Things definitely heated up in the Vancouver election last week, starting with the debate at Christ Church cathedral Sunday where the NPA’s Kirk LaPointe got Mayor Gregor Robertson on the ropes over what exactly was promised (or not) to one of Vision’s union donors. The NPA was thrilled to play the video all week of the mayor looking and acting like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. (Told you guys the karma thing was going to come around.)
Vision hit back later in the week with a radio ad jabbing at one of LaPointe’s weak spots. (Story here.)
And I just want you to remember one thing, kids. If Vision decides to do a radio or Facebook or TV ad on some negative thing about their opponent(s), it’s because that negative thing is showing up in the message, surveys, focus groups and other public-transmission devices the party uses to stay hyper-attuned to the fluctuations of groupthink.
So when they went out with this radio ad earlier in the week, a pretend conversation among two women complaining about a guy who doesn’t even pay taxes in the city being in the running to decide on what taxes Vancouverites will pay, you can bet they are replaying a common theme they heard.
We smart people here on this blog may discount the residency thing. but we don’t think like regular people.
Then, next dust-up: whether the Vancouver school board, headed by Visionista Patti Bacchus, is right or wrong to disallow a Chevron-sponsored program in the district that would allow teachers to apply for money for classroom materials.
I have to say, I stay out of school board stuff these days (five years on the beat in the late ’80s, early ’90s was enough for me), and so I find myself in the same position as any average civics watcher in this one, with no special knowledge.
It’s been a wild game of ping-pong all week, with Bacchus and the mayor sounding like the last defenders of corporate-free classrooms, while their critics are posting pictures of the mayor standing in front of giant Bell logos for some corporate-sponsored event. Every time I go on Twitter, I find myself swayed to one side and then another. Sure glad I’m not so lost on other issues.
This is the most complete story I’ve seen on the issue. But funny how it popped up briefly last March, again in May, then disappeared from view until now. You’ve got to love elections.
26 responses so far ↓
1 Lewis_N_Villegas // Nov 2, 2014 at 9:58 pm
On the Vancouver School Board Frances, myself and four other parents from Mount Pleasant Elementary presented to the Board earlier this year in opposition to their policy to take support away from our inner city school where the numbers show more than 25% of the student body is at risk.
I really couldn’t wrap my head around this one. My active involvement in the PAC and as a parent volunteer helped me see the difference that the additional 3 staff make in a school population of just over 180 kindergarden to grade seven student population. But the Vision led imperative to gentrify Mount Pleasant—a lawsuit is in court and another pending against the Rize tower as neighbours fight against all odds to curb gentrification—is driving the VSB to turn a blind eye to our school’s needs.
If they have their way, then the children at risk will most likely move to neighbouring schools (Queen Alexandria or Florence Nightingale) where the supports are not being withdrawn—at least not yet. However, how does this make sense? To take the most vulnerable and subject them to the stress of losing the place they know in order to adjust to a new school environment just a few blocks away.
It is a small detail affecting but a few students. But that makes it all the more uncanny. Is this not the very level of governance where the needs of children should NOT be thrown away? ‘Children at Risk’… if that is not our rallying cry, then what is there left for our community to feel good about?
2 Kirk // Nov 3, 2014 at 12:24 am
Seems Vision Vancouver is against influencing our innocent children in schools with branding… unless it’s the Vision Vancouver brand. 🙂
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/vision-vancouver-hits-streets-400-volunteers-super-saturday
Volunteer youth coordinator Leah Bae has actively worked to raise campaign awareness in high schools and post-secondary institutions, she said. Bae served as President of Vancouver District Students’ Council, where she worked along side many Vision school board members. This motivated her to start a ‘campaign school’ for high-school students, using her network.
