Why is support for the music industry not a priority for this government?

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : NSCC's Music Business Program attracts top talent. Grammy-winning artist Dyson Knight of the Baha Men recently said he was excited to enroll in this program so his "music can step up a bit." That's a quote, and I will table it. We're hearing that this program is being cut because it doesn't fall within any of the government's priority areas. My question to the minister is: Why is support for the music industry not a priority for this government?

HON. BRENDAN MAGUIRE: I am confused, Speaker. You want us to not interfere with academic freedom on one hand, and then the next person gets up and says to interfere with academic freedom on the other. This government has supported the arts more than any other government. There is an announcement today around a sound stage for the arts. The film industry and the arts industry are flourishing in Nova Scotia. The government is not directing the NSCC on what programs to have and what not to have. They make decisions based on enrolment and what they see fit for their own institution.

SUSAN LEBLANC « » : This government is intent on aligning post-secondary institutions with their own agenda. We have heard it over and over again, and we have a bill in front of us saying that very thing. The loss of the Music Business Program shows that this government's agenda is having a really negative consequence on the lives of Nova Scotians. Speaking of film, many of the people who write and compose music for our film industry will have gone through this program that's being cut. Without this program, we will lose talented people, and the continued success of our music industry will be put at risk. Why is the government putting Nova Scotia's vibrant and valuable music industry at risk?

BRENDAN MAGUIRE: I don't know how many times I can repeat it before it sinks in. We are not going to tell schools what they can and cannot teach. What we're saying is that when you have positions that are not being filled - health care positions - we need them filled. We are asking them because they are seeing a shortage in funding because of the temporary student caps to align with the workforce, to work with the workforce. Guess what? NSCAD is just as valuable as Dal. The School of Theology is just as valuable as any school. We appreciate the arts. We will continue to support the arts. NSCC is an institution all to their own.

Question to Minister: Why won’t the government support teachers and stop burnout

SUSAN LEBLANC: Speaker, Nova Scotia’s population is growing, and enrolment in our schools is increasing in step. This is putting immense pressure on our teachers. A recent survey from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union found that 84 per cent of Nova Scotia teachers have considered leaving the profession in the last five years due to burnout, a lack of resources, and several other factors, and I will table that. My question for the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development is: What is this government doing to protect our teachers from burning out?

HON. BECKY DRUHAN: It is incredibly important that our staff team of 20,000 across the province -10,000 of whom are teachers -and others feel supported to be able to provide the support and education that our students need. Our government knows and understands this. That is why we have spent so much time connecting with, listening to, and acting on the advice, recommendations, ideas, and suggestions of teachers and educators across the province. Speaker, I’m excited to tell you about all the things that we’ve heard. I have met with over 60 staff teams in meetings. I’ve been to dozens of schools, and they’ve given us ideas, like how we add more food to schools. We’re introducing a lunch program based on that advice.

SUSAN LEBLANC: I’m going to table an op-ed by the Nova Scotia Teachers Union president, Ryan Lutes, which talks about the need for another way to support teachers, which is making sure that we support our substitutes. One way to take the pressure off our schools is by addressing the chronic shortage of substitute teachers. The wages of Nova Scotia’s substitute teachers have not kept pace with the steep increase in the cost of living. In fact, they have not even keptpace with the wages of substitute teachers in other provinces. Our substitute teachers are some of the lowest-paid across Canada. I will table that op-ed. My question to the minister is: Will this government give Nova Scotia’s substitute teachers the pay raise they need?

BECKY DRUHAN: Speaker, I’ve said on many other occasions that I value and respect the bargaining process, and so I’m certainly not going to engage in that on the floor. The question of substitute teacher pay is one of the types of issues that can be at the table as teachers bargain, so I am not going to address that. This is something that I’ve spoken to with those thousands of teachers I’ve talked to. While we await that bargaining process to unfold, we’ve taken action. Based on the request of teachers across the province, we’ve increased the term subs, so that we now have term substitute teachers across the province who are available to be deployed into classes when they’re needed, as they’re needed. They build relationships in schools, and that’s something we’ve done on action directly on advice from teachers.