During Question Period today Skeena MLA Robin Austin demanded to know why the government is giving money away to Big Oil and Big Banks while schools in the northwest cannot afford to stay open five days a week.

“These are some of the most profitable companies in the world,” said Austin. “Why are we giving $327 million to oil companies when children in the northwest are on a four-day school week? This budget gave nothing to people in forest-dependent communities, and nothing to struggling schools.”

Rob Greenwood, Superintendent of School District 82, recently told frustrated parents that the school district was working hard to re-introduce a five-day week. The problem, he noted, was a $1.2 million shortfall in the budget.

“It would take less than one per cent of the money that this government is giving away to the richest companies in Canada to give our kids a five-day school week,” noted Austin. “That just goes to show where their priorities are.”

Their priorities, says Austin, are with the big companies that give the B.C. Liberals big donations. In just the last two years the B.C. Liberal Party has been given donations from banks and energy companies totaling more than $200,000.

“It’s disgraceful,” said Austin. “This is the sort of thing that undermines public trust in the government. The banks pay the B.C. Liberals $100,000 and they turn around and cut their taxes by $220 million. How is anyone supposed to think that these decisions were made for the public good? Our schools need that money; banks and oil companies that make billions of dollars a year in profit won’t even miss it.”

Robin Austin, MLA for Skeena
phone: (250) 638 7906