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The head of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS) says the province’s plan to overhaul the education system fails to address several key areas of concern.
MTS President James Bedford says the organization representing Manitoba’s teachers has been supportive of the education review since it was first announced in January 2019.
Two years later, Bedford says the introduction of Bill 64 — the most extensive restructuring of Manitoba’s education system in decades — has left teachers feeling the most critical issues are not being addressed.
“Our members don’t see things in Bill 64 that improve learning for students in the classroom, it’s as simple as that. Where’s the connection between Bill 64 and students in the classroom? We just don’t see it.”
With a dramatic reduction in the number of school divisions — from 37 down to 15 regional bodies — the MTS president says the much greater role that school divisions play is being lost in the conversation.
Each community is different, says Bedford, adding "the concern that MTS members have with the wholesale elimination of what would appear to be virtually everything to do with school divisions and that governance” will cause difficulties addressing the unique needs of any particular community of schools.
“Teachers are very concerned about the future of education in schools. They don’t see this as a positive thing.”
Childhood Poverty Not Addressed In Bill 64, Says MTS President
Bedford says one of the most critical factors hindering classroom outcomes in Manitoba is the issue of childhood poverty.
“Children who come from impoverished backgrounds are at a deficit when it comes to the education system. It’s difficult for them to get to school. It’s difficult for them to remain engaged in a single school. They come to school hungry. They don’t have access to the levels of technology that other students have. I could go on.”
The province’s overhaul of the education system outline in Bill 64 does not address the issue of childhood poverty, says Bedford.
“What we really need to do is go back to look at what does the research tell is truly the greatest impediment — and the research points to poverty. You fix poverty and so many other things get fixed with it.”
Bedford gives the government credit for saying more work needs to be done. "But the way Manitoba’s teachers see it, is you need to address the most critical issues first."
"So if you want to improve classroom outcomes — address poverty. How does Bill 64 address poverty? It doesn’t.”
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The Meaning of Home writing contest once again inspired young students to create essays and poems for a great cause.
This year there were five area schools participating, with 204 written entries from 13 classrooms — which works out to $2,040 in funding being directed to Habitat for Humanity Dauphin.
Mariann Harvey, secretary of the Dauphin chapter, says the Meaning of Home organization will now review all the submissions to decide the national winners in the coming months.
Last year Gilbert Plains Elementary student Tiana Sanko secured $10,000 for Habitat For Humanity Dauphin as a runner-up in the national round of the contest.
Mariann credited their youth ambassadors — Ava and Kara Paziuk — and their mother Sharon as being instrumental in the success of Meaning of Home this year.
Any contest winnings will be directed towards Habitat for Humanity’s Dauphin chapter to build homes for low-income families.
The Dauphin & District Chamber of Commerce donated $200 in local Chamber bucks to the local area, randomly selecting $25 chamber bucks to four lucky participating students and four random draws of $25 chamber bucks to those classrooms that participated.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Manitoba Hydro workers went on strike today after contract negotiations with the company were halted.
This comes after the union rejected the company’s latest offer.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034 announced that 2,300 of its members would begin striking as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
The strike is set to last until Thursday morning.
A general strike was planned last week but was called off after the company proposed a final offer.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
On Tuesday health officials in Manitoba announced 98 new cases and one death, a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg Health Region.
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.3 per cent provincially and 3.9 per cent in Winnipeg. The total number of lab confirmed cases in Manitoba is 33,511.
There are 1,247 active cases and 31,335 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
There are 63 people in hospital with active COVID-19 and 79 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 142 hospitalizations.
There are 11 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 14 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 25 ICU patients.
There were no new variant cases detected today. The total number of confirmed variant of concern cases of B.1.1.7 is 63 and B.1.351 is 14, bringing the total number of confirmed variant of concern cases to 77.
Today’s new COVID-19 cases are from the following health regions:
• three cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region
• 31 cases in the Northern health region
• four cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• three cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 57 cases in the Winnipeg health region.
According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (6), Porcupine Mountain (23), Asessippi (4), and Little Saskatchewan (1). Brandon has 3 active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has no active cases of COVID-19. Fisher/Peguis health district has six active cases.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
COVID enforcement officials issued 59 warnings and 32 tickets in Manitoba last week.
From March 15th to March 21st, a total of $44,888 in fines was issued to Manitoba businesses and individuals.
There were 26 tickets issued to individuals for various offences, four for not wearing a mask in indoor public places and two to Manitoba businesses.
17 of the fines issued to individuals were in relation to private gatherings that went against current health orders.
A total of 3,492 warnings and 1,082 tickets have been issued since April 2020, resulting in more than $1.5 million in fines.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Health officials have announced some minor changes to Manitoba’s public health orders that will take effect this Friday.
Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin noted that there will be no changes to indoor and outdoor gathering sizes at personal residences or in restaurants, due to the risks of prolonged contact.
All of Manitoba will remain under the critical (red) level on the Pandemic Response System.
The province announced the following restrictions will be relaxed as of Friday, March 26th:
- gathering limits at outdoor public places will be increased to 25 (up from 10 people)
- gathering limits at weddings and funerals will be increased to 25 (up from 10 people)
- maintaining the capacity limits for retail stores at 50 percent, but expanding the in-store limits to a 500-person capacity, whichever is lower, with other public health measures still in effect
- relaxing rules for drive-in events to allow people to leave their vehicles while still observing public health measures
Dr. Brent Roussin says additional changes may be considered after spring break, Passover, and Easter if the province’s case numbers remain low.
For a full list of proposed changes to the health orders, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The Mountain View School Division (MVSD) approved its 2021-2022 budget at Monday night’s Board meeting.
