Manitoba Tories shuffle shadow cabinet

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (584 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservatives have shuffled their shadow cabinet, with rookie MLA Grant Jackson (Spruce Woods) going after Education Minister Nello Altomare over the NDP flip-flopping on provincial exams for Grades 10-12.

“The education minister came out of nowhere and announced he was cancelling all provincial exams, only to have his deputy minister send a memo saying they’re back on,” Jackson, who takes over as education critic from interim PC leader Wayne Ewasko, said Tuesday.

Superintendents and private school principals received a letter Feb. 28, saying Grades 10-12 provincial exams were being called off as the Manitoba government began reviewing and redeveloping the annual assessment schedule.

On Monday, deputy education minister Brian O’Leary issued a “revised direction.”

It told stakeholders the initial memo had sparked concern among caregivers who feared halting the end-of-semester tradition — in particular, at the final-year level — would disadvantage graduates pursuing post-secondary studies.

“Who is running the education department for this government and what is this minister’s actual view of provincial exams? Are they good for students or not?” Jackson asked during question period Tuesday.

“People really care about their public schools,” Altomare replied. “We’re a listening government… We have all day for listening to people who want to see our schools perform at the very highest level.”

The PC critic pressed Altomare to say whether the former school principal is in favour of standardized testing and, given his years of experience in public education, why the exams were cut and quickly reinstated.

“We’re not going to politicize this issue,” Altomare said. “We’re modelling the fact that we’ve heard the concerns regarding provincial assessments and that we’re going to look at that again.

“We’re not only going to reinstate (the exams), we’re going to make sure we get it right because the previous government left (the education system) completely bare of resources,” the Transcona MLA said.

“Of course, assessments play an important role in a student’s life at school. We want to ensure that that piece continues — that’s why we revisited it and adjusted our plan. But, moving forward, I want to ensure Manitobans that we (will) come up with new, modern assessments.”

Meantime, other changes to the PC shadow cabinet include: finance critic Obby Khan (Fort Whyte) adding Manitoba Hydro and the Public Utilities Board to his folio; caucus whip Doyle Piwniuk (Turtle Mountain) taking on the critic’s role for Manitoba Public Insurance and Efficiency Manitoba; Bob Lagassé (Dawson Trail) will add sport, culture, heritage and tourism to his existing responsibilities; Carrie Hiebert (Morden-Winkler) adds mental health critic to her role; and Konrad Narth (La Vérendrye) adds transportation and infrastructure to his files.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca