Under the I, for inappropriate

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This article was published 10/10/2025 (222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society has condemned a bingo game that mocks a day of professional development held by the province’s largest school division.

All staff of the Winnipeg School Division — about 6,000 employees — gathered Wednesday for a keynote speech at Canada Life Centre. It was the second consecutive year for the event organized by WSD chief superintendent Matt Henderson.

An unauthorized interactive game made the rounds in the audience.

The “Canada Life PD Oct. 8” bingo appears to have been made on a website that allows users to generate game sheets with custom text and images.

This version encouraged players to tick a box if: “Henderson (told) a personal anecdote”; there was a repeat-after-me exercise; or attendees were shown an inspiring video.

“Ninety-nine per cent of our staff saw (the in-service day) as really positive and a charge for our collective purpose,” Henderson said Thursday. “We’re not going to let one person take away from that.”

He said senior administration doesn’t know the identity of the creator or team behind the game.

The division’s blue logo was used to mark the free space on virtual sheets that circulated via employees’ phones.

Surrounding squares listed education buzzwords such as, “outcomes,” “rigour” and “deeper learning.”

Each unique card had 25 spots, but there were 37 options, in total. Several of them reference a provincial policy directive and conceptual framework for Indigenous programming in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools. The 2022 documents are intended to help teachers integrate First Nations, Métis and Inuit world views into their classrooms.

Mino-pimatisiwin, a Cree phrase that translates to “the good life” in English, is discussed throughout the documents.

The concepts, both of which were included on bingo cards Wednesday, have become commonplace in classrooms across the province over the last three years.

“Indigenous education is not a checkbox on a bingo card. It’s a crucial, ongoing part of the work we do as educators in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action,” said Lillian Klausen, president of the union that represents 16,600 public-school teachers in Manitoba.

“Indigenous education is not a checkbox on a bingo card. It’s a crucial, ongoing part of the work we do as educators.”

In a lengthy statement, Klausen said her union does not condone the creation, sharing or distribution of materials that “mock or undermine the purpose of professional development.”

The incident should serve as a reminder that equity, respect and reconciliation “are not optional” in schools, she said.

Henderson said the board office does not intend to investigate the matter.

“I would rather have conversations with people who might have concerns with our emphasis on Indigenous education, reconciliation, decolonization,” he said, adding his door is open to anyone who wants to discuss WSD’s values.

The board office invited student drummers to perform Wednesday. Kevin Chief, an alumnus of the inner-city school division, delivered the keynote address.

The seasoned public speaker, whose many titles include former MLA and co-founder of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre, advocated for “leading with love,” Henderson said.

A bingo sheet was flagged to the Winnipeg Teachers Association, the MTS local representing members who teach roughly 30,000 kids, after a screenshot was posted on social media.

Local president Kristen Fallis said she did not see the game in action on anyone’s phones at the event on Wednesday.

Fallis also said she is unaware of how many people received an iPhone AirDrop of it, but the teacher said its very existence is cause for concern.

Henderson defended the in-service model as a “highly efficient way” to train thousands of people at once and remind staff of their shared goals.

He said the bill for this week’s programming was about $40,000.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca