Schools closed on election day

By: Free Press staff Posted: 4:52 PM CDT Monday, Oct. 2, 2023

Manitoba schools will be shuttered on voting day in compliance with a new law requiring kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classes to be dismissed on fixed-date general election days.

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Manitoba schools will be shuttered on voting day in compliance with a new law requiring kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classes to be dismissed on fixed-date general election days.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2023 (749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba schools will be shuttered on voting day in compliance with a new law requiring kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classes to be dismissed on fixed-date general election days.

The Election Amendment Act, which was passed in 2017, requires public and private schools to have a mandated in-service day on Tuesday.

The legislation did not apply to the last provincial vote because then-premier Brian Pallister called Manitobans to the polls in September 2019, more than a year in advance of that election’s prescribed fixed date of Oct. 6, 2020.

A spokesperson for the Manitoba Teachers’ Society indicated the union, which represents upwards of 16,600 public school educators, was told the rationale for the change was “safety reasons.”

The new rules do not bar schools from being polling sites. Voters will cast ballots at numerous K-12 buildings this week, from Lavallee School in Winnipeg to Opasquia School in The Pas.