‘The strike is exposing the cracks that were already there with inclusion’Published Oct 29, 2026Last updated 12 hours ago8 minute readKristen Scott with her five-year-old son Cameron in the backyard of their Herring Cove home on Thursday. Cameron won’t be able to go to school if support workers go on strike on Monday. Photo by Ryan Taplin /Chronicle HeraldArticle contentRegardless of what the eventual outcome is in the labour dispute between Nova Scotia’s school support workers and the provincial government, Kristen Scott wants people to understand how distressing the uncertainty has been for the province’s most vulnerable children and their parents.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentScott is a mother of three young boys, including a disabled five-year-old in pre-Primary. Her son Cameron was born with Sotos syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes developmental and learning delays.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentHe’s also on the autism spectrum so Scott describes how his speech is underdeveloped and “he definitely needs to be closely monitored because he’s a flight risk. He needs help with toilet training, eating, those sorts of things.”Article contentWhat that means for Cameron inside the school system is he needs dedicated care from a support worker to navigate the demands of everyday life at William King Elementary in Herring Cove.Article contentScott feels fortunate for the help and attention Cameron receives through the Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS) program but paints a troubling picture for what it would look like if that assistance were taken away.Article contentSon needs one-on-one care during school dayArticle content“Because he’s in the PPAS program through Autism Nova Scotia, they do go into the school with him,” she said.Article content“They’re in there with him for three hours every day, Monday to Friday. If he wasn’t getting that one-on-one care, his pre-Primary teacher would still have to keep a very close eye on him because, like I said, he’s a flight risk so he would try to open the door and run down the hall.Article contentArticle content“And right now they’re trying to help him get out of pull-ups so his teacher constantly has to do diaper checks. She’s constantly having to take him to the bathroom and walk him through that whole routine. He’s also not the greatest eater, he’s very picky. Sometimes he doesn’t eat anything so somebody really does have to sit down with him one on one and really try to encourage him to eat food throughout the day.Article contentArticle content“His speech is very delayed so it’s really hard for him to make his needs known. He needs frequent check-ins. He has an iPad with him now that acts as his talker so they’re trying to teach him how to press buttons on the iPad that would speak for him. Because if he’s not able to verbalize what he wants, at least he can push buttons on the iPad as a way of communicating. So it’s just a lot of helping him through his day, keeping an eye on him, helping him eat, helping him communicate, keeping him safe, that sort of stuff.”Article content Kristen Scott with her five-year-old son Cameron in the backyard of their Herring Cove home on Thursday. Photo by Ryan Taplin /Chronicle HeraldArticle contentCameron’s school experience is much different than the vast majority of other kids his age, and that’s exactly why Scott is so upset at the moment. Her son is in a minority that she says is routinely marginalized, and pre-Primary would shut down in the event of a strike because educational program assistants (EPAs) and early childhood educators (ECEs) would be among the employees from dozens of different job descriptions who would be off work.Article contentMore than 5,500 school support workers affected by labour disputeArticle contentThe Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced Wednesday more than 5,500 workers are prepared to go on strike Monday if there is no resolution in the bargaining stalemate.Article content“The strike is exposing the cracks that were already there with inclusion,” Scott said.Article content“It’s just highlighting that and putting a spotlight on it because if the EPAs go on strike, that means that kids lose access to education. That’s a big problem, right? That’s a big deal. It shouldn’t be that way. That is discrimination. . . . The province has already been under scrutiny before for the levels of discrimination against people within the disability community to the point where there’s a human rights remedy now because of it.Article content“And I’m not saying a strike directly violates the remedy, but I’m more so asking whether we’ve actually learned the larger lesson here on why it exists, and what message is this sending the disability community when this system is this fragile? That if EPAs walk out the door, then our children don’t have access to equal education.”Article contentArticle contentHaving her son at home would also introduce other hardships for Scott and her family.Article content“I’m self-employed. I have a salon in my basement in my home where I do makeup artistry and lash extensions and permanent makeup, so I have clients coming and going,” said Scott, who also has a seven-year-old at William King Elementary, plus a two-year-old.Article content“If Cameron’s home, because he requires so much one-on-one care, I would not be able to work with him home. I would have to cancel clients, so I’d be losing income with this. And I don’t have vacation days or enough savings that I can just fall back on. My husband works down at the shipyard, so he’d be our primary source of income.”Article contentScott wants to be clear it gives her no pleasure to speak out. What she cares about most is getting others to understand how hard Nova Scotia families with disabled children have to fight for their rights and dignity and that “unless you’re