3 Kirk // Nov 3, 2014 at 12:59 am
Looks like donations from Concord Pacific are okay too.
http://vancouverisawesome.com/2014/06/26/concord-pacifics-seawall-challenge-gives-10000-to-local-schools/
Last year’s team winners designated Chief Maquinna Elementary as the benefactor of the $5,000 donation. Principal Peter Evans said, “This is awesome! Our school community is already benefiting from the donation. To have Concord Pacific bring to the table a great event like the Seawall Challenge, that compliments the Celebration of Light, is really what community spirit is all about. We feel fortunate to have been selected by the winning team to receive the donation.”
4 Lewis_N_Villegas // Nov 3, 2014 at 4:57 am
The Courier’s reporting on the issue is here:
http://www.vancourier.com/news/vancouver-inner-city-schools-worry-about-losing-services-1.884259
5 Internet made me obsolete // Nov 3, 2014 at 10:44 am
I can say, with the benefit of 8 years on an elementary school PAC, that bloody everybody wants to get their hands on the kids in the schools. Every day brought at least a dozen offers from fund-raising companies, all of whom had an extensive catalog of merchandise (“sure-fire winners”) from gift-wrap to candy to glow-in-the-dark beer steins and anything else you can think of.
Those appeals outnumbered (but not by much) the offers from every corporation and single-issue lobby group to provide learning materials or speakers (Ontario teachers recently sponsored a lecture on “white privilege” to elementary students for example) or field trips to their production facilities.
On several occasions the teachers “invited” the children in their classes to accompany them on the picket line and hold placards in defence of the union’s bargaining position. Note was taken of those who participated and those who did not.
Not to worry. By the time they move on to high school what teachers call critical thinking skills will have begun to develop into finely-tuned bullshit detectors. When I was in high school I didn’t believe anything anyone told me, teachers, parents, advertisers, ploiticians, religious fanatics, nobody. Sometimes I still think it’s all lies, but I can live with that. Sometimes even I will tell the occasional lie, but only with the best intentions..
6 Voice of Reason // Nov 3, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Not participating in the Chevron fundraising program is a very bad financial decision driven by a warped Green ideology. How bad? Burnaby, which is not exactly a fan of Oil right now, is participating in this fund raising program because it benefits the children.
When you see such obviously poor financial judgement on a pretty clear cut issue you can’t help but wonder how many other poor financial decisions are being made that are not so visible.
7 boohoo // Nov 3, 2014 at 10:55 pm
Yeah…these are the topics we’re talking about and we wonder why no one cares…
8 Chris Keam // Nov 4, 2014 at 8:18 am
Only five districts have taken advantage of Chevron’s ‘buy gas at our store in exchange for some money for schools’ offer. Not many more takers in the States either. Why so few?
http://www.fuelyourschool.com/select-new-region.aspx
9 spartikus // Nov 4, 2014 at 9:21 am
Overheard on the street this morning [mother to child]: “Gregor Robertson is our mayor. He lives in a big house on a private road where no cars are allowed….”
The great thing about #vanpoli is the campaigns take great care to inform the voters accurately on the issues that matter.
Mission accomplished!
10 Voice of Reason // Nov 4, 2014 at 11:44 am
I don’t know, why don’t you tell us? Or better still, what terrible things have befallen those who have participated.
11 Claudia Ferris // Nov 4, 2014 at 11:45 am
It sure is complex – you are right! Parents did not appreciate being used for political or corporate gain – please see our letter on the subject.
https://www.facebook.com/VSBDPAC/posts/563831180384214?fref=nf&pnref=story
12 Internet made me obsolete // Nov 4, 2014 at 1:29 pm
What could be worse than the opprobrium of CK, Chairperson Bacchus and the rest of the Green censorship brigade.
13 Voice of Reason // Nov 4, 2014 at 3:41 pm
In the correspondence you linked to there are a number of references to DPAC’s belief that education is underfunded by the Provincial Government. If the NDP posted this correspondence on their website would you consider this being used for political gain?
