Victoria B.C. – Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and Deputy Leader of the BC Green Party welcomes the call today from the BC Teachers Federation for binding arbitration in the ongoing education dispute.
“It’s time to resolve this dispute and get our children back into the classroom,” says Andrew Weaver. “The signs are clear that mediation isn’t working; we need another way to bring the two sides together. Binding arbitration is a perfectly reasonable request. The government will look entirely unreasonable if they do not agree”.
Andrew Weaver called for binding arbitration on Sunday after talks with Vince Ready broke down, leading to another week of strikes in a dispute that has already stretched on for months.
The announcement today from the BCTF offers a realistic, fair and practical means of ending the ongoing labour dispute.
Together, both the BCTF and the government could apply to the Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court to appoint an arbitrator. Schools could be reopened as the arbitration process progresses.
“I have been inundated with emails from parents and teachers from all over British Columbia” notes Andrew Weaver, “it is clear to me that most British Columbians from all corners of this province would support the call for binding arbitration”