Latest news with #BrendanMaguire
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
N.S. announces $2.5 million to create 42 new child-care spaces in Kings County
Kings County, N.S. will receive $2.5 million towards expanding childcare centres from the province. (Source: Government of Nova Scotia website) The Nova Scotia government has announced $2.5 million to create more child-care spaces in Kings County. The Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education will use the money to purchase and expand the Stepping Stone Preschool and Childcare Centre in Auburn, N.S. The college is adding 42 new spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, expected to be available by next spring, a news release said. 'The Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education is very pleased to continue our partnership with the provincial and federal governments. Thanks to the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, we have been able to add over 170 full-time, high-quality child-care spaces across the province with half located in rural Nova Scotia,' said Joe Malek, president and CEO of the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education. This is the 11th project announced under the department's major infrastructure program. 'The demand for child-care spaces in Kings County continues to grow,' said Kings West MLA Chris Palmer on behalf of Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Brendan Maguire. 'This investment will add more child-care spaces in our community as well as provide practicum opportunities for future childhood educators.' Nova Scotia has signed a five-year extension to the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, worth more than $1 billion total. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Education minister lauds first year of school lunch program but tweaks are likely
Social Sharing Officials with the province's Education Department are not tracking food waste associated with the new school lunch program, but the cabinet minister responsible says even with some issues that might need tweaking he's pleased with the first year of the program. "Nothing is perfect, but we've served over two million meals since the start of the lunch program," Education Minister Brendan Maguire told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Halifax on Thursday. The program was launched early into this school year, beginning in 250 elementary schools across the province. Families order meals in two-week blocks and can choose how much they want to pay, with an option to pay nothing. The government budgeted $18.8 million for the first year of the program. The 2025-26 budget more than tripled that figure to $61.2 million in order to speed up the rollout and reach all junior high and middle schools for the coming fall. Maguire conceded that some people have expressed concerns about the program, including the overall menu and quality of some of the meals. He said there would be tweaks heading into the next school year based on feedback. "I always say I have three children and I could put the same meal in front of those three children and they're not necessarily going to like it." The minister, on the other hand, praised the meals he's been able to sample so far, including a bean burrito, pizza and butter chicken. Maguire said his children are small enough that they don't always finish the food, which means he sometimes gets the leftovers. He acknowledged that he may have a less discerning palette than some younger diners. "You've got to know that I'm not a picky eater," he said. Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said he's supportive of the lunch and breakfast programs, noting the importance both play for some students each day. But Mombourquette said that if the program is to be the best it can be, officials need to look at ways to improve it, including tracking food waste. "Because really, those statistics help make the choices around what food selections should be in place and what the students will actually consume more of," he told reporters. NDP MLA Susan Leblanc, whose party advocated for years for a universal school lunch program, said there may be shortcomings in the first year of the rollout but the broader intent of the program should not be missed. "The idea of school lunches is a success," she told reporters. Still, like Mombourquette, Leblanc said she'd like to see more attention paid to food waste and menus adjusted to ensure the program benefits students as much as possible as it continues to be introduced in more schools.
CBC
09-05-2025
- CBC
N.S. offers online protection for Cape Breton students, staff hit by school cyberattack
Nova Scotia's Department of Education is offering students, parents and staff some online protection after a cybersecurity breach earlier this year. But an expert says those affected will have to remain on guard to protect their personal information. The Cape Breton-Victoria region was the only school district in the province to be hacked during a North America-wide data breach of the U.S.-based PowerSchool service. Students and former students in Cape Breton were sent letters this week, saying their names and addresses, dates of birth, medical information and other school records were stolen. Education Minister Brendan Maguire said those too young to have a credit score are being offered online identity protection, while others are being offered credit monitoring for two years. "The main thing right now is ensuring that their information that has been compromised ... [is] protected, and moving forward, they have the protection there to ensure that they haven't been financially or personally impacted," he said. School officials say the data breach affected nearly 42,000 students, parents and staff over a number of years. PowerSchool paying for online protection The department says the cost of the online protection is being paid by PowerSchool. Maguire said it's not clear why only one regional centre in the province was affected. "I can't get into the mind of a criminal," he said. Some school boards in other jurisdictions have been hit with ransom demands, but not Cape Breton. PowerSchool says its service is now secure, according to Maguire. "Obviously, there's nefarious forces out there that are always looking to get into this kind of information, so we're continuously monitoring and we're continuously working with them to ensure this is safe for everybody involved," he said. Schools across the province continue to use the service to track enrolment, attendance and grades. "It is a state-of-the-art program. We haven't had many problems with it," Maguire said. "Obviously this is something that is troublesome." Francis Syms, associate dean of applied science and technology at Toronto's Humber Polytechnic, said people should take the protection offered by the government, but they should remain vigilant. For example, former students could be contacted about an upcoming class reunion and it could sound legitimate, but could be used to get financial information, he said. Consider local solutions "I think especially over the next year or so, we have to assume that that data is going to be sold and used to commit fraud on us and we have to be suspicious of anybody calling us," Syms said. Having data stored with a company outside Canadian borders leaves governments with little leverage to go after the company or the hackers, he said. Governments should instead consider finding local data storage solutions. "In Canada, we have some laws around how data can be shared, which work sometimes, don't work other times, but in the U.S., there's no federal statute around that. "So if you're working with an organization that has your data in the U.S., all bets are off as to where that data goes or could be sold."
