Chinese Schooled on Local Education

A group of influential Chinese politicians visited Squamish Saturday (Oct. 16) and they left filled with facts on the local educational institutions’ infrastructure.

MP John Weston led the delegation made up of three prominent members of the National People’s Congress.

The Chinese group included a former labour minister who now chairs the Canadian-Chinese Legislative Association and two other officials who are members of the legislative association. Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner and Coun. Paul Lalli also attended the meeting.

The Conservative Party MP said two of the Chinese politicians on the tour represented constituencies of more than 350 million people.

The delegation met at Quest University as part of a Sea to Sky Corridor tour that ended in Whistler, and by all accounts, the dignitaries were intrigued by the local university.

“The Chinese were asking questions and the questions just kept coming,” Weston said after the meeting.

Weston said the meeting was organized on very short notice and he was pleased that local education representatives were able to attend. The presidents of Quest University and Capilano University were both present along with Kate Keogh, vice principal of the North Vancouver Outdoor School.

Keogh said the Chinese officials were mainly interested in university issues.

“It is always valuable for us to have an opportunity to let people from other places know what other opportunities exist here,” she said.

According to Quest president David Helfand, meetings such as these play a vital part in the effort to get the word out about what is being accomplished at the private university.

Capilano president Dr. Kris Bulcroft attended with the school’s international programs associate manager Rosanne Ng.

Bulcroft said the meeting was an opportunity to discuss issues like visas, accreditation, university transfers and internships.

Capilano University has approximately 700 international students and with Chinese students outnumbering any other country.

“We’re trying to establish policies and procedures to make it possible for student exchanges,” said Bulcroft.

She said she was impressed with the level of knowledge the Chinese officials had about post secondary education around the world.

“It is a global marketplace for students,” she said.

While no agreements or commitments were made, Bulcroft and Weston both said the meeting provided good dialogue.

Following the Squamish visit, the visitors headed north for a tour of the Whistler resort where they learned about business, trade and tourism opportunities. The group then travelled to Ottawa.