The Honourable Jessie Sunner is the newly appointed BC minister of post-secondary education and future skills. She previously served as the parliamentary secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives and was a human rights lawyer. In a recent interview conducted by The Cascade at CIVL Radio’s studio on Sept. 5, she shared her objectives and values as she steps into this new role.
How are you ensuring the long-term direction of universities in B.C. reflect the needs of students outside of labour market demands?
“…With youth unemployment being at higher levels than we would like, it’s really important that when folks are going into classes, they know there’s an outcome there where they can get a good job, [and] be able to build their lives right here where they’ve grown up … We have talented people, that’s [our] number one asset, and we need to make sure that they have the skills and training that they need … This is a space where you go to learn, build your critical thinking skills, relationships, [and] you get to build out the future of where you want to go in life.
… we’re working with post secondary institutions on all these fronts and building out the programs we need for the future, but also focusing [on] supporting universities to build programs that they see a need for and that students are interested in.”
How will you ensure that micro-credentials are recognized by employers, but don’t become a substitute for deeper learning?
“I think micro-credentials [are] very important, especially as we see changes in our job markets … A big way we want to support that is working with universities, but also through employers and industry to see what skill sets they’re seeing [that] employees don’t have, we can build in… But [they] will never be a substitute for the actual education space … [it] is so much more than just skills and training for a job market. It’s about that deeper thought.”
How does your department plan to address the current financial challenges posed by declining international student enrollment?
“The federal government has unilaterally decided to determine how many international students we have, [with] this tap on and tap off method. It’s just not something that’s sustainable, and it’s not something that we’re a part of. We’ve continuously lobbied to the federal government that we need to be a part of that decision making, because international students and immigration in general needs to be sustainable, needs to be stable, and it needs to be able to fit the needs of our markets. And we know international students are a key part of our student communities. They help increase the diversity of thought within our educational facilities …
“When I was in university, [with] folks from different parts of the world in my classes, I got to learn a lot better than I would have if everyone thought the same. So in this way, we’re working with post secondary institutions to help them manage their budgets and create sustainability in our sector … we’re working with our partners throughout post secondary institutions in order to get to sustainability in this sector that we control here in our province.”
What are ways that you would address housing and affordability and how do you think these are barriers?
“Our government is committed to investing in student housing. We just recently opened up a new student housing building at BCIT … it’s one of the commitments that our governments made, because students need to have a secure, safe, stable environment to live in, in order to get the safety in their other areas [and] focus on school.”
How do you feel your background in human rights has prepared you for this role?
“I think one of the reasons I became a lawyer was because I grew up in a community where it’s easy to see certain groups or newcomers [not] getting the same kind of support that others are. And it was something that I always knew I wanted to advocate for.
“One of the key reasons I wanted to get involved in politics [was] to continue to advocate for folks that have different experiences and need to have not just equality, but equity in their situations. And sometimes you don’t hear their voices at the table because they’re out there working two or three jobs, they’re going to school and then going to another job and then taking care of folks. Representing those viewpoints at the table is really important. It’s also really important for me that we have diversity around the table, in terms of age, life experience, gender, all of these things at the decision-making table.”
