The Yukon Party says it’s “disappointed that the Liberal government continues to fail parents and children by mishandling the response to recommendations for improving school safety.”

In June 2023, the official Opposition said Tuesday, Education Minister Jeanie McLean issued a press release “claiming that the government had fully implemented the 23 action items in the Safer Schools Action Plan.

“The Ombudsman exposed the inaccuracy of the minister’s claims and found the government had met less than half of the recommendations in the plan. The Ombudsman also takes issue with the Liberal government only accepting his recommendations ‘in principle,’” the Yukon Party added.

“In the months and years since the serious criminal actions by a former employee at Hidden Valley School became public, we heard repeatedly from parents and the school community that the Liberal government never provided proper support to families and staff,” said Lake Laberge MLA Brad Cathers.

“This report from the Ombudsman shows that the Liberal government continues to fail families, and made false claims about the actions
 taken in the wake of this very serious matter.

“Minister McLean and Premier (Ranj) Pillai need to listen to the Ombudsman, and promptly follow through on his request for a revised Action Plan that fully addresses his recommendations,” Cathers added.

NDP Leader Kate White said the Ombudsman’s report “clearly lays out where the Education department’s Safer Schools Action Plan needs improvement — particularly around their communications plan, policies and procedures for critical incidents.

“The Yukon NDP supports all eight of the Ombudsman’s recommendations, and we expect to see a revised action plan based on those recommendations,” White said.