The Hidden Valley School debacle continued to plague the Yukon government and – in particular, embattled Education Minister Jeanie McLean – on Tuesday.

Virtually every question during question period was directed at McLean during the afternoon session.

She was grilled relentlessly by both opposition parties, but continued to stonewall the opposition.

“Last week, the minister of Education told Yukoners that she did not learn about the issues related to sexual abuse of students by an educational assistant at Hidden Valley school until she heard about them in local media in July,” Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon said in his first salvo.

“The minister of Education stated clearly that this issue was not something that she was briefed on either during transition or at any point before July 16, when the CBC story was published.

“This means that, for two days, no one made her aware of the major lawsuit against her department that was filed on July 14, and it also means that, for over two months, no one made her aware of these serious charges and allegations that took place in a school that she is responsible for,” Dixon said.

“Can the minister of Education offer any explanation as to why she was left out of the loop by her department, her deputy minister (Nicole Morgan), and the former minister (Tracy-Anne McPhee) on this issue?”

(William Auclair-Bellemare, 34, a former educational assistant at the school, served a jail term for sexual interference involving a child at Hidden Valley.

The Department of Education did not inform other parents of what had occurred. The parents of the youngster involved have launched a civil lawsuit against Auclair-Bellemare and the government.)

Reading from prepared notes Tuesday, McLean said more than 10 times that she has initiated an independent review of the school to examine where and why the situation went so far off the rails.

She also reiterated frequently that she is co-operating with a review by the Child and Youth Advocate’s office.

The one intriguing new piece of information that emerged during the afternoon was McLean telling the legislature the premier’s office was behind a dispute between the Department of Education and child advocate Annette King over the review.

King’s office announced over the summer it would carry out its own review,

McLean responded in short order, telling the Star the government did not believe the advocate has the authority to conduct such an investigation.

That position persisted for several weeks – until it was quietly dropped.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent told the assembly that opinion and statement came directly from the premier’s office, rather than from McLean’s staff.

According to Kent, she was directed to include it.

The Yukon Party said it has an email from Matthew Cameron, the manager of communications for the Office of the Premier, showing he had directed that position to McLean.

The Yukon Party provided the email to the Star, though the contents are not as clear as the party suggested.

The email from Cameron to Erin MacDonald – then a spokesperson for the Department of Education – is dated Aug. 6.

“Hi Matthew, I understand that you may have an updated Message Box that was developed to support the Minister’s interviews this morning on Hidden Valley. If so, would you mind sharing so that we have the most up to date version in our files?” MacDonald wrote.

She is no longer employed with the government.

“Hi Erin, please see notes attached, adapted from the letters that went out yesterday,” the email response from Cameron stated.

Those notes include a clear reference to the advocate’s office.

“It is the view of the Government of Yukon that the Child and Youth Advocate Office does not have the legal authority to conduct the kind of review that has been proposed. 

“I recognize the important work of the Child and Youth Advocate Office. My officials are in communication with her office and are planning to meet to discuss the situation.”

King told the Star in August the government’s opinion about her legal authority, which she has encountered in the past, is completely wrong – and did not rule out court action to prove it.

Dixon said it’s clear from the email there was interference from the premier’s office.

Premier Sandy Silver did not rise in the legislature Tuesday to address the issue.

Kent continued to grill McLean about how she could possibly not have been advised about the Hidden Valley School situation in her briefing notes when she took over the portfolio last spring.

Last week, McLean told the legislature she was not aware of the situation at the school until media reports were published in mid-July.

At the time, Dixon said that “strained credulity”, a phrase he used again on Tuesday.

Since making that statement, McLean has refused to address the issue again.

After question period, NDP Leader Kate White called the entire situation “unacceptable.”

She shied away, though, from promising any concrete action on the situation.

The NDP holds the balance power in the assembly since the Liberals and Yukon Party are tied with eight seats apiece.

The NDP signed the so-called Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Liberals in late April to prop up their government.

White was asked bluntly what the NDP is prepared to do about the ongoing school scandal she called “unacceptable.”

She would say only more options will be considered in the future.

She wouldn’t commit herself to more concrete action.

On Sept. 10, it was announced that the previous day, the Yukon RCMP Specialized Response Unit had again arrested Auclair-Bellemare.

He has been charged with offences related to alleged incidents involving two children occurring between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2018.

Auclair-Bellemare, now free on bail, has been charged with sexual exploitation, sexual assault, sexual interference and the invitation to sexual touching.

He had worked at several schools before the original charge was laid in 2019.