Mom blasts school division for failing to implement sex-abuse-report system
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2023 (827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Winnipeg advocate whose son was coached by disgraced football coach Kelsey McKay is questioning why the serial sex offender’s former employer decided against implementing a program that makes it easier for students to report abuse.
“It’s irresponsible. There are solutions. There are things that can help and it’s irresponsible not to take action,” said Mary Lobson, a parent in the Pembina Trails School Division who founded REES (reescommunity.com).
The online reporting system — which stands for Respect, Education, Empower Survivors — can be tailored to schools, workplaces and other sites so community members can anonymously report local incidents of sexual violence and find related resources in one place.
Lobson met with division administrators to pitch a custom version of the trauma-informed platform at the end of the 2021-22 school year, not long after McKay was arrested, placed on unpaid leave from Vincent Massey Collegiate and barred from Pembina Trails properties.
McKay, 52, pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual assault last week. He will be sentenced at a later date.
The agreed statement of facts in the case acknowledged McKay’s decades-long reputation as both an influential figure in the football community and “someone who possessed more power than the administration within the schools that he worked.”
The former phys-ed teacher was originally charged with 30 offences related to sexual assault, exploitation, luring and grooming students, but the bulk of them were stayed by the Crown.
Pembina Trails administration, which has faced allegations of completing a shoddy investigation into parent complaints about McKay in 2016, has not publicly commented on the latest development.
Superintendent Lisa Boles, assistant superintendent of personnel and education services Troy Scott, and the division’s communications director were all away from their desks Monday.
The chairman of the board of trustees reiterated student well-being and safety is the division’s highest priority and indicated he would look into why the REES partnership did not come to fruition.
“Pembina Trails extends our sincere sympathy and support for the survivors in these cases and their families,” long-time trustee Tim Johnson said when reached by phone Monday. “We recognize the courage it takes for survivors to come forward.”
The board wants to extend its gratitude to the law enforcement agencies and legal authorities involved in the case “for their diligent efforts in ensuring justice,” Johnson added.
Former chief executive officer Ted Fransen, who retired from the division’s top job last summer, after almost nine years at the helm, indicated he only had vague recollections of how and why the REES partnership did not pan out.
Lobson said she is frustrated nothing came of the 2022 meetings.
“I was only going to charge them $8,000. I was going to charge a buck a student to do a pilot and they seemed keen, and then it didn’t go anywhere,” she recalled, noting the plan was to target students in junior high and high school classrooms.
As far as Lobson is concerned, the division does not necessarily have to introduce REES, but it needs to introduce clearer reporting processes so students know how to make disclosures and adults know how and when to escalate matters if they receive a report.
In May 2022, Fransen told the Free Press schools across south Winnipeg embraced an “open door” reporting approach that relies upon trusting relationships built between students and staff, including school resource officers.
The then-superintendent said he was intrigued by the REES model and the program’s ability to flag when a perpetrator’s name is entered into the system in more than one independent report.
The made-in-Manitoba system’s appeal is it compiles entries to allow operators to analyze trends and pinpoint locations and times when incidents occur, which can in turn support the development of prevention policies.
“If I learn the stairwell is problematic, over time I can put whatever resources and processes in place to remedy that,” its creator said. “If I don’t know about it, if there’s no way for people to bring that forward, how am I even going to know that it’s an issue?”
Every university and college in the province currently has a campus-specific offshoot of REES. The Winnipeg Folk Festival and Football Manitoba are among the other local organizations that have partnered with the platform.
Straightforward, secure and accessible reporting is not an issue unique to Pembina Trails, Lobson said, adding McKay worked in two different city school divisions.
Manitoba Education did not answer a question about why it is not funding REES for public schools or whether such a partnership remains a possibility.
In a statement, a department spokesperson said the province is enhancing safeguards via Bill 35, and requiring all school staff to complete Respect in School or Commit to Kids training.
The former, which was recently passed in the legislature, will set up a teacher registry and create an independent commissioner office to investigate and respond to reports of misconduct.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

Maggie Macintosh
Education 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.
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History
Updated on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 6:25 AM CDT: Adds tile photo
Updated on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 8:57 AM CDT: Clarifies wording in headline