Sask. NDP calls on province to prevent mass layoff of educational assistants

WATCH: The Sask. NDP is calling on the province to prevent the layoff of 80 EAs in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to intervene to prevent dozens of educational assistants from being laid off from Saskatoon Public Schools.

On Feb. 5, the Saskatoon Public School Division said it is forced to end the contracts of about 80 educational assistants after failing to receive millions in expected federal funding through Jordan’s Principle.

Now, the NDP’s education critic Matt Love, is calling on the province to step in and fund the “desperately needed” positions.

“Let me be clear – education funding is a provincial responsibility. Our school boards shouldn’t have to rely on backfilled federal dollars to hire more educators,” said Love.

Indigenous Services Canada told CTV News last week that it has seen a drastic spike in requests for funding under Jordan’s Principle — designed to fill gaps that First nations children may experience in government services.

The federal ministry says it’s up to the province to fund services for its own students.

“Provincial governments are responsible for ensuring equal access to educational services for all students in their publicly funded school boards,” Indigenous Services Canada told CTV News in an email last week.

“Under the Sask. Party, our province is last place on education – the very last in Canada. We need a real, generational investment to ensure that our kids – all our students – have the support they need and deserve.”

On Monday morning, the province announced nearly $1 billion in additional spending released through executive orders-in-council, including funds to address “operating pressures and additional relocatable classrooms for school divisions.”

CTV News contacted the Ministry of Education to learn if any of this new spending would be directed to Saskatoon Public Schools to help with the funding shortfall.

The ministry said its additional allocation to school divisions “includes funding related to teacher collective bargaining and other existing pressures.”

“For the 2024-25 school year, Saskatoon Public Schools is receiving approximately $286 million in operating funding from the provincial government, an increase of 10 per cent from last budget day.”

NDP MLA Leroy Laliberte said both levels of government are repeating the mistakes that Jordan’s Principle was designed to prevent.

“Jordan River Anderson spent his entire life in a hospital because rather than act, both provincial and federal governments spent their time pointing their fingers at one another,” said Laliberte.

“Because of a disagreement over funding, Jordan didn’t get the support he deserved. No one taking responsibility. No one taking action. Just both governments once again pointing the finger at each other as our students go without supports.”