Dear Editor
I am writing this letter in response to several recent communications to the Bonnyville Nouvelle regarding the impacts of the Bonnyville Portage College Campus on the town of Bonnyville. I have lived in Bonnyville for 14 years. I came here to teach at the Bonnyville Portage College Campus and I had the privilege of working at that Campus for 11 of the 16 years it served the community. Some of my work has been with what the province refers to as “Vulnerable Albertans”. In this last budget, the provincial government vowed to protect this group of Albertans. In my opinion, they are failing to do so.
So what does it mean to be vulnerable or perhaps more accurately, a non-traditional learner, in the context of Alberta's post-secondary system? In my opinion, it means that for a variety of reasons a member of our community requires some community supports to realize their potential. The most common support is access. Traveling to the city is simply not possible for many learners in our community.
What does it mean to our community when just one of those non-traditional learners is given those supports? Well, former students of mine are now local business owners who provide employment opportunities to others; they are also long-time valued employees of the Town and County who serve us all daily. Many former First Nations students, especially mothers and grandmothers, have inspired multiple generations of their families to stay in school. Nurses, school teachers, tax-payers, home owners, parents, soccer coaches, volunteers – the community contributions made by former students of the Bonnyville Portage College Campus are too numerous to count.
A former student, and single–parent of three children, told me recently that as a result of her ability to go to post-secondary close to home, she was able to go from earning just $12 an hour in the retail sector to earning $50 an hour in the Oil and Gas Industry. She has done much more than that though; she has gone from requiring the assistance of many of the social services in Alberta to contributing to those services through her tax dollars and community involvement.
The closure of the Bonnyville Campus is a loss for every person in our community. The loss of human potential affects us all.
I would just like to end by saying that my remarks are my own, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions of Portage College.
Sincerely,
Jacquie Flood
Bonnyville, AB
