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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Education ministers visit Merritt By Michael Potestio THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
Minister of Education Peter Fassbender and Minister of Advanced Education Amrik Virk paid a visit to Merritt on Thursday. The pair dropped in on a trades awareness event at the Merritt Civic Centre hosted by School District 58 where students in Grades 6 and 7 visited with representatives from various trades. Merritt Secondary School vice-principal and Trades and Transitions co-ordinator Alison Kuzio said representatives included a meat cutter, hairstylists, plumbers, auto mechanics, painters, electricians and even a funeral director at the event. “Who knew that was a trade? I did not know,” Kuzio said. The event was the first of its kind, she said. Some presenters brought along objects pertaining to their work to show the students. Fassbender and Virk each made a speech to the crowd of students at the event. Fassbender told the students they are his number 1 priority. “What I care the most about as the Minister of Education is your future, your education and that you all have a chance to be successful in your lives,” Fassbender said. Virk told the students every job requires education and advised them to think about their futures, noting classes such as math and English have relevance to their lives. Fassbender told the Herald this type of event exposes students to the possibilities of career options for them. “I think that’s what we need to do. We need to expose young people, not just to necessarily uni-
Minister of Education Peter Fassbender makes a speech to the Grades 6 and 7 students who gathered at the Merritt Civic Centre on Thursday for a trades awareness event hosted by School District 58. Michael Potestio/Herald
versity or post-secondary, [but to] jobs out there,” Fassbender said. Fassbender said he also met with the school board on Thursday and looked at the design for the new NicolaCanford School. He and Virk also visited the House of Honour across from Merritt Secondary School. Virk visited the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology during his time in Merritt as well. Local Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) president Wade Thompson was also at the trades event and said it’s a
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great event to have. “From a union perspective, it’s great. This province needs more skilled trades. There should be people in the province getting the education to fill the jobs that are here,” Thompson said. He said CUPE and SD58 have agreed to meet on Nov. 6 to negotiate the local terms of the new two-year contract agreed upon at the provincial level last month. Once the bargaining is complete, CUPE members and school trustees will each need to sign off on the deal before Dec. 20.
Fassbender said he doesn’t think there have been many ratifications at the local level yet as the process has just started, but he is optimistic. “I’m very optimistic we’re going to get 100 per cent because everybody wants the stability. Nobody wants any disruption so I’m sure we’ll get there,” he said. Thompson said he was hoping to have a deal complete sooner, but given differing schedules, it has been a challenge trying to get everyone involved in the process to the bargaining table at the same time.
“It’s a bit of a challenge trying to co-ordinate the logistics of getting everybody there and the sixth of November is the soonest we could make that happen,” Thompson said. Fassbender said the Ministry of Education also has plans to negotiate with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) in the coming weeks. He said a 10-year deal is the goal, and given the fact the government will soon be back at the bargaining table with CUPE, long-term stability with both the teachers and support workers is a priority.
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