Bjornson misses the bus on school transit issue

Education Minister Peter Bjornson is considering a ban on the use of private vehicles to transport students to extracurricular activities in light of the recent tragedy in New Brunswick. He says student safety is his primary concern, and thinks forcing schools to provide bus transit will prevent a similar incident from occurring in Manitoba.

While this sounds fine in concept, it ignores the challenges schools already face in delivering extracurricular programs, such as paying for equipment and finding qualified coaches/supervisors. Adding mandatory busing to the mix could kill many marginal programs, and might eliminate inter-school competition in some rural areas altogether.

At a time when the government is bringing in physical activity credits for all grades and stressing the concept of healthy living, it seems odd they’d throw up an additional roadblock to participation.

Further, if Bjornson is truly concerned about the safety of young people while on the road, then what about those participating in activities outside of the school system? Should every hockey team, gymnastics club and scout troop in the province be forced to provide bus transportation as well?

If the government is serious about wanting to improve road safety, then it should concentrate its efforts on ensuring highways are well maintained and speed limits are enforced. Knee jerk reactions to tragedies rarely lead to effective policy decisions.