FSSS Call to Action

Help us convince politicians of the importance in making our schools seismically safer - take a few minutes out of your day right now and send a message to decision makers. We've made it easy for you:

Send your email to these key decision makers and any others you would like to include:

gordon.campbell.mla@leg.bc.ca, carole.taylor.mla@leg.bc.ca, shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca, les.jones.mla@leg.bc.ca, carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca, david.cubberley.mla@leg.bc.ca, ken.denike@vsb.bc.ca, don.lee@vsb.bc.ca, clarence.hansen@vsb.bc.ca, carol.gibson@vsb.bc.ca, al.wong@telus.net, sharon.gregson@vsb.bc.ca, allen.blakey@vsb.bc.ca, shirley.wong@vsb.bc.ca, eleanor.gregory@vsb.bc.ca, Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca, Fry.H@parl.gc.ca, Owen.S@parl.gc.ca, Davies.L@parl.gc.ca, Day.S@parl.gc.ca, Harper.S@parl.gc.ca

We also encourage you to separately forward this e-mail to your friends and contacts and ask them to help us reach out to public officials as well.

Thanks for your help!

-FSSS

Families for School Seismic Safety
www.fsssbc.org
info@fsssbc.org

--copy text below here and paste into a new email message--

Dear Prime Minister Harper, Premier Campbell, Education and Public Safety ministers, and School District Trustees:

I am writing to express my concern over the failure of politicians at all levels to adequately address the issue of school seismic safety in BC.

In October 2004 – a provincial assessment found that 311 schools in BC are “at high risk of sustaining severe damage to structural elements in the event of a moderate to strong earthquake.” These buildings are at disproportionately high risk. We have the most vulnerable members of our society in our most vulnerable buildings.

In November 2004, Premier Campbell made an impressive $1.5 billion, 15-year commitment to seeing all BC schools meet acceptable seismic life safety standards by 2019.

In spring 2005, during the election campaign, the government committed to “fast-tracking” 80 BC schools to see them completed within 3 years. To date: Structural work has begun, or has been completed on 4 of the 80 “fast-track” schools.

In the throne speech of 2007, the government indicated its commitment to urgently upgrading the provincial legislature.

Over the past 2 decades this province has proactively upgraded bridges, tunnels, dams, prisons and the liquor branch. Citizens did not have to ask for this risk mitigation work to be carried out, nor have they had to ask that the legislature be upgraded. Mitigating these risks and having carried out the schools assessment indicates an acknowledgment of the importance of this work.

World events such as the New Orleans flood make structural investments like $1 billion to strengthen a levee look painfully sound in hindsight. Yet it appears that parents and citizens who have been asking that this problem be addressed in a timely manner for over a decade will have to continue to ask.

It does not appear that the mechanisms to achieve the Premier’s promise have been put in place. It does not appear that the politicians we elect at any level are demonstrating commitment or accountability in seeing this issue addressed.

Why do parents have to keep asking for school seismic safety? In the aftermath of tragedies elsewhere in the world parents grieve that the school should have been the safest building in town – unfortunately schools are frequently the most highly damaged structures in earthquakes around the world, sometimes catastrophically. Isn’t this precisely the kind of work we elect public officials to demonstrate accountability in carrying out?

By contrast, our neighbours in Seattle will have completed upgrading and improving their school buildings by 2010 and have spent $1 billion USD to achieve this. Citizens voted on 3 consecutive ballot initiatives to see their money spent in this manner.

To school district trustees: Parents note that in many districts there has been a failure to demonstrate any level of commitment or accountability on this issue. Silence is the abdication of responsibility.

To Prime Minster Harper and the Federal government we would like to point out that in July 2005, the OECD Council adopted the “Recommendation Concerning Guidelines on Earthquake Safety in Schools”. In February 2007, the OECD reminded member nations like Canada that, “By adopting the Recommendation, seismically-active countries are committed to ensuring that their governments implement the guidelines.” Canada signed on to these recommendations and there is no evidence of commitment on the part of the federal government to this issue. Parents have long stated that this is not actually an educational issue – it is a public safety and infrastructure issue and as such should qualify for federal funding as part of the national disaster mitigation strategy. The 2 basic human rights of children – to an education and to physical safety – should not be competing for the same funds.

Perhaps the most powerful statement on the importance of addressing this issue was made by the OECD experts group in 2004:

“The motivation for school seismic safety is much broader than the universal human instinct to protect and love children. The education of children is essential to maintaining free societies . . . most nations make education compulsory. A state requirement for compulsory education, while allowing the continued use of seismically unsafe buildings, is an unjustifiable practice. School seismic safety initiatives are based on the premise that the very future of society is dependent upon the safety of the children of the world.”

Prime Minister Harper, Premier Campbell and school district trustees: Parents of BC are looking to all of our politicians to show leadership in seeing this problem addressed.

Premier Campbell took a critical first step in assessing the magnitude of the problem and in making a long-term commitment to seeing the problem addressed. We need all levels of government to work together to ensure that the mechanisms and long term resources are put in place to ensure the Premier’s strong commitment of 2004 is met.

Sincerely,