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Yukon Legislative Assembly Number 173 1st Session 33rd Legislature HANSARD Wednesday, November 19, 2014 — 1:00 p.m. Speaker: The Honourable David Laxton YUKON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER — Hon. David Laxton, MLA, Porter Creek Centre DEPUTY SPEAKER — Patti McLeod, MLA, Watson Lake CABINET MINISTERS NAME CONSTITUENCY PORTFOLIO Hon. Darrell Pasloski Mountainview Premier Minister responsible for Finance; Executive Council Office Hon. Elaine Taylor Whitehorse West Deputy Premier Minister responsible for Education; Women’s Directorate; French Language Services Directorate Hon. Brad Cathers Lake Laberge Minister responsible for Community Services; Yukon Housing Corporation; Yukon Liquor Corporation; Yukon Lottery Commission Government House Leader Hon. Doug Graham Porter Creek North Minister responsible for Health and Social Services; Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board Hon. Scott Kent Riverdale North Minister responsible for Energy, Mines and Resources; Yukon Energy Corporation; Yukon Development Corporation Hon. Currie Dixon Copperbelt North Minister responsible for Economic Development; Environment; Public Service Commission Hon. Wade Istchenko Kluane Minister responsible for Highways and Public Works Hon. Mike Nixon Porter Creek South Minister responsible for Justice; Tourism and Culture GOVERNMENT PRIVATE MEMBERS Yukon Party Darius Elias Vuntut Gwitchin Stacey Hassard Pelly-Nisutlin Hon. David Laxton Porter Creek Centre Patti McLeod Watson Lake OPPOSITION MEMBERS New Democratic Party Elizabeth Hanson Leader of the Official Opposition Whitehorse Centre Jan Stick Official Opposition House Leader Riverdale South Kevin Barr Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes Lois Moorcroft Copperbelt South Jim Tredger Mayo-Tatchun Kate White Takhini-Kopper King Liberal Party Sandy Silver Leader of the Third Party Klondike LEGISLATIVE STAFF Clerk of the Assembly Floyd McCormick Deputy Clerk Linda Kolody Clerk of Committees Allison Lloyd Sergeant-at-Arms Rudy Couture Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Doris McLean Hansard Administrator Deana Lemke Published under the authority of the Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly November 19, 2014 HANSARD 5171 Yukon Legislative Assembly Department of Education is leading an inter-agency Whitehorse, Yukon working group to coordinate efforts to raise awareness, to Wednesday, November 19, 2014 — 1:00 p.m. prevent and to respond to all forms of bullying in our schools. Through policies such as safe and caring schools and the Speaker: I will now call the House to order. We will sexual orientation and gender identity policy, we continue to proceed at this time with prayers. promote respectful and safe school environments throughout the Yukon. Prayers Participation in self-regulation strategies and participation in programs like MindUP in our classrooms are helping also DAILY ROUTINE increase socially appropriate behaviours and are helping to Speaker: We will proceed with the Order Paper. develop our schools’ capacity in this particular area. Tributes. Together with the Department of Justice and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, we’re working to build TRIBUTES stronger and safer communities for children and youth in the In recognition of Bullying Awareness Week on-line and the off-line worlds. Hon. Ms. Taylor: I rise in the House today to This Friday, students, educators and communities across recognize Bullying Awareness Week across Canada and to the territory will be wearing pink to show solidarity against pay tribute to all of the Yukon students and school staff who bullying behaviours and to support building positive and kind are committed to eliminating bullying behaviours in our relationships in our schools, workplaces and homes. schools. Bullying Awareness Week is a national campaign in Mr. Speaker, you will notice that most of us are wearing Canada conceived by educator and www.bullying.org some show of pink here today, as we will not be sitting on president, Bill Belsey. The theme this year is “Stand Up! (to Friday. It is our opportunity to show our support for anti- bullying)”. The campaign takes place during the third week bullying. each November and aims to raise awareness about bullying Before I conclude my remarks, I want to also extend a among students in Canada. It promotes positive relationships warm welcome on behalf of the Legislative Assembly to a and provides youth with real-life solutions to help them deal number of individuals who have joined us here today in the with bullying behaviours. gallery. We have with us: Annie Pellicano, the faculty advisor Bullying can be physical, sexual, verbal or emotional. to the F.H. Collins Gay Straight Alliance; Morgan Yuill, this School bullying can be defined as unwelcome behaviour year’s youth recipient of the Community Safety Award for his among school-age children that involves a real or perceived work with the Be the Change team; and Nell Roothman, also power imbalance. The behaviour can be repetitive and very active in keeping F.H. Collins