It’s a time-worn tradition for the party in power, in the months leading up to an election, to give away or re-announce a whole bunch of money for stuff.
Usually the sudden pot of money that seems to be available for a whole host of popular things was accrued through previous years of cuts and fee increases. And it’s all our money. But we’re supposed to forget about all that bad stuff now that a little bit of it is being given back. This includes a new fund (the Rural Education Enhancement Fund) created to help keep rural schools open. It comes after more than a decade of school closures enforced by the provincial government through strict no-deficit laws that left school boards no choice but to close beloved community schools, most of them in small, rural areas.
All of a sudden, after months of meetings and public discussions, the government is paying attention to the outcry of parents, students and closely watching school board decisions.
The answer from many of the MLAs in these affected areas, when looking at the press releases from each one that followed the announcement, is that they were working hard behind the scenes on finding a solution.
It’s not just cynicism rearing its head when we suggest people take a critical look at political pronouncements from now until next fall.
-Black Press
