Premier backs education minister amid calls to fire Dale Kirby

The premier is giving the education minister his full support after calls from the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association to have Dale Kirby replaced

"Minister Kirby has my full confidence," Dwight Ball told reporters Tuesday.

"I can tell you as a minister who understandseducation, as a family man, who's been aneducatorfor all his life, right now he has my confidence.He's doing a good job. As he mentioned we'll not see eye to eye with every single association."

• Newfoundland and Labrador teachers union says dump education minister

The NLTA had demanded Kirby be removed as minister for making an "inaccurate and offensive" statement about the head of the union, Jim Dinn.

"Things oftentimes get heated and there are ideas exchanged and we aren't always aligned," said Kirby Tuesday.

"I think we ought not to lose sightthat the most important people in our education system are our students."

The union said Kirby was trying to undermine it and not responding to letters outlining concerns, but Kirby said he's happy to meet with the NLTA to discuss issues.

"At no point in time did any of us say that we weren't interested in having that discussion with them. If they want to have a discussion we'll have one," he said.