Grace Smith's letter in the Tuesday, April 7th Citizen should be a wakeup call to everyone in Prince George and surrounding areas. Her letter describes how her daughter, who had grown up in the Lower Mainland, came to Prince George 20 years ago to attend the dental hygiene program at CNC. The daughter and her husband intended to finish that program and then return to the coast. They are still in Prince George today. This is the reverse of the way Prince George was in the past when our brightest and best students left the north to further their education never to return. It is where we will be again in a few years if we allow the deterioration of our northern post secondary education structure.
All of us need to get off our collective duffs and raise hell about the proposed downsizing of our college. In the past Prince George's residents, mayor and council, and local politicians (federal and provincial) did everything they could to get a college, get a university, get improvements to health care for our area.
Where are all of those voices now that these institutions are being threatened?
I don't know why these programs are being cut. Is it poor management on behalf of the college board, is it under funding by a provincial government that is going to balance the budget no matter what the social cost, or is it greed on behalf of the staff at the college? My guess is it is a combination of the above. I have had enough of all of the above pointing their fingers at each other rather than fixing the problem.
Those of us who care about what kind of community Prince George is should be letting those in power know that we want those institutions to remain strong and viable. And people from the surrounding communities should be every bit as concerned about the downsizing and potential loss of these institutions.
erhaps it is really too bad all of our MLAs are in the ruling party. They have to follow the party line rather than speak up for their constituents. A strong opposition voice would be screaming blue murder right now.
John Warner
Prince George
