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March 19, 2013

Budget closes classroom doors on ESL students


Edmonton Alberta Liberal Education Critic Kent Hehr is criticizing the Alberta government for its failure to properly fund English as a Second Language (ESL) programs even as Albertas immigrant population has been rising for years and is expected to continue to grow with our economy. ESL training has been reduced from seven to five years in schools across the province, cutting the amount of time new Albertans have to develop the language skills and training they need to go onto university, college or join the workforce. This is despite a recent international report that indicated a dramatic drop in the reading ability of Albertas English language learners. Investing in our students at a young age will build a better future. We need to help new Albertans, not take programs away from them, says Hehr. The future of our workforce relies heavily on our increasing immigrant population, cuts to ESL funding show this governments complete disregard for our economic growth. Hehr questioned the Education Ministers logic during todays Question Period on his decision to cut funding for ESL programs, when so much of our future prosperity depends on our English language learners. Alberta Liberals believe in investing in ESL programs throughout the province. By increasing funding to both traditional and internet/mobile English training we can help unburden our social services, our teachers, and help newcomers of all ages achieve their full potential in Alberta. -30For more information, contact:

Amy McBain, Director of Communications Tel: 780.427.7438. Cell: 780.904.5430. Fax: 780.427.3697. e-mail: amy.mcbain@assembly.ab.ca

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