14 Internet made me obsolete // Nov 4, 2014 at 4:26 pm
It doesn’t matter what the DPAC thinks or says. No-one pays any attention, not the public, the VSB or the Ministry. School boards have all been infiltrated by teachers or associates acting in conflict and the PACS have also been targetted. That’s where Chairperson Bacchus came from. She has been a union apologist from the beginning and has now reaped the reward of campaign financing from the unions.
At our school the parents on the PAC decided which offers to accept based on our school’s needs. We didn’t bother asking Patti Bacchus how she felt about oil companies or anything else.
15 Claudia Ferris // Nov 4, 2014 at 6:27 pm
Voice of Reason you are quite right that the PAC’s are the biggest fundraisers in the district – to the tune of $3 million each year. Some of our PACs were promoting test driving vehicles from local dealers as a fundraiser, until shut down by the Principals because that one violated the VSB corporate policy.
I got a call today from a billboard company that said we could fund public education in Vancouver by putting up billboards on the school yard where the school is on a busy street. I liked that one because they would give the money to the district to distribute.
Some PACs are very successful fundraisers. Unfortunately some of the PACs, especially in the inner city schools, can’t raise the same amount of funding. The way we are doing it is quite unbalanced as some PACs have huge budgets and others have none.
16 Claudia Ferris // Nov 4, 2014 at 6:33 pm
The letter DPAC sent to the Chair and Trustees was followed up on by both senior management and the Chair – this is not covered because it is not interesting. Neither the NPA nor Chevron followed up with DPAC until election time.
I would hope all the MLA’s we correspond with about education champion our recommendations. The role of parents is to advise, not fundraise IMO.
17 Chris Keam // Nov 4, 2014 at 8:02 pm
I feel sorry for you two — making a conscious choice to forego a grown-up discussion about education funding for snide comments. And to what end? That would slowly chip away at my self-respect to behave in that manner.
18 Internet made me obsolete // Nov 4, 2014 at 11:54 pm
Can’t take a joKe.
19 Voice of Reason // Nov 5, 2014 at 9:22 am
While you are researching the evils of corporate donations you should also take a look at the Children’s Hospital Fundraising where Teck has contributed something in the order of $27 million. (if education should be funded totally by government, why not health?) Perhaps you will discover this is a nefarious plot by Teck to try to influence children to think that maybe resource companies are not the spawn of Lucifer. Jimmy Pattison donated $20 million. Maybe that’s to get children into his Overwaitea stores so he can sell them soda and candies. There must be some ulterior motive for these substantial corporate donations directed towards children don’t you think?
20 Chris Keam // Nov 5, 2014 at 9:26 am
I have a better idea. Why don’t you demonstrate that the contributions from those organizations are similar in terms of putting the onus on consumers to drive the level of funding and demanding approval on the projects that would be undertaken with the money? Cause at this point, you just sound like a hyperbolic apologist.
21 Internet made me obsolete // Nov 5, 2014 at 10:48 am
Mangle that syntax. I thought you were a professional writer. What kind of sentence is that?
22 Voice of Reason // Nov 5, 2014 at 11:48 am
Only an ideologue would make such a distinction without a difference. In both cases children end up benefiting from the generosity of these corporate donors.
23 Chris Keam // Nov 5, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Only someone with no sensible argument for extending Chevron special treatment to bypass the stated policy would be focusing so hard on the mindset of those who disagree with the VOR decrees. Make your case please. The insults diminish everyone.
24 Chris Keam // Nov 5, 2014 at 3:19 pm
Sorry I’ll use simpler language next time. Appreciate the feedback.
25 Chris Keam // Nov 6, 2014 at 7:09 am
Really? I mean really? 🙂 Let’s leave the schoolyard for the children shall we?
26 Lewis_N_Villegas // Nov 7, 2014 at 8:27 am
On erecting billboards on school grounds [see Claudia Ferris below]…. I think we can get Jim Pattison Group to be actively involved with education in our city in a less ‘transparent’ manner.