Aug 19, 2020 11:27 PM -
B.C. teachers' union calls for smaller classes, masks in back-to-school plan
Share On
President of the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) Teri Mooring is interviewed during a protest at the Victoria Convention Centre in Victoria, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. The B.C. Teachers' Federation wants the province to reduce class sizes and make the use of masks mandatory wherever physical distancing isn't possible as part of its back-to-school plan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The BC Teachers' Federation says it wants smaller classes and mandatory masks whereever possible as part of the provincial back-to-school plan amid the pandemic.
A statement from president Teri Mooring says the restart plan for Kindergarten to Grade 12 has made no change to classroom density and it's impossible to physical distance with 30 people in a classroom.
The union also wants dedicated funding for heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and expanding mandatory mask use for children aged 10 and older.
The provincial government has said masks will be required whenever students and teachers are outside their learning group when school resumes September 10th.
Latest news
AlbertaOct 29, 2025
More than 740,000 students head back to class in Alberta after teacher strike ends
It's going to be a busy day for Alberta schools today as more than 740,000 students are set to return to class following the end of a provincewide teachers strike.
Classes are resuming after Premier Danielle Smith's government invoked the Charter's notwithstanding clause to order 51,000 teachers back to work.
Students have been out for more than three weeks, and Smith has said the strike has caused irreparable harm and that the government had no other choice.
School boards have advised parents they expect classes to be up and running, but there may be delays and changes to everyth
BCOct 28, 2025
Man arrested in connection with Lynn Valley tire slashing spree, say North Vancouver RCMP
North Vancouver RCMP say a suspect has been arrested in connection with a string of tire slashings that damaged several vehicles in the Lynn Valley area last week.
Police received at least 16 reports between October 25 and 26 of tires being punctured or slashed on vehicles parked along Kirkstone Road, Viewlynn Drive, Lynn Valley Road, and Mountain Highway. Investigators believe more victims may not yet have come forward.
After reviewing neighbourhood security video, officers identified a suspect and made an arrest around 5 p.m. on Monday, October 27. The man remains in custody as the investiga
CanadaOct 28, 2025
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers highlights top five most wanted suspects this Halloween
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers has released its annual list of British Columbia’s five most wanted criminals, calling on the public to help locate them as Halloween approaches. The announcement was made Tuesday at Cougar Creek’s House of Horrors in Surrey, where officials urged residents to share any information that could lead to arrests.
The list includes Omid Mashinchi, 43, and Gurkirat Singh, 26, who also appear on BOLO Canada’s national 25 Most Wanted list. Other fugitives include Amir Navarchi, 40, John Norman MacKenzie, 64, and Jean-Sébastien Philippe Eric Ferland, 43.
Mashinchi
CanadaOct 28, 2025
Canada Post and postal workers’ union to resume talks amid ongoing rotating strikes
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are preparing to return to the bargaining table later this week as rotating strikes continue to disrupt mail delivery across the country.
Both sides have confirmed they will meet with a federal mediator, though no specific date has been set. The renewed discussions mark the latest attempt to resolve nearly two years of tense negotiations over a new collective agreement covering about 55,000 postal employees.
Union members launched rotating strikes more than a month ago, shortly after the federal government announced a series of policy
BCOct 28, 2025
Avian flu resurges in Fraser Valley with nine new poultry outbreaks this month
Health officials have confirmed a new wave of avian influenza outbreaks across British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, marking the province’s first cases in nearly a year. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says nine commercial poultry flocks in Abbotsford and Chilliwack have tested positive for the virus since mid-October.
The latest surge began on October 14, when the first outbreak of the season was detected in Abbotsford. Eight additional cases were reported in the following days, six of them in Chilliwack-area farms. The return of infections coincides with the annual fall migration
Related News
9.05°C Vancouver