IAIN BLACK -- British Columbia’s education system has lost its way, and our children are missing out on future opportunity

For years, the NDP has been focused on the wrong priorities. Ideology in the classroom. Eroding standards. Letter grades cancelled. Parents shut out of decisions that directly affect their children. And teachers, good teachers who just want to teach, being sidelined by politics.

The result? Kids who are falling behind in reading, writing, and math at the very moment when we need them to be more globally competitive. And a school system that has forgotten what it’s there to do.

That changes under my government.

Back to Basics 
Every child deserves to leave school able to read, write, and do math at grade level. Under my government, that is the starting point not an afterthought. 

I will refocus BC schools on reading, writing, math, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). I will bring back real report cards with letter grades. I will reinstate mandatory standardized testing so we can actually measure results. And I will restore safe classrooms focused on academics and life skills, where teachers can teach, free from politics and ideology.

Parents Back in Charge 
Nobody loves a child more than their parents. Nobody has a greater stake in getting this right. 

I will repeal SOGI. I will ensure full transparency in what is taught in classrooms on sexuality, what is covered, and at what age. And I will put parents, not government bureaucrats, at the centre of the important decisions affecting their children. 

Every child deserves to be treated with tolerance, respect, and acceptance, regardless of background, religion, sexual orientation, or personal circumstances. That is a value worth teaching. But the system has strayed from that into an ideologically driven agenda.

Restore Common Sense 
We will start every school day with O Canada. In a recent email, I asked whether you support this, and the answer was a resounding YES. We will refocus schools on respect, achievement, civility, and pride in Canada. And we will teach our kids civics and Canadian history – our successes, our achievements as well as times where we fell short and failed. Our kids need to learn the lessons of history so they can be better citizens.

Divisive and ideological language has no place in our classrooms. I will remove partisan political advocacy and activism from schools, ensure classrooms are not used to advance political agendas of activists in the school system, and prohibit land acknowledgements that use language like “colonizers”, “settlers”, “unceded”, or “stolen land.” 

Education is about students - not ideology. It is time to restore trust and respect in our public education system.

Finally, I will support and expand the School Liaison Officer program. This program was considered controversial by some on the left. I believe that developing a strong relationship of trust between students and the police is important to ensuring a safe school environment and to building lasting trust in law enforcement over the long term.

This will not be easy. The entrenched interests defending the status quo are powerful. Fixing this will require focus, tenacity, and a clear understanding of how government actually works.

This is where Experience Matters. I’ve served in Cabinet. I’ve restructured failing organizations. I know how to take on an entrenched bureaucracy and deliver real change from Day 1. Our children cannot afford to wait for someone to learn on the job.

Let’s get BC Back on Track.

Iain Black
Candidate for Leader of the BC Conservative Party