Khan files document proving teacher commissioner resigned, wasn’t fired

Opposition Leader Obby Khan says he has proof the teacher commissioner resigned and wasn’t fired, as the government has claimed.

On Thursday, he tabled a government order in council, dated April 8, that revokes Bobbi Taillefer’s appointment as commissioner. The order says Taillefer resigned on April 7.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt initially told the Free Press Taillefer had resigned. After the article’s publication last week, Premier Wab Kinew told media the government had fired the bureaucrat.

Her departure was announced after he and Schmidt learned Taillefer was working remotely from Florida, he said.

The New Democrats have since avoided stating whether Taillefer was fired or had resigned.

Khan needled the NDP in question period Thursday, asking the premier to apologize for “misleading” Manitobans.

Kinew was not at the legislative sitting; he was in Peguis First Nation.

Deputy premier Uzoma Asagwara said the party’s top priority is ensuring student safety.

They brought up the Progressive Conservatives’ 2023 election campaign, where Khan was the face of “parental rights” advertisements. Asagwara fired shots, saying Khan increased the target children; some link the broader parental rights movement to anti-LGBTTQ+ sentiment.

Khan cited warnings from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. Last year, the organization expressed concern that Taillefer would take her new role while also leading the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

The New Democrats did not clarify during question period whether Taillefer resigned or was fired.

– Gabrielle Piché