Yukon Party calls on government to take responsibility for the handling of the Hidden Valley scandal

WARNING: This story contains some details that some might find distressing.

Yukon's official opposition pressed the government on Thursday to own the fallout detailed in a new report from the Yukon's Child and Youth Advocate.

The report, tabled Wednesday, looked into sexual assault in Yukon schools. It was in response to an incident at Whitehorse's Hidden Valley Elementary School in 2019, where an educational assistant was convicted of sexually abusing a student, but parents were not told about it until more than a year and a half later.

That same educational assistant was later charged with allegedly abusing two other students, for which he is still awaiting trial.

Thursday's question period in the Yukon Legislative Assembly centred on the government's response to the sexual abuse allegations, with Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon pointing out the first communication with families came more than a year after the sexual assault happened.

"Does the government now accept their inadequate communications contributed to the fact that — quote — delays in accessing justice and therapeutic supports could have been prevented?'"

In a news release Thursday, Dixon went on to say that the report was the "most scathing report from an independent officer of the Legislature in the Yukon's history."

The release also says the report "barely stops short of explicitly calling for ministers to resign," and it points to this specific line from the report:

"We have had numerous conversations about what accountability means to parents and of children involved. For many, it means personal responsibility from those in charge of this situation."

In response, Education Minister Jeanie McLean says the government launched an independent review, and so far, it has completed 13 of the report's 23 recommendations.

She said that represented "significant progress to address policy gaps and enhance safety and oversight across all Yukon schools and government departments."

The youth advocate is calling on the government to make a public response by Nov. 22, with a progress report within a year after that.

McLean said her department will respond to both.

On Wednesday, the Child and Youth Advocate Annette King said the territory's secrecy around the reporting the incident made the abuse that much worse.

"It's really hard … and the thing that makes it worse is when the response adds to the harm. And you know, we had secrecy — often with sexual abuse there's secrecy. And when we don't have transparency in the response, it adds to the trauma, and it creates more hurt for the families and the school community."

In an interview with CBC's Dave White, host of Airplay, McLean said she understands the pain around the trauma having spent much of her career working in the criminal justice system and having worked directly with victims. She said she has her own "personal experiences around that as well."

"I'm thankful for the work that she [King] did on the report," she said.

"We will be working to respond over the next week, and to definitely meet the timeline that she put in place for us."

Support is available for anyone who has experienced sexual assault. The Yukon's Sexualized Assault Response Team runs a 24/7 confidential support line, it can be reached at anytime at 1-844-967-7275. Yukon government's Victim Services branch can be reached at 867-667-8500.