B.C. is funding air conditioners for some vulnerable residents. How about schools?

Following the government's announcement Wednesday that it would fund air conditioners for some low-income and vulnerable people in B.C., it may soon face calls to do the same in elementary and secondary schools.

Port Moody will submit a resolution to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention later this year, asking the Education Ministry to fund and install air conditioners in schools across the province.

The resolution suggests that funding be focused towards school districts with facilities that could be used as emergency weather shelters in the event of increasingly common extreme weather events — but it also notes the benefits of cooling systems on the health of children who would use those facilities day-to-day.

"Extreme heat events have become more frequent and intense in recent years, leading to increased recognition of the associated risks. Heat waves can have severe consequences on public health, including heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and even death," says a report to city council.

"Children are particularly susceptible to these risks due to their limited capacity to regulate body temperature efficiently. As schools serve as essential gathering places for children, it is crucial to ensure their safety and well-being during extreme heat events."

Need is urgent, says BCTF

B.C. Teachers Federation president Clint Johnston agreed that air conditioning and increased ventilation is an urgent need in B.C. schools — and said that it should fall on the ministry to ensure its districts have the funding to meet that need.

"Our members bring it to us frequently, especially as temperatures go up. It certainly rose to prominence during COVID and the heat dome [in 2021] combined," he said.

"You had the forest fires as well, and [it was] a situation where you had forest fires and we were told to open our windows to help circulation amidst the pandemic — but you couldn't open those windows because of the smoke, and you couldn't condition the air in the room and circulate it."

Johnston said even absent historic heat events like the 2021 heat dome that killed more than 600 people in B.C., classrooms in the province often experience heat that makes learning difficult and uncomfortable.

In those situations, he said, some schools see families opting to keep their kids at home.

While he said the province needs to build and maintain schools so that they are viable learning environments for students year-round, he also agreed that air conditioners would be useful in situations where schools need to be used as emergency shelters during extreme weather.

The calls come after the provincial government announced earlier this week $10 million in funding for 8,000 new air conditioners for elderly, vulnerable and low-income residents over the next three years.

However, Johnston said he is waiting and watching to see whether a UBCM resolution on the matter will lead to a similar announcement for schools. 

"Optimistic and hopeful — those are two slightly different things. But I would be hopeful because it's recognized during these extreme events that it's often the most elderly and the youngest who are most vulnerable," he said. 

"It only makes sense to me to make sure that schools are environments that those young people can learn in — but in the event that they're needed for a larger scale situation, that they're also a viable space for people to recover."

CBC News has reached out to Education Minister Rachna Singh for comment.