Outgoing Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington says the government’s decision to cut a civics program that brought students to Victoria shows their contempt for the democratic process.
“It’s typical of this government to care so little about instilling a pride and basic knowledge of our democracy,” said Huntington in a press release Monday. “They ended the program because they said it didn’t do anything for B.C.’s ‘creative economy.’ It doesn’t get more cynical than that.”
The Capital for Kids program helped offset travel costs for classes looking to visit the legislature in Victoria. Subsidies varied from $20 per student in the Lower Mainland – enough to offset discounted ferry costs – to $400 per student for classes making the trip from northern B.C.
Huntington said her office obtained information through Freedom of Information that shows the program was criticized for not supporting “the creative economy.” They expected non-profits and Parent Advisory Council (PAC) grants to fill the void left by government after the program ended. PAC travel grants are capped at $20 per student, far below the funding available through Capital for Kids.
“After the program was cut, a Delta teacher told me their students would no longer be able to make these trips,” said Huntington.
She said documents show that some government officials said the ministry’s responsibility to “creat[e] vibrant cultural opportunities” could include “the engagement of B.C.’s youth in civics issues,” but Minister Peter Fassbender signed the order cancelling the program in April, 2016. He was briefed on how to break the news to Minister Coralee Oakes, who had argued for expanding the program in the past, said Huntington.
She said she wrote to Fassbender and house speaker Linda Reid calling for the restoration of the program.
