Peninsula Daily News news sources
VICTORIA — A 3-month-old strike by British Columbia public schoolteachers officially extended into the new school year Tuesday.
Some parents in the Victoria region took their kids to “strike camps” at community centers.
Several recreation programs at the community centers in such suburbs as Esquimalt and Saanch extended their summer camps to accommodate restless elementary-school children.
Ten-year-old Jade Chin, who was supposed to start the fifth grade Tuesday at an Esquimalt elementary school, said she was sad to be going to a recreation center “because I really like school.”
Her mother, Carey Chin, said the $167 for a week of day camp is an unexpected cost for the family, and the $40-a-day per child promised by the provincial government won’t come until after the strike is resolved.
Negotiations between the teachers union, the British Columbia Teachers Federation, and provincial education leaders were expected to continue this week.
Teachers and parents are gathered at the provincial Legislative Buildings on Tuesday morning for a “teach in” demonstration and picketing.
A total of 40,000 schoolteachers are striking across British Columbia.
However, the strike won’t affect a game between Victoria’s Mount Douglas Secondary School Rams football team from crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca to play a game against Forks High School on Friday.
Forks athletic director and football coach Mark Feasel said Mount Douglas’ team is required to have an escort from the school, and the principal agreed to fill that role.
Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. at Spartan Stadium in Forks.
