Nova Scotia premier dismisses union call for education minister’s resignation

— Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter took aim at the province’s teachers union Thursday, saying their call to dismiss the education minister over her handling of budget cuts was not worthy of discussion.

Dexter’s volley was the latest development in a simmering dispute over education funding that flared after a school board announced it was laying off all of its librarians in response to budget cuts.

On Thursday, Alexis Allen, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, said Education Minister Ramona Jennex has failed to advocate for the education system at the cabinet table and should be removed from her portfolio.

“We need someone in there that will fight for public education,”

Darrel Dexter Allen said. “We are not seeing it in this minister.”

Allen also accused Jennex of interfering in the budget deliberations of the Chignecto-central Regional School Board after the minister ordered it on Wednesday to stop its planned layoffs of all of its librarians, pending a provincial review.

Allen said the union was also unhappy that 52 teaching positions at the board were on the chopping block, even though the bulk of the cuts would likely be realized through attrition.

“What we are seeing for the last two years is nothing but cuts and draconian measures,” she said. “We are fed up in all honesty.”

Dexter said the union’s resignation call was “really not worthy of comment.”

He said the union has shown that it is not interested in helping with changes that are needed because of the province’s decline in student enrolment.

“They are only going to defend the status quo and that’s not acceptable,” said Dexter, adding that he expected more leadership from the union.

Jennex said she was disappointed with the union’s position given her 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher prior to entering politics.

She said she wasn’t going to resign.

“I am very engaged in making sure that we provide appropriate education for every child in this province,” Jennex said.