Press Release:
PROVINCE DECLARES ANTI-BULLYING DAY
VANCOUVER - The Province is proclaiming Feb. 25 as Anti-Bullying Day to support efforts to end bullying behaviours in schools and communities across the province, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.
“School districts, schools, families and communities are working together to create an environment of respect and are making our schools and streets safer,” said Premier Campbell. “All across British Columbia, parents, teachers and students and community members are taking a stand against bullying and saying that no one should ever be made to feel intimidated, afraid or discriminated against.”
The Ministry of Education has developed a resource for parents that will be distributed to all public, independent and band schools to help families better understand their shared role in bullying prevention. The parent resource brochure and Internet safety tips are published in 14 languages and can be found online at www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sco/.
All 60 school districts have codes of conduct in place reflecting the legislation passed in the fall of 2007. This step fulfills a commitment to institute “zero tolerance” of bullying in B.C. schools. School districts across the province have set up student web forums, introduced anti-bullying programs facilitated by local police and community groups, and have made information available through school district websites to help parents deal with children who are either bullied or being bullies.
“Feb. 25 is a day we can all stand up together and take a stand against bullying,” said Education Minister Shirley Bond. “We all have responsibility to ensure schools are safe places to learn. Students can help by standing for their classmates, parents can help by talking openly with their children about acting in a respectful way towards others, and schools can help by holding students accountable for their actions.”
Anti-Bullying Day highlights British Columbia’s commitment to being a safe and inclusive province and is an opportunity to actively promote respectful and kind behaviour among citizens. It recognizes efforts to build communities that foster respect, fairness, equity and compassion, and to celebrate the actions of individuals, schools and communities to address bullying, harassment and intimidation.
“I want to thank CKNW and Christy Clark for being a leader in helping promote Anti-Bullying Day in B.C.,” said Premier Campbell. “We can all play a role in making British Columbia a safer place to live.”
Anti-Bullying Day complements the Province’s beliefs that a healthy environment and educated populace are essential to healthy human development, and that a safe, humane society is the outcome of an enlightened and caring community.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Nearly 2 weeks ago I posted some comments on J. Steffenhagen’s blog, ‘Report Card - An indepth look at the B. C. education system’, in response
to her article ‘Stop Bullying: More than a one-day event’.
My comments are being repeated here -
“Thanks for bringing up the subject of bullying again. I also remember Premier’s Campbell’s announcement last year, and also CUPE President Barry O’Neill’s announcement as well.
In fact, I’ve even posted parts of their announcements on a worker’s forum website, where workers talk about problems in unionized, and non-unionized, workplaces. The link to the site is at the end of this posting.
You said “While I have nothing against statements, action is preferable”.
I think the same way. I never took Premier Campbell’s announcement, nor Mr. O’Neill’s announcement, seriously. Talk is cheap.
In 2006 I went to the BC Human Rights Tribunal, complaining that I was bullied out of my job at the Coquitlam School District. But since bullying is not against the law I had to claim that I was harassed and discriminated against. I don’t see much difference between bullying, harassment and discrimination. I was shocked when my case against the union, CUPE 561, was dismissed, but felt partially vindicated when I won most of my case against the school district in September 2008.
Since then I’ve filed with the BC Supreme Court, in order to get the court to review the many errors I see in the remainder of the Tribunal’s decision, and also to bring the union back into it.
And I’m still not working at the school district, even though some of the men I complained about are still working at the school district.
For the past few years I’ve done a lot of studying on the internet about bullying in the workplace. Did you know that bullying is especially rife in unionized institutions? That includes school districts. Is there any wonder why bullying among school children is so prevalent?
If Superintendents and Managers of School Districts refuse to deal with the bullying of employees at some school districts, what makes people think that the same people will deal with the bullying of children at the same school districts?
It all trickles down.
Stop installing uncaring, coldhearted people into positions of power at school districts, and perhaps bullying might be conquered, at all levels.
And start bringing in neutral investigators, and neutral facilitators, with no connections to the school districts, unions, or the government, when charges of bullying come up.
Bullying has been cited by workplace experts to be the number one workplace problem today, all over the world. And schoolyard bullying, among children, is cited to be epidemic as well.
I’ve found numerous articles on the internet of workers bullied to death. And also numerous articles on children bullied to death.
Who in BC, and Canada, is going to start taking major action in stamping out bullying in workplaces and in schools?
Anybody?
Perhaps if more people talk about bullying, instead of ignoring it - or hiding it, something might be done about it.
If you google ‘bullying’ over ten million entries come up. People are talking about their experiences online.
I’m slowly talking about my experiences here - forums.uncharted.ca/about1120.html
J. J. v. SD43 & CUPE 561″
You can find J. Steffenhagen’s ‘Report Card’ here
February 25th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
This is awesome!!!! Really can’t say anything else but thank you, Christy Clark for taking the huge initiative for starting Pink Shirt Day, Bullying Stops Here! And thank you to Gordon Campbell for making February 25th the official Pink Shirt Day, Bullying Stops Here! day!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Perhaps we should be asking our Minister Of Education why in this Province the VICTIM has to resort to changing schools when bullying becomes unbearable? If our Provincial Government really gave a damn about this issue, the School Boards would be instructed to banish the BULLY from the school, and NOT the Victim.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
You guy’s heard it’s some accident happened in Mike Tyson family pure guy, his so great and popular , even he do a lot of crazy things he didn’t deserve it . I’m a big fan of his - we should pray for him.