Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press


PC plan for central online high school shelved

Manitoba Education has abandoned plans to create an entirely new online high school to increase access to remote learning and expand e-course offerings coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department’s planned takeover of InformNet — a Grade 9-12 remote learning program operated by Winnipeg’s St. James-Assinbioia School Division — appears to be collateral damage […]

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Teachers union executive weighs options after information leak

Manitoba Teachers’ Society executives have not ruled out an investigation to hold whistleblowers accountable for exposing employee concerns about the head office’s “toxic” environment, related departures and capacity to support members. “I honestly can’t say at this point in time which direction things will take; we’ll have to see how things play out,” said president […]

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Toxic MTS workplace revelations trigger call for inquiry into leak

One group of local union presidents wants the Manitoba Teachers’ Society to launch an inquiry into recent leaks that reveal MTS headquarters is troubled by a large number of administrative employee leaves and allegations it is a “toxic work environment.” Anonymous posts criticizing leaders from both the union’s operational and political wings began appearing on […]

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Stop asking questions; pay the bill’

An ex-law dean accused of embezzling more than a half-million dollars from the University of Manitoba asked an employee to set up a Swiss bank account as a payee and, on another occasion, told her to “stop asking questions” about his expense claims. The professional disciplinary hearing of Jonathan Black-Branch heard from two witnesses — […]

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Flip flop on public private partnerships all about timing, government says

The Manitoba government’s main reason to make a U-turn and build classrooms via public-private partnerships — a controversial model the Tories rejected in 2018 — is to fulfil a new promise to open 22 public schools by 2027. Internal documents obtained by the Free Press show government staffers have been in talks about using a […]

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Manitoba school divisions added to index of `high risk industries’

Manitoba public schools were reprimanded for shoddy electrical work, missing first aid kits and allowing asbestos to become airborne, among unsafe conditions provincial investigators uncovered in 2022-23. Last summer, the department of workplace safety and health added school divisions to its index of “high-risk industries” — a group with significantly higher-than-average employee injury rates. The […]

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Gaps in province’s literacy education probed

MANITOBA — Education’s response to a scathing report that concludes the way Ontario schools teach students how to read — a popular approach in local classrooms — is failing children with learning disabilities is being met with skepticism. Internal documents shed light on government officials’ limited analysis of Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read […]

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Schools tossed COVID cash into wind: expert

More than $3 million set aside to improve air quality in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has been spent on duct cleaning — a measure not backed by research as an effective way to limit infectious-disease transmission. Manitoba earmarked nearly $11.3 million, including provincial and federal pots of about $6.8 million and $4.5 million, respectively, […]

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