NDP Holds B.C. Liberals To Account For Cuts To School Sport Programs
VICTORIA— Short-sighted cuts to school sport grants are another example of the B.C. Liberal about-face on their election pledge to protect education, say New Democrats.
Carole James
In today’s Question Period, Leader Carole James and New Democrat MLA Doug Donaldson highlighted comments by Joe Sullivan, the high-school wrestling coach of Canada’s Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh, who is speaking out against these cuts.
“Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh of Hazelton is a powerful example as an athlete from a small community, who benefitted from these funds, excelled at her sport and brought international attention to her hometown. Her coach says if it weren’t for this funding, her success wouldn’t have been possible,” said James. “With the government spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on Olympics, how can the minister justify this cut to a small amount of funding that supports athletic excellence here at home?”
Joe Sullivan emphasized that funding to get athletes to competitions in communities around the province is particularly important for youth living in small communities like 
Doug DonaldsonHazelton, where the opportunities to compete at home are scarce.
“Doing that travelling in B.C., and beating those on the mat from bigger centres was a real life changing event for Carol and for others on the team,” said Sullivan. “If we had not done those trips, that never would have happened.”
Doug Donaldson, the New Democrat MLA for Stikine, noted that the opportunity to compete in school sports is key for youth in Hazelton, and other rural areas, which don’t have nearby access to competitions or recreational infrastructure compared to more populated centres.
“This government thinks that Coach Sullivan should just tell his students to do more walking, dancing or playing in parks, but Carol Huynh would have never won gold with that attitude. She won gold because she worked as hard as she could, and because she had access to government support when she was starting out,” said Donaldson.
“There are many more Carol Huynh’s in B.C., young athletes who are giving it their all. But they need government to stand with them to fulfill their dreams,” said James. “Will the B.C. Liberals finally do the right thing and restore this small amount of funding that makes such a big difference in the lives of B.C. athletes?”
James and Donaldson were joined by other New Democrats MLAs in highlighting a series of education cuts announced by the Campbell government recently without prior warning or a proper explanation.
Carole James and the New Democrats have been holding the B.C. Liberals accountable for backtracking on their election promises to protect health care, education and other vital services, and for breaking their word on the HST.
