When Colin Hansen rose in the Legislature on February 15 to table his 2011 budget he emphasized that his fiscal plan was anchored to the “status quo”. Despite improvements in a number of revenue areas and hefty set-asides for “contingencies” that the Finance Minister could not fully explain, Mr. Hansen made it clear to everyone listening that his government was thinking more about their political future than the future of the province.

The contingency funds were a particularly tough pill to swallow for many parts of the public sector. With close to $600 million set aside, these funds represent significant fiscal capacity for the provincial government to address the many glaring needs for improved service across the province. In post-secondary education, for example, where real per-student operating grants have been in steady decline since 2001, even a portion of that contingency money could go a long way towards reversing the affordability and access problems that chronic underfunding has created in our institutions. In our presentation to the Legislative Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, FPSE has estimated that it would take close to $200 million in additional Ministry funding to return per-student operating grants to the level they were in 2001 when the BC Liberals took office.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hansen’s budget showed no sign of making those much needed investments. Instead, his plan is to bide time while his party sorts out their self-inflicted leadership crisis and works to “rebrand” its image with voters.

The status quo fiscal plan is also contributing to a growing frustration amongst post-secondary educators who are working hard to negotiate new collective agreements at their local institution. Many of our faculty associations are being told that despite local efforts to find local solutions to our contracts, the government in Victoria is not about to let local solutions prevail. The marching orders coming from Victoria are simple: nothing will change unless we approve it. Unfortunately, that approach to negotiations only makes the problem worse.

Our members are frustrated by the process and are taking steps to make sure that our employers and the provincial government get that message loud and clear. A number of our locals are taking strike votes. In one case, the local has issued strike notice. Across the entire province we are mobilizing with all our locals to rally at their campuses on March 9 to voice our frustrations with the lack of real progress at the bargaining table. Victoria needs to hear that their stranglehold on local bargaining tables is undermining our ability to find local solutions to local problems.

The status quo may work for the BC Liberals, but it isn’t working for post-secondary educators. It’s time to hit the refresh button and let real bargaining find real solutions for our members.