Latest news with #FortSimpson
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Education bodies in Dehcho welcome investigations launched by N.W.T. gov't
The organizations in the Dehcho at the centre of multiple investigations launched by the N.W.T. education minister say they welcome the scrutiny. The investigations, announced a week ago, are into both the Dehcho Divisional Education Council and all District Education Authorities (DEAs) in the region. They're wide-ranging, from finances to human resources to personnel matters and governance. According to a June 20 news release from the government, one investigation into finances appears to have already started, while another — which is an independent review looking at governance — begins in July and is expected to wrap up at the end of August and include findings and next steps. Minister Caitlin Cleveland declined an interview request after announcing the investigations last week. Derek Squirrel, vice-chair of the DEA in Fort Simpson, says he is glad the government is looking into issues parents are facing. "I think it's a long time coming for this," Squirrel said. "Once we met with the minister and she mentioned that she was going to do an investigation, we made a recommendation that is that it needs to happen sooner than later, because time is already ticking." Squirrel says he isn't concerned that the Fort Simpson DEA is being investigated. "There wouldn't be anything to find," he said, adding the DEA follows the Education Act and its policies. "All the decisions that we make at a board level are not taken lightly... we welcome the investigation, we think that this is needed, we wish it came sooner." CBC News contacted Donna Miller Fry, the superintendent of the Dehcho Divisional Education Council (DDEC), about the investigations into the school board and DEAs. Miller Fry responded in an email that she also welcomes the education department's investigation and that her organization will do whatever they can to support that work. The board's "priority is children and young people, and ensuring they are learning and thriving in our schools," she wrote. "That happens best when the system of governance is also thriving and working as it should." The announcement of the investigations came weeks after parents in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., met with Cleveland to bring forward issues they had with the local elementary school principal. In the meeting, Fort Simpson DEA members also outlined how their concerns had been raised with Miller Fry, and alleged that she hadn't dealt with them. Miller Fry has told CBC News that she couldn't speak about that principal due to confidentiality. The education department has not tied the investigations to any conflict or concerns about the principal. Rather, the news release last week refers to "serious concerns from parents, educators, community members, and education partners in the Dehcho." The DDEC is headquartered in Fort Simpson and is guided by trustees from that community as well as from Kakisa, Jean Marie River, Sambaa K'e, Fort Liard, Nahanni Butte, Wrigley and Fort Providence.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parents call on N.W.T. education minister to remove Fort Simpson elementary school principal
Parents in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., are calling on the territorial government to permanently remove the principal of the local elementary school. The parents, some of whom are elected members of the community's District Education Authority (DEA), met with the N.W.T. education minister earlier this month to list their concerns with Łı̨́ı̨́dĺ̨ı̨́ı̨́ Kų́ę́ Elementary School principal Benjamin Adams. The concerns include a lack of communication, unreliability and an unhealthy school environment that they allege is failing their children. Adams declined an interview request due to "internal processes and confidentiality." On Wednesday, the day after the request, Adams sent an email to school staff informing them he would be on leave for the remainder of the year. Dehcho Divisional Education Council (DDEC) superintendent Donna Miller Fry wrote in an email to CBC News on June 19 that Adams is still the principal of the school, but there is an acting principal while he is away. Parents who spoke with CBC said the Fort Simpson DEA met with Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland on June 6 to discuss the issues, which is when they called for Adams' removal. Parents spoke with CBC in the days leading up to Friday's announcement from the government of sweeping investigations into the DDEC's and Dehcho DEAs' governance, finances and human resource issues. Shawna McLeod, a Fort Simpson parent and DEA member, delivered a speech to Cleveland and provided a written statement that detailed various incidents involving several parents and students. The letter says Adams' behaviour reveals "a disturbing pattern of neglect, exclusion, dishonesty and emotional harm." One example includes a neurodiverse child whose mother felt they weren't properly supported. There were also concerns about how a teacher was treating the child. The letter says Adams didn't properly address the concerns with the teacher. A former staff member and parent was also quoted in the letter as saying the education system in Fort Simpson is "crumbling." That person described a toxic work environment, with a lack of support for students and inconsistent leadership. McLeod said she decided to pull her daughter from the school and is not the only one to do so. McLeod and another parent who spoke to CBC said they think Adams has retaliated against children whose parents have spoken out about his shortcomings, by not allowing them to attend extracurricular activities. Adams' bio on the education council's website, which was removed June 18, said he is from