It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Jason Kenney would have made the late, drunken, mean-spirited Senator Joe McCarthy happy. Like McCarthy, he smears individuals in a drive-by shooting manner. During and after the election campaign, he made Simon Dyer and the Pembina Institute out to be enemies of Oilberta when, in fact, like the NDP government, Dyer and the Institute are simply people trying to balance out the interests of the established oil industry in Alberta and the climate crisis that all climate scientists and many events demonstrate threaten human, animal, and plant life on Earth.
Of course that is enough to get them in the crosshairs of an irresponsible gun-slinging premier who cannot stand the idea of anyone having anything but completely warm thoughts about the industry that brought prosperity to Alberta, though leaving many of its residents out of the party.
Amazingly, because Kenney has no evidence of his own to demonstrate the truth of his election and post-election claims that the carbon tax is a "job-killer," he now wants to rely on figures from the Pembina Institute that show micro-negative economic effects of the tax on Alberta's GDP (a .05 percent decline). So he has praised that Institute in his submission to the federal government.
Last week's decision to increase bus fees will impact the families of around 11,000 Edmonton Public School students. (Eddy Kennedy/CBC)
With school bus fees set to rise by hundreds of dollars in the new year, Tia McAdam says her Edmonton family has some difficult decisions to make.
She has already cut back on her twin daughters' choir and dance lessons in light of rising school fees. But McAdam says all extracurricular activities could be kiboshed to help pay for a three-fold hike in bus fees, approved last week by Edmonton Public School Board trustees.
"That's what's heartbreaking," she said.
"I hate the fact that they're doing nothing but homework and housework when they come from school. But, you know, I guess that's just the political climate right now."
On Feb. 1, the cost to bus her daughters to Riverbend Junior High on a subsidized Edmonton Transit Service pass will increase from $19 to $60 a month. It takes about an hour for the Grade 7 students to make the seven-kilometre trip on transit.
Trustees approved the increase last Tuesday, in reaction to the Alberta government's decision to eliminate the School Fee Reduction grant. That program was introduced by the NDP government to help offset the costs of 2017 legislation that prohibited school boards from charging bus fees to families living more than 2.4 kilometres from their designated school.
In February, the monthly cost of a yellow bus for students from kindergarten up to Grade 6 will rise from zero to $33 a month for families living further than 2.4 kilometres. For older students, the monthly fee rises from zero to $60.
Similar fees, also going into effect Feb. 1, were approved Tuesday by the Edmonton Catholic School Division. Under its cost recovery program, the monthly cost of passes for students from kindergarten to grade 6 will be $33.50 per month. The cost for older students will be $56.50 per month.
The public board was already facing a significant deficit for transportation services. The loss of the grant added another $5.3 million to the funding gap, for a total $7.7 million shortfall.
"With the elimination of the grant, it means we're in a really tight financial position," said board chair Trisha Estabrooks.
"The way in which our transportation network is set up is not sustainable and we've known that for a number of years now."
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said it respects the autonomy of local school boards to make decisions on day-to-day matters.
"As always, school boards will remain accountable to the parents of their students for any fees they choose to bring into force," acting spokesperson Jerrica Goodwin said.
McAdam will likely end up driving her daughters to and from school, instead of doling out $120 a month for bus passes. It will mean taking more time off work, affecting her income from her job at a bank.
Her husband travels regularly for work in the oil and gas industry.
"I would really like to start thinking about the future not just getting through from one month to the next," she said.
More fee increases 'very likely', board chair says
The school board expects to recoup $2.8 million this year from the February bus fee increases. The other $4.9 million will be covered by a surplus fund.
But Estabrooks says it's "very likely" the board will have to consider another bus fee increase before the next school year.
"I don't feel great about that, but that's the situation that we're in. When it comes to wanting to make sure that we direct as many dollars as possible into classrooms, that's going to be our priority right now," she said.
The board will consult with families in the new year to determine what kind of services they want and how much they're willing to pay, Estabrook says.
Edmonton Public School trustee Michael Janz looks on as chair Trisha Estabrooks asks a question at last week's board meeting. (Peter Evans/CBC )
The prospect of another bus fee increases starts to chip away at the definition of a truly public school system as parents struggle to make up the costs, says Michael Tryon, executive director of Canadian Parents for French Alberta, an organization that advocates for French-language education.
"It comes from the food budget, it comes from, we don't go out for dinner, we don't get to do the fun things. Do the kids get to play sports? All those factors," said Tryon, who has a son in Grade 11.
Roughly 105,000 students attend Edmonton Public Schools.
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