麻豆传媒AV

YORKTON – Funding cuts to educational assistant (EA) positions supported by Jordan’s Principle were the focus of the annual CUPE Education Workers Steering Committee Conference held May 8 in Yorkton.

Jordan’s Principle, a human rights mandate established by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, ensures First Nations children do not face delays or denials in accessing government services due to their identity.

However, funding reductions have impacted EA positions, prompting calls for government intervention.

Matt Love, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Education Minister and MLA for Saskatoon Eastview, signed a petition presented by CUPE in support of restoring funding.

“We have a lot of students in our schools not getting their needs met, and the loss of these Jordan’s Principle-funded EAs is going to make that situation worse,” said Love.

Love, a former teacher, criticized the provincial government, stating that the Saskatchewan Party has failed to address classroom challenges.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen the Sask Party government really wash their hands clean and not take any action despite the state of our classrooms that they’ve left this province in. They’ve really taken no action at all,” said Love.

“I’ve been very clear that there’s a good role for the provincial government to play—like other provinces have done—to provide gap funding to make sure that these EAs stay in place where kids get their needs met at school," added Love.

Love stressed that education funding should be stable and not rely on uncertain federal support.

“First of all, I’d like to see some action from the provincial government—whether that’s working with federal partners to solve these challenges—but I also have to be clear that education is a provincial responsibility,” said Love, adding, “if we have kids relying on this funding in schools, that is an indication that this provincial government is failing to provide adequate sustainable funding for our classrooms.”

CUPE Education Workers Steering Committee Chair Karla Sastaunik said the petition received around 80 signatures at the conference and will continue to be circulated in the coming months.

“The funding needs to be restored because people need to have job security,” said Sastaunik.

“Our EAs don't know from year-to-year because it's the funding process. It's not permanent. Every June they sit and wait until maybe the beginning of Sept–Oct. until the funding gets restored," added Sastaunik.

She emphasized the importance of stability for both workers and students.

“The kids that we are serving in our schools are the most vulnerable people in society,” said Sastaunik, adding, “our children need this time, they need to be supported and they need to be supported by people that can continue to do this work because there is job security.”

Educational assistants shared firsthand accounts of the uncertainty surrounding their jobs.

“At my school, several of us are funded through Jordan’s Principle. We were fortunate enough not to have lost our jobs due to those layoffs in Saskatoon, but at the same time, we don’t get a yes or no on if we’ll be back next year,” said EA Brody Hudson from Saskatoon.

“It’s very stressful in this time of year when we’re all looking at contracts and planning for the future—we can’t,” said Hudson, adding, “the other thing is the consistency for the students. It’s so important for students who require EA funding to actually have staff that they can build relationships with year to year, that they can trust, that can support them and know their needs.”

Laid-off EA Lia Storey-Gamble urged the provincial government to take accountability.

“In times like this, the question becomes, ‘where is our government?’” said Storey-Gamble.

“Why hasn’t the Sask Party stepped up to properly fund educational assistants, to properly fund schools in our province and when will they start caring about people’s livelihoods and jobs," added Storey-Gamble.

“I really put the pressure back on the Sask Party to step up and start caring about this province,” said Storey-Gamble, adding, “they want to see a strong Saskatchewan? Well, this is how you make a strong Saskatchewan—you protect jobs."