CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Opposition Greens used International Children’s Day to question the province about the oversight of the Buddhist Moonlight International Academy.
During question period on Wednesday, Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker and Opposition house leader Hannah Bell asked several ministers how they would ensure the rights of children would be safeguarded for students of the Buddhist school.
The Moonlight International Academy is affiliated with the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society or GEBIS. It is one of five private schools on Prince Edward Island. Two of the other private institutions are Christian schools.
Bevan-Baker first directed his questions to Justice and Public Safety Minister Bloyce Thompson.
"How is government fulfilling its duty to protect children, as defined by the UN Conventions on the Rights of a Child, in private, residential-type school settings like the Moonlight International Academy?” Bevan-Baker asked.
Thompson said he would look into the question and bring an answer back to the house.
"We will continue to work with our departments and the family lawyer, Mr. Speaker, the child lawyer to continue to get these answers for you," Thompson said.
Bell then directed her question to Social Development and Housing Minister Ernie Hudson.
Bell asked how Hudson’s department would respond if a child decided he or she no longer wanted to be a monk. She also asked if children at the academy had access to visits with their family.
In response, Hudson said he agreed the rights of children had to be at the centre of decisions from his department. He said he would look into the matter and report back to the house.
"They are literally thousands of miles away from their families. There is very little, or perhaps, no oversight of what's happening there."
-Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker
In response to another question from Green education critic Karla Bernard, Education Minister Brad Trivers said Moonlight, like other private schools in P.E.I. were regularly inspected by staff of his department.
Trivers said yearly inspections focused on fire and environmental health requirements, staff criminal record checks, child protection matters, campus safety, liability insurance requirements and educational requirements.
"The Moonlight International Academy is a licensed private school," Trivers said. "It has to follow all of the rules for licensed private schools.”
Trivers also said the school currently has 127 male students, from Grades 4-12 at the Academy’s Little Sands location and 58 female students at the Uigg location. He said Moonlight Academy has “met all the requirements” of the inspections and said he would also look into some of the questions raised by the Greens.
In an interview with The Guardian, Bevan-Baker was asked why Moonlight Academy warranted more scrutiny than the other four private schools on P.E.I. Bevan-Baker said he had suggested the Island’s new child and youth advocate examine the conditions in all private schools.
But he said there were specific things about the Moonlight Academy that should be examined.
"I think there's some specific things about that school which increase the vulnerability of the children," Bevan-Baker said.
"The first one is that the children do not go home at the end of the day. They are literally thousands of miles away from their families. There is very little, or perhaps, no oversight of what's happening there."
