Statement: Launch of public teacher registry and Commissioner office ushers in new era of transparency in the handling professional misconduct in schools

Today, the Manitoba government delivered on its promise to provide students and parents with a clear process for reporting serious teacher misconduct and to adopt principles of transparency in how disciplinary outcomes are communicated to the public.

These important changes bring the teaching profession in Manitoba in line with best practices already established in most provinces and across many professions.

Moving forward, Manitoba students and parents will benefit from enhanced protections and transparency through the establishment of, among other things:

• A commissioner’s office charged with receiving and investigating serious complaints of professional misconduct;
• Disciplinary hearings and decisions that are open and accessible to the public;
• A public registry of current and former Manitoba teachers, containing details related to previous disciplinary actions.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) strongly supports these new measures. They also mirror many of the recommendations our organization has made in two reports on child sexual abuse and victimization by K-12 school personnel in Canada published in 2017 and 2022.

We believe these positive changes will enhance the trust and confidence students and their families have in Manitoba’s school system. C3P looks forward to working with and supporting the Manitoba government as it continues to finalize its work in setting teacher competency standards as part of this province-wide shift in how serious professional misconduct is addressed.