We were able to speak on CBC News BC's Early Edition this morning, in a segment that also featured Vancouver School Board Associate Superintendent Pedro da Silva and Surrey Superintendent Mark Pearmain.

We were so happy that CBC gave time to air the other side of this story. Most of the coverage of AI in schools in Vancouver has only had the voices of people trying to push the technology:

• CBC interviewed VSB Digital Literacy Mentor Christina Walker in February 2026
• This is Vancouver interviewed Mark Pearmain and Pedro da Silva in January 2026

We were able to speak after the two superintendents. This post will cover what they spoke about.

The plan is… no plan

Parents have repeatedly asked Vancouver School Board how Copilot will be used in classrooms, and Mr da Silva’s comments in the CBC segment made it clear that VSB's plan is that there is no plan. They plan to to let students and teachers figure it out.

This thinking is mirrored by comments from a VSB Trustee. We had an opportunity to speak with them and voiced our concerns about the effect of AI on students, the trustee said that they hoped for legislation on a provincial or federal level. We understood that to mean they did not see VSB as responsible.

This same mindset was shown by Mark Pearmain's comment later in the segment. He is excited to see how AI can enhance a student's experience, but does not explain how that might occur.

They are adamant that Microsoft Copilot must must be deployed in schools, but they cannot explain why or how it will be used.

How will students use Copilot?

How students would use Copilot was a key question that host Michelle Eliot asked three times in three different ways before she got an answer. First asking what students would use Copilot for, then what would happen in practical terms, and finally asking for prompts or examples of classes.

For an example of how students could use Microsoft Copilot 13+, this is a screenshot from a VSB student account, asking it to write an essay. The Copilot 13+ guardrails that are often talked about do not include stopping the tool from doing the student's thinking for them.

Concerns heard, ignored

Later in the segment, the host Michelle Eliot mentioned the calls from the Manitoba premier to ban AI for children 16 and under, and asked Mark Pearmain what he thought about this and other concerns around AI.

Mark Pearmain avoids the question and responds by talking about valuing transparency and encouraging parents to ask questions. To support that conversation in a clearly unbiased way, Surrey is hosting evening on "healthy AI" with Dr Shimi Kang, an AI advocate.

If you have time, it may be worth registering to attend and seeing if there is any opportunity for questions from attendees.

This tactic of talking about listening to parents concerns, but continuing with AI deployment is the same used by Vancouver School Board in their VSB Voices meeting where parents and guardians were encouraged to air their concerns, and then ignored.

Inevitability framing

Not mentioned in any of the discussions is the idea of not using AI. “AI is here, the genie is not going to be put back into the bottle.”

This inevitability is a key tactic and framing used by AI advocates. They shift the conversation to “how best to use AI” by cutting off any option of saying “No”.

We are not powerless

Despite this framing, AI is not inevitable.

We have the power to protect students’ learning environment.

One key way we can enact change is through the upcoming elections in October. There are elections for school board trustees in October for both Vancouver and Surrey.

What you can do:

• Ask candidates what their position is on AI in schools.
• Ask if they would support a two-year pause on AI.
• Ask if they have seen the research on how AI makes students learn less.
• Sign our petition.