Surrey - The Editor, Re: Parents and governments need to put our kids first," the Now, May 29.
Letter writer Donna Walker asks "Can we pressure our government to understand that developing citizens outweighs developing pipelines?" The B.C. Teachers Federation wantsthe same pay and benefits as very wealthy Alberta, while reducing work load with smaller classes at the same time.Smaller classes also means hiring more teachers, while feathering the nest of their union, by bringing in more union dues. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.Where does Alberta get all of the money to pay their teachers? They get it from Alberta's natural resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, forest products, and yes, even pipelines that Donna discounts. She is putting the cart in front of the horse.It is natural resources that pay the teachers wages and benefits, not the other way around. If B.C. teachers want Alberta teacher's wages, they should do the same as two of my sons did with their families - go to Alberta. There are enough unemployed teachers in B.C. who would love to take your place, with the same pay. The B.C. taxpayers would love you for it.Fred PerrySurrey