Dear Prime Minister Martin and Premier Campbell:

I am writing to express my concern about the thousands of BC children who are attending 
school in buildings at high risk of suffering severe damage in a moderate to strong 
earthquake. The horror of recent events in South East Asia has reminded the parents of 
BC of the thin line that separates our lives from catastrophe. Children were 
disproportionately killed in the disaster. 

A seismic assessment of BC schools was recently completed.  The results of the 
assessment can be viewed at:     www.bced.gov.bc.ca/news/edufacts  

311 of the 864 schools assessed, were thought to be at high risk of sustaining severe 
damage to structural elements in the event of a moderate to strong earthquake. This is 
disturbing.

I welcome Premier Campbell's recently announced $ 1.5 billion commitment to complete 
upgrades to all seismically at-risk schools within 15 years. I want to be sure that it will 
happen, and would like to see the timeline speeded up with federal participation.

Government must take steps to ensure the promise is kept, regardless of political or 
economic shifts in this province.  To ensure that this important commitment is maintained 
over the long term, I would like to see annual reporting, dedicated funding and 
legislation. 

Parents feel strongly that this work must in no way compete for the same funds as the rest 
of the education budget. The two basic human rights of children:  to an education and 
physical safety, must not compete for the same funds. 

During the federal election, elected cabinet Ministers and MPs acknowledged that they 
agreed with parents that this was a safety and infrastructure issue, not an educational 
issue. I encourage the provincial government to seek a cost-sharing agreement with the 
federal government; such a partnership would be a powerful acknowledgement that the 
safety of our children is an important priority for all levels of government. It is my hope 
that a federal – provincial partnership could speed up the pace of the work to a 10-year 
time line. 

As a nation, we must act locally and globally to actively mitigate known risks.  I, along 
with other Families for School Seismic Safety supporters, look forward to hearing how 
our federal and provincial governments plan to ensure the seismic upgrade project is 
completed as rapidly as possible.


Yours truly,