Craswell case shakes trust in schools, former P.E.I. chief justice says as his review begins

CBC

2 days ago

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David Jenkins says his third-party review of how Public Schools Branch practices and policies played into the Matthew Craswell case should end in recommendations on how to make Prince Edward Island schools safer for children.
But so far, the former chief justice of the P.E.I. Supreme Court told a legislative committee on Thursday, he is still getting settled in after beginning the project on June 2. He has no staff yet, and is looking forward to getting a first look at documents he is requesting from the parties involved.
"The school boards will be obliged to give prompt priority to this request," he said, adding that he is focusing on the educational authorities because "that's where the action has taken place," but he said his review may eventually lead him to explore the department up to the ministerial level.
Education Minister Robin Croucher appointed Jenkins to head the review of the PSB and its practices back in May, shortly after Craswell, a 40-year-old former substitute teacher, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference in a case involving a female student at Glen Stewart Primary School in Stratford.
It later emerged that Craswell had been the focus of an allegation of similar behaviour at Charlottetown's West Kent Elementary School in 2023.
No school or PSB official reported either allegation to the police or Child Protection Services at the time.
The system did fall down somewhere along the way, and how serious that is, how significant that was will be determined in this investigation. — Education and Early Years Minister Robin Croucher, in May
PSB officials also allowed Craswell to keep teaching at the high school level after the Stratford child's parent complained.
"The system did fall down somewhere along the way, and how serious that is, how significant that was will be determined in this investigation," Croucher had said as he appointed Jenkins to lead the review.
On Thursday, Jenkins told MLAs that the case involves matters of "acute public interest," and he used his time before the group to cover all the topics the committee had asked him to cover.
He said the series of revelations reported in the media related to the Craswell case "shakes the very foundation of trust we need to have in the education system" and he will try to approach his review with a "trauma-informed, community-focused approach."
WATCH | David Jenkins speaks to P.E.I. MLAs as 3rd-party review into school safety begins:
David Jenkins speaks to P.E.I. MLAs as 3rd-party review into school safety begins
28 minutes ago
Duration 2:24
It's been a month since David Jenkins was appointed to head up a third-party review into the handling of sexual misconduct allegations in Island schools. His work began this week, and one of his first stops was to speak to MLAs. CBC's Nicola MacLeod was there.
Yet Jenkins acknowledged that his review will involve "a delicate issue." He noted he didn't want to push it to the point that there is a chill in the system, where teachers don't want to be there and child can't get the care they need because teachers are afraid to get near them.
Many questions raised
Going into the review, opposition politicians have raised questions around:
why the Public Schools Branch allowed Craswell to continue teaching after allegations were brought up twice;
why school officials didn't initially notify police; and
whether it was possible for a vulnerable sector check conducted by the RCMP to turn up a 2018 extradition order from South Korea for Craswell regarding voyeurism allegations in that country.
Jenkins said he intends to put a priority on the safety of students in his eventual recommendations. He will also look at the education authorities' legal framework when it comes to responding to misconduct and compliance issues, as well as review safeguards and accountability structures and see if there are any gaps that could be filled.
He told the MLAs he intends to draw upon the expertise of the province's Child and Youth Advocate, Marvin Bernstein, and Child Protection Services staff as well.
The former chief justice will have the power to compel documents and witnesses, much as he would in a public inquiry. He said he cannot commit to a timeframe for his review until the exploration begins, but it would be "months not years."
The inquiry is independent of the minister. I'm not going to be taking instructions from the minister. — Justice David Jenkins
The province has said Jenkins's final report will be made public. On Thursday, Jenkins said his understand is that some details may have to be shielded for legal and privacy reasons.
He said he was unsure which parts of the report will be withheld— if any — or if the final report will include names of individuals in the education system.
Jenkins said his job is to pass his final report on to the minister, and then his work will be done.
"The inquiry is independent of the minister," he told the committee. "I'm not going to be taking instructions from the minister."