Our education system is fundamental to not only who we are, but what we will be as a province going forward. It’s a critical service that all children in our province should have a right to, and it is staffed by individuals that care about our kids and their future.

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen progress on building new schools; its true. But several things have also gone seriously wrong.

Our teachers have been mistreated by the UCP government through forced contracts and the removal of their bargaining rights with the notwithstanding clause. It should not have happened. It should not have had to come to a strike, and it certainly didn’t need to come to the government using a constitutional sledge hammer to force them back to work. The way it all played out made it seem like the government wanted the confrontation.

Our kids deserve quality teachers that care and are passionate about learning. We won’t retain or recruit more teachers if things like this continue. Other provinces are looking for teachers too. Now more than ever, we need to hold on to the teachers we have by showing them we are committed to them through fair bargaining processes. That also includes restoring them as the foundational block of building curriculums that set our children up for success. No more politics. No more division.

The Progressive Tory Party of Alberta is privileged to have a teacher serving as our Party’s President. As part of our commitment to restoring confidence and sense back into our education system, we are already working with teachers as we develop a strong policy framework that puts our kid’s education first.

But that isn’t the end. Understanding the diverse needs of our children is also key to creating a better system. As a parent of a child with autism, I understand the need for programs that are tailored to meeting kids where they are at, and helping them to grow. While programs like the FOCUS program in Elk Island Public Schools do exist, funding just isn’t available to serve all those that need it. That is a failure of the provincial government and it cannot continue.

By now, many of us are aware that even with the increases seen recently to education, our per student funding remains the lowest in Canada. It is not because of a lack of government funds, and it certainly is not about new comers taking up resources. Canada provides money to Alberta to accommodate for refugees to offset a good portion of the cost to the province. This is about government mismanagement of funds in other areas, and their lack of priorities regarding education. 

We need to fund our system properly. That means actually hiring more teachers, not pretending that the already planned increase of teachers for additional schools is the increase needed. It means providing resources for teachers to do their job effectively, not requiring them to pay out of pocket for resources and supplies. It means funding programs to address classroom complexity. It also means action. Teachers know what is needed. It’s not a secret or a mystery that requires a committee to study the problem.

Now, more than ever we need a government that puts our kids first so that we can all grow. Join me today by buying a Progressive Tory Party membership and support my nomination to be the candidate here in Sherwood Park.

Let’s do it together, because that is what you deserve!