FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 24, 2026

Statement from Karla Bernard: It’s time to make student highway crossing protections permanent

Charlottetown, PE – As another school year comes to a close, it’s important that we reflect not only on what our students have learned, but on the lessons we as a province must learn as well.

One lesson PEI learned many years ago was the danger of requiring students to cross busy highways to get to their school bus. In 2006, after a student was struck while crossing a highway, changes were made to ensure children would no longer be put in that position. It was a hard lesson, learned through tragedy.

But over time, that lesson was forgotten and these changes were reversed.

This school year, Islanders were once again reminded of the devastating consequences that can occur when students cross major highways to get on their bus. A family, a community, and our province have been left grieving. No child should ever have to risk their life simply trying to get to school.

This time we cannot allow these changes to be temporary. We cannot allow memories to fade and safety measures to be gradually rolled back. Islanders deserve certainty that future governments and future policies will continue to put student safety first.

That is why I am calling on government to bring forward legislation this fall that would guarantee, in provincial law, that no student on PEI will ever be required to cross a major highway to board their school bus.

Policies can change. Guidelines can be ignored. But laws remain.

The lesson has been taught once before, and at a terrible cost. We have now been taught it again. The least we can do is ensure that we never have to learn it a third time.

Karla Bernard
MLA Charlottetown-Victoria Park
Third Party Critic for Education

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca