Lorne Doerkson will keep phones out of classrooms, help families pay for kids’ activities and make sure no child goes hungry at school.

DELTA, BC — Lorne Doerkson outlined his plan today to help BC kids learn, play and thrive, with phone-free classrooms, a new $500 children’s activity credit, expanded school meals and more places for kids to play.

After nine years of David Eby, British Columbian families are struggling. Parents are working harder than ever and still find that sports, music and camps are out of reach. Food prices are up almost 30 percent while incomes have stagnated, and BC food banks recorded 223,340 visits in a single month last year, including 68,053 by children. Too many kids start the school day hungry, and too many schools have aging playgrounds that parents spend years fundraising to replace.

If elected premier, Lorne Doerkson will invest in our province’s future by ensuring British Columbia’s kids can thrive. Conservatives will ban phones in schools, so classrooms are places where kids can learn, and expand school meal programs in high-need communities so no child in BC goes hungry at school.

To help families keep kids active, Conservatives will create a refundable BC Children’s Activity Credit covering up to $500 per child each year for sports, recreation, music, arts and camps. They will double the Playground Equipment Program to $10 million a year, replacing aging equipment at 50 schools annually, and launch a matching program to help municipalities build more fields, arenas, pools and recreation facilities.

A Conservative government will also extend the Autism Funding Program and review its transition to the Disability Benefit and Disability Supplement so no family loses the support it needs.

“A child who is hungry, tired, restless or distracted cannot learn. Every parent knows that, and every teacher sees the results,” said Doerkson. “Kids need full stomachs, active days and focused classrooms to reach their potential, and too many British Columbia kids are missing out. Parents deserve better, and a Conservative government will deliver.”

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Media Contact:
Alex Shiff, Director of Media Relations
media@conservativebc.ca