Education and social issues in the throne speech

The Liberal throne speech made some spectacular promises for all levels of education in B.C. and for helping society's most vulnerable.
Even though the Liberals and their throne speech will likely get voted down on Thursday, it's worth noting what was promised, even if just to compare it with what is said in the future or what the NDP-Greens promise, should they gain power.
First, the Liberals promised a royal commission on education. What is a royal commission? It's a major public inquiry into any given issue. The last one for education was in 1988 in B.C., so it has been a while. None of the parties ran on a platform calling for a royal commission in the last election.
Questions that might be asked, according to the throne speech, include: "How do we train teachers? What do we teach? How do we fund schools? How do we engage the community? How do we make sure testing and standards remain rigorous? How do we reduce conflict in the system and ensure student needs are always put first?"
The Liberals also promised a review of the per-pupil funding formula, something now promised by all three major parties in B.C.
The Liberals also pledged to invest $1 billion in childcare and early childhood education, something they said wasn't necessary during the election. The NDP campaigned on a $1.5-billion $10-a-day childcare program, while the Greens said they would expand the education system to cover three and four year olds. The plan outlined in the throne speech would expand subsidies and create 60,000 new spaces. The throne speech also promised that partnerships would be explored with school districts, so that childcare spaces could be in elementary schools. So on childcare, the Liberals made promises somewhere in between the NDP and the Greens.
The Liberals promised a poverty reduction strategy, something they said wasn't necessary just weeks before the election campaign. When Vancouver Sun reporter Lori Culbert and I wrote about working poverty this past March, the Liberals said they were focused on getting everyone a job and a poverty strategy wasn't necessary. The federal government is also working on a national poverty reduction strategy.
They've promised to fully fund adult basic education and English as a Second Language programs, both promises the NDP and Greens also made during the election campaign. Many of the people featured in the recent series about working poverty said it is nearly impossible to afford an education without those supports and without an education, it's impossible to get a better job.
The Liberals also promised to raise welfare rates by $100 a month and annual increases in the future and to increase disability assistance as well. They're going to expand the Single Parent Employment Initiative and provide a basic income to all kids aging out of government care.
These are all wonderful promises, even if they will likely not see the light of day under a Liberal government. Simply the fact the Liberals are talking about these issues is a significant move forward.
tracy.sherlock@gmail.com