Parkdale school in Charlottetown a decoy in school closings

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Michele LeClair’s is sister to Premier Ghiz’s Deputy and the school never was at risk

During the Eastern School District crisis last year, the Premier’s office threatened to close 9 rural schools and two schools in Charlottetown.

It now appears Parkdale School, one of the schools in Charlottetown, may have thrown in as a decoy by the Premier’s office. It was the school Ghiz could keep open after the turmoil, demonstrating the impartiality of the process.

Hogwash. The whole thing was obviously a setup, a sham concocted by Chris LeClair the Premier’s Chief of Staff and Deputy Premier. All the good folks in town rallied around Parkdale and the school was saved.

Was the school ever at risk with Chris LeClair’s headstrong and outspoken sister as the principal of Parkdale? Yes, if you believe that I have some shares in the Brooklyn Bridge for sale.

As the Eastern Graphic reported Principals take cheap shots at board trustees, Parkdale Principal Michele LeClair feels no qualms in tearing a slice off Doug Currie. Currie is not only the MLA for the area, he is the Minister of Education, her boss and one of the fair haired boys in the Ghiz cabinet.

With brother Chris holding fort in the Premier’s office and watching her back, why not just spew out whatever is on your mind.

Chris LeClair is the brain’s behind Premier Robert Ghiz. Robert has no political smarts himself, which is why he rarely appears in public in the likely chance he makes a fool of himself with some ill-chosen response.

Prince Machiavelli

LeClair sees himself as a Prince Machiavelli, the schemer and brilliant strategist. He was reading the polls and tea leaves carefully orchestrating the Ghiz election victory years in advance.

He once bragged to me the poll trends in November 2006 predicted a win for the Liberals. They were slowly narrowing the gap with the Conservatives in the last so many quarters. To LeClair government policy is all about winning the next election, not good policy or governance.

Note how they have structured the Ghiz agenda. Get all the graft and corruption out of the way in the first year of office. Make the PNP scandal so big – as in $540 million – that no one would unravel the details before the election in 2011. Implicate lawyers, judges, accountants, business people – almost the whole professional and business class of PEI. Spread the money around and make sure this time Ghiz himself gets money kicked back. Why should the Premier make everyone else rich without reaping his reward?

As far as corrupt schemes go, LeClair worked the PNP brilliantly. By the time any thing is ever done about the PNP, Ghiz and his friends will be retired in Florida or on some Caribbean island. A few low-level flunkies will be thrown to the wolves. Case closed.

Next LeClair orchestrated all the promised social reforms under the control of their agent, Myrtle Jenkins Smith. Seniors, the disabled and rural schools all dispensed with by the same boiler plate 70 page reports that promoted LeClair’s wishes. Reports done by year 2 and buried by year 3.

The one big social initiative, universal Kindergarten, is implemented at least a school year before the election to allow the discontent to vanish, along with the school closings, the non-reform of disability policies and the emptiness of seniors policy reform.

Come to think of it, Chris LeClair might have put his sister up to the letter to throw the public off. It would show Ghiz was willing to accept some internal criticism within his administration. Free speech reigns supreme among the Liberals etc.

Hard to say what the real deal is. Chris LeClair is a cunning fellow. He likes complex game plays.