In February, a coalition of B.C. post-secondary organizations prepared and distributed a questionnaire to the major B.C. political parties. The members of this coalition are: the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the College Institute Educators' Association, and the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C.
The questionnaire was distributed to the All Nations Party, the Communist Party, the Conservative Party, the Green Party, the Liberal Party, the Marijuana Party, the New Democratic Party, the Reform Party, the Social Credit Party, and the Unity Party. Responses were received from five of the parties, and are reproduced in their entirety below.
Over the past 10 years, British Columbia has created 44,000 new spaces for post-secondary students-more than any other province in Canada. Post-secondary institutions are still under pressure, however, to provide more opportunities. British Columbia's relatively large youth population, the educational needs of displaced workers, and the demand for continuing education from workers with post-secondary credentials, have all combined to increase demand for post-secondary programs of all types.
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to increase opportunities for British Columbians to access post-secondary education?
The NDP Government hasn’t activated the Legislature’s Education Committee once in the past ten years to hear from students who have suffered program cuts, who can’t access the courses they need, or who must leave the province in search of work. We will reactivate an all-party Education Committee to meet with students and education leaders to develop a long-term plan to achieve educational excellence in British Columbia.
We have committed to doubling the annual number of graduates in computer science and in electrical and computer engineering in our major universities within five years. We will also create a “Leading Edge Endowment Fund” to fund the establishment of 20 BC Leadership Chairs across the province in the fields of medical, social, environmental and technological research.
Studies show that demand for employees with degrees is increasing at a rapid rate. Although British Columbia has a high proportion of young people participating in post-secondary education, it lags the rest of the country in the number of young people pursuing degree-level studies. Currently, British Columbia only awards 80% of the national average number of bachelor's degrees (on a per capita basis).
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to increase the number of British Columbians earning degrees?
Within this context Green MLAs are also mandated to ensure that, beyond attaining workforce skills, British Columbia's post-secondary education system also provides opportunities for citizens to participate in taking courses and programs out of interest as part of the enjoyment of life long learning and/or in pursuit of recreational goals. A healthy and knowledgeable citizenry helps create a healthy and aware society.
We have committed to doubling the annual number of graduates in computer science and in electrical and computer engineering in our major universities within five years.
One result of our government's effort to expand access to post-secondary education is the 55% increase in degrees granted, and a significant increase in the number of overall credentials. Our government has also funded 16 new certificate and diploma programs, and approved 13 new bachelor degrees and five masters degrees.
Our support for the expansion of university colleges means that more British Columbians can access degrees in their own region.
The average age of a skilled tradesperson in British Columbia is 48, and as a result, it is estimated that the province will need 100,000 new skilled trades people by 2008. Our ability to import those people with trades and technical skills will be more limited than in the past, given the predicted global skills shortage.
(A) If elected to govern, what actions would your party take to ensure that we train the necessary skilled and technical people in B.C.?
(B) If elected to govern, would your party continue to support the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission and its four-partner (business, labour, government and education) approach?
(B) The All Nations Party will support the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission. Which will include opening more seats to high school students and increasing the number of seats offered at Institutions. Our objective here is for the supply to meet the demand in any one sector of the job market.
These MLAs will also be pushing for increased funding for advanced technologies research and development, at a university and technical institute level, and for on the ground "pilot projects" so BC can become a leading edge economy in sustainable practices in areas such as ecoforestry, blue tidal and alternative energies, perma-culture, public transportation, urban-garden city design, etc.
(B) Yes, with the added proviso that the various curricula be mandated to teach the most advanced "eco-technological" practices as part of a general societal phase-in of triple bottom line (social, environment and economic) accounting and Genuine Progress Indicator measurement.
Within 90 days of taking office, a BC Liberal government will introduce a dramatic cut to personal income tax rates. And by the end of our first term, British Columbians in the bottom two tax brackets will pay the lowest base personal income tax rate in Canada. We must take this step to retain skilled workers in BC and attract skilled workers from other jurisdictions.
(B) Yes, we will continue to work with the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission.
There were more than 27,000 apprenticeships; entry level trades trainees, students and workers in 2000, compared to 14,881 registered apprenticeships in 1991.
(B) No response provided.
Representatives of students, educators, staff and administrators have all said that the current tuition freeze has been useful in encouraging students from low-income backgrounds to attend post-secondary institutions, and in making education affordable for all students. Also, the recent policy to provide Adult Basic Education at no charge has been instrumental in ensuring all British Columbians have the opportunity to develop their basic educational skills.