in my position and you know what goes on, parents have to be the ones to expose it.”Article contentArticle content‘A lot of people in the disability community are exhausted’Article content“I’m somewhat new to this community because my son is only five,” she said.Article content“I can’t imagine how it would feel for parents of non-verbal wheelchair-bound adult children. These parents are in their 70s and they’ve been having to fight for decades for equal rights for their children, only to turn around and see that we’re still having these same problems exist to this day.Article content“I already had to advocate fairly loudly last March when the province was trying to do the budget cuts and trying to cut funding from the disability community. I’ve already had to speak out pretty loudly on that and, ultimately, the premier did reinstate some of the funding, but vulnerable people shouldn’t have to get loud in order to get accessibility. It should already be built into the system.Article content“A lot of people in the disability community are exhausted. It is exhausting having to be the parent of a disabled child because you are constantly having to advocate, you’re dealing with appointments all the time, and different specialists. It’s mentally exhausting. There’s a lot of burnout and there’s a lot of fatigue, and a lot of these parents don’t know how to advocate. They don’t know where to start. They probably just feel hopeless because the system quite literally is set up to work against them, and these are some of our most vulnerable people so they should be protected.”Article contentHowever this dispute is eventually settled, Scott’s final thoughts are for Premier Tim Houston and the provincial government for taking a bargaining stance she feels is heavy-handed and insensitive to workers and affected families.Article content“The optics aren’t good, that’s for sure,” she said.Article content“I’d like to ask the premier what message he thinks this is sending to us because . . . now here we are with parents having to advocate again for their children’s rights. So what message does he think he’s sending to children with disabilities or their parents, and why? Why do we need to get loud before we’re heard?”Article content Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston looks over to the assembled press as he arrives for a media availability in Halifax on Wednesday. Photo by Tim Krochak /Chronicle HeraldArticle contentPremier Houston issues statementArticle contentHouston issued a statement Thursday explaining the government’s willingness to sit down again with CUPE for further talks.Article content“I respect collective bargaining and the important work school support staff do every day,” he wrote.Article content“That’s why we are offering a competitive wage and benefits package and are prepared to return to the table to continue bargaining. Our government’s track record shows that collective bargaining works. We have reached more than 400 agreements, including settlements that addressed wage parity.Article contentArticle content“But reaching an agreement requires reasonableness on both sides. You cannot ask for too much and offer too little willingness to compromise. This morning, our government reached out to CUPE and invited them back to the table today. I urge CUPE to keep students and families at the centre of these negotiations and work with us toward a reasonable agreement.Article content“If CUPE chooses to strike, forcing many schools to move online and cancel programs as a result, students and their families will bear the consequences. We believe in the collective bargaining process, and we believe we can get to a fair deal. One that is also fair for taxpayers. There is still an opportunity to reach an agreement. That should be everyone’s focus.”Article content Education Minister Brendan Maguire speaks at an announcement at Autism Nova Scotia’s Bedford office on May 15, 2024. Photo by Ryan Taplin /Chronicle HeraldArticle contentBrendan Maguire, the minister of education and early child development, also defended the government’s labour relations approach and dealings with unions during a media session Thursday.Article contentArticle content“In all my years of being elected, this government has a history of ratifying collective agreements and respects the process,” Maguire said.Article content“I want to acknowledge that our CUPE members are important and they play important roles in our school community. My focus right now is to ensure that kids have access to school, and our most vulnerable children are able to go to school on Monday and every other day, so that’s why I am encouraging and this government is encouraging CUPE to come to the table (Thursday and Friday) and help us prevent any type of job actions.”Article content Tracey Sullivan, a longtime educational program assistant, middle, was among more than a dozen striking CUPE school support workers who walked the picket line near the Halifax Regional Centre for Education office in Dartmouth, May 11, 2023. Photo by Francis Campbell /Chronicle HeraldArticle contentCUPE responded to Houston’s invitation by saying in a news release, “as soon as we were informed of government’s position, we began the process of gathering our eight local presidents in Halifax to discuss.”Article content“We look forward to seeing government’s revised position and are confident that they have heard from Nova Scotians how important school support workers are to our communities,” Nelson Scott, chair for the Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions, said in the release.Article content“We will be happy to recommend a tentative agreement to our members that addresses their significant and serious concerns about their working conditions and compensation.”Article content
Mother of disabled son speaks out: Labour dispute threatens Nova Scotia’s most vulnerable kids’ access to education
