Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 no 19 | Page 14

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OP- ED
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 1 - 15, 2018
“OneCity Vancouver: A Political Movement
Filipinos Can Trust”
By R.J. Aquino
When I ran for Vancouver City
Council in 2011, I wanted to address
the looming affordability crisis and
improve the liveability of the city
for everyone through progressive
policies that mirrored my values. It
was a daunting time as it was my first
time being a political candidate and I
wanted to make a positive and lasting
impression. There was also plenty
of excitement within the Filipino
community as I worked to illustrate
how our culture and heritage tied into
the progressive values I wanted to
represent in City Hall. It was during this
time that I began to really understand
how underrepresented our values
were in civic politics.
In 2014, a group of like-minded,
progressive individuals formed a
new political party called OneCity
Vancouver, of which I’m a founding
member. It was a serious effort by
serious people to create a political
home for those who wanted a liveable,
compassionate and kind city. We
recognized that there wasn’t enough
being done to address skyrocketing
housing costs which led to families
being forced out of Vancouver due to
how unaffordable it is to live here. We
recognized that our public education
system needs to serve all communities
and be reinforced as a public good
deserving of adequate funding and
resources.
I ran as the sole council candidate
in that year’s election. Despite the
monumental challenges involved with
starting a new political movement, we
succeeded in making a huge and lasting
impression. We gained the support of
many organizations with shared values
and we received endorsements from
prominent individuals in academia,
arts,
and
provincial
and
federal politics.
OneCity’s policies
were lauded for
being fresh, bold
and achievable
and we never
lost sight of our
principles
and
values.
I’m not running
as a candidate
this time around
but I’m still very
involved with the
party and I’m
working diligently
to get OneCity’s
candidates
elected.
We
already elected
Carrie
Bercic, From left to right:
our first school Bercic
board
trustee
in the last by-election, and I want to
continue to see her on the Vancouver
School Board joined by Erica Jaaf
and Jennifer Reddy. For City Council,
Christine Boyle andBrandon Yan are
the two candidates that I’m asking
you to support with your votes on
October 20.
These five exceptional people
all share the same political values
that I do and that’s why I’m voting
for them. We believe in grassroots
political organizing and we’ve never
accepted donations from developers
as corporate money should not have a
place in influencing politics. We believe
in connecting with communities
through shared values and building
trust through understanding that
Jennifer Reddy, RJ Aquino, Christine Boyle, Brandon Yan, Erica Jaaf, Carrie
community’s specific needs.
I know there are many young Filipino
families that are finding it difficult to
continue living in Vancouver because
of how unaffordable it is. OneCity will
enact policies to curb speculation
and build more non-market housing.
I know there are many Filipino
students whose needs aren’t being
met. OneCity recognizes the need for
more support workers for these youth
and how there’s a surging demand
for instituting Tagalog as an official,
credited course that’s offered by the
Vancouver School Board.
Once our candidates are elected,
I have no doubt in my mind on how
effective they’ll be in bringing about
the positive change we need. I’m
confident that they will be able to work
with their colleagues to push forward
a progressive agenda that I support
and believe will begin to solve a lot
of problems our city is facing. I see
myself in their tireless efforts to make
Vancouver a liveable, compassionate
and kind city because we value taking
care of our families, our neighbours
and our friends. Our Bayanihan
values will be well represented in city
hall by Christine Boyle andBrandon
Yan and in the school board by Carrie
Bercic, Erica Jaaf, and Jennifer
Reddy. Through my ongoing work
with OneCity, I’m looking forward to
collaborating with them as elected
officials and continuing to be a
voice for the Filipino community in
Vancouver civic politics.
Union win at arbitration means school districts must
address teacher shortages
The BC Teachers’ Federation has
won an important ruling in a provincial
grievance filed almost a year ago.
It alleged school boards breached
the collective agreement by failing
to hire enough certified teachers to
meet class-size and specialist ratios
language that was restored by the
Supreme Court of Canada.
In a decision rendered October
11, 2018, arbitrator Jennifer Glougie
stated that “the restored language
is of great importance to teachers
and was won after a hard-fought,
protracted legal battle. The fact
remains that, for almost a decade and
a half, teachers have been deprived
of these important rights which the
SCC Decision acknowledges were
unconstitutionally removed from their
collective agreement.”
Since the SCC’s landmark ruling,
Chilliwack and other school districts
did not recruit enough teachers to
meet the class-size limits nor the
guarantees of services from specialist
teachers. As a result, when classroom
teachers are absent, teacher-
librarians, counsellors, and other
special education teachers are being
pulled away from their specialist
duties, in violation of the contract.
“Because of the failure to fill
classroom teaching positions, students
with special needs have been losing
out,” BCTF President Glen Hansman
said. “Every time a specialist teacher
is required to fill in for a classroom
teacher, their special programs are
set aside. Students with special needs
should not be bearing the burden of
school districts’ reluctance to recruit
pro-actively.”
Evidence from the Chilliwack school
district was used as an example in this
arbitration, but the impact of Glougie’s
decision is by no means limited to
Chilliwack. Rather, it will CONT PAGE 16
provide guidance in resolving similar
issues in other school districts across
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the province, Hansman emphasized.
PHILCAN HEATING