Published Thursday September 16th, 2010 Page A4 By MOLLY CORMIER, For The Daily Gleaner
All parties were pressed by an audience member to accept the final recommendation of the coroner's inquest into the van tragedy that killed seven members of the Bathurst High School boy's basketball team and their coach's wife in 2008.
Greg Byrne, Liberal candidate for Fredericton-Lincoln, said the Liberal government has already made changes to ensure students are safe while travelling for extracurricular activities, but didn't specify whether his government would adopt the recommendation.
"I cannot say that we're going to commit to that, but I can assure that safety is paramount," Byrne said.
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Candidates representing four of the parties New Brunswickers will see on election ballots later this month gathered to participate in a public forum on education Wednesday night.
The event was hosted by the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick and moderated by Catherine Harrop of CBC Television.
Craig Leonard, Progressive Conservative candidate for Fredericton-Lincoln, outlined his party's promises concerning public education in the province. He said a Conservative government would increase the teaching supply fund, develop an updated implementation of the McKay report, review changes to French immersion and enhance anti-bullying programs.
He also said school support workers would see increased support from his party.
"The teacher assistants, intervention workers, library assistants, bus attendants contribute to the function of our schools and deserve to be treated as such. A PC government would find ways to support these workers with increased hours, and fair pay," Leonard said.
NDP candidate Tony Myatt, who's running in the Fredericton-Lincoln riding, presented a slide show that focused on spending in the Liberal government and the provincial debt.
"The net debt is increasing by nearly a $1 billion," he said.
When it comes to education, Myatt said the NDP would restrict spending by stopping construction on schools that are a part of public-private partnership, and reinstating early French immersion to Grade 1 from Grade 3.
"The only thing we're going to spend more money on is illiteracy," Myatt said.
"We're going to spend $7 million. We think it's very serious."
Ellen Comer, the Green party candidate for New Maryland-Sunbury West, said her party has a vision for eliminating post-secondary tuition costs.
The tuition freeze would either stay in place, or they would lower tuition, Comer said, on the way to achieving that goal.
"To increase tuition would be completely contrary to our long-term vision," she said.
All parties were pressed by an audience member to accept the final recommendation of the coroner's inquest into the van tragedy that killed seven members of the Bathurst High School boy's basketball team and their coach's wife in 2008.
Greg Byrne, Liberal candidate for Fredericton-Lincoln, said the Liberal government has already made changes to ensure students are safe while travelling for extracurricular activities, but didn't specify whether his government would adopt the recommendation.
"I cannot say that we're going to commit to that, but I can assure that safety is paramount," Byrne said.
He said in his opening statement that the amount of money the Liberal government has spent in the last four year on education has not been spent in 30 years.
He also defended the Liberal government's decision to implement a program that placed laptops in the hands of schoolchildren across the province.
"This is not just about laptops; technology is just a tool. It's about fostering creative learning ... It's a tool that has shown to have remarkable results," Byrne said.
"If we don't look at how the way we learn is changing, we will be left behind."
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