In the past decade, the government of British Columbia started removing funding from the Ministry of Education, in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.  They have lost two court cases at the Supreme Court of BC, as the government's unilaterial removal of bargaining rights was deemed illegal.

I started this petition because I've had enough.  I am not a teacher, and I do not have students in school. I am a taxpayer. I have watched as crown corporations have demanded higher fees from us, while the provincial government takes money out the back door and puts it into general revenue.

I have watched government "spin doctors" at work over the past few months, spending our money on anti-teacher/education campaigns and media rather than education. How much money is the government's current media campaign on education taking away from actually funding education?  How many textbooks could they buy? How much has the government spent - of our tax dollars - on TWO failed court cases? Now they're appealing the decision once again, and it will cost us millions more. If it goes to the Supreme Court of Canada, it will cost an enormous amount, while still not providing students the resources they need to be as successful as they could be.

Let's be clear about this - that money is not coming out of Christy Clark's pocket - the money is coming directly out of OUR pockets.

As a taxpayer, I OBJECT. The BCTF is a very large trade union - they've admitted that they're broke from paying for not one but TWO trials at the BC Supreme court. In the January 2014 decision, the judge restored provisions for smaller class sizes and class composition guarantees. We, as taxpayers, PAID for that decision. The provincial government is using tax dollars from all of us, including, ironically, the BCTF members, to fight the BCTF over these issues, and they intend to do it again and again!

Does the government of British Columbia feel that they have UNLIMITED RESOURCES to fight these court battles?

Tell Christy Clark and Peter Fassbender that today YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH - stop using the students of this province as pawns. Respect the RULE OF LAW - the province has lost this battle TWICE. Stop using our tax dollars to re-fight the same battle or put their spin on it and PUT THOSE TAX DOLLARS BACK TO WORK IN EDUCATION IMMEDIATELY!

If you're a taxpayer like me, whether you have kids in the system or not, and you're tired of this enormous waste of money on lawyers and mediators and spin doctors, please SIGN THIS PETITION  and PASS IT ON!

Give Christy Clark and Peter Fassbender a CLEAR MESSAGE - this game is over! The government needs to realize they have lost the case and they need to get a settlement NOW and get children BACK IN CLASS!

Here's a quote from the January 2014 judgement:

"The Court has concluded that the government did not negotiate in good faith with the union after the Bill 28 Decision. One of the problems was that the government representatives were pre-occupied by another strategy. Their strategy was to put such pressure on the union that it would provoke a strike by the union. The government representatives thought this would give government the opportunity to gain political support for imposing legislation on the union."

http://www.scribd.com/doc/202969346/BC-Supreme-Court-2014-BCSC-121-British-Columbia-Teachers-Federation-v-British-Columbia

Well, Peter and Christy, you got your strike. Now fix it.