Bill 18 Proclaimed

February 5, 2021

Bill 18 Proclaimed into Law at Kelvin High School

Minister of Education, the Honourable Nancy Allan, proclaimed Bill 18 into law Oct. 10 at Kelvin High School. Bill 18, the Public Schools Amendment Act (Safe and Inclusive Schools Act), requires schools to accommodate students who want to start specific anti-bullying clubs, including gay-straight alliances (GSAs). Minister Allan was joined by Paul Olson, President of the Manitoba Teachers Society, and Suzanne Hrynyk, Chair of the Winnipeg School Division. Sam Friesen-Beardsell of Kelvin High School’s Mentorship Program spoke about the support Grade 12 students in this program provides for the Grade 9 students entering Kelvin.

John Manning and Alex Tivoli represented Kelvin’s Gay-Straight Alliance:

“Ever since 1998, Kelvin has had a group that met to discuss issues surrounding the LGBTQ population, striving to make Kelvin High School a safer place for everybody.

However, the members felt that they were not safe at school, and met under the cover of darkness once a week. It wasn’t until 2003, 5 years later, that the GSA was officially recognized as a club and had their first meeting during school hours.

Depuis 1998, Kelvin a un groupe qui se rencontre afin de discuter des sujets concernant la population LGTBQ dans l’espoir de rendre l’école Kelvin plus sécuritaire pour tout le monde.

Cependant, à cette époque, puisque les membres ne se sentaient pas en sécurité à l’école, ils se rencontraient le soir une fois par semaine. Ce n’est qu’en 2003, 5 ans plus tard, que l’AGH a été officiellement reconnue comme club et a eu sa première rencontre pendant la journée scolaire.

Now, thanks to Bill 18, no GSA will ever have to stay underground. No student ever will feel threatened when supporting basic human rights.

Maintenant, grâce au projet de loi 18, plus aucune AGH ne devra être clandestine. Plus aucun élève ne se sentira menacé lorsqu’il ou elle défendra les droits de la personne.

Nous, les membres de l’AGH de Kelvin, sommes très honorés d’être témoins de cet événement historique et pensons que c’est un grand pas vers l’acceptation de tous les êtres humains.

We of Kelvin’s GSA are incredibly honoured to be here for this historic event, and feel that it is a large step forwards in the acceptance of all human beings.”

Winnipeg Free Press article: http://winnipeg.can.newsmemory.com/index.php (log in information available in the Library).

Winnipeg Free Press video: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/multimedia/video/local/allan-talks-about-amazing-journey-to-anti-bullying-law-227271151.html.