Higgs called 'deplorable' as education council members condemn review of LGBTQ policy
Council members also criticize government for bill that limits their power
"I know it's recent news, it just came out, but the premier's comments regarding Policy 713 tonight are absolutely deplorable," Dominic Vautour said during the council's meeting Tuesday evening in Moncton.
It was one of a series of comments by Anglophone East council members, who oversees a district in the southeast region of the province with more than 18,000 students, that criticized the government and its approach to education.
Vautour's comments came as the council voted to send a letter to Education Minister Bill Hogan urging preservation of the policy in place since 2020.
Earlier in the day, the province's child and youth advocate released a report critical of the province's review of the policy.
Kelly Lamrock said the review appeared to be the result of three emails over 30 months, a significantly smaller number than the "hundreds" of complaints Hogan and Higgs have claimed the government has received.
Higgs spoke to reporters for nearly 20 minutes at the legislature Tuesday to defend the review.
He said parents should be informed by schools if children under the age of 16 want to adopt a different name and pronoun at school.
The premier also said he doesn't think elementary and kindergarten children should attend drag queen storytime events, asking if schools are to promote something instead of teaching.
'You can count us as thousands'
Vautour said in an interview after the meeting that there are children who don't feel safe expressing their identity to their parents.
"For us to put an age limit where the parent is contacted if a child decides to speak to a guidance counselor to join an alliance group, or whatever it may be that would be outing that child to the parents, which may be hostile," Vautour said.
Dominic
Vautour, a member of the Anglophone East district education council,
called the premier's comments on Policy 713 deplorable. (Anglophone East District Education Council)
"We've seen it time and time again in other jurisdictions and other countries, how harmful that can be to the children."
The premier's office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
Council members voiced a series of remarks critical of Hogan's claim about the number of complaints that led to the review launched in April.
"Minister Hogan, there are 11 of us. You can count us as thousands," Ian Hebblethwaite, another council member, said of the group's support for keeping Policy 713.
"Can we talk about numeracy now?" member Kristin Cavoukian said followed by laughs in the room.
"Obviously numeracy has failed some people in this province," Vautour said, going on to speak about the premier.
Superintendent Randy MacLean told the council the district would continue to strive to create safe spaces for students.
Legal challenge of council powers planned
It was the second topic in which council members were highly critical of the province's approach. Earlier, they voted to hire legal representation to challenge Bill 46.
The bill introduced last week would eliminate decision-making authority at four anglophone school districts, but preserve it with francophone districts.
Kristin
Cavoukian, an Anglophone East district education council member, was
among those critical of the province reviewing Policy 713 and proposed
changes to council powers. (Maeve McFadden/CBC)
"This is important," Hebblethwaite said ahead of the unanimous vote. "It's about local representation. The government is proposing to remove that."
Multiple council members said the province appeared to want to centralize power in Fredericton after a fight over changes to French immersion in the anglophone sector.
They suggested reducing the power of councils to make decisions could see controversial changes made without local input.
"We become a consultative body that can be ignored," Cavoukian said.
The vote was a concrete step toward a formal legal challenge the four anglophone districts threatened to launch in a news release last week.
It wasn't clear whether the other councils would also vote to hire a lawyer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Amos
Thats an understatement
Al Clark
https://nbhc.ca/council-members/harry-doyle
Harry Doyle
Harry Doyle is a former educator having served 35 years in public schools as a teacher, physical education director, guidance counsellor and high school principal. He studied at Teachers College, the University of New Brunswick and the Université de Moncton. He also served as a part-time professor teaching courses in the Masters of Education program. He holds 3 university degrees including a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration.
Mr. Doyle is a former MLA for the Albert Riding (1995-1999) and served as Minister of State for Youth and Literacy. He has previously served on numerous boards and committees including the Board and Executive Committee of the New Brunswick Teachers Association and the Board of the National Capital Commission. Mr. Doyle served as a member of the Board, Executive Committee and as Treasurer for both the former Southeast Regional Hospital Authority and the Horizon Health Network. Mr. Doyle served a first term with the New Brunswick Health Council between 2013 and 2016.
Over the years Harry Doyle has been active at the community level as a coach in hockey, baseball and basketball. He has worked as a communications and public relations consultant. He is proud to have worked with Eugene Niles studying the Petitcodiac River system and preparing a report that led to the opening of the river.
He currently serves as a member of the Board of the South East Regional Learning Association as well as Councillor and Chair of the Anglophone East District Education Council. He resides in Lower Coverdale with his wife Sandra.
Listen: RHA and DEC candidates forum
- May 7, 2021
- Erica Butler
On Thursday, CHMA hosted the final instalment of candidates forums for local elections 2021. This time, we spoke with RHA candidate Laura Reinsborough, and DEC candidates Michelle Folkins and Brian Neilson. Current incumbent RHA representative Pauline Gallant was not able to join the forum due to her work schedule.
Listen in to hear RHA candidate Laura Reinsborough talk about how she hopes to tackle issues like maintenance of services at the Sackville hospital and access to primary care from a seat on the Horizon board.
