N.S. education minister orders schools to play national anthem after students pen letter

The Nova Scotia education minister has ordered schools to play the national anthem after students wrote a letter.

Nova Scotia’s Education minister has issued a directive to all public schools in the province, stating they are required to play the national anthem every morning.

The order comes after Brendan Maguire received a letter from a group of Grade 12 students at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., who expressed their concerns that the high school no longer plays “O Canada.”

KC Min, who emigrated to Canada from South Korea in 2019, helped write the letter.

“I haven’t heard any anthem since my first day here in high school, which would have been two years ago,” Min told CTV News.

“I think it’s important to be patriotic … I’m an immigrant here, I thank this country for all the opportunities I have, so I think it’s really important to stand up for our values and patriotism for Canada.”

Min says his junior high school played the national anthem daily, so he was surprised – and disappointed – when he didn’t hear it played in high school.

So, he and two other students decided to write a letter – which was also signed by dozens of students – to the education minister.

“O Canada, a patriotic symbol & a hallmark of our national identity, has been missing from our corridors and classrooms,” the letter reads. “This omission to play the anthem is problematic in itself as it works to undermine tradition, continuity & national pride, as well as the sacrifices of men & women of the armed forces and so many others who have fought to secure the Canada which we love & cherish today.”

Maguire told CTV News Atlantic he learned “a few” schools were not playing the anthem daily but couldn’t say how many. He isn’t sure why the schools stopped playing “O Canada,” but says he wants all schools in the province following the same policies.

“It’s less about individual schools, it’s more about just consistency right across the board,” said Maguire.

“We heard from students directly. This is really a good time to enforce civic engagement with everything that’s going on and it’s a good time to enforce pride in being Canadian.”

The Nova Scotia Department of Education said its new “National Anthem in Schools Policy,” which comes into effect immediately, was shared with all public schools in the province on Thursday.

The policy states all principals “must ensure the Canadian national anthem is played at their school at the beginning of each school day.”

“We’re not forcing kids to do anything, it’s just to be respectful during the national anthem,” said Maguire. “It really is, you know, a time for kids to have quiet reflection and just a good way to start the day.”

Maguire says he hasn’t received any pushback from schools and he expects they will all comply with the directive.

Min says he’s pleased Maguire took their letter seriously.

“It’s great to see, actually, the minister of education taking action on this,” he said.

Fellow Grade 12 student Ryan McFarlane agrees.

“I think that’s an amazing thing for the students to be able to reach out … and have that response and have that anthem starting to be played. I think that is a beautiful thing,” said McFarlane.

HRCE national anthem policy

A spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) told CTV News Atlantic it learned about the matter from the Department of Education Thursday morning.

“That was a surprise,” said Lindsey Bunin. “And as soon as we found that out, we of course addressed the situation and contacted the school and made sure that they were playing the national anthem each day.”

Bunin said it was especially surprising because HRCE has had its own national anthem policy, which states all schools should play “O Canada” every day, for more than 15 years.

“We are aware that the Department of Education also shared a provincial policy today with the same direction, so of course HRCE schools will be compliant to that,” she said.

Bunin couldn’t say who made the decision at Charles P. Allen and CTV News Atlantic couldn’t speak to the school’s principal as they are on leave.

“I can’t speak to specifics as to why there was a change in practice at this particular school, but certainly can say that the anthem will be played tomorrow and every day going forward,” said Bunin.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Callum Smith

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