Michael Walter, assistant deputy minister in Saskatchewan ministry of education, has stepped down due to “personal reasons.” This decision occurred the same week when a podcast episode raised concerns about his behaviour.In August 2022, the Saskatchewan government chose Walter to be in charge of Legacy Christian Academy. This private Christian school had been the focus of a lawsuit filed by former students alleging abuse by school staff.The allegations made by former students have not yet been tested in a court of law, but criminal charges have been brought against some of the individuals named as defendants in the civil lawsuit since it was launched in 2022.Caitlin Erickson and Jennifer Beaudry, former students of Legacy Christian Academy, shared their experiences with Walter in the most recent episode of the Legacy of Abuse Podcast.During the podcast, Erickson characterized Walter's conduct as "gross and inappropriate."Initially, Erickson and Beaudry, the primary plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit, were optimistic that Walter would bring about positive improvements to the school.Erickson and Beaudry regularly communicated with Walter and shared information about the school's operations."From the time he took the position, he was letting us know what was going on," Erickson told CTV News.Erickson mentioned that Walter informed her there were teachers at Legacy who did not have degrees, one teacher lacked a Grade 12 education and the school's curriculum did not meet government standards.Erickson said on the podcast Walter crossed a line when he invited her "over to his house to cook dinner. He was like, 'You're welcome to spend the night.’""I'm like, 'That will absolutely not be happening. You have a job to do. You're supposed to be a professional here.’"In the podcast episode, Beaudry stated that Walter asked to meet with her over coffee to provide her with her cumulative file, which typically contains general school information such as grades, attendance records and disciplinary history.During their meeting, as Beaudry shared her story, she stated Walter became emotional and cried at the coffee shop. At one point, Beaudry said Walter placed his palms on the table "gesturing to hold hands...so very awkwardly, I put my fingertips in his hands."During the podcast, Beaudry revealed Walter had asked to meet with her again because he had additional information about the school that he felt was too extensive to convey through a text message."He said, 'We should go for drinks, like 10, not coffee lol,’" said Beaudry.When they met for drinks, Beaudry mentioned Walter did not provide any new information about the school as he had suggested earlier."It was nothing new, really. He just wanted to go for drinks," said Beaudry.After exchanging text messages about Walter’s personal life, Beaudry decided to end communication with him."I had to be, like, 'This is not appropriate, since you're not sharing any information that I need to know and haven't in a long time. There's no need for this to continue. I'm done,'" said Beaudry.Michael Walter was promoted to assistant deputy minister in the ministry of education in March 2023.A ministry of education spokesperson issued a statement to the Western Standard about Walter."Mike Walter has chosen to resign from his position as Assistant Deputy Minister," said the government statement. "The ministry of education was not aware of Mr. Walter’s activities outside his duties as a contracted administrator of Legacy Christian Academy and as Assistant Deputy Minister.""Mr. Walter was hired for the ADM position in 2023 following a normal recruitment process, which included interviews and reference checks, and to ensure he had the appropriate education and experience," said the statement.
