Editor, The News:
Re: MLA accepted BCTF cheque (The News, Jan. 30).
I would like to correct the record to erroneous statements in your article.
These are the facts. On January 21st my office was contacted by the BCTF who expressed their error in sending me a cheque and a T4 slip a month earlier in December.
As the funds were to address grievances from 2002 until the present and as I had been a teacher for seven of these years, I assumed that the BCTF had sent me a cheque proportionally based on the years I taught during this time.
I returned the BCTF’s call and said that I would return the full amount, which I did the same day by Express Post.
Under no circumstances did I dispute any so-called entitlement.
I accepted their mistake at face value and fully understood what transpired.
Yes, I was a teacher for 15 years in School District No. 42; and I am proud to have helped local students develop their minds as they’ve grown into adults.
Teaching is a wonderful and rewarding profession. This is why I am disappointed the Maple Ridge Teachers Association felt the need to speak with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News about their union’s error and somehow attempt to place blame on myself.
I will continue to stand-up for the best interests of students and their parents, along with teachers who put the needs of their pupils first.
Marc Dalton
MLA Maple Ridge-Mission
