Warning: This multi-part series deals with the physical abuse of vulnerable children in the public school system. If you or someone you love is experiencing trauma-related symptoms from physical abuse, please seek help. Resources in Canada can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/stop-family-violence/services.html For children, Kids Help Phone: Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.
‘He knew that they were coming to … lock him up’
As told to CBC The Current, November 2022
Pause for a moment. Imagine listening to your child being interviewed by the police, and hearing your child describe being dragged down the hallway at school, and locked up for hours in “holding cells”, day after day.
Imagine being that child, going to school knowing you could spend hours alone, knowing teachers would likely put hands on you and force you into a cubicle where you would be by yourself again.
“Sometimes, he would be dragged down the school hallway to the study hall. He would often scream when this happened”
Affidavit of YY, Filed at Yukon Supreme Court, October 31, 2022
Not in my wildest dreams did I think this could happen right here in Canada.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be telling the story of discovering sanctioned, permitted abuse of vulnerable children in one Yukon school.
“He thought it must have been scary for kindergarten kids to see him carried down the school halls screaming”
Affidavit of YY, Filed at Yukon Supreme Court, October 31, 2022
It’s important to say from the beginning that in most Yukon schools, professionals are doing their best for kids. But in one school, the power structures that oversee education allowed abuse to flourish.
I invite you to follow along, because this can never happen in Canada again.
Never again.
References
Not an Acceptable Use of Force (CBC, May 18, 2022): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/jack-hulland-internal-review-interim-findings-1.6457327
“Like a Caged Animal”: Parents allege kids isolated, restrained at Whitehorse school (CBC The Current – November 23, 2022) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/parents-alleged-kids-isolated-restrained-at-whitehorse-school-1.6660253
Yukon child advocate keeping a close eye on Jack Hulland Elementary School review, investigation (CBC, May 25, 2022) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-child-advocate-jack-hulland-findings-1.6465627
Further Reading:
National Child Day 2023: https://blog.donnamillerfry.com/the-rights-of-children/national-child-day-2023/
Class Action Lawsuit: Were you (or someone you know) a student at Jack Hulland Elementary School in Whitehorse, Yukon during the years 2007 to 2022? You may be entitled to compensation as part of a class action lawsuit against the Yukon Department of Education. Please contact Tucker-Carruthers Yukon Law for more information. Website: https://tuckercarruthers.ca/ or contact Heather Jordan, Paralegal at 867-667-2099 or email hjordan@yukonlaw.com
The Kids of Jack Hulland Elementary
- Introduction
- Timeline Part 1 (Class Action Lawsuit)
- Timeline Part 2 (RCMP)
- Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada
- The Statement of Claim
- The Yukon Child and Youth Advocate’s Office
- The [Missing] Kids of Jack Hulland Elementary
- Week 1 Summary
- The Federal NDP Attempt to Repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Bill C-273)
- UPDATE: Bill C-273
- UPDATE: Supreme Court of Yukon Decision March 27, 2024
- UPDATE: Yukon Child and Youth Advocate’s Office PODCAST
- No Pain, No Shame, No Blame (American Academy of Paediatrics)
- Senator Stan Kutcher and Bill S-251 to Repeal Section 43
- Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 6
- The Rights of Children
- The Public Education System in the Yukon
- Ronald Morrish – Discipline that Harms
- Ethical Practice and the Teaching Profession
- Recap and FAQ
- Childhood Trauma – ACES
- The long-term impact of physical abuse of children
- What we know about corporal punishment of children
Who I Am: My name is Donna Miller Fry. I was Superintendent of Schools in Whitehorse, Yukon when I became aware that prior to my arrival, children at Jack Hulland Elementary School were being restrained and secluded as a method of discipline – for years. I (and others) reported this to the RCMP on November 29, 2021. Since then, the Department of Education has admitted the inappropriate use of restraints and seclusion. The victims have resorted to legal action to obtain professional support in addressing the impacts of trauma. This can never happen again in the public school system. By telling this story, I hope to empower education leaders to ensure vulnerable children are never again the victims of abuse in the very place that should be dedicated to their flourishing.
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