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Doerkson promises fully costed B.C. Conservative platform will be released Sunday
B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson said the party’s fully costed platform would be available later Sunday. At a Delta event announcing the Thriving Kids Plan, he outlined proposals including a school cellphone ban, expanded meal programs and support for families and school playgrounds.
B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson promised that a fully costed party platform would be available later Sunday, Oct. 18. He made the commitment when a reporter asked about the platform at a media event in Delta announcing the party’s “Thriving Kids Plan.”
Doerkson was joined by Conservative candidates from around the region, including Delta South candidate Ian Paton, whose farm provided the backdrop, and Delta North candidate Monica Mohan. Surrey candidates Garry Thind, Mandeep Dhaliwal and Bryan Tepper also attended. Thind, who represents Surrey-Guildford, was re-elected to the Surrey school board in the Oct. 17 civic elections. The event included other candidates from the Lower Mainland.
The plan’s announced proposals include a full ban on cellphones in schools, which Doerkson described as “no phones in school, full stop”; expanded school meal programs in high-need communities; and a $500 activity credit. The credit would be a refundable B.C. tax credit for sports, music, recreation and art camps.
The party also proposes doubling annual funding for its playground equipment program to $10 million, with the goal of replacing aging playgrounds at 50 schools each year. It would partner with municipalities to match municipal funding for sports and recreation facilities. For families of children with autism, the plan calls for extending autism funding and reviewing changes made by the BC NDP to ensure no family loses its funding.
Doerkson said too many children start the school day hungry, while families working harder than ever still cannot afford hockey, swimming, music or summer camp. He said playgrounds at too many schools are falling apart and parents spend years holding bake sales to replace them. He also said too many classrooms have become a contest between teachers and cellphones. “Here’s the truth: a child who is hungry, tired, restless, or distracted cannot learn,” Doerkson said, adding that every parent knows this and every teacher sees the results.