Our Virtual Forum on Bill 64 - and a link to the full You Tube video of the Forum

Our Virtual Forum on Bill 64 held on Sunday April 18 was a success with almost 150 people attending. A big thank you to all our panelists – John Weins, Wendy Bloomfield, Ben Carr, Judy Klassen and Cindy Lamoureux.

John Wiens, former Dean of Education at the University of Manitoba, expressed the concern that Bill 64 represents a major centralization of power in fewer and fewer hands and these hands will be further and further away from people who understand the local school situation. Wendy Bloomfield, Chair of the Seine River School Board, called Bill 64, the Education De-Modernization Act, explaining that the measures proposed will not benefit student learning, will lead to greater inequities in Education and will undermine the fundamental right to a democratic (elected school boards) process. Ben Carr, Chair Principal of the Maples Met School, talked of the importance of schools being rooted in the community and that schools need to set kids up for success. He reviewed aspects of Bill 64 where the results achieved will likely to the opposite of this. Judy Klassen, former MLA for Kewatinook and former Interim Leader and Education critic for the Manitoba Liberals talked of the need for attention to Indigenous Schools and expressed her own fear of the negative impact of Bill 64 on Indigenous schools and on Indigenous students. Cindy Lamoureux, MLA for Tyndall Park and Education Critic for the Manitoba Liberals provided an overview and summary and talked about her concern that Bill 64 may actually discourage parental participation in schools.

A full You Tube video of the Forum is available at this link: https://youtu.be/vJKtwkYugbc

An online petition in opposition to Bill 64 is at this link petition: https://www.change.org/p/winnipeg-calling-for-a-referendum-on-bill-64-education-reform/psf/promote_or_share

To join the campaign to raise awareness and help Manitobans realize the problems that Bill 64 will create, you can order a sign. Click on this link for more information on getting a sign: http://jongerrardsreport.blogspot.com/2021/04/say-no-to-bill-64.html

Thank you for your interest in the future of education in Manitoba.

Comments

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it. The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives. The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support). It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive

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.

The Gerrard Report

Search This Blog