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'Biased' essay contest handed out in error, school board
says
Right-wing Fraser Institute sponsored essay contest on minimum wage hike
CIBC News • IPosted: Janualry 0t1h 2018, 5:43:.54 IPM 1I ILast Updated: Jalrnaiairy 30
The Ottawa -Caideton IDiistiriict Sclhooll IBoalyd says am essay contest sponsored by the coinseirvative
IFraser Ilinstiltute was distributed to Ihigh sclhooll students by mistake. (Daniny Glolbeirrinain/CIBC)
An essay contest from a conservative think tank asking high school students to
explain whether a minimum wage increase is sound financial policy somehow
"slipped through" the normal safeguards against politically biased material, the
Ottawa -Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) said.
The contest, sponsored by the Fraser Institute, was distributed to students along with
research material provided by the institute earlier this month.
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1/31/2018 'Biased' essay contest handed out in error, school board says I CBC News
The contest asked students to expand on the question: "Increasing the Minimum
Wage: Good Intentions, Bad Policy?"
The institute offered a cash prize for the best essay.
OCDSB spokesperson Sharlene Hunter said the contest should not have been
offered to students.
'This one slipped through'
"This essay question is topical and can be connected to the curriculum, but the bias
contained in the question and the resource materials should have made this contest
ineligible for distribution, however, this one slipped through," Hunter said in a
statement.
She said the school board normally expects students to research both sides of an
issue and draw their own conclusions.
"We encourage our students to be critical thinkers and to conduct research using a
range of sources before taking a particular position on an issue," she said. "Schools
have been asked to use this as a learning opportunity to discuss with students and
staff the importance of a contest which encourages students to consider all sides of
an issue."
Institute responds
According to Fraser Institute spokesperson Bryn Weese, the question mark in the
essay's title indicates students are invited to argue either side.
According to Weese, students were specifically asked to explain whether provinces
should increase the minimum wage, what the impact might be on the Canadian
economy, whether it's "an effective way to provide assistance to vulnerable
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1/31/2018 'Biased' essay contest handed out in error, school board says I CBC News
Canadians," and whether there's an alternative that "targets low-income earners
more precisely."
"The questions allow for students to take any position they'd like on this issue,"
Weese wrote in an email to CBC.
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1/31/2018 'Biased' essay contest handed out in error, school board says I CBC News
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