(A) If elected to govern, would your party continue the legislative freeze on tuition fees for the duration of your mandate? If not, what actions would your party take to ensure that British Columbians are not denied access to post-secondary education due to the lack of financial means?
(B) If elected to govern, would your party continue to provide Adult Basic Education on a tuition-free basis?
(B) Adult Basic Education will continue to be provided on a tuition free basis. It is very important to the All Nations Party that all Canadians have an equal opportunity to higher education.
(B) K to 12 education should remain free to all citizens regardless of their age so yes.
(B) Yes, as part of our commitment to ensuring that every British Columbian requiring ESL and ABE has a right to achieve a minimum educational standard. More importantly Green MLAs are committed to creating the conditions by which all British Columbians can best learn while in school, through working for the merger of all federal and provincial income support programs into a single Guaranteed Annual Income.
Only when all British Columbians are able to meet their basic food, shelter and clothing needs can we expect them to take full advantage of educational programs which provide the basic skills to be self-supporting. At a time when it is so obvious that there is a growing skill shortage within the British Columbia labour force, elimination of tuition fees is not enough. We must also create the conditions by which those with the least skills and least ability to support themselves can have a level playing field to seek the education needed to fill those labour force positions.
Only by reducing the numbers of underemployed and permanently unemployed through creation of an appropriate educational support system will we eventually eliminate the intergenerational poverty cycle that condemns far too many British Columbians to lives of misery and lowered societal participation and contribution.
We need to address concerns about the long-term costs to get a post-secondary education in BC. For instance, it is taking many students 5 years instead of 4 years to obtain a degree. We want to work with students and all stakeholders in education to find solutions to relieve the financial burden on students.
We will reactivate the all-party Education Committee and work towards a long-term plan for education in this province. As part of this committee, we will look at all the impacts of the tuition freeze on the post-secondary education system.
(B)Yes, we will continue to provide Adult Basic Education tuition-free.
(B) Adult Basic Education is now free in BC school districts and publicly funded colleges. In 1998 our government radically improved access to adult basic education in BC when we removed the tuition barrier to these programs at post-secondary institutions. Adult education programs offered by post-secondary institutions currently serve 21,000 students. In addition, another 33,000 students are enrolled in adult education programs offered by school districts.
Governments across the country are recognizing that growing student debt must be dealt with. In British Columbia, despite the freeze on tuition, student indebtedness continues to increase as the cost of educational materials (e.g. textbooks) and the cost of living continue to climb.
If elected to govern, would your party increase the proportion of needs-based grant to loan in the B.C. Student Assistance Program? If not, would your party take any action to reduce or limit the growth of student indebtedness?
We also need to create a positive climate for investment in BC, which will create new full-time, quality jobs for everyone, students and graduates included.
In 1998, our government, in conjunction with the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Bursaries, extended grants to all high-need students in their third and fourth years of post-secondary study. Approximately 13,000 third and fourth year students became eligible for grants averaging $7,200, over a period of two years of study. In addition, grants were extended to the fifth year of study for single parent students - no other province comes close to doing this.
In 1999 our government introduced its own interest relief program to help borrowers who are having difficulty repaying their student loans. Students can receive up to five years in interest relief while establishing themselves in the labour market. Our province's assistance program is one of the most supportive in Canada - offering loans and grants, interest relief and loan forgiveness programs, scholarships, bursaries, awards and competitions. The average debt for BC, i.e. with a standard bachelor degree, is $17,526 compared to the national average of $25,000.
Over the past several years, government operating grants to B.C. post-secondary institutions have increased at a faster rate than any other province. The combined effects of inflation and increased student numbers, however, mean that institutions have fewer dollars on a per-student basis. As a result, B.C. institutions provide fewer student services, have less competitive salaries, delay maintenance of the physical plant, and offload costs of running the institution on to students, faculty members and staff.
If elected to govern, would your party commit to increasing funding per student so that B.C. post-secondary institutions have sufficient funds to carry out their mandates?
Operating grants for post-secondary institutions have increased by 34 per cent since 1991/92 - a cumulative increase of $9.9 billion.
