By Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew speaks to school children ahead of the speech from the throne at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski)
The Manitoba government put forward sweeping changes to the school day Thursday — eliminating a requirement to sing “God Save The King,” paving the way for more Indigenous instruction, and enshrining its school nutrition program in a way that one expert called constitutionally dubious.
One of several bills introduced in the legislature would, if passed into law, eliminate a little-known rule that says students should sing “God Save The King” every school day.
The provision has not been enforced in decades but was recently revived in the Mountain View School Division in western Manitoba. The move was met with public opposition from those who said it was not consistent with truth and reconciliation measures.
Thursday’s bill was applauded by Scott Lynxleg, a school trustee in the Mountain View division.
“Society changes and we need to change too,” he said.
The bill also ends a requirement that the Lord’s Prayer be recited. Mandatory prayer in schools was struck down by the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench in 1992 but the rule has not been formally removed until now. The proposed law would also require all school boards to have policies respecting land and treaty acknowledgments — something most already have in place.
Another bill would allow for an Indigenous language to be the language of instruction in a school when authorized by a school board. Yet another bill is aimed at ensuring kids are educated about treaties and the contributions of Indigenous people, including preschoolers.
“We believe that that learning should start as soon as possible,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said.
Schmidt also introduced a bill to require all public schools to offer a free daily nutrition program consisting of meals or snacks. The bill is informally called “Nello’s Law” in honour of former education minister Nello Altomare, who died in January.
The NDP government is attempting to prevent any changes to the nutrition program by inserting a clause that would cut cabinet ministers’ salaries by 20 per cent if a future government changes the law to reduce the nutrition program.
A veteran political analyst said that idea goes against long-standing basic parliamentary rules that forbid one legislature from placing limits on the ability of future legislatures to pass laws.
“I think it’s a dubious constitutional or parliamentary gimmick,” said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
“The principle of … parliamentary government is that parliament, or the legislature in the Manitoba context, is supreme and that a particular government at a given time shouldn’t bind a future legislature from undertaking changes to legislation just because they want to protect the legacy of a much revered former cabinet minister who sadly passed away.”
Such clauses have been a trend, Thomas said, pointing to previous examples such as a Manitoba balanced budget law that said any major tax hike could not be enacted without a referendum.
When a former NDP government raised the sales tax in 2013, the Opposition Progressive Conservatives took the matter to court and lost. The judge ruled the referendum requirement violated the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty.
Schmidt said the school nutrition bill has been vetted.
“Obviously when we draft legislation, we draft it with legislative counsel,” she said.
“I myself am a lawyer and understand that when it comes to questions of legality, there’s often differing opinions. There wouldn’t be the practice of law but for that.”
