A pair of Nova Scotia Liberal MLAs have spoken out over their decision to vote in favour of imposing a contract on teachers.
Suzanne Lohnes-Croft and Mark Furey represent the constituencies of Lunenburg and Lunenburg West, respectively.
They are two of the 33 MLAs who voted yes to Bill 75 and a four year deal for teachers.
Lohnes-Croft says she made the choice because she wanted to initiate change.
“We’re setting up the Commission on Inclusive Education and I have lots of people asking me how I can get involved in this commission. We have teachers here that want to be part of the change.”
Meanwhile, Furey says he gathered information and listened to teachers describe extreme conditions in the classroom.
“I left Law Amendments passionate that the bill was absolutely necessary in order for us to be able to address the conditions in the classroom.”
Government will establish a council to improve classroom conditions and a three-person commission on inclusive education within the next month.
“I have no hesitations in supporting the bill,” said Furey. “It was an informed decision based on everything that I heard. There is now an expectation of government.”
The committee to improve classroom conditions, which will include nine teachers, will begin making changes as early as next school year.
