Education Minister Jeanie McLean says she recognizes more must be done to strengthen students’ safety and security in Yukon schools.

On Wednesday afternoon, she responded to the Yukon Ombudsman’s second report on the 2019 Hidden Valley Elementary School sexualized abuse incident.

William Auclair-Bellemare, a former educational assistant at the school, served a jail term for sexual interference involving a child at Hidden Valley.

The Department of Education failed to inform the school’s parental community about the then-34-year-old’s arrest, charges, conviction and sentencing.

Ombudsman Jason Pedlar reported this week that the department has met fewer than half of the actions suggested to prevent a recurrence of the sexualized assault. The recommendations include the development of a checklist of steps to take if allegations of sexualized abuse emerge.

“My concern is that if our recommendations aren’t incorporated, there remains the real possibility that a similar communication failure could happen again,” Pedlar said.

“As the minister of Education, there is nothing more important than the well-being, safety and protection of students when they are in our care,” McLean said.

“I am grateful to our staff and partners for their hard work in making Yukon schools safer.

“Over the past two years, this has been a significant focus of our government, and staff have been working to streamline and clarify policies and processes designed to protect students and better communicate with families.”

The government continues to work on key processes to keep children safe, McLean added.

“Since we started the work of the Safer Schools Action Plan, over a thousand employees have attended training on identifying, reporting and supporting students in need of protection. This has resulted in more awareness and safer environments for all Yukon students,” the minister said.

“I extend my gratitude to all the organizations that have reviewed, reported on or made recommendations about the Hidden Valley Elementary School incident.

“While we have made significant positive changes through the Safer Schools Action Plan, we know there is still more work to do to improve safety and security in Yukon schools.”

The government has reviewed the Pedlar’s second report on its investigation into the Hidden Valley Elementary School incident, she added.

“The Government of Yukon is accepting, in principle, all eight of the Ombudsman’s recommendations.

“We are committed to continuing this work and we appreciate the recommendations provided by the Ombudsman in this latest report. The focus of the Ombudsman’s report is on the work of the Safer Schools Action Plan, and the recommendations provided offer opportunities for us to strengthen and improve the work that has been completed.”

The government has also received reviews of its handling of the sexualized abuse incident from the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate, the RCMP and Vancouver lawyer Amanda Rogers, who reported to the Department of Education.

YG has accepted all the various reports’ recommendations in principle and launched the Safer Schools Action Plan.

“All 23 actions in the Safer Schools Action Plan are now implemented and are continuously being reviewed to ensure an adaptive improvement to their application over time,” the government said.

“The Government of Yukon will incorporate the recommendations from the Ombudsman into our continuous work to review and improve government policies and processes to making Yukon schools safer.”

Work from the action plan to date includes:

• implementing the training requirements as set out in the Student Protection Policy and improving the training over time;

• in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, the development of an introductory video to the Commit to Kids training that supports adults who interact with students as part of their role in school-related activities with increased awareness, knowledge and tools to prevent, respond to and report suspected abuse, harm or any unprofessional conduct by an adult;

• continuous review, modification and strengthening of the Student Protection Policy, Yukon School Post-Incident Communications Guidance and all associated processes and procedures incorporating feedback from schools, education partners, Yukon First Nations, committees and advisory groups and authorities for Yukon education;

• strengthening multi-departmental co-operation in responding to critical incidents as our government gains experience using this new process;

• examining opportunities to strengthen and streamline policies and procedures;

• ensuring responses to incidents in a school setting are trauma-informed and victim centred;

• work to form a Yukon Parent Advisory Committee to support identification of safety and wellness issues in Yukon schools so we can continue to make well-informed decisions to improve safety for all students in Yukon schools;

• planning engagement with other government departments, partners, First Nations governments and other education partners to enhance prevention of and response to peer-to-peer harm;

• evaluating how to better support schools, students, families, and contracted school bus services to improve safety for all who ride school buses;

• updates to the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy; and

• actively progressing work through the Reimagining Inclusive and Special Education initiative to ensure learning environments are inclusive and welcoming for everyone.