the room, and for good reason. The VIUFA Bargaining Committee had just spent close to three hours explaining the details of the proposed settlement that would see students returning to the University starting April 11. The Committee was, after all, the voice of members at the bargaining table and in the community.