It’s back to court for the B.C. Teachers Federation. No, it’s not suing the government. It’s got bigger fish to fry this time. Now the BCTF is after Google.

As Keith Fraser reported in The Province last week, it’s filed a B.C. Supreme Court suit against the Internet giant because it hosted a blog (bcpolyblog.blogspot.com) which, it says, casts the federation and its president, Jinny Sims, in a less-than-flattering light.

The writ vigorously refutes a number of the blog’s comments.

For instance, the lawyers categorically deny that Jinny Sims kidnapped Big Bird. They also strenuously object to suggestions that she threatened to kill the iconic Sesame Street character.

Thank goodness for that. I love Big Bird.

Nor, they say, does anyone at the BCTF get paid $85,000 to wash Sims’ car.

Whew. I’m glad they cleared that up.

These comments were just two of the BCTF’s complaints listed in a writ that runs about 20 pages. The list includes some complaints that are utterly ridiculous.

It also includes some more serious ones.

They dispute, for example, the blog’s claim that Sims uses intimidation tactics to make teachers obey BCTF orders. A serious accusation, but one you can hear almost any day from callers on CKNW.

So why go after a local blog for making silly jokes and repeating other oft-expressed sentiments? Because the BCTF seems to have forgotten how to settle anything except through litigation. And this case demonstrates that no disagreement is too small to find its way into its lawyers’ hands.

It’s an uncomfortable reality for many BCTF members. After all, it’s their money being spent to ensure everyone knows Ms. Sims bears no ill will toward that big, lovable, yellow bird.

But it’s not just a problem for teachers. The BCTF’s penchant for turning any disagreement into a legal action has had a terrible impact on schools. Parents looking for common-sense solutions to classroom issues can’t get them when complaints routinely get sent to the courts or arbitration.

Discussions that should be settled between teachers and parents suddenly become fodder for lawyers. As a result, the people who are actually affected by the issue won’t likely get heard and common-sense solutions don’t get found. Even the government, with its experts and its deep pockets, can’t make small changes.

Want to close schools for two weeks during the Olympics? Better call the lawyers; apparently the BCTF doesn’t much like the idea.

According to his biography on the Sesame Street website, Big Bird is “a very curious creature who makes friends easily.” And we all know he likes to share and he’s willing to compromise.

So now we know they’re not trying to kill him. But maybe, if the BCTF leaders would at least watch a few episodes, they might learn something about how to get along with the people in their neighbourhood.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 1:01 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.