Classroom confidential

New teacher commissioner vows to work in province

The incoming teacher commissioner says she will fulfil her new duties on Manitoba soil and — as much as possible — from her government-assigned office.

Noni Classen has officially been named as the next government appointee in charge of investigating allegations of teacher misconduct and incompetence.

“It is a full-time job to be performed here in Manitoba,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said about the commissioner’s five-year contract.

Schmidt and Classen, a former resource teacher who has become a high-profile leader in the child protection sector, spoke with reporters at the legislature.

New teacher conduct czar critic of registry

A high-profile leader in the child protection sector who has been an outspoken critic of Manitoba’s teacher registry has been tapped to run it.

Noni Classen will be the next commissioner of teacher professional conduct, the Free Press has learned.

Classen will assume her new position on May 19 following two decades of research and advocacy for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg.

“(I’ve always) really, really loved working with kids and especially, working for the underdog,” the former resource teacher said Monday.

NDP attack Tories over MLA’s bail pledge for sex offender

A Manitoba lawmaker’s pledge to back a convicted sex offender’s bail with his seven-figure savings has ignited a political firestorm, with senior government ministers openly attacking the leader of the opposition and condemning the Progressive Conservative party’s defence of one of its veteran elected officials.

In a video posted to social media over the weekend, deputy premier and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara condemned both Obby Khan’s leadership and the PC party’s moral compass.

“The PC party of Manitoba is morally bankrupt – full stop,” Asagwara said in the video. “This is someone who was a former educator who took advantage of one of her students and harmed them, abused them sexually, one of the most disgusting and egregious things a person could do.”

“Obby Khan, actually came out in defence of Greg Nesbitt, his MLA, saying that he did what anybody would do for their niece of nephew,” Asagwara added. “No, we would not. There are many, many good people out there who recognize that protecting a sexual predator, someone who preys on children, isn’t the move you make.”

Tory MLA Nesbitt vowed to pay $1M to bail out niece convicted of sex crimes

A Manitoba lawmaker whose party championed legislation to protect students from predatory educators pledged more than $1 million to post bail for his niece while the former teacher appealed her sexual assault conviction, the Free Press has learned.

Greg Nesbitt, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Riding Mountain and a cabinet minister in the former Tory government, said in a sworn statement he was willing to pay whatever the court deemed appropriate for bail after Chasity Findlay, a former high school teacher convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault of a then 15-year-old student, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024.

Her appeal of the conviction is schedule to be heard Monday.

“This is a private family matter,” Nesbitt said in a brief statement to the Free Press this week. “I don’t comment on personal matters.”

Accusations, insults fly inside legislature over former teacher discipline commissioner’s exit

The political fallout over the departure of Manitoba’s independent commissioner of teacher professional conduct morphed into a bitter shouting match in the legislature Wednesday, as Education Minister Tracy Schmidt continues to defend a government narrative that began to unravel late last week.

Schmidt faced a third consecutive day of intense grilling during question period over the sudden exit of former commissioner Bobbi Taillefer. The opposition once again took full advantage on the inconsistencies between the government’s official timeline and Taillefer’s contradictory statement released Tuesday.

Progressive Conservative education critic Wayne Ewasko led the charge, demanding Schmidt apologize for misleading Manitobans. Ewasko highlighted the stark contrast between Schmidt calling the departure a resignation last Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew declaring it was a firing on Friday and Taillefer revealing she resigned and was subsequently given a new transition contract.

Instead of addressing the issues raised, Schmidt launched into a series of personal and partisan attacks against Ewasko’s record.

Former teacher misconduct commissioner contradicts premier, issues statement denying she was fired

What began as a quiet departure has rapidly snowballed into a tangled web of contradictions for the Manitoba government.

Province’s first teacher misconduct commissioner resigns suddenly

The head of Manitoba’s year-old teacher misconduct registry has abruptly resigned after questions were raised about her working remotely in Florida over the winter.

Education minister Tracy Schmidt confirmed Thursday that Bobbi Taillefer is no longer the Commissioner of Teacher Professional Conduct. The resignation comes just two weeks after the government was informed by the Free Press about Taillefer’s out-of-country work arrangement.

“I became aware at the same time you did,” Schmidt said, admitting she was entirely unaware of the commissioner’s whereabouts until confronted with the allegations. “Bobbi Taillefer has resigned as the commissioner and is no longer acting as the commissioner for the registry here in Manitoba.”

The sudden gap in leadership leaves the handling of ongoing and highly sensitive investigations into teacher misconduct in question. However, Schmidt insisted Thursday that there would be “absolutely no interruption in service,” noting that a team of investigators remains in office and an active search for an interim commissioner is underway.

Trustee quits to protest secrecy over abuse

A long-serving school trustee says he was blind to the psychological abuse a former teacher inflicted on a young student that was uncovered in a Free Press investigation, apologizing to the victim for being “kept ignorant” by board leadership and vowing to resign.

River East Transcona School Division trustee Rod Giesbrecht claimed a decision by board chair Colleen Carswell left other elected officials in the dark regarding the safety of students at Sherwood School, where teacher David Wray’s misconduct occurred.

Giesbrecht, a trustee with the division for 20 years, said he could no longer associate with a leadership culture that he accused of prioritizing silence over transparency in the face of serious abuse allegations.

“Today, I will begin the process of resigning as a trustee for RETSD,” Giesbrecht posted Tuesday on a Facebook community page in his ward. “After reading the six-page article in the Free Press and witnessing the insensitive response of the board chair, I can no longer associate with such behaviour.”

Child protection experts say Manitoba’s new teacher registry conceals more than it reveals

Despite promises that a new teacher registry launched at the start of the year would enhance transparency within the education system and improve children’s safety, critics have dismissed it as weak, opaque and inferior to those in use in other provinces.A Free Press investigation confirms those concerns.

Teacher discipline commissioner’s undisclosed union role could silence victims, others from reporting misconduct, child-protection advocate warns

The discovery that Manitoba’s new independent commissioner of teacher discipline was simultaneously still advocating for educator’s rights in another province will prevent parents and students from reporting cases of professional misconduct, warns the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

“We are deeply concerned to learn that Manitoba’s new Commissioner of Teacher Professional Conduct — a body tasked with investigating complaints from students and parents over serious allegations involving teachers — is also simultaneously acting as the head of a provincial teachers’ union and advocacy group. This is highly inappropriate and a clear conflict of interest,” read a statement by Noni Classen, Director of Education and Support Services at the centre.

“Of most concern, however, is the undermining of public trust in this new office going forward and the real possibility that it may discourage students, parents, and school staff from reporting serious professional misconduct involving teachers. Fostering a strong sense of confidence in these accountability systems is crucial to ensuring individuals being victimized feel empowered to come forward and seek help.”

The statement comes a day after the Free Press learned that Bobbi Taillefer was working as Manitoba’s new commissioner of educator misconduct while at the same time fulfilling her duties as executive director at the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

Critics stunned to learn Manitoba’s new teacher oversight commissioner also leads Saskatchewan educators’ union

A new commissioner tasked with disciplining Manitoba educators for misconduct since the start of the year was doing so while still maintaining her job as head of the Saskatchewan teachers’ union, the Free Press has learned.