Revised - The list of investigations into the sexual abuse scandal at Hidden Valley Elementary School grew by one Monday afternoon.

The Yukon Ombudsman, Diane McLeod-McKay, announced she will investigate a complaint received earlier this month from a parent of a child at the school.

A news release issued by her office says the complaint “alleges that the failure by officials and employees of the Department of Education to inform parents of children attending the school until 21 months after learning about the abuse of a student by an educational assistant (EA) at the school was unfair to students at the school and to their parents.”

The complainant notes that this failure meant that other alleged child victims who have since been identified did not receive the necessary parental and professional supports in a timely manner.

“A complaint of this seriousness requires me to carefully consider its merits,” said McLeod-McKay.

“Given the fundamental need to protect the health and safety of our children in school, I am launching an Ombudsman investigation.”

The release stated the Department of Education and the complainant were sent notices of the investigation last Thursday.

“I am aware that the Yukon Ombudsman has launched an investigation,” Education Minister Jeanie McLean said in a short statement to the Star.

“We will be co-operating with the investigation.”

It will look at whether students of the school and their parents were treated unfairly by the department or school officials as a result of the parents not being informed until August 2021 about the abuse of a student by an EA working at the school.

The department learned about the abuse in or around November 2019, when he was charged with (and later convicted of) sexual interference involving a child.

McLeod-McKay’s investigation will also look at whether the Department of Education had an obligation to inform the parents or if a law prohibited this communication, including the effect of a court-imposed publication ban.

The government has recruited an Outside lawyer, Amanda Rogers, to conduct an independent review, and Annette King, the territory’s Yukon Child and Youth Advocate, is pursuing her own review.

The focus of King’s work, said the statement from McLeod-McKay’s office, “appears to be on the responses by both the Departments of Education and Health and Social Services to the abuse allegations, so that the Advocate can provide advice on ensuring that appropriate processes are in place and are followed in all schools.”

Rogers’ terms of reference “identify that she will look at internal and inter-departmental processes around operations, including police interaction, as well as the reporting and communication of serious incidents in Yukon schools,” McLeod-McKay’s statement noted.

“It may be that my investigation could overlap with other aspects of the Advocate and the government reviews, but I’m confident that my focus, together with my investigative independence and the power to compel the production of evidence, will serve the public interest at stake,” said McLeod-McKay.

On completion of the investigation, the Ombudsman will provide a report to the Department of Education, including any findings and recommendations.

She will also inform the complainant about her findings and recommendations.

In addition, since the matter is in the public interest, McLeod-McKay will issue a special report to the Yukon legislature.

The RCMP are also conducting a review of their investigation into the situation. Local Mounties have apologized for not investigating whether other children had been potentially victimized at the school after the ex-EA was charged in 2019.

Meanwhile, Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers is calling for the resignation of deputy premier Tracy-Anne McPhee, who was the Education minister from late 2016 until earlier this year.

On Monday, he introduced a written notice of motion to the legislature making the request. The motion was a terse two-line document:

“THAT it is the opinion of this House that the Deputy Premier should resign from Cabinet due to her mishandling of sexual abuse at Hidden Valley Elementary School.”

It was scheduled to be debated in the house this afternoon.

On Tuesday, the Star asked McPhee to comment on the motion – but instead received an equally terse response from Premier Sandy Silver via email: “I have absolute confidence in minister McPhee.”

NDP Leader Kate White is calling for a public inquiry into the scandal. She gave notice to the legislature on Monday that she intended to table the following motion:

“THAT this House urges the Government of Yukon to establish a public inquiry into the handling of the sexual assault at Hidden Valley Elementary School from 2019 to 2021 that will be tasked with reviewing information and recommendations on:

(1) decisions made around the communications to parents by the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Social Services;

(2) communications between the former minister of Education and the current minister of Education and their staff; and communications and decisions made once the information regarding the sexual abuse became public in the media in July 2021.”