a school where students aggressive and can result in anxiety and depression. feel safe, cared for and celebrated. Beginning with Challenge Day in October, Yukon Although not present here today, I would also like to schools integrate and do very well at bullying awareness and recognize F.H. Collins Vice-Principal Christine Klaassen-St education into activities, lessons and events throughout the Pierre and her student teams who have and continue to lead school year. Yukon’s participation in Bullying Awareness the change and the charge in the school’s anti-bullying Week culminates in the Sea of Pink Day on Friday when movement for many years, and for her work in continuing to school students and staff alike will wear pink to show their inspire other schools along the way, and for having earned solidarity against bullying. national recognition last year for having received the As many members in this House know, the Sea of Pink Canadian Safe Schools Network/TD Award for Excellence. owes its origins to a 2007 event at Central Kings Rural High It is individuals like Christine, Annie, Morgan and Nell, School back in Nova Scotia. Two students bought and and initiatives such as Be the Change and Sea of Pink that are distributed 50 pink t-shirts to their peers after a younger male paving the way and the change we wish to see in the world student in grade 9 was bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the today and tomorrow. first day of school. This gesture went viral and took off from Applause there with pink shirt days being recognized throughout Ms. White: I rise on behalf of the Yukon NDP Official Canada and the world. th While in the Yukon schools celebrate the Sea of Pink in Opposition and the Third Party to recognize this 12 National November, there are a number of dates where other Bullying Awareness Week. jurisdictions encourage students and citizens alike to wear Some have raised concerns that we shouldn’t be using the pink to help campaign against bullying. Some of these dates words “bully” or “bullying” in our schools and our include Anti-Bullying Day in British Columbia at the end of workplaces out of fear that it will encourage some to engage February and the International Day of Pink in early April. in this harmful behaviour, but you can’t have a national non- Regardless of the day, people organize to wear pink and the smoking week without talking about smoking. When we’re message remains the same: bullying is everybody’s problem raising awareness about the risks and dangers of smoking, the and it’s a problem that we all have a collective duty to work to population isn’t being driven to pick up the habit and the same bring an end to. needs to be said about bullying. So let’s call it what it is. 5172 HANSARD November 19, 2014 Barbara Coloroso, author of The Bully, the Bullied, and accountability and responsibility and responsiveness to unique the Bystander, has this to say on the matter: “Bullying is not cultural needs, such as First Nation communities. about anger, it is not a conflict to be resolved, it is about Yukon restorative and community-based justice is contempt — a powerful feeling of dislike toward someone focused on addressing the needs of our communities on a considered to be worthless, inferior and undeserving of daily basis through locally developed responses. Community respect.” Contempt comes with three apparent psychological justice workers are customizing services based on the local advantages that allow kids to harm others without feeling needs of victims, offenders and communities. empathy, compassion or shame. These are a sense of In partnership with First Nations and Justice Canada’s entitlement, that they have the right to hurt or control others Aboriginal Justice Strategy, the Department of Justice and intolerance toward differences, and a freedom to exclude, supports nine community justice projects in communities such bar, isolate and segregate others. as Old Crow, Dawson City, Ross River, Haines Junction, That sounds bleak, doesn’t it, Mr. Speaker? But all hope Teslin, Carcross, Whitehorse and Watson Lake. These is not lost. In the last number of years, we have seen community justice projects are facilitating healing and incredible change across the country. In Nova Scotia in 2007, accountability through a wide range of programs, such as by high school students — in retaliation to an act of bullying — offering alternative justice system approaches like circle flooded their school with pink shirts. This action of resistance sentencing, conferencing and elders boards, opportunities for led to the International Day of Pink, now celebrated in more healing and repairing relationships and support tailored to than 25 countries worldwide with more than eight million child and youth needs. Also, the programs are providing participants in 2012. consideration for cultural, spiritual and traditional values and Communities like Cochrane, Alberta have not only mental, emotional and physical needs of victims, offenders recognized Bullying Awareness Week, but are striving to be and community members.

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