The Ministry of Education has reversed “job action” pay deductions against a Kootenay area school psychologist who worked 70 hours unpaid overtime in the wake of a Slocan Lake canoeing tragedy.

As The Province reported this week, Dr. Todd Kettner posted an open letter to Premier Christy Clark on Wednesday, soon after he opened his pay slip to find his wages had been docked by $596.82.

“It was a slap in the face, and for me it crystallized a lot of the stories I had been hearing from people in the public sector for decades,” Kettner told The Province on Thursday.

In his letter, Kettner described how he and fellow educators had just finished weeks of heartbreaking and selfless work in incidents impacting the Kootenay Lake School District, starting with the death of four young people in a May 10 boating accident.

“Some of these teachers and administrators volunteered countless hours and sleepless nights assisting the search and recovery efforts,” he wrote to Clark.

“Then they came to school unshaven and bleary-eyed the next day, determined to maintain as much normalcy at school as humanly possible for their students who were the classmates, friends and relatives of the deceased.”

Kettner’s letter has been shared thousands of times online, and comments on his story continue to mount on The Province’s website.

Following outrage over Kettner’s story, the Ministry of Education issued a statement saying his overtime will be recognized and he will be exempt from job action pay docking.

“Kootenay Lake School District (SD 8) informed Todd Kettner Thursday that BCPSEA is granting an exemption to reduction of pay due to trauma and safety issues,” the statement reads.

“With respect to the 10 per cent (pay docking), because payroll had to get out and the hours of the strike must be done on the May payroll, all teachers had their pay reduced by the 10 per cent. Then afterwards, any exemptions/anomalies will be taken care of and corrected.”

In an interview Saturday, Kettner said that he was somewhat confused over what the school district had decided on his pay, and he had hoped that all his colleagues would have their deductions reversed too.

Kettner would not comment when asked whether he saw the government’s reversal as a public relations move in response to outrage stemming from his story.

Kettner — who noted that he left more lucrative private work in order to work in schools and help children in the province that ranks highest in child poverty — said if he is the only worker that the government plans to pay back, he would rather that the money go to a local cause.

“If the government would like to reimburse the deduction from my last paycheque in recognition of the long hours I have worked ... but not to other teachers, psychologists, counsellors, and allied health professionals in school districts that routinely work long hours to support students ... I would welcome the $596.82 as a donation to Osprey Foundation Mental Wellness Fund,” Kettner said.

Kettner said that he hopes his story has a positive impact on negotiations between the government and the B.C. Teacher’s Federation.

“I am just glad my letter resonated with people,” Kettner said.

“And I’m hopeful that the union and the government get it done for the sake of the kids.”