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Alberta has lost its edge in education, and to regain it, Albertans must elect a Wildrose Alliance government.
That’s what Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith told the almost 800 delegates assembled for her party’s annual general meeting in Red Deer June 25 and 26.
“Alberta must lead on education. We need to make it unequivocally clear to the forces of the status quo that we believe parents have the right to make the choices for their children’s education. There are successful models of education that are emerging that allow teachers to tailor their instruction to the unique needs of each student, allowing gifted students to excel while ensuring those who need more time to master the material can do so without being forced ahead only to fall behind, become frustrated and often drop out. I think of the tearful mother who called to tell me she is now sending her son to a special private school she can barely afford because her son was falling so far behind in class with no hope of catching up. This is unacceptable in a province like ours—we can’t be pushing kids through schools like a vehicle on an assembly line,” Smith said.
“Ten to 15 years ago, Alberta was a national leader in educational reform—in standardized assessment, in charter and alternative schools, in home schooling and blended programs. Not today. Alberta is hanging back—spending more and doing less. Why? Because change takes more than excuses and cabinet shuffles. We know there are Albertans out there with a passion for educational excellence. But it takes more. First and foremost, it takes a government with the courage to lead—a Wildrose government.”
Smith took aim at the 2007 memorandum of agreement between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and government regarding the unfunded liability of teachers’ pension plan. “Albertans weren’t asking for the government to sign a contract with teachers they couldn’t afford [and] then tell school boards to just run deficits when they figured out they couldn’t afford it,” she said. She accused the government of making “thinly veiled threats to city councils, school boards and county councils that they won’t get money for their municipalities and school divisions if they don’t support the PCs.”
Meanwhile, delegates voted to remove from their education policy a section on school safety. The section committed a Wildrose Alliance government to invest in school safety to ensure a safe, secure learning environment for students; establish a school violence and crime electronic data reporting system; and work to reduce absenteeism and truancy.
Delegates also voted to remove from their education policy a section committing a Wildrose Alliance government to reduce student loans by 10 per cent per year for students in the educational and health care sectors attending accredited schools of education, provided they work in underserved communities.
A section of the party’s labour policy committing a Wildrose Alliance government to restore education as an essential service under the
Labour Relations Code was replaced with a section committing that government to examine what services should be categorized as essential services and implement reforms to ensure those employed in essential services are treated fairly.
Rob Anderson, MLA for Airdrie–Chestermere, urged delegates to support the amendment. “The teachers . . . and a lot of parents will rally against this [restoring education as an essential service],” he said. “We have to be very circumspect.” Calgary-Glenmore delegate John Carpay agreed, pointing out that teachers are not the only public-sector workers and that the amendment would deal with all such workers on a principled basis.
Left intact was policy committing a Wildrose Alliance government to implement a school voucher system, to hold teachers accountable for their performance and to introduce right-to-work legislation.
