Premier Christy Clark – on BC’s #1 labour dispute:

“We remain committed to negotiating a fair deal with the BCTF as soon as possible, but it has to be affordable for taxpayers.

We want a deal that gives teachers a raise and invests in classrooms, but it must also be in line with settlements for other unions.

Unfortunately, the BCTF rejected our offer to reopen schools while the two sides enter mediation to reach an agreement.

Instead, the BCTF is sticking to its strike and demanding twice as much money as everyone else in the public service has received.

That’s not fair for the 150,000 dedicated women and men who have reached long-term agreements with affordable raises.

Class composition is priority #1 — more educators helping more students. BCTF or CUPE, it doesn’t matter because students’ needs come first.”

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Teachers strike set to continue

School classes cancelled

Temporary Foreign Workers program in disarray

Unemployment ?

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Safety and job skills – subject of Government message by Minister Shirley Bond:

“Every worker has the right to come home safely at the end of the day. Following the efforts made by the labour movement and governments present and past, we continue to work collaboratively with employees, employers and unions to make workplaces safer and improve worker safety and worker rights.

“Labour Day also gives us the chance to look toward the employment opportunities that are ahead for our province. By 2022, there will be one million job openings in B.C., along with an increase in demand for more skills training and higher education – more than 78% of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education, and 43% in trades and technical occupations.”