Educational Assistants who've taught Anakin Suerink at Lindsay Thurber swung by his home for a parade, bearing signs with messages like 'Thurber Misses You.' (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

parade of caring

Mom says EAs parade highlights ‘cruelty’ of government cuts

May 4, 2020 | 11:27 AM

Parades celebrating birthdays and other personal milestones have become common during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one of the latest parades in Red Deer is another example of why a Red Deer mother says the provincial government’s recent education cuts affecting educational assistants was the wrong one.

The province announced in March it was cutting $128 million from the education budget for the rest of the 2019-20 school year in order to fund COVID-19 response efforts. This meant upwards of 25,000 support staff, including educational assistants, would lose their jobs. Local school divisions were left to decide how to implement the cuts.

“Many of the students have lost their much needed one-on-one supports needed to continue to learn and grow. The team decided they wanted to reach out to show the students they are missed greatly, and they can succeed despite the changes,” says

Elizabeth Eckert, whose son Anakin is in Grade 12 in the Foundations Program at Lindsay Thurber.

Anakin lives with several diagnoses, including autism, hydrocephalus and epilepsy.

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Eckert says several educational assistants from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School showed up on their front lawn last week to let the family know they’d not forgotten Anakin.

Eckert says he represents some of the most vulnerable members of society, so to think that some of his EAs will now be gone on top of having to learn online is a slap in the face.

“Many of these students need a substantial amount of supports,” she says, noting that she hasn’t told Anakin some or all of his EAs will be soon absent. Red Deer Public Schools is laying off its educational assistants June 1.

“That will devastate him. The last few months of school are absolutely crucial in preparing him for his future. He needs to complete the goals of his Individual Service Plan which was created based on his most important needs so that he can find employment, learn to navigate his environment as a legally blind young man and to learn how to stay safe while in his community.”

Anakin’s already been forced to deal with government changes to the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program, Eckert says, and also has no CNIB office in Red Deer to visit after it shut down last September.

Eckert feels Premier Jason Kenney and the UCP Government have proven to her that marginalized citizens are not valued by the current government.

“My son is a contributing and respected member of society by many in his community and school, who has a beautiful worldview. He raises money for the Make a Wish Foundation, volunteers with animals and has dreams of becoming an employee,” she says. “His premier is not protecting him.”