Inclusive Education - Question Period

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Dartmouth South.

EECD - INCL. EDUC. COMM'N.: RPT. RECOMMEND. - IMPLEMENT

MS. CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. In March, the Commission on Inclusive Education released their final report, based on hundreds of hours of consultation with thousands of Nova Scotians.

The report included a well-researched implementation plan divided into five key stages. The timeline for stage one ended August 2018. Despite a significant budget allocation to hire some of the already badly-needed specialists, the government seems intent to follow its own agenda and has ignored the other 13 key actions for the first stage.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister explain why his government chose to ignore the recommendation to develop Cape Breton and Halifax intensive treatment programs?

HON. ZACH CHURCHILL « » : Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's question. We're moving forward with the report recommendations of the Commission on Inclusive Education. I'm happy to say that we are now at about 95 per cent of our hirings that need to happen to have these additional supports in the system.

We're going to keep working at this, step by step, so that we have a system of education in Nova Scotia that's equitable, that ensures that every single student, no matter which part of the province they are being educated in, has the same chance of success, and where special needs supports are delivered consistently in the way that will have the greatest impact on their well-being and achievement.

MS. CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, this government is following its own agenda and not any review or report. They like to answer every problem with a review or report but we don't see the implementation. We know from the commission on inclusion that our education system is not truly inclusive and it is not serving anyone as well as it should - not students, not parents, not teachers, not support staff.

This is a complex issue, and we now have a detailed road map and a policy framework, but sadly we know that the government has decided not to establish an institute for inclusive education, which would have overseen these efforts. We can't improve the state of inclusive education in this province if we skip stage one of the commission's implementation plan entirely.

Mr. Speaker, will the minister explain why he also chose not to develop an inclusive education policy framework, including new behaviour, mental health, and autism strategies and guidelines which are so badly needed?

MR. CHURCHILL « » : On the question of the institute, we are not following through with that recommendation because we want the $1 million it would cost to establish that institute and continue it annually to actually go into the classroom, Mr. Speaker.

To be honest, Mr. Speaker, for that member to suggest we're not following through with the recommendations on the inclusive education report when it's that member, her Party, and all members of the Opposition who actually voted against the additional dollars that were required to be put in the system, I find completely astounding.

That member has voted against every single investment that we've made in education. That member has argued against pre-Primary, that member has defended the status quo of a system that she herself has said is failing. The fact is that no matter what that member says, no matter what those Parties try to do to prevent us from achieving our end goals in education, we're going to plow forward and do the very best that we can for our kids.

MR. SPEAKER « » : The honourable member for Victoria-The Lakes.