Nova Scotian Schools: Hunger, Lead Toxins, Safety - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Speaker, I'd like to ask the Premier a few questions about the situation in Nova Scotian schools. Last week, the Premier stated, "Nobody in this House . . . would be satisfied with a child being hungry. That's not something that we accept." I'll table that. We know that children across our province and in our schools are going hungry every single day, and we know that existing programs are not reaching the children who need them. Why is the Premier allowing children to continue to go hungry in our schools?
THE PREMIER « » : It is not acceptable that there are children - that there are families - going hungry in this province. We'll continue as a Province to invest, and we'll continue to support those working in the school system. I know teachers across this province are doing everything they can every single day to support students. They're not making them raise their hand up in front of a class and say, "We need food." They are just sitting down, talking to them, and doing what they can.
As a government, we are supporting those teachers. We are supporting those working in the school system. We know there's lots of work to be done, but as a government, we'll continue to invest in Nova Scotians, invest in our schools, and invest in our students and teachers.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : What I hear from teachers is that they're tired of picking up the pieces and filling the gaps that the government refuses to do. The Premier is leaving children at risk in our schools with lead-contaminated water across HRM. The minister has told this House that she believes that students deserve and are entitled to safe schools, which includes the safety of the water. I'll table that. In many cases, testing has not happened in years, and the only remediation work the government has taken is to put up temporary hand-wash signs and bottled water. There is lead in the water, there is no remediation, no testing and we don't know how that water is being used.
My question to the Premier is: Why is the Premier allowing children and teachers to continue being exposed to lead toxins every day in our schools?
THE PREMIER « » : This is a very serious issue. I want to assure all Nova Scotians that despite the rhetoric you might hear in an environment like this, there are no children in this province who are drinking lead-contaminated water in their schools. There are alternative water sources available for drinking. The drinking water that is being provided by the school system to students in the schools is safe. That drinking water that is being provided is safe. There are certainly situations where they can't drink the water from the taps. Alternative water is provided in those situations.
The drinking water in our schools is safe, I want to assure all Nova Scotians of that.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Just to be clear, that is what I said in my question, that the water coming out of the taps that young children are with in the washrooms, all day and all the time unsupervised, has lead in it and we're not doing anything about it.
The Premier is also allowing unacceptable levels of violence to continue in our schools. The President of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union recently stated that people should be shocked by the increase in school violence and that it is incumbent on the government to do something about it. I will table that.
Unfortunately, we have a government that continues to ignore the rising school violence and to ignore the warning flags raised by teachers and families. My question to the Premier is: When will this government take action to ensure that our schools are safe for students and teachers?
THE PREMIER « » : I want to assure the member that nobody is ignoring these things. We're certainly not a government that looks away from issues. We are a government that acts on issues. We're working with schools, administrators, and people working in the education system and teachers. We're working with anyone who will join us in supporting our students to make sure that they get the best possible education.
We have incredible people working in our school system, absolutely incredible people investing their lives in the students and the children of this province, I'm so proud of that. We as a government will continue to look for ways to support them in every way possible.