CBC
06-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.S. government outlines priority areas for research funding
Nova Scotia's advanced education minister has outlined the sectors he wants the provincial Crown corporation responsible for research to prioritize, and he wants proof his government is getting bang for its buck. A document from the department of Advanced Education Minister Brendan Maguire breaks the priorities for Research Nova Scotia into three categories: natural resources, climate change and clean energy; life sciences and health sciences; and construction and transportation. According to the agency's website, "the connection between research supported and economic benefit will need to be tangible and demonstrable." "Researchers and Research N.S. will need to show how the research they are conducting and funding is contributing to measurable changes in these [economic] outcomes in their reporting." Research Nova Scotia gets an annual transfer of about $4.6 million from the province. In the past five years, however, it's received an additional $50 million to help secure additional funding partners. Research funding commitments from the Crown corporation have ranged from $10 million to $20 million a year, according to officials. Changes connected to Bill 12 Maguire was not made available for an interview, but the directive from his department provides greater detail about changes first laid out in Bill 12, omnibus legislation the Progressive Conservative government introduced and passed during the recent winter session of the legislature. Although the bulk of the attention the bill received related to changes to universities, the legislation also included amendments to the Research Nova Scotia Corporation Act that give the minister of advanced education discretion to determine the province's key research priorities for the Crown agency. "This ensures that research priorities will now be directly communicated from the minister to Research Nova Scotia, guiding funding decisions," according to a government information sheet dated May 1. The act requires Research Nova Scotia officials to "develop and implement a strategic plan for how the priorities will be advanced through research." "For further clarity, all activities and funding provided by the corporation must align to the research priorities, as provided by the minister." The minister's directive also includes objectives and examples of research areas for each of the three priority sectors. Natural resources, climate change and clean energy: The objectives include ensuring "growth in sustainable and responsible development" of natural resources; strengthening exploration, mining, midstream processing of critical minerals and clean technologies; addressing the province's climate change needs and advancing clean energy solutions. Examples of research include resilient and efficient supply chains; sustainable mining practices and resource management; exploration, extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals, including lithium and uranium; renewable energy technologies; carbon capture and storage; environmental science; oceans technology; and electrification and energy storage. Life sciences and health sciences: The objectives include improving health outcomes for humans, plants and animals, advancing the delivery of health care through research and learning by doing, and developing new methods to create materials, foods and other products using bioprocesses. Examples of research include medical technology, animal and plant health and innovation, biomaterials and bioproducts, artificial intelligence in health-care settings, oceans technology and food security and self-sufficiency. Construction and transportation: The objectives are to improve infrastructure to support population growth and increase the efficiency of movement of people and products. Research examples include sustainable and resilient construction technology, materials science, cellular and internet networks, innovative building materials, and urban and rural transportation solutions. 'Overarching outcomes' The document setting out the provincial research priorities also outlines "overarching outcomes" the government expects to achieve through its funding. There are seven key outcomes that fit into two groupings: Provincial productivity: "Increase technology development, uptake and use; increase knowledge and innovation diffusion into industry; and increased investment in tradable sectors and expansion of exports." Provincial economic growth: "Enhance commercialization of research, including retention and deployment of Nova Scotia intellectual property in the province; increase the number of highly-qualified personnel employed in Nova Scotia; increase investment in research and development in key sectors; and increase to [the] provincial GDP." According to the document, achieving these outcomes will require leveraging funding from other sources, such as the federal government, the private sector and through philanthropy.
Global News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Rise in school violence across Nova Scotia leads province to update code of conduct
The Nova Scotia government has released an updated code of conduct for students in response to a spike in school violence. Education Minister Brendan Maguire says the code sets clear and consistent direction in the education system and also details consequences for those who violate the rules. For years teachers unions have called on the province to update its code of conduct, and last year the auditor general reported that training and prevention measures have failed to keep pace with the jump in violent behaviour in schools. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Auditor general Kim Adair said there had been a 60 per cent increase in reported school violence since 2017 and that staff had said they felt unprepared to deal with the concerning trend. Included in the revised code of conduct, scheduled to go into effect in September, are stronger definitions of unacceptable behaviour, such as racism, bullying and cyberbullying, sexual assault and physical violence. Story continues below advertisement The province has also created guidelines for teachers and administrators that list disciplinary measures for a variety of offences. As well, all school network employees will have a duty to report incidents to the Education Department, which will track the data. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.
