Education Minister Zach Churchill brought a welcome message Friday to hundreds of high school rugby players gathered in Windsor for provincial championship tournaments.
“Just that I’m really glad to be here, glad that there’s a rugby provincials this year and that I anticipate there being one next year,” Churchill said.
The part about next year seems especially significant, considering that a month ago the board of governors of the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation banned rugby in the middle of the current season, citing insurance data and injury concerns.
Churchill was quick to overturn a decision made by a body that, while under his purview, had not been on his radar screen.
“Not very much at all, to be honest…(until) the decision was made,” he said. “In the interest of student safety I think they made the decision they thought was best from their perspective, but a decision we quickly realized wasn’t in the interest of the community and didn’t follow proper process.”
The minister shrugged off a suggestion that he is now the favourite politician of everyone involved in rugby, saying the input he got on the issue of intervening in NSSAF business was not unanimous.
“Of course there’s different advice that comes into a minister, government is about making decisions and you do your best to weigh the facts and make a decision that you think is in the best interests of people. I think this one was the right call,” he said.
“We’re going to work with (the NSSAF) this summer on the safety concerns they have, and discuss any other issues in relation to their relationship with the department,” said Churchill, adding that he’s mindful of how physical a sport rugby is. “Of course you worry about the other side of this, and you don’t want anybody to be hurt. One thing that really impressed me when this conversation was happening was the players saying ‘we know we’re taking a risk when we’re stepping on the field. It’s a risk we’re willing to take for the sake of the sport and for the sake of this part of our lives.’ That touched me.”
At the opening ceremony, Churchill told the athletes he appreciated how respectfully they handled the situation when the future of their sport was up in the air, and said he was particularly impressed by the female players.
“A lot of the female athletes talked about the inclusiveness of the sport, how it really meant a lot to them, how it impacted their school careers in really positive ways,” he said. “That of course touched me.”
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