Education Week in Manitoba

April 19, I had an opportunity to speak on Education week in a reponse to a Minsterial Statement. My comments, from Hansard, are below. They can also be seen on video at this link.

Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, it is Education Week. I thank Manitoba teachers and other staff for their hard work, their dedication and their commitment to providing students with the best possible education, and parents for supporting this effort.

Manitoba Liberals believe that our children's education at all levels, primary, secondary and post‑secondary is the key to our future.

Yet, halfway through their four-year mandate, this government has done little to improve Manitoba's education system. The Pallister government has shown no leadership on indigenous education issues when graduation rates for indigenous students are at an alarmingly low rate of 48 per cent.

Instead of working collaboratively with Manitoba teachers to build a stronger education system, the PCs have blindsided them with a zero per cent pay increase and reductions in support.

This government cuts to francophone services and education have put 50 years of progress in French language education in Manitoba at risk, even as the number of children in French education is rising.

Today, we need future‑thinking ideas, not cuts. That is why I am hosting a forum in River Heights on April 29th on the future of primary and secondary education in Manitoba. You're all welcome

Comments

Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.

Dougald Lamont speaks out strongly against the "reprehensible", "legally and morally indefensible" Bill 2

Early in the morning, just after 3 am, on November 6th, Dougald Lamont spoke at third reading of Bill 2, the Budget Implementation and Statutes Amendment Act. He spoke strongly against the bill because it attempts to legitimize a historic injustice against children in the care of child and family services. As Dougald says this bill is " the betrayal of children, First Nations and the people of this province. " Mr. Dougald Lamont (St. Boniface): These are historic times. This is an historic budget, for all the wrong reasons. I was thinking of the Premier's (Mr. Pallister) comments about D-Day today and my relatives who served in combat in the First and Second World War. I had a relative who played for the Blue Bombers and served at D-Day with the Winnipeg Rifles because he was an excellent athlete, he made it quite a long way up the beach. And had he lived until last year, he might have been one of the veterans the Premier insulted by not showing up at a

The Gerrard Report

Search This Blog