Issue dominates question period

The issue of cuts was front and centre in question period in the B.C. legislature Tuesday, as the opposition focused on playground funding.

About 90 Vancouver schools have equipment that must be replaced but now there's no hope of that, said B.C. NDP MLA Jenny Kwan.

"As a result tens of thousands of children will not be able to play at their school playground," Kwan said.

But the government said other funding sources could be tapped.

The $20-per-student grant to Parents Advisory Councils that it cut in half last year has been restored, said B.C. Social Development Minister Rich Coleman.

Kwan said that despite that change, the Parents Advisory Council at one Vancouver school had been fundraising for months to replace a condemned playground and now had no chance of reaching its goal.

The minister was unapologetic, saying the government was facing unprecedented economic hardship.

"I know you don't like to admit that being prudent and fiscally responsible is good for the future of our children and our grandchildren," Coleman said.

via www.cbc.ca

The P.E.I. government is launching a new system of assessments for children entering kindergarten next year.

'We can look at intervention strategies and supports as they come into the public school system.'— Education Minister Doug Currie

Children will be evaluated late in April by retired school teachers, who will check for any potential emotional, social or developmental delays.

Education Minister Doug Currie said the program is part of preparations for bringing kindergarten into the Island school system. The provincial kindergarten curriculum is currently taught mainly in private centres, but will move into schools in September.

"On Prince Edward Island now we don't have a universal screening tool, so this is a very positive process," said Currie.

"We can look at intervention strategies and supports as they come into the public school system."

Letters will be going out to families of children registered for kindergarten, letting them know the assessment dates and locations. Education officials are stressing the importance of ensuring children are registered.

The department has set aside $50,000 to hire the teachers.

via www.cbc.ca