February 11, 2013 - 12:55 PM
VANCOUVER - The B.C. New Democrats are pledging to restore funding to a popular science program started by the B.C. Liberals but cancelled last year.
Opposition Leader Adrian Dix says an NDP government would reinvest $1 million annually in the B.C. Program for Awareness and Learning of Science, a sort of travelling road show developed by Vancouver's Science World.
Dix made the announcement to a throng of parents and their children on Family Day inside the iconic silver globe near the city's downtown core.
He says the program, started by the B.C. Liberals in 2005, would spread science to 140 communities and an average of 190,000 people from Haida Gwaii to Fort St. John.
He panned the government for slashing the program, which he says could inspire students to go into science and technology careers, where he says 147,000 jobs will open over the next decade.
Dix's announcement came a day before the legislature resumes for a five-week session prior to a month of campaigning and then a general election in mid-May.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013