Alberta NDP vows to restart work on Filipino language-culture curriculum if it wins in May

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley. WIKIPEDIA

Alberta’s New Democratic Party will resume work on a Filipino language and culture curriculum for schools if it wins in the next general election in May, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley promised.

The Filipino language and culture curriculum was being developed during the previous NDP rule, but it was canceled by the United Conservative Party when it won in 2019, according to the Calgary Herald.

Should the NDP win to form the next government in the province, it will restart work on the curriculum, Notley announced. “We will work with the Filipino community to develop and implement this curriculum in our first term,” she said.

The curriculum will be for schools that want to offer Filipino language and culture classes, NDP MLA and education critic Sarah Hoffman told a recent press conference at Calgary’s Centre for Newcomers.

“In addition to English and French, there are currently 26 other languages available for students to study in Alberta,” reported Hoffman, who also expressed pride in her party’s commitment to a Filipino language and culture curriculum. “Having language options available as part of Alberta’s curriculum is vital to a robust culture and function for our province.”

Alberta has the second-highest population of Filipino Canadians in the country, with more than 216,000 living in the province, or 5.2 percent of its population, according to the Calgary Herald, citing 2021 census data.