Education Minister John Edzerza is putting a price tag on the health and safety of children in territorial schools, says Takhini Elementary School Council member Marlene Dunstan.

Dunstan said both she and other council members feel it is necessary for all teachers in the territory to have basic first aid and level B CPR skills to ensure the safety of children in schools.

She said her council will be circulating a petition around the community to garner public support on the issue.

In the fall of 2003 at the Yukon School Council's Conference, a recommendation was made and carried that all teachers be required to have the lifesaving skills. That recommendation was forwarded to the Department of Education.

She said she has met with the minister and other education officials on at least two occasions and felt the matter was not being addressed or considered seriously.

'As a parent, my first and foremost concerns is the safety of my child. As a school council member I make a commitment to students and parents that all kids have access to quality education and have a safe learning environment,' Dunstan said.

Dunstan said there were other province's in Canada, specifically Manitoba, who were considering

this legislation and she would like to see all teachers follow the lead of the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program in which all students graduate with basic first aid training.

She said she didn't feel the $50,000-plus it would cost to have teachers certified in the territory was too much to pay to ensure a child's safety.

'What is a child's life worth?' she asked.

She said she couldn't understand why school bus drivers and day home and daycare workers were all required to have first aid training and teachers weren't.

Colin Kelly, the Yukon's superintendent of schools and assistant deputy minister of Education, said while he appreciated Dunstan's concerns he felt Yukon schools were adequately equipped to handle emergencies.

'I have no problem with anyone expressing an opinion, that's a function of a school council ... (but) I believe what we have in place presently is (adequate),' he said.

He said currently over 10 per cent of staff in Yukon schools had first aid and the government has already expressed its willingness to pay for in-service first aid training.

Kelly said while he was aware that bus drivers and daycare providers had to have first aid training, he felt their situation was different because they worked in isolation while teachers did not.

'We also provide them (teachers) with professional development funding, so if they want to take first aid training the money is there,' he said.

Kelly said neither he nor the minister took the matter lightly and they were willing to discuss the matter with the council further in the future.

Yukon Teachers' Association president Sandra Henderson said she was not able to discuss the matter at this time because she was only recently elected and had not met with her executive council yet.

'Our first meeting is on August 22. It is on the agenda and it will be discussed.'

According to St. John's Ambulance, basic first aid training and level B CPR would include:

-Recognizing and treating shock, non-breathing patients, choking, bleeding, limb fractures and minor wounds.

-Administering CPR.

-Recognizing and treating head and spinal injuries.

Dunstan said she hopes her council would be able to get 6,000 signatures on their petition to convince the minister that the training was needed.