Thank you. I agree with the intent of the act that it should be definitive in the actions that one should take, but if the act is to be more permissive and open in dealing with students, I believe the presentation made by the Status of Women made a good point. We always seem to discipline someone after the damage has been done, after they have been away for a long time, for example, and we don't do any preventative work upfront. The Status of Women, in their presentation to the Standing Committee on Legislation, said there should be an obligation for the school to contact the parent or student when there is prolonged absence or poor attendance.
Another area of concern was the lack of counselling support for students. They said, "contact and follow-up is often not made until the student is experiencing major difficulties with attendance and/or behaviour. There is nothing in the bill to define the role of a counsellor or to require provision of counselling by education bodies." Again, in this act there is a specific section that refers to the principal and I assume by referring to the principal, we refer to him or his subordinates. It's just a point that I thought was worthwhile raising; the Status of Women raised it. The Status of Women raised it and it's worthy of comment. I'm not sure ... Maybe it's already in here or maybe there's something we can add to strengthen this section. Thank you.