B.C. post-secondary institutions throughout the province could not operate without the staff that provide services and programs to operate the campus and support the educational process. These services include: registration, maintenance, clerical and technical support, teaching assistance, food services, audio-visual, computer support, lab assistance, libraries, etc. As student numbers have increased and per student funding has slipped, the staff levels have been cut or have not kept pace with the growth in student numbers, resulting in fewer institutional and educational support services for students and faculty.
If elected to govern, would your party commit to providing funding for adequate staffing of support and technical services at B.C. post-secondary institutions?
The New Democratic government's 2001/02 budget provides one-time funding of $23 million for institutions to invest, i.e., in technology and lab equipment and library purchases. Our government has also invested in specific support services to enhance access for people with disabilities, aboriginal people and women, i.e., First Nations Support Programs in the colleges and the Safer Campuses Project.
Construction of post-secondary facilities lagged in B.C. significantly at the beginning of the 1990s. In response, the provincial government supported substantial capital construction at B.C. post-secondary during the early 1990s. The number of students has grown at a faster rate, however, than new facilities have been constructed. The physical capacity of B.C. post-secondary learning and research facilities has been exceeded and is constraining our ability to educate more students and conduct new research.
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to ensure that B.C. post-secondary institutions had sufficient learning and research space?
Priority funding would be given to meet the needs of those institutions engaging in institution-wide energy conservation and energy self-sufficiency projects, leading edge water and sewage treatment, public transportation, etc, as a means to create post secondary expertise in leading edge sustainable showcase facilities. Creating citizens with minds focused on finding solutions for the future requires us to create institutions that reflect leading edge visions of the future.
We recognize that the government has provided some one-time funding to meet some of the needs of post-secondary institutions; however, we need to develop a strategy to continue to fund and support research, not just a one-time announcement.
We have committed to creating a “Leading Edge Endowment Fund” that will establish 20 BC Leadership Chairs across the province in the fields of medical, social, environmental and technological research.
In addition the New Democratic government's 2001 Budget provides for a doubling of the number of apprenticeship and skilled trades training spaces to 50,000 over the next four years - that's 50,000 British Columbians getting practical, hands-on training for good careers.
To deal with the increasing number of British Columbians access to post-secondary education, our New Democratic government has made significant capital investments in BC's post-secondary system. British Columbia is the only province in Canada building new universities in addition to expanding and improving the facilities at colleges and universities. This investment includes the building of two new universities in British Columbia - UNBC and Tech BC.
The role of the federal government as a partner in supporting post-secondary education in BC has declined dramatically. Although the federal government has increased funding for research initiatives, post-secondary education funding through the Canada Health and Social Transfer declined significantly in the late 1990s and recent federal increases to the transfer focus largely on health care.
(A) Does your party believe that the federal government needs to improve funding for post-secondary education through the Canada Health and Social Transfer?
(B) If so, and if elected to govern, what actions would your party take to improve federal government funding for the core operations of our post-secondary education institutions?
In contrast the federal NDP wanted to similarly expand the CHST and other social program payments without committing to pay down the debt beyond a token rate of $1 billion a year over the next 546 years. Thus, not unlike the federal Liberals and Alliance parties, the NDP was proposing to waste taxpayers' money on debt interest charges - money that might otherwise have gone into expanding post-secondary educational opportunities and programs to support students while attending school.
As such, Green MLAs would oppose a BC Liberal government decision to cut personal income taxes without first eliminating BC's existing debt load. It makes no fiscal sense to reduce collection of personal income and corporate tax revenues when the size of the debt and interest payments have doubled since 1991. We also doubt the capability of the BC Liberals to fulfill their commitment to reduce income taxes in the first 90 days, when they will not have had an opportunity to fully assess the state of BC's books.
Implementation of these kinds of policies at a federal and provincial level must be seen as a basic failure to understand the need to increase funding to health, education and social programs as a means to maintain equality of access and opportunity for all citizens. Time and time again what polls have shown is that Canadians and British Columbians do not want their taxes reduced at the expense of ongoing funding to basic government services. What they do want is to see greater fiscal accountability for how monies are spent and for spending to take into account the need to further protect the natural environment.
Green MLAs would be committed to balanced budget legislation and paying down the debt, as a long term means to freeing up taxpayers' dollars on kindergarten to post-secondary education. Education is one of the three pillars around which modern government has been built. Green MLAs would therefore oppose any general reduction in taxation, while favouring tax shifting that would make the system fairer and open to promoting sustainable societal practices.
