'Bill 64 is an attack on local government': Winnipeg City Council joins ranks opposing education reform bill
Winnipeg City Council is joining the long line of those opposed to Bill 64, the provincial law to reform education.
Council voted to lobby the Pallister Government to put a pause on the proposed legislation and send it back to the drawing board.
Mayor Brian Bowman said you don’t have to go far to see people opposing the bill.
“I’m sure the Winnipeg-based MLAs of all political stripes are seeing the signs on lawns in all corners of our city right now,” said Bowman.
The bill, if passed into law, would eliminate all school divisions and elected school boards, replacing them with a provincial authority.
The motion to rewrite the legislation was authored by two former school trustees, Councillors Brian Mayes and Sherri Rollins.
“Bill 64 is an absolute attack on local government,” said Rollins
Many councillors worry the law will create a centralized bureaucracy which will erode the democratic decision-making process while giving power to unelected political appointees.
Bowman backed the motion.
“This is fitting sadly a pattern which we’ve seen from the provincial government.” said Bowman
The bill would see parent representation on the authority board and it allows for school community councils.
In a statement, a provincial spokesperson says the strategy will improve education and parental input.
“We are listening to Manitobans through a variety of engagements and consultations, and if the City of Winnipeg has questions regarding the plan we would be happy to answer them," the spokesperson said.
Not everyone on council supported the lobby effort to punt Bill 64. The vote was 11-4 with Councillors Janice Lukes, Devi Sharma, Kevin Klein, and Shawn Nason voting against it.
“This isn’t within our mandate,” said Nason, “If people want to be trustees at city hall, they should resign and go back to that role.”
Coun. Jeff Browaty chose not to vote.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Early results from London, U.K., suggest Labour's Sadiq Khan will secure a record third term as mayor
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.