No political interference in Jack Hulland Elementary School investigation, says minister

Yukon Education Minister Jeanie McLean said there has been no political interference in theinvestigations being conducted at Jack Hulland Elementary School on the use of isolation spaces and holds to restrain students.

The minister was responding to a news release from Yukon's child and youth advocate in which she stated that her office has seen a trend with administrative staff at the school being reassigned shortly after speaking out.

"To be frank, I have directly asked the Minister and Deputy Minister of Education about political interference," Annette King said in the news release.

"There's been absolutely no political interference," McLean toldreporters.

She said her department received information in November 2021 "that there could be school-wide physical abuse of students" and then contacted the RCMP and Family and Children's Services, who immediately began an investigation.

McLean added her department is fully cooperating with thatinvestigationand also launched its ownlooking at workplace risk assessments at the school and any reports in the past five years of the use of holds and isolation rooms.

Four months later, King told CBC's Yukon Morning that the students and families have still not been interviewed by any of the investigations.

"I just think that it's too much time for these kids who have had nobody even acknowledge what has happened to them yet," said King

"We want to make sure that, you know, the transparency and oversight and accountability can happen for students who may have been impacted."

She said several students and families have reported to her and she wants to make sure they're included in the investigations.

The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing and couldn't provide any details.

"Investigators are continuing to collect and analyze information received, and parents or guardians who are concerned that their child or children may have been involved in an incident related to this investigation are encouraged to contact Whitehorse RCMP GIS," they wrote in an email to CBC News.

Coordination of services

King said what she most wants to see is a coordination of services for the students who have been impacted, and transparency about the investigation.

That should include having students be part of the investigations andproviding services to help the affected students heal and recover, Kingsaid.

"Children have been isolated from their peers or locked away or harmed physically. There's also psychological harm that goes with that. And we are seeing that in young people," she said.

King said her office is seeing kids who are disengaged from school and having to move to other schools to get a fresh start.

"We really want to make sure that young people have all of their needs addressed educationally, therapeutically, and also to be part of the investigation that they need to be," she said.

Next steps

King said she had been optimistic when the investigations began because the government had released an action plan in February following its handling of the sexual abuse scandal involving an educational assistant and multiple students at Hidden Valley Elementary School.

In her news release, King stated the lessons learned from Hidden Valley "regarding communication with families and providing timely therapeutic supports have not been applied to this situation."

McLean responded to King in a letter on Thursday, saying that after King raised concerns with her in mid-March about the lack of support for students during the investigation, it led to a meeting betweenthe deputy ministers of education, justice, health and social services and the executive council office.

McLean said the meeting helped set clear expectations and directions to the interdepartmental team leading the government's response at the school and led to the scheduling of another meeting for Friday between King and representatives of the Department of Education, Family and Children's Services, Victim Services and the RCMP.