'Certainly a lightning rod': Cullen back to drawing board after Bill 64 officially scrapped
Manitoba Education Minister Cliff Cullen said the plan to overhaul the education system is going back to the drawing board, recognizing the anxiety Bill 64 caused.
“We do want to repair any bridges that we have maybe damaged in that journey,” Cullen said.
On Wednesday, Manitoba’s new Premier Kelvin Goertzen announced Bill 64 is being withdrawn.
The legislation faced a mountain of opposition. The main sticking point – the elimination of elected school boards, replacing them with a central authority.
Once a staunch defender of the bill, Minister Cullen said those plans are now on pause.
“This governance model was certainly a lightning rod, we recognize that. So we are scrapping Bill 64,” Cullen said.
He said the province will now get feedback from teachers, parents, and other interested parties on how test scores can be boosted. He said that information will then be shared with the next Premier and cabinet, set to take office later this fall following the PC leadership election.
“We’re hoping now that Bill 64 is behind us, we can move on and talk about students’ success,” Cullen said.
CONCERNS OVER NEW BILL
Brenda Brazeau with the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils said there are a number of measures needed to help students that she feels were not addressed in Bill 64.
“We do need to talk about the poverty issue. We need to talk about the class size issue. We need to talk about more Indigenous learning,” Brazeau said.
The union representing teachers said it wants to be consulted. But Nathan Martindale from the Manitoba Teachers Society said they have concerns about the possibility of a Bill 64 2.0.
“Will it make our members a little anxious knowing that that still hangs above our head? Yes,” Martindale said.
For now, Cullen said instead of reform, the number one priority is health and safety as kids head back to class during the pandemic’s fourth wave.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.