Hidden Valley parents disagree with Yukon justice minister, say they want attention on sexual abuse scandal

Several Hidden Valley Elementary School parents say an assertion from a Yukon minister that families do not want political attention on a sexual abuse scandal involving a former educational assistant is "insulting."

Justice minister Tracy McPhee made the comment to reporters on Oct. 13, after members of the opposition parties spent days hammering the Liberal cabinet in the Yukon Legislature about the issue.

Echoing an earlier statement from Premier Sandy Silver, McPhee accused the Yukon Party of playing politics with the situation.

"Ultimately, if the members of the opposition want to use, what are we at, 15 questions over the last three days to ask the same things? That's unfortunate for Yukoners," she said.

"There's lots of great questions they could be asking about government business or government work or government issues that do not continually put these families in the public eye … [Families] want to get on with it, they want to go to school." 

Her comments marked the first time she'd publicly spoken about Hidden Valley. 

McPhee, who's also currently the health and social services minister and deputy premier, was education minister in 2019, when Hidden Valley educational assistant William Auclair-Bellemare was arrested for sexually abusing a student. He later pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference. 

Parents were never informed of the situation, with knowledge of the criminal proceedings only becoming widely known after CBC News reported on a lawsuit filed by the victim in July. 

Two new alleged victims have since been identified.

Parent accuses McPhee of 'deflecting and gaslighting'

The CBC spoke to six Hidden Valley parents between Oct. 14 and 15 who all said they thought McPhee's comment about families wanting to "get on with" the situation was not representative of what they actually wanted. 

"I find that pretty insulting, given that, you know, I'm a parent that has children that go to Hidden Valley, and no, we don't want it moved on from —  we want it addressed," Kate Davis said.

Davis also rebutted McPhee's comment that she hadn't received any requests from families to meet, saying she contacted McPhee's office when she first learned about the sexual abuse case and was also among those who requested McPhee attend a private meeting with families in September. 

Another parent told CBC News that she and other parents were "very appreciative" of the Yukon Party's and NDP's support and efforts to keep the issue in the spotlight. 

One of the parent's children is an alleged victim of Auclair-Bellemare.The child's name is under a publication ban; CBC News is not naming the parent to avoid identifying the child. 

"We don't want to just sweep it under the rug … We're not going to give up until we find the answers," the parent said, referring to questions about why they weren't informed about the 2019 criminal proceedings. 

The parent also accused McPhee of "deflecting and gaslighting" as well as throwing current education minister Jeanie McLean "under the bus" by letting her bear the brunt of questions from families, politicians and the media. 

"As parents, we want another meeting and we want Minister McPhee there," the parent said. "We want her to answer our questions and we want to hear a direct apology out of her mouth for the role that she played." 

Another parent, Clea Roberts, wrote an open letter to the premier which she also shared with CBC News after hearing a recording of McPhee's comments on Yukon Morning. 

"Please do not presume what parents want or don't want," the letter reads in part.

"Here is the thing: the sexual assault happened and the government did not tell us it happened. Now parents are asking why and they want to know what you are going to do differently the next time … The fact that the government has not answered these questions has required the prolonged, public airing of this issue." 

Opposition parties ask 59 Hidden Valley questions over four days

The Yukon Party and NDP collectively asked 44 questions about the issue between Oct. 12 and 14, on top of the 15 questions they lobbed at government officials on the first day of the fall legislative session Oct. 7.

The issue consumed the entirety of the question periods on all four days, with McLean responding to the majority of questions which ranged from supports available at Hidden Valley to decisions made in 2019. 

McLean, in her responses, largely focused on her desire to repair relationships with parents and on the three reviews currently underway — one into the government's handling of the situation in 2019, being led by a government-hired lawyer, one being undertaken by the territory's child and youth advocate, and the Yukon RCMP's review into its handling of the case. 

McLean also tabled the terms of reference for the government's review, which state that the lawyer will conduct her work in a "fair, impartial and comprehensive manner" with a report containing facts and recommendations to be delivered by Jan. 31, 2022. 

McPhee, in speaking to reporters on Oct. 13, confirmed that she knew about the sexual abuse case while she was education minister. However, she refused to comment on when she first learned of the situation, whether she regretted not informing parents or whether she believed she acted in the best interest of children in November 2019, claiming it was "evidence" in the ongoing legal cases and reviews.

She also said it was "absolutely, critically important that the RCMP have said that the errors were theirs."

"You must know that when this matter was referred to the RCMP, we had every confidence that a comprehensive investigation would contact other families," she said. 

"The RCMP have apologized because their investigation did not do that … I defy you to find the RCMP standing up on a regular basis."