A range of topics, including school closure policies and HST were covered at a meet and greet with Liberal leadership candidate Kevin Falcon in Qualicum Beach Saturday.
When the possible closure of KSS came up, Falcon noted there were no funding cuts to education, contrary to popular belief, and rather more money is being spent on education than ever before. However there are around 50,000 less kids in the system, he said, and this puts the school boards in a difficult situation.
“The tough question is, if you have a number of schools at 30 to 40 per cent occupancy, instead of paying all the costs at all the different schools that are half empty, should you think about bringing some of the kids together and having a full school? That is easier said than done and that is very difficult politics.”
Falcon then asked his supporter MLA Ron Cantelon if he wanted to add anything about the local situation.
“I think the most important thing is providing the best education we can for our children, so we’ll leave it to the wisdom and knowledge of this school board.”
Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek was among the crowd of about 25 and asked Falcon to reconsider a policy put in place by former education minister Christy Clark regarding formulas leading to school closures.
“We need this school not just for the students but for the community,” Westbroek said. “So if you would consider reviewing that I’d appreciate it.”
Falcon replied saying all good leaders listen and try to learn, so he would do just that.
In response to a question about the minimum wage, Falcon responded he thinks it should be increased, but in a responsible way — phased in — so as not to hurt the people the move would be trying to help, he said. He added only about two- and-a-half per cent of the population receive minimum wage and of that 90 per cent are young kids living at home with their parents.
On the HST Falcon said he’s believes it’s the right public policy for B.C., to which he received an applause from the crowd, but said it was introduced poorly.
“We did a terrible job introducing it,” he said “We didn’t explain it all which was just terrible.”
He said he will make sure all the relevant information will be sent out to people in multiple languages, and he’s sure the public will make the right decision at the referendum. He added support for the sales tax would increase if they were to “march that rate down ultimately to 10 per cent,” but would only be able to afford to decrease it by one per cent initially.
Falcon said he has many friends in the restaurant industry and the tax isn’t affecting them, it is affecting fast food restaurants however, he said, which “he’s okay with.”
Other topics Falcon covered included B.C.’s forest industry, which will see a bright future by expanding into Asian markets, he said, and he would like to introduce a master teacher designation like Australia has, where great teachers are rewarded with bonuses and made into mentors.
For more on Kevin Falcon and his campaign visit www.kevinfalcon.com.