In this way and this way only do we believe Green MLAs could fulfill the commitment made in Green party education policies. Those who believe governments can reduce taxes, pay down the debt and maintain funding of government services have forgotten the fiscal mess left by the Grant Devine Saskatchewan Conservatives after a decade of implementing policies similar to those being proposed by the BC Liberals, and that government debt doubled under the Ronald Reagan US presidency, and that New Zealand by all traditional economic measurements has ended up fiscally worse off than when it embarked on implementing "Rogernomics".
(B) We need a long-term strategy to show the commitment of our province to post-secondary education. BC has not funded our research and development activities the way we should, which means other provinces have been able to take advantage of federal programs.
Due to the rapid expansion of British Columbia's post-secondary education and training system in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as much as 70% of the province's post-secondary educators will need to be replaced over the next 10 years as they retire or take positions elsewhere. Although B.C. post-secondary institutions have many advantages in attracting new faculty members, uncompetitive salaries and lower support for research, scholarly activity and professional development will make it increasingly difficult to attract and keep high-quality people.
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to ensure that B.C. post-secondary institutions are able to hire and keep high-quality faculty and staff?
We understand that British Columbia, like other jurisdictions in North America, faces a daunting human resource challenge. We must be tax-competitive with other jurisdictions to attract and retain the educators that we need. Within 90 days of taking office, a BC Liberal government will introduce a dramatic cut to personal income tax. And by the end of our first term, British Columbians in the bottom two tax brackets will pay the lowest base personal income tax rate in Canada.
Currently, B.C. post-secondary institutions receive only 9% of federal research dollars despite the fact B.C. is home to 13% of Canadians. In contrast, Alberta has only 9% of the country's population, but its post-secondary institutions receive 14% of federal research funding. One suggested reason for this difference is that Alberta (and Ontario and Quebec) provides provincial research funds to help lever more federal research funds.
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to ensure B.C. post-secondary institutions receive a fair share of federal research funds? What other actions would your party take to ensure B.C. post-secondary institutions were at the leading edge of research?
The party would also like to discuss the increasing dependence of post-secondary educational institutions on research funds from the private sector and how to avoid the potential for corporations to interfere with academic freedom when they directly fund research.
We will create a ‘Leading Edge Endowment Fund” that will establish 20 BC Leadership Chairs (based on a 50-50 cost-sharing partnership with the private sector) across the province in the fields of medical, social, environmental and technological research.
On March 2, 2001, our government announced a $6.1 million expansion of the labs at UNBC in Prince George. The new lab will provide 5,900 square metres for teaching and research. A retrofit of existing labs will also be included. In total, the New Democratic government has invested $18.1 million in this project. The fund will contribute to projects such as the new Centre for Integrated Genomics at UBC. The university will receive $10.1 million through this fund to help build a 7,400-square-metre biotechnology laboratory that will be one of the major components of the centre.
The New Democratic government boosted support for research at our institutions by increasing funding for BC's Knowledge Development Fund by $117 million, putting the total for the fund well over the $200 million mark, and extending it until 2006.
In 2001 $128,000 has been budgeted for research grant seed money to help TechBC to establish relationships with private-sector concerns, with an eye to forging long-term research and development relationships.
On November 15, 2000 our government announced that $250,000 from the "BC Knowledge Development Fund" will go toward a new applied environmental research lab at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo. This $850,000 project is jointly funded by the province, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Science Council of BC, and Weyerhaeuser.
MART (Market Assessment of Research and Technology) is funded by ISTA and the National Research Council. It is intended to help BC companies, or researchers from post secondary institutions determine the market potential of their discoveries and technological innovations. The Technology Assistance Program (TAP) is funded by ISTA. This program provides financial assistance to small and medium sized companies, which do not have the necessary personnel or facilities to carry out their own research and development or technology transfer activities.
The Industrial Partnership program provides matching funds to a university professor or graduate student to work in partnership with a company to solve a short-term research problem and the Strategic Research program requires an industry funding commitment and supports one or more university experts on a longer term research problem.
The New Democratic government endowed the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, named to honour Nobel laureate Michael Smith, with $110 million. The foundation will use this money to develop, recruit and retain leading health researchers with the goal of creating a world-class research community in the province.
Education and information technologies have the potential to make education more accessible and to offer new approaches for students, staff and educators. Students, staff and educators agree that although these technologies are not a replacement for face-to-face interaction, they do enhance education at B.C. post-secondary institutions. There is also agreement that educational technology should be integrated into existing institutions and programs instead of creating a separate, centralized "virtual institution."
