Latest news with #ManitobaHumanRightsCommission
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba review finds widespread dissatisfaction with reading instruction
Manitoba's early 'Right to Read' findings suggest a majority of teachers do not think schools are generally using effective methods to teach students to read. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission hosted a long-awaited public townhall in downtown Winnipeg on Wednesday as part of its deep-dive into issues affecting students with reading disabilities. Executive director Karen Sharma spoke at length about what her team has heard to date about instructional approaches, screening tools to identify struggling readers, and interventions — or the lack thereof. 'We commonly heard that… the approach currently used in Manitoba schools is not effective in teaching students to read,' Sharma told a crowd of approximately 75 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Her team conducted comprehensive online surveys in the spring of 2023. The release of those results, as well as ongoing public and stakeholder consultations, have repeatedly been delayed. The commission has cited a busier-than-usual litigation workload since it announced the project during Dyslexia Awareness Month in October 2022. At the time, it planned to draft recommendations for the provincial government by the end of 2023. Sharma said Wednesday the project is now a top priority and she and her co-lead, Megan Fultz, plan to finalize a report later this year. A total of 93 students, 315 parents, guardians and other family members, and 283 teachers and school administrators have participated in different polls tailored to their specific identity. Seven in 10 school employees indicated either 'whole language' or 'balanced literacy' philosophies, often grouped together due to their overlapping ideas about the importance of using context clues to guess unknown words, is used most often to teach reading locally. (Reading Recovery, a popular program in Manitoba that introduces struggling readers to levelled books that are grouped by complexity and become increasingly more difficult as students progress through them, falls into this group.) Nine per cent said 'structured literacy' — explicit, cumulative and systematic instruction about the relationship between sounds and letters — was the most common approach. The remaining either did not know or cited 'other.' Asked about their thoughts on the status quo's results, about 60 per cent of teachers and administrators indicated it is not working. Parents were asked the same two questions in their survey. Their answers mirrored educators' ones, with more than half of participants frustrated by existing practises. The findings echo Ontario's groundbreaking 2019 Right to Read report that concluded its schools were not using evidence-based approaches that incorporated phonics into reading instruction. Manitoba's project is a spinoff of Ontario's inquiry. Holly Cebrij and her 11-year-old drove to Winnipeg from Portage la Prairie on Wednesday to weigh in. 'I don't like school one bit,' said Alyssa, who attends a public elementary school located about 85 kilometres east of Winnipeg. Cebrij said she's accepted that her youngest daughter will always have a complex relationship with school and require extra support, owing to her late diagnosis of dyslexia. Following years of unsuccessful requests for a school-based assessment to find out why Alyssa was struggling so much more than her older sister and peers in kindergarten through Grade 4, the family paid for a $3,000 private assessment. They recently got their answers: dyslexia and ADHD. 'She missed the prime years of instruction. She's in Grade 6 now. How do you catch up?' Cebrij said, adding she has taught herself — a non-teacher — how to teach basic letter-sound associations and pronunciations to help her youngest learn to read outside school hours. The duo was presented with data and numerous anecdotes during the townhall that indicated their experience is far from unique. Many participants shared their frustration about schools being unresponsive to their children's needs and the related fallout on their children's mental health and confidence. Some described the hefty price tag associated with finding help externally, be it via tutoring, psychologists, private schools or otherwise. Meantime, teacher-attendees described limited formal training and support to better help struggling students. The commission's two final public consultations on reading education are scheduled for June 10 (online) and June 12 in Thompson. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Manitoba PCs Call for Changes to Bill Adding Gender Expression to Human Rights Code
A bill to add gender expression to the Manitoba Human Rights Code could infringe on free speech and requires changes and clarification on its parameters, the Opposition PC Party says. Bill 43, known as Manitoba's NDP has a majority government and the bill is expected to pass this spring. The party has said the changes would put Manitoba's Code in line with other provinces. Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the amendment would offer protections for people who want to be called by their preferred pronouns and would apply to areas like employment, housing, and accessing public services. 'This bill in no way polices thoughts or beliefs,' Wiebe said during a public hearing over the bill. 'This really is about protecting against discrimination based on gender expression which might cause someone to lose their job, or be denied an apartment, or be denied services that are public.' Related Stories 9/25/2024 4/12/2024 PC Party Leader Obby Khan is expressing concern that the amendments could infringe on free speech. He said the bill needs to clarify what would prompt a complaint to the human rights commission. 'What is the standard or threshold to file a complaint? What does that look like? The minister has been very vague on that,' Khan told reporters on May 6. Two public hearings have been held with residents turning out to speak both for and against the proposed change. Pastor Derek deVries, from Winnipeg's Park City Gospel Church argued the bill would force Christians to violate their beliefs. 'This (proposed) law forbids Christians from following Christ's example. It requires speech he would not permit,' deVries told a legislature committee during an April hearing about the bill. The executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, Karen Sharma, said the Code did not apply to private interactions or inside religious institutions, but rather to places of employment, housing and other services. She said it is not likely to apply to issues of gender pronouns. 'I think it's important to note that the cases that have gone to human rights tribunals and have been found to be discriminatory are cases of sort of malicious, repetitive misgendering,' she said. Manitoba's move coincides with a court case initiated by the LGBT support organization UR Pride against Saskatchewan, concerning the province's pronoun policy that requires schools to acquire parental approval before allowing students younger than 16 to modify their names and pronouns. Alberta has passed a similar law mandating that schools obtain parental consent before altering a child's pronouns for those under the age of 16. The Canadian Press contributed to this article.
