Proposed bill would require P.E.I. school boards to report sexual misconduct complaints
'Absolutely, I think we can support your bill,' says P.E.I.'s education minister
P.E.I.'s Green Party has introduced legislation that would require school boards on the Island to report complaints of sexual misconduct to the province's Education and Early Years Department.
If the bill passes, both the Public Schools Branch and the French-language school board would have to provide the number of allegations to the education minister on an annual basis. The reports would not have to include the identifying information of anyone involved in the complaint.
Karla Bernard, the Greens' interim leader, tabled the bill for first reading Tuesday after using her time during question period to ask the governing Progressive Conservatives if they'd support it.
"[I] can't change what was done in the past, but we can move forward," P.E.I. Education Minister Robin Croucher said in response. "Absolutely, I think we can support your bill."
The Greens introduced a similar amendment five years ago in light of the case of Roger Jabbour, the former band teacher at Colonel Gray High School who had been convicted in 2018 of sexually touching three female students.
In 2020, Bernard put forward a proposed amendment to the province's Education Act that would require school boards to report annually on the number of sexual misconduct complaints.
At the province's insistence, that amendment was turned into an order to be brought forward by then-education minister Brad Trivers, but that never happened.
On Tuesday, Bernard said her party was able to put together a similar amendment in the wake of the case of former substitute teacher Matthew Alan Craswell.
Craswell, 40, pleaded guilty on April 29 to sexual interference in a case involving an elementary student at Stratford's Glen Stewart Primary School in the spring of 2024.
He was first arrested last summer on an unrelated charge of possession and distribution of child pornography, and RCMP learned of the Glen Stewart incident during their investigation.
It was later revealed that another complaint of sexual touching had been made about Craswell's actions while he was teaching at Charlottetown's West Kent Elementary in 2023.
In neither of the primary school complaints were police or Child Protective Services contacted, because school officials deemed Craswell's actions to be non-sexually motivated.
The province has ordered a third-party review of the PSB's handling of the case that will be conducted by former P.E.I. chief justice David Jenkins.
'Leave school officials out of it'
Bernard said Tuesday that while her bill wouldn't have prevented the Craswell incidents, it would be an important step in holding school officials accountable.
"It's the very start of a centralized reporting mechanism, which is exactly what was identified as something that's been missing in P.E.I.," she said. "If there's been a complaint with a specific person named, they'll be able to see if there's been more than one… [and] if there's any trends that's happening."
The bill will be called for a second reading on Wednesday after the Official Opposition Liberals gave Bernard some of their time in the legislature to introduce it on Tuesday.
Premier Rob Lantz also indicated that he would likely support the amendment.
Bernard also urged the government to create an independent body to review annual reports submitted by the school agencies, something that experts have said is a best practice.
"In a lot of cases, it seems we're asking [school administrators] to be investigators, and that's just not their skill set. They're not trained to do that, nor is it a part of their job," she said.
"I would look at a more independent body to come in and investigate those things, and leave school officials out of it."
With files from Nicola MacLeod