Blog Post: BC Public Education Crisis

Esk’etemc and CPWL rallied in Victoria on May 26, 2025, standing in solidarity with grassroots allies from four other School Districts.

Rally & Meetings with Legislators and Grassroots Allies:

CPWL and Esk’etemc united in a powerful day of action with grassroots advocates from Surrey and Kamloops, rallying for funding, justice, safety, and equity in BC’s education system.

We are deeply thankful to MLA Lorne Doerkson for his consistent advocacy and for facilitating this critical day. His leadership in connecting our voices to key decision-makers continues to help strengthen our efforts.

The day began with meetings with Conservative MLAs Lynne Block, Scott McInnis, and Lorne Doerkson. Later, we connected with MLA John Rustad at the rally. On the floor of the Legislature, Lorne introduced our delegation to several additional legislators, facilitating valuable conversations that reinforced our growing network of support.

Lynne Block, the Shadow Minister for Education and a conservative critic—who we’ve now met with twice—has committed to joining Lorne Doerkson and Scott McInnis (from Indigenous Affairs) on a future visit to School District 27.

Her clear and public commitment is an important step forward. It helps amplify our cause by drawing attention from the broader public and media, and increases pressure on Minister Beare to accept our invitation to come to Esk’et and see firsthand the issues of violence, bullying, harassment, discrimination, and racism happening in SD27.

Beyond our legislative efforts, our delegation built meaningful new alliances with grassroots leaders from four other school districts. United by shared challenges, we reinforced the urgent need for collective action to drive systemic change—especially in response to chronic underfunding, resource misallocation, leadership failures, and harmful cost-cutting policies.

These issues not only jeopardize school safety but also contribute to teacher burnout, reduce support for educational assistants, erode and, in some cases, eliminate alternative education options entirely.

But what became undeniably clear during our time in Victoria is this: BC schools are failing to provide the most basic expectations of a public education system—a safe, healthy environment for every child.

Far too many students, Indigenous and non-indigenous youth, are suffering the consequences of a system that turns a blind eye to racial and non-racial violence, discrimination, and neglect. Reports of bullying, harassment, and racially motivated harm continue to surface—and they are being met with silence, ignorance, deflection, or bureaucratic inaction.

This is not just about policy. This is about the human rights and dignity of students who are being traumatized in the very places meant to protect and nurture them.

We call for an immediate investigation into SD27 regarding their neglect to tackle Racial Violence, Bullying, Discrimination and Harassment!