The province’s Education Minister is responding to criticism about the newly announced Education Accord—that will look at reshaping the education system.

The initiative was announced by government yesterday and will look at all aspects of the education system, including early learning K-12, post secondary, and beyond.

PC Education Critic Paul Dinn calls the accord “yet another study” on the education system.

He says there are numerous reports that are already “sitting on the shelf,” including the Public Post-Secondary Education Review Report, Premier’s Task Force on Education, the Child and Youth Advocate Report on Chronic Absenteeism, among others.

Dinn argues that Minister Krista Lynn Howell’s desk is full of reports, and that people want to see action. The Accord, says Dinn, amounts to just kicking the can down the road.

Howell, however, argues that the landscape of education has changed, necessitating the report.

“The ground has really shifted under us over the last few years,” says Howell. She says that needs to be considered and evaluated with what’s been done before so they can create an actionable plan to move forward.