First Nations flags raised in Stanley Park

In what the Vancouver Park Board describes as a “small but meaningful gesture” toward reconciliation, the flags of the (Musqueam), (Squamish), and(Tsleil-Waututh) Nations have been raised in Stanley Park.

Leaders from all three nations were present at a ceremony on traditional, unceded Coast Salish Territory Tuesday.

Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow took the opportunity to outline the violent, colonial history of the site. “I am a direct descendant of the last Indigenous residents of Stanley Park. The violent and destructive removal of my family from their home is part of our history. The city’s park board was instrumental in deeming us ‘squatters’ and burning our ancestral villages to the ground,” he said in a statement. The park board’s website notes that villages on the land were occupied for “thousands of years” until the residents were evicted in the 20th century. Until 2017, the Canadian flag, the B.C. flag and the Union Jack flew at Brockton Point. The flagpoles were removed due to safety concerns, and new ones were installed in 2019. They remained empty while consultations were undertaken on replacing the flags. In 2020, it was recommended that the flags be replaced with those of the First Nations, and the flags were gifted to the park board. Plans to raise the flags in a ceremony were put on hold due to the pandemic and officially greenlit by the park board last year. “Raising these flags encourages the broader community to learn more about our history, culture and traditions. We have always been here, and we will always be here,” Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn), a councillor of the Squamish Nation. said in a statement. Tuesday’s statement notes that the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Committee and Working Group – which includes the three First Nations’ elected and traditional leaders and representatives from the park board – is developing a 100-year “vision” for the space.“This is a step towards balancing the cultures and histories of Stanley Park, a place of great significance to the three Nations and a site of colonial harms, and a signal to residents and visitors that this land is on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories,” said Rena Soutar, the park board’s manager of decolonization, arts and culture.

Source: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/

Surrey Council declares a school infrastructure ‘crisis’

Surrey, B.C. – Surrey Council has voted to declare the state of school infrastructure a crisis that is impacting the delivery of education that children need and deserve. During the Regular Council Meeting Monday, Council directed staff to organize a meeting between the City, Surrey School District, the Minister of Housing and Minister of Education and Child Care to “remediate this crisis situation immediately.”

“The state of school infrastructure in Surrey has reached a crisis level,” said Surrey Mayor

Brenda Locke. “The pressure to create more housing cannot be done in isolation. Core infrastructure such as schools must be built in lock step with new housing. It’s shocking to hear that by September 2024, we may have nearly 400 portables across our city. I know the Board of Education has continually advocated for funding from the Province, but we’re not seeing the action that our community so desperately needs. We know that without rapid investment, our schools are facing a dire situation. We need action and investment in building more schools in Surrey now.”

Surrey School District saw more than 2,200 new students enroll this past September, bringing the student population to over 78,0000. Based on population estimates, enrolment is projected to continue increasing at a rapid pace in almost every community. This is concerning as many of Surrey’s schools are already operating far over capacity as population growth continues to outpace available space. “We appreciate the support from the Mayor and Councillors in advocating for our district,” said Gary Tymoschuk, Vice-Chair of the Surrey Board of Education. “We are all committed to ensuring that every student in our district has access to an engaging and quality learning environment in their neighborhood. Over the past several years, our school district has been facing a significant increase in student enrollment resulting in an urgent need for more classroom space. Portables are a shortterm solution to quickly accommodate our growing student population, but this is not a sustainable solution due to cost and space limitations. We need new schools and additions to existing sites to accommodate this rapid growth, and we look forward to working with the province and the city to address this growth.”

To manage growth, the district is utilizing portables however this temporary strategy comes with challenges, including finding outdoor space for the structures, as well as the significant budget pressure they present as the district must pay for the cost of purchasing and moving portables from its oper- ating budget. The district is currently utilizing 361 portables (300 for enrolling classes) and will be moving over 56 this summer to accommodate growth in various areas throughout the city for a cost of over $7.2 million. The district will also be purchasing 30 additional portables for the next school year.

This is money that the district could utilize in other ways that can help support the students in Surrey to thrive. Last summer, the district submitted its annual capital submission to the Ministry of Education and Child Care outlining additional projects that are a priority to address capacity needs. This spring, the district received approval on two additions, creating 700 new seats but this is far less than what is needed. Last week, the School District approved its the 2024/25 capital plan submission to the Province. This will be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Childcare in the coming weeks.

From: Amy Jugpal Communications & Media Relations Lead Office of the Mayor