IQALUIT
Parents with children at an Iqaluit school were left guessing last week as news came to light a teacher had been charged with three counts of sexual interference.
Neither police, the school, the Department of Education nor the Iqaluit District Education Authority (DEA) disclosed the name of the teacher or any details March 27 when a teacher was charged with sexual interference with a minor. His name is protected by a publication ban and he is to be in the Nunavut Court of Justice on May 6 at 9:30 a.m.
Mantra Ford-Perkins is a parent who said her child came home from school with rumours they had to confirm themselves. She said she would have preferred the school inform parents and request they attend a meeting.
"You're going to have parents with a lot of questions," she said, adding that a letter home would have been a good start. "Just something like: 'There's been some issues that have arisen at the school that are of concern. We'd like to inform parents to come with any questions they may have.'"
Ford-Perkins said she and many parents felt out of the loop after the teacher was rumoured to have been arrested at the school. She said she expected to be notified by the school or the Iqaluit DEA.
Parent-teacher communication is complicated by the fact school personnel are GN employees through Qikiqtani School Operations. The DEA, whose members are elected officials, is not the employer of a teacher.
"Be it the GN or the DEA, one of them needs to make a policy that if a complaint like this is brought forward and the teacher is removed from the work environment, then parents need to be informed," she said. "I don't care which one makes the policy."
Iqaluit DEA spokesperson Sabrina Sherman said she is tasked now with creating a policy to deal with relaying such information to parents if and when similar situations arise in the future.
"It's pretty basic," said Sherman, who was on vacation when the charges were laid against the teacher. "I know parents have a lot of questions and the DEA just wants to be able to direct them in a timely manner to the places they should be asking questions."
Sherman said she will research a new policy which will then go to a vote with other DEA members.
On April 10, Premier and Education Minister Eva Aariak wrote in a statement: "I am deeply concerned when serious charges are laid against Nunavut teachers. The trust between schools and the community and between parents and teachers is of the utmost importance to everyone."
In the statement Aariak explained that school staff are immediately suspended while allegations are investigated and it requested everyone allow the RCMP to do its work.
"Neither the department nor the schools in question can comment on the charges," she stated. "When these types of situations occur, we review these procedures to ensure that they have been followed appropriately and that we are doing all that we can. We also look to make improvements whenever and wherever possible. I understand that this trust has been shaken. I want to assure Nunavummiut that the Department of Education is doing all that it can to assist the police with their investigation and to support the members of the school communities."
Ford-Perkins said the GN always seems to be in "reactive" mode.
"What floors me is that people are bringing this up now and asking, 'What are we going to do?' It should be, 'Why was this not something put in place after Ed Horne?" she said, referencing the former teacher and principal who was found guilty of molesting dozens of children in numerous communities in the North between 1971 and 1985. "Why did nobody address that we needed policies in place at that point? That was a huge one that victims are still suffering from."
Ford-Perkins said the school board should do a review of what's "OK" touching and what's "not OK" touching and that the school should speak with all the children.
"Sexual abuse is a huge thing in the territory inside and outside the school," she said. "There needs to be someone in the school that deals with these sorts of things ... what sorts of things are we going to put in place for the children?
"If nothing else they need to address the kids so the kids know they're still safe," she said. "There's no way this hasn't affected students at the school. It's put some distrust in the school."
One week after the Iqaluit teacher was charged, RCMP laid one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation against another teacher in Kimmirut. Police did not release the teacher's name in this instance either.
The Department of Education did not respond to Nunavut News/North's request for an interview on the situation.
