Education before incarceration

On Feb. 6, 2012 the Liberal government bragged that the new prison near Oliver BC would produce 240 full time jobs.  Hold on...is this something to brag about?  Wouldn't it be more appropriate, in a time when the crime rate has decreased,  to brag that there will be 240 more teaching jobs, or 1000 more?  That would be something to brag about.  But when do we ever hear that?  When it comes to education, it is more likely that we hear about cuts to teachers and resources.

Christy Clark has the gall to say that this prison will help families and will help schools thrive. Families will be attracted to the region. She goes on to say that she hopes that a prison in the community will change the statistics of Aboriginal incarceration in the country. 

Whaaaat? 

These statements are just mind-boggling coming from a government that has cut the education budget by nearly $3 billion in the last 10 years. Classes are overcrowded and services to special needs are lacking. Yet Ms. Clark thinks building a prison is what it will take to make schools thrive.  She thinks building a prison on aboriginal property near Oliver will keep aboriginal people out of prison in this country. 

Whaaaat?

Mark Twain once said, "Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog."

It is time to get our priorities straight.  We need to support schools, rather than build more prisons.  Education needs to be a priority over incarceration.