Families For School Seismic Safety

NEWS RELEASE

STANDARDS FOR PROVINCE WIDE SEISMIC SAFETY FOR SCHOOLS

SHOULD BE SET BY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION…RISK ASSESSMENT MUST BE FOR ALL SCHOOLS IN THE PROVINCE SAYS FAMIILIES FOR SCHOOL SEISMIC SAFETY

For Immediate Release, November 26th, 2003 - Families for School Seismic Safety applauds the recent decision of the Surrey School Board to close the school buildings at White Rock Elementary which pose a safety risk to students and staff should an earthquake occur, Chair for the group, Dr. Tracy Monk. said today.

“However, we believe that every student in British Columbia should be physically safe while in school,” Dr. Monk stated. “That is currently not the case since hundreds of other schools across British Columbia are not safe, putting the lives of thousands of students and teachers at risk even if a moderate earthquake occurs.”

Dr. Monk said that Education Minister Christy Clark’s recent pledge to conduct a province wide inventory and assessment of seismic risk in schools is an important first step.

But she stressed that any risk assessment of schools should not be a political issue but a safety issue and called upon Minister Clark to adopt a proposal submitted to her and Federal Minster Stephen Owen this week by the B.C. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists.That proposal recommends a standardized evaluation formula and the development of a provincial master list for school seismic risk.

Families for School Seismic Safety are scheduling follow-up meetings with both Federal Minister Stephen Owen and Provincial Minister Christy Clark for early December, in order to emphasize the urgency and magnitude of the problem while determining specifics for the implementation of the APEG proposal.

In particular the FSSS will want to determine from both levels of government,what funds can be made available immediately to implement these important recommendations from APEG .

“It is up to the federal and provincial government to work together to solve this crisis,” Dr. Monk said. “After all, what could be more important than the safety of our children?”

She called upon all parents of the province to work together and speak with one voice on school seismic safety by supporting Families for School Seismic Safety. Information is available at its web site: www.fsssbc.org.

Contacts: Dr Tracy Monk (604)420-9252 or Eugene Hodgson (604) 805-6600