A release from the MVSD states that decisions have not been easy, “as any flexibility that existed in previous budgets has already been significantly reduced.”
Board Chairperson Floyd Martens expressed confidence in their budget decisions, saying they prioritize the needs of the learner and the classroom.
The details of the budget are as follows:
Budget Overview
- Budget increase of $727,557 or 1.7%
- Total budget expenditure of $43,801,043
- Increase in provincial funding from the 2020-21 Budget of $751,092 or 2.8%
- Municipal revenue changes offset by Property Tax Offset funding
- Revenue from all other sources decreased $23,535 or 0.15%
Local Taxation Impact
- Property assessments across the division increased 0.7% on average
- Special Levy remains unchanged and Mill Rate reduced .11 mills to 14.62 mills
Budget Focus Areas
- $909,300 in increased expenditures allocated to staffing
- A 1.0 FTE teacher – reduced from holdback - not from current staffing
- Maintaining all other front-line staffing levels
- $181,742 in reduced expenditures for non-salary related budgets including technology, international student program and interest expense. Some increases required with fuel and utility costs that are included in the overall expenditure reduction
- Achieved a status quo budget resulting in no significant change to programs and services
The MVSD says they welcome feedback on budget decisions, and questions or comments can be directed to the Board chairperson or division senior administration.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
The Government of Manitoba is looking for public input regarding safety improvements at a Swan River intersection.
An online public engagement is being launched to get input for safety improvements at the intersection of Provincial Trunk Highway 83, and Provincial Trunk Highway 10.
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler says the government is committed to listening to concerns expressed by drivers and community members, and adds “by engaging with the public, we will ensure we consider the safest and most practical options to enhance road safety and traffic flow.”
There are two options for permanent safety infrastructure- a new roundabout, or protected left turn lanes.
To take part in the engagement, which closes on April 13th, visit engagemb.ca.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
COVID restrictions have been hard on many businesses across the province, including restaurants.
Now many restaurant owners are expressing concerns over the impact of a potential third wave, and ultimately another lockdown.
Lately, Canadian health officials have been discussing the possibility of a third wave brought on by more infectious variants of the virus. Manitoba’s chief public health officer Dr Brent Roussin says caution is needed, with case numbers slowly trending upwards and the variants of concern becoming more of an issue.
Despite growing concerns, one local restaurant owner, Corrina Abrey, owner of Corrina’s On Main in Dauphin isn’t overly worried about a third lockdown.
“I don’t let the numbers that they announce every day and that kind of thing really affect me,” said Abrey, adding “we just carry on with our days, whatever comes, comes whatever happens, happens. We’ll adapt as we have been for the last year.”
The local restaurant owner says she wants people to get back into their comfort zones of dining out “because [this virus] is probably going to be around for a while.”
The current public health orders in Manitoba for restaurants allow only those from the same household to eat together at a table indoors. A recent change to the public health orders allows Manitobans from different households to eat together at outdoor tables in groups of up to six.
The current set of public health orders is due for an update this Friday, and one possible change includes expanding indoor restaurant dining to allow people from different households to sit together if they are each other's designated household contacts.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
A weekend drug bust in Minnedosa has left two people facing charges, according to RCMP.
On Saturday, March 20th, police executed a search warrant on 5th Avenue NW in Minnedosa.
Police say a search led to the seizure of cocaine, meth, drug paraphernalia, and Canadian currency.
Two adults were arrested at the scene. A 27-year-old man is facing several charges and was released with a June 22 court date.
Facing charges for trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime is 32-year-old Lynsi Farough, who was remanded into custody.
RCMP continue to investigate.
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- Contributed by 730 CKDM
On Monday Health officials announced 66 new cases, 1 death, along with some important updates to the vaccination campaign.
More pop-up vaccine clinics have been added to the schedule. Additional pop-up clinics will be coming to Prairie Mountain Health in Lundar on March 30th (1 p.m. to 6 p.m.), and Killarney on March 31st. Click here for more information on the schedule for pop-up clinics coming to rural Manitoba communities.
A pop-up will be in Swan River this week providing immunizations, but officials have indicated that those appointments have already filled up. Officials say additional pop-up clinics are also being planned for April and further details will be provided as soon as possible.
The eligibility criteria for vaccinations at pop-up clinics and supersites have been expanded to include individuals aged 65 or older and First Nation people aged 45 or older. Appointments for eligible Manitobans can be made by calling 1-844-MAN-VACC.
Today's Case Numbers
The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.2% provincially and 3.7% in Winnipeg. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 33,418.
The one death announced today — a man in his 50s from the Winnipeg Health region — brings the total number of Manitobans to die with COVID-19 to 928.
One case of the B.1.1.7 COVID variant has been detected today, located in the Prairie Mountain Health region.
There have been 77 total variant cases detected in Manitoba (64 of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, 15 of the B.1.351 South Africa variant).
There are 1,205 active cases and 31,285 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
The province’s data also shows 62 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 76 people in hospital who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 138 hospitalizations.
There are 11 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 14 people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 25 ICU patients.
Today’s COVID-19 data shows:
• zero cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region
• 17 cases in the Northern health region
• zero cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• four cases in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region
• 45 cases in the Winnipeg health region
According to the province’s data, there are active cases of COVID-19 in the following Parkland health districts: Dauphin (0), Duck Mountain (7), Porcupine Mountain (20), Asessippi (4), and Little Saskatchewan (1). Brandon has four active cases.
In the Interlake, the Eriksdale/Ashern health district has no active cases of COVID-19. Fisher/Peguis health district has five active cases.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