Newfoundland and spent time working in that province, as well as in Nunavut and Manitoba. It said he worked as the Fort Simpson high school principal before moving over to the elementary school. He was listed as the elementary school principal on the school's website sometime in 2022. CBC News obtained a copy of the letter presented to the minister and reached out to McLeod to independently confirm that she had written it. CBC also reached out to some of the parents named in the letter. One parent, Mary Masuzumi, said Adams called her to the school last year after her son, who is non-verbal, demonstrated with his hands that he was hit by someone. Masuzumi said Adams told her a teacher had backhanded her son to the floor. Later, she said, he denied ever making that statement. Rylan Hardisty-Gillis and Jerri Brenton said they have a daughter who attended the school. They ended up homeschooling her due to issues with a teacher, but registered her in a couple classes. They said they were told by Adams that their daughter could still use the school facilities and receive support from the school, which is also required under territorial legislation. But over the course of the year, their daughter wasn't allowed to participate in multiple school events and extracurricular activities. The parents said when they asked Adams about why she couldn't participate, he said he didn't know anything about the rules around homeschooled students using school facilities. Another parent, Brendan Whelly, said he was emailing Adams to ask about the plan to get a permanent teacher for the school's kindergarten class. He said getting a response from Adams about the vacant position sometimes took weeks. Whelly said Adams suddenly ended their communications, writing that he sensed "a level of hostility, threat and aggression." CBC News reviewed the email thread in question and it did not appear to include any threats or aggression. CBC emailed Adams about each individual concern raised by the parents; he did not provide a response by deadline. The Dehcho Divisional Education Council superintendent, Donna Miller Fry, told CBC in an email that she couldn't speak due to privacy concerns and confidentiality regulations. CBC News was unable to reach the DDEC's trustees for comment. CBC reached out to Cleveland earlier in the week for an interview about the situation. Sameeksha Dandriyal, a spokesperson for Cleveland, responded by email that the minister "is aware of the concerns raised and, as with all concerns expressed by residents, takes them seriously." "The minister has been engaging with partners in the education system in the Dehcho region to listen and better understand the situation," Dandriyal wrote. Late Friday afternoon, Cleveland issued a media statement announcing a series of investigations into the DDEC and the Dehcho region's DEAs. An independent investigator will review those education bodies; the government has launched a financial review of them; and the Finance department will do a human resources investigation. In that statement, Cleveland referred to a range of concerns from community members about the situation. "I understand many residents want to see action, and I share that sense of urgency," Cleveland wrote. "I also recognize that for some families—particularly Indigenous families still living with the intergenerational impacts of residential schools— these situations can be especially difficult. That's why this work must be carried out with care, fairness, and respect." In Adams' email to staff on June 17, he wrote there would be an acting principal in his place. In a Facebook post to parents, he wrote he would be "working from afar and periodically at the school."
CBC
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Snowboarder Liam Gill explores his N.W.T. roots in documentary now online
A short film about Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill and his return to his family's homeland of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., is now streaming online. Footage for the 17-minute documentary film Gill Crescent was collected after Gill competed in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and it shows his first visit to Fort Simpson since he was two years old. His grandmother is from Fort Simpson and Gill is a member of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation. He was born and raised in Calgary. Since that first return visit to Fort Simpson in 2022, Gill has been back to the N.W.T. multiple times. "Right after the first trip, I knew I was coming back," he said. Gill Crescent was crafted from hours of footage gathered during Gill's 2022 visit and his later trips. It shows him working at snowboarding clinics with youth in Fort Simpson as well as in Yellowknife and Fort Smith. Gill calls the film "beautiful." "I've gone up there four years now and every time I meet some sort of new family — and it really does just feel like a second home," he said. Gill said he has seen the youth he's worked with improve each time he's visited and he's also learned a lot from being in the N.W.T. "Growing up in Calgary is, you know, created a big disconnect with my culture," he said. "And over the past couple years, being, you know, taught from the youth or the elders, I've actually taken it to like, world cups and contests — you know, I'll do like my own little tobacco feeding ceremony." The documentary film was produced by Alberta snowboarder Finn Westbury. "The North is unlike anywhere else. It's incredibly special," Westbury said. Westbury said it was also special watching Gill develop a relationship with the youth he worked with. "There's this kind of like, mutual respect from both ways," Westbury said. "It's incredibly inspiring for me. You know, you can see firsthand that somebody's the role model, and that's a very cool thing to be able to witness."
