Teacher Retention Plan - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER: Mr. Speaker, we'll take a break now and turn to education.

My question is for the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. Last month, Educators for Social Justice released a report on their survey of hundreds of teachers in the province. One of the things confirmed by the report is that many of them are actively thinking about leaving the profession and/or leaving the province.

There is already a shortage of teachers and substitutes. The province needs more, not fewer, educators. What is the minister's plan to retain qualified teachers in Nova Scotia?

HON. ZACH CHURCHILL « » : Mr. Speaker, Just to remind the member, we've hired 1,300 new people into our education system, over 1,000 of whom were teachers - teachers who I believe were excited to be engaged in a meaningful profession here in Nova Scotia - and hundreds of non-teaching supports as well. We've actually gone through a period of the greatest hiring that this province has seen in a long time.

We now have the highest ratio of teachers to students that we've ever had in the Province of Nova Scotia, at least on record. We now have the most amount of non-teaching supports in the province that we've ever had.

That's not to say that it's an easy job or that it's without challenges, which is why we're doing our very best to increase investment in education. We've done that by about 30 per cent and ensure that all of our great teachers in the system have the supports that they need to give the best education possible to our students.

CLAUDIA CHENDER: Mr. Speaker, those are new positions, not new hires, and the experience on the ground is anything but what the minister tells us. (Interruption) They're new hires, but they're not necessarily new people - my mistake. People are moving laterally and the experience on the ground is that there are not enough teachers, there are not enough substitutes, and there are not enough specialists.

Teachers love what they are doing, but this government's approach to education has left teachers feeling disrespected and demoralized. There's no one who can argue with that. Teacher shortages are a problem across the country. The government here needs to be focused on recruitment and retention soon or teachers will be as scarce as family doctors.

More than half of the teachers who responded to the survey I mentioned before said that the government's legislated contract had not improved their situation or had in fact made things worse, and the public seems to agree. Almost 60 per cent of Nova Scotians believe the government's actions have had a negative impact on the quality of public education.

Will the minister admit that his heavy-handed approach on this file has made the problems in our education system worse?

ZACH CHURCHILL: Mr. Speaker, we did go through a difficult contract negotiation that led to a legislated contract, but that's not to say our government hasn't actually acted in the interest of teachers and our students in the system. We have increased investments in education by over $300 million at a time when enrolment has declined. We have implemented class caps. We have hired new positions into the system, 1,300 in total, and we've brought in non-teaching supports for the first time. The feedback we're getting from our regions, from the front lines, is positive.

What's interesting is these increased investments that we've seen, the budgets to hire these new people, have been voted against by the New Democrats. Do you know what budgets they did vote for? Budgets that cut $65 million out of the education system, cut Reading Recovery, and cut 1,100 teaching positions from the system.

Perhaps the member can explain in her next preamble the discrepancy between her voting record in this House and her words in this Chamber.