If elected to govern, how would your party build upon the capacity of the current network of public post-secondary education institutions throughout the province to use educational technology?
We also believe there is a need to expand existing educational technology to include First Nations knowledge and values as part of the post secondary curricula, and that any existing and newly developed technologies must take into account the need for community based education that values protection of the natural environment and non-commercial human spiritual values and ethics. Post-secondary education, besides being about creating work skills for present and future labour force participants, must always maintain a place for seeking to develop a vibrant arts, cultural and recreational component.
To this aim Green MLAs would encourage various institutions to pool their various expertise, while at the same time maintaining areas of institutional excellence.
To retain our talented graduates from post-secondary institutions, we will lower personal income taxes and invest in skills training and R&D. We will work to double the annual number of graduates in computer science and electrical and computer engineering in our major universities within five years. We want BC to be the best place to live, work and learn.
In July 1999, our government announced a new High Technology Strategy, developed in partnership with industry and post-secondary institutions throughout the province. Over a three-year period (1999-2002) we have committed to spending $79.5 million to make BC the place of choice for high technology business, develop and grow high technology companies, and strengthen our research and development capability. Key components of the strategy are:
BC's Advanced Systems Institute Fellowship program provides fellowships to professors new to the province whose technical interests match the needs of BC's industry. The BC Advanced Systems Institute awards Fellowships to professors new to the province whose technical interests match the technical needs of BC's industry. In addition, BC Advanced Systems Institute provides Visiting Fellowships for experts invited to British Columbia universities. The Industrial Fellowship Program provides matching funds to a company hosting an advanced systems expert from a university or another company, or who want to send a research and development staff member to work with an expert in a university laboratory.
Technology Development Fellowships provide funding for certain advanced systems experts in colleges and institutes. The Product Development Fund is an "investment in technology" fund. It invests up to $200,000 in the final development stage of products, processes or technologies being developed by BC-based advanced technology companies.
Public post-secondary institutions have entered into various sponsorship and marketing arrangements with private corporations to raise much-needed funds. There have been concerns expressed that these arrangements are influencing the curriculum taught and research carried out at public post-secondary institutions. For example, University of Toronto researcher Nancy Olivieri was intimidated when she attempted to publicize the potentially lethal effects of a drug she was testing with financial support from a private corporation.
If elected to govern, what action would your party take to ensure that sponsorship and marketing arrangements between public post-secondary institutions and private corporations do not influence curriculum, research or program and service delivery at the institutions?
We believe in encouraging the development of an independent academic culture and want to build community structures to support that.
In 1995 our government implemented a process under which the internal degree program review committee and an external degree program review committee review all new and significantly revised degree program proposals. This approval process ensures that any new degree program is within the goals and priorities of the BC post-secondary system, while respecting institutional autonomy and the different and distinctive roles and mandates of the province's degree-granting institutions.
Currently, British Columbia has the largest private post-secondary education sector in the country. Students leaving B.C. private post-secondary education institutions have student loan default rates that average 42 per cent - much higher than those leaving public institutions. Although new regulations require private institutions to undergo an optional accreditation process if they wish their students to be eligible for government student financial assistance, concerns have been expressed that the registration and accreditation process is too lax and that students have no guarantee of receiving high-quality education.
If elected to govern, what further actions would your party take to ensure that British Columbians receive quality education from private post-secondary institutions?
The concerns raised about the quality of education must be brought to the attention of the Institution and publically disclosed, it then becomes the responsibility of the Institution to make the changes and the student to make the right choices.
Steps have also been taken to ensure that public institutions are not disadvantaged when seeking contracts for training in the public sector.
Currently, the B.C. government works in partnership with provincial post-secondary organizations representing students, faculty, staff and administrators to address key issues in the post-secondary sector. Some argue that this approach has resulted in B.C. having the most advanced system of student transfer in the country.
If elected to govern, would your party continue to work with provincial stakeholder organizations to ensure that deliberations on key issues in the post-secondary sector include a diversity of views and represent the widest consensus?
Currently, the Labour Relations Board has the authority to designate facilities, productions and services that it deems as essential to protecting the health, safety or welfare of British Columbians.
If elected to govern, would your party legislate an expansion to scope of essential services to include any facilities, productions or services related to post-secondary education?