Video: B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark unveils anti-bullying strategy
Liberal leadership hopeful Christy Clark has outlined how she would address bullying if she becomes B.C.’s next premier.
Clark has proposed reforming bullying laws in B.C., boosting financial support for educational initiatives like Roots of Empathy, training educators, and educating older students on diversity.
While working at CKNW as a radio talk-show host, Clark helped promote Pink Shirt Day in the province, which takes place on Wednesday (February 23). Under her plan, she has proposed adding the popular anti-bullying day to the school year.
“We need to make British Columbia a place where there’s zero tolerance for bullying, and as premier I would do more to combat bullying everywhere it happens,” Clark says in a YouTube video.
Clark is vying to become the next B.C. Liberal Party leader and premier. Her remaining opponents are George Abbott, Kevin Falcon, and Mike de Jong.
The party leadership vote is February 26.
Comments
3 Comments
NDB
Feb 22, 2011 at 4:30pm
an anti-bully campaign launched by the liberal government. The irony is so think I cant barely see through it to read this article.
Roger Flowers
Feb 22, 2011 at 7:54pm
Has the Clark campaign come up with some advertising or what?
Susan
Feb 24, 2011 at 6:52pm
Ms. Clark's proposed anti-bullying policy reveals how clearly uninformed and ill-suited she is, both for Premier and for someone with the privilege and opportunity to write or inform policy on bullying.
Mandating educational programs for students and teachers? Manufacturing empathy by wearing a pink shirt or restoring funding for the Roots of Empathy Program, although well-loved and successful, this program is a small fraction of time and information in a student's school year. These are token gestures and typical of politicians with egos and authoritarian attitudes and actions -- key elements to organizational bullying
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Ms. Clark's efforts at raising awareness about bullying is a good thing. However, announcing a policy that lacks both depth and a clear educated knowledge of the roots of these issues, in structures, society and families and deep understanding and embodiment of compassion, tolerance, equity, and acceptance for all, as well as a link to solid policies on poverty and social justice that would clearly make a difference with bullying in our society amount to campaign rhetoric to fulfill her lust for power.
Zero tolerance for bullying! Is she meaning to put this oxymoron out to the province? Tolerance is a key component of a compassionate, accepting, connected and caring community.
Tolerance. To combat bullying we need to embrace the family, provide more supports to parents and children -- especially parents. A child may be told the importance of kindness, tolerance and the negative impact of bullying but then he goes home and listen to his parents judging the neighbours, putting down friends and co-workers, and scornful of the kids down the street. The roots of bullying go deep, through generations of family dysfunction, violence and abuse and are threaded through almost every aspect of society -- corporations large and small, political parties, and is systemic in the education sector.
There are many reasons for this: socio-economic, socio-political, cultural etc.
The main plank of her policy/campaign platform on anti-bullying is the biggest problem. Zero tolerance. If Christy took the time to do her research, basic parent/educator books by Barbara Coloroso, research articles and course literature on Restorative Justice or Restitution Justice she would know that the bullied becomes the bully and a person who bullies, is always someone who has been bullied, ostracized or hurt in some significant way. Being intolerant or rejecting people that resort to bullying will do nothing to create change with this significant and devastating problem that is rampant in families, communities, politics, corporations and education.
Given the negative legacy she left as Education Minister and her work beside Gordon Campbell while Deputy Premier, her stance is hypocritical at best.