Starting about 28 minutes in, DEC candidates Michelle Folkins and Brian Neilson talk about dealing with the provincial department of education when it comes to school infrastructure, the past and future role of Sackville 20/20, how we measure school performance and community involvement in schools.
https://www.chmafm.com/welcome/meet-your-candidates-michelle-folkins-for-dec/
Meet your candidates: Michelle Folkins for DEC
- April 29, 2021
- Erica Butler
Anglophone East District Education Council candidate and incumbent, Michelle Folkins and her family. Photo: contributed
CHMA is featuring Meet Your Candidates interviews with local candidates for May 10 elections. You can find them all here.
One of the many contests on the ballot for May 10 is that for seats on the province’s District Education Councils (DECs). People in the Tantramar region can choose to vote in either the Anglophone East or Francophone Sud school districts.
Michelle Folkins is the current Tantramar representative on the Anglophone East district education council and is running again this year. Here’s Michelle in conversation with CHMA’s Erica Butler:
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: Michelle Folkins, thanks for joining us.
MICHELLE FOLKINS: Thank you for having me.
CHMA: So for those who might not already know you, Michelle, tell us a bit about yourself.
MF: Well, I grew up in Sackville. I went to all three of the schools there. And I married my husband, Kurt, from Dorchester. And we decided to settle here in Dorchester to raise our family. I have two kids. My daughter currently goes to Dorchester School here, and my son is in Sackville at Tantramar Regional High School.
CHMA: Okay. And how long have you served on the Anglophone East council?
MF: So far it’s been five years, but I’ve been on the council for the District Education Council.
CHMA: Right. So that’s when one term plus the extra COVID year that everyone had.
MF: Yeah, that’s correct. Honestly, before that, I hadn’t really known that there was a District Education Council. So five years ago, during our sustainability study, that’s when I had heard about it. And it really piqued my interest. And I decided to run in that upcoming election, five years ago.
CHMA: Tell us a little bit about that role, for people who aren’t familiar with it. Because as you say, it is one of those things that can easily slip past, people don’t really realize what’s going on…
MF: So the District Education Council… They use policies and standards set out in the Department of Education, their framework, and we establish our policies and things from there. Other responsibilities are, we have one employee, that’s the superintendent of the district. And we monitor things like student achievement, via policies for how they’re achieving for their math and their literacy and things like that.
We are also the bridge from the community to the district. So if the community has any questions or concerns that they can’t seem to get answered within the education system, they can refer them to us, and we try to get their issues and concerns resolved for them.
And the one thing that had piqued my interest at the very beginning is the infrastructure that is overseen by the District Education Council.
CHMA: Okay, so they’re in charge of the state of the schools essentially, right?
MF: Essentially, yes.
CHMA: So what factored into your decision to run for another term?
MF: Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed the past five years as the DEC member. You get to see the school system from a different side, and all the wonderful things that happen in our schools, in our district alone, and also in the rest of the districts in the province. We do meet every so often, and we get to hear stories, and hear initiatives that are taking place in other districts as well.
And being able to bring issues and concerns to the table, not only for the Tantramar-Memramcook area, but for the rest of the district too, that’s been good. And to bring a solution or voice for those issues is something I really enjoyed doing. And it is extra rewarding when you get to see the issues and concerns resolved. It doesn’t always happen. Sometimes it’s an ongoing thing. But it’s a plus when you get to see them resolved.
CHMA: So now do you have issues that you’re hoping to highlight in your campaign or going forward?
MF: I would like to keep going with some of the issues that are ongoing. One of those things is infrastructure. We certainly need to find ways to get that deferred maintenance list down. And make sure that we stay on top of the maintenance before it does become a bigger issue. While it does hinge on the Department of Education’s approval for those items on our list, I wonder if there’s a better way to get the items approved each year.
Like currently, we usually sit around about a $65 million deferred maintenance list. So it’s a big number. It’s a little intimidating. So how do you work on it? How do you get those projects approved, right?
Like I said, that was my main reason five years ago when I ran and that’s still at the the foremost part of trying to get a good handle on that.
CHMA: Now in your in your time on the Anglophone East DEC, what what are you most proud of during that time? And then on the flip side of that, what would be something that you’d like to change?
MF: Gosh, we have seen so many things happening in the schools… Being able to advocate for Port Elgin to get new windows put in. I was able to get that on the list for them. Sackville, the big issue that was brought up was the Marshview school. In the first year that I took my seat on the DEC, we were able to get that Ernst and Young report started and going. And that was released to the public, and then that led to the 409 happening for that area. [Editor’s note: Policy 409 is the NB Department of Education policy on multi-year school infrastructure planning.]
So I guess it’s in that sense, it’s good to see things finishing up, and being able to do things about that.
But some things that are still ongoing within the district are, like, your budgeting. Money is always the issue, for certain things. And our EA shortages, which again leads back to funding that’s required for them. So that will also be on the list of things that I’m hoping to continue. It’s something this DEC fought for, and it’s something that I’m hoping to continue on for the next four years.
CHMA: Alright Michelle, is there anything else you’d like people to know when they’re heading out, as early as this Saturday but, but up till May 10, when they’re heading out to vote? Anything else they should know?
MF: I just say get out and vote and be safe while doing it, right? And vote for me! [laughs] What member wouldn’t say that, I guess?
CHMA: Alright, sounds great. Thanks very much for your time, Michelle. We really appreciate it.
MF: Thank you again.
No comments:
Post a Comment