Another school board-related matter heads to New West city hall

Just a few weeks after Coun. Tasha Henderson brought forward a motion related to the idea of whether to extend the city’s school zone hours, another motion that got its start at a New West Schools meeting will be making its way to city hall.

Coun. Daniel Fontaine is looking to get support for his New West Progressives’ colleague’s ask related to the Single Mothers’ Alliance (SMA) Transit for Teens Campaign: school board Trustee Danielle Connelly brought up the issue earlier this year, during a meeting at the end of January.

“I will give full credit to Trustee Connelly, who brought it to my attention, and requested that I bring it to council,” says Fontaine.

“By stopping [free transit] at 12, I think from a public policy perspective, that doesn’t make sense, and given that there’s been a lot of funding invested at the provincial level, I think it could have been something piloted at the provincial level … but I think [putting support towards this motion] is good public policy,” he elaborates.

The motion that went ahead at the school board level asked that the New West School District endorse the SMA campaign to provide free public transit for teens aged 13 to 18 in BC. A letter affirming that support would be written on the district’s behalf to the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, BC Transit, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the premier’s office, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the Ministry of Education and Child Care, the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, and the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth.

If this motion were to get support at city hall, a similar request would also be made at New West’s municipal level.

“When you see what’s contained within the motion, what the Alliance is trying to do, we’ve heard a lot about kids aging out when they turn 18, falling out of the system, and then being on their own, having to take care of themselves … there’s this interesting imaginary line between age 12 and 13 … they’ve made a really good point around making sure there’s some equity in the transit system for individuals who don’t have the financial means to access doctor’s appointments, sporting events, other things that they have to do.”

Currently, transit is free for those who are between the ages of 0 and 12, and has been since 2021.

“We often hear from low-income families and those of greater means about the value and impact of free transit for their children,” reads a letter dated Jan. 6, 2023 by the SMA to the aforementioned stakeholders. “Children and families can get everywhere they need to go through a universally accessible policy that levels the playing field for families in this province and upholds children’s right to access school and their communities.”

The ask is connected to research done by the SMA in the City of Vancouver via a free transit pilot project.

“[Participants] reported an increase in overall mental health and well-being among their youth since they were no longer left behind or had to experience shame when asking for free rides,” the letter explains.

You can look at the research brief for the pilot here.

Along with New Westminster Schools, other endorsers of the plan include Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Aunt Leah’s Place, West Coast LEAF, and Women Transforming Cities.