This afternoon, government introduced Bill 22: Safe Access to Schools Act in the B.C. Legislature. This legislation is designed to protect students, staff, and families from disruptive and harmful protest activities at schools to preserve safe access to education.
Bill 22 is currently being considered in the Legislature and is not yet law. No access zones around K–12 schools have been activated. In the meantime, in the event of disruptive protest activity at a school, administrators can continue to rely on Section 177 of the School Act and the accompanying Provincial Guidelines. The provisions of the Trespass Act and the Criminal Code also still apply. Please continue to report any incidents of protests or disruptive behaviours or activities to ecc.strategicpriorities@gov.bc.ca.
Please contact Jennifer.McCrea@gov.bc.ca or Safer Schools Together if there is an incident unfolding that school officials require support to respond to or manage.