CBC
25-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Praise, criticism aimed at Manitoba plan to add gender expression to human rights code
Dozens of people lined up Thursday night to air opposition to and support for Manitoba's plan to add gender expression to the human rights code — a move that would include protections for people to be called by their preferred pronouns. Derek deVries, pastor at Park City Gospel Church in Winnipeg, said the NDP government's bill would force Christians to go against their beliefs. "This [proposed] law forbids Christians from following Christ's example. It requires speech He would not permit," deVries told a legislature committee. Christine Ronceray said the bill amounts to "compelled speech." "No one in a free society should be forced to say what they do not believe." Manitoba is one of the few provinces with mandatory public hearings for bills, with the exception of budget-related ones. More than 60 people had registered to speak to the human rights code bill, and further hearings were scheduled for next week. Most of the presenters in the first three hours of Thursday's hearing spoke against the bill. Some expressed concern that they could find themselves brought before the human rights commission for misgendering someone, or for asking to be treated by a doctor of a specific gender. The executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, Karen Sharma, addressed some of the concerns raised, saying the code applies to employment, housing and other services and not to interactions between private individuals or inside religious institutions. Sharma also said honest mistakes about gender pronouns are very unlikely to lead to any trouble. "I think it's important to note that the cases that have gone to human rights tribunals and have been found to be discriminatory are cases of sort of malicious, repetitive misgendering," she said. Tara Sheppard, director of a non-governmental research group that deals with gender equity, spoke in favour of the bill and suggested there is an easy way for people to avoid being brought before the human rights commission. "Here's a simple solution — don't violate people's human rights," Sheppard said. The bill would help address systemic discrimination people face, Sheppard added. Most other provinces already have gender expression covered under their human rights codes. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe repeatedly told presenters Thursday night that the bill is not about forcing government views on people. "This bill in no way polices thoughts or beliefs," Wiebe told the crowd. "This really is about protecting against discrimination based on gender expression which might cause someone to lose their job, or be denied an apartment, or be denied services that are public." The issue of gender expression went before the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal recently. Marni Panas, a transgender woman, filed a complaint in 2019 after she was misgendered by dispatchers when she called to ask for a welfare check on a friend. The tribunal found there was discrimination but dismissed the complaint, saying dispatchers didn't mean to misgender Panas. Panas has applied for a judicial review of the ruling.
Winnipeg Free Press
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba bill to add gender expression to human rights code draws praise, criticism
WINNIPEG – Dozens of people lined up Thursday night to air opposition to and support for Manitoba's plan to add gender expression to the human rights code — a move that would include protections for people to be called by their preferred pronouns. Derek deVries, pastor at Park City Gospel Church in Winnipeg, said the NDP government's bill would force Christians to go against their beliefs. 'This (proposed) law forbids Christians from following Christ's example. It requires speech he would not permit,' deVries told a legislature committee. Christine Ronceray said the bill amounts to 'compelled speech.' 'No one in a free society should be forced to say what they do not believe.' Manitoba is one of the few provinces with mandatory public hearings for bills, with the exception of budget-related ones. More than 60 people had registered to speak to the human rights code bill, and further hearings were scheduled for next week. Most of the presenters in the first three hours of Thursday's hearing spoke against the bill. Some expressed concern that they could find themselves brought before the human rights commission for misgendering someone, or for asking to be treated by a doctor of a specific gender. The executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, Karen Sharma, addressed some of the concerns raised, saying the code applies to employment, housing and other services and not to interactions between private individuals or inside religious institutions. Sharma also said honest mistakes about gender pronouns are very unlikely to lead to any trouble. 'I think it's important to note that the cases that have gone to human rights tribunals and have been found to be discriminatory are cases of sort of malicious, repetitive misgendering,' she said. Tara Sheppard, director of a non-governmental research group that deals with gender equity, spoke in favour of the bill and suggested there is an easy way for people to avoid being brought before the human rights commission. 'Here's a simple solution — don't violate people's human rights,' Sheppard said. The bill would help address systemic discrimination people face, Sheppard added. Most other provinces already have gender expression covered under their human rights codes. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe repeatedly told presenters Thursday night that the bill is not about forcing government views on people. 'This bill in no way polices thoughts or beliefs,' Wiebe told the crowd. 'This really is about protecting against discrimination based on gender expression which might cause someone to lose their job, or be denied an apartment, or be denied services that are public.' During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. The issue of gender expression went before the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal recently. Marni Panas, a transgender woman, filed a complaint in 2019 after she was misgendered by dispatchers when she called to ask for a welfare check on a friend. The tribunal found there was discrimination but dismissed the complaint, saying dispatchers didn't mean to misgender Panas. Panas has applied for a judicial review of the ruling. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
