Politicians are quick to position themselves alongside successful athletes so they can bask in the golden reflection of an Olympic medal or celebrate the glory of a professional team’s championship.
When it’s time to provide support that protects the next generation of Manitoba’s athletes, however, MLAs from the governing Progressive Conservatives appear to be fair-weather fans.
On May 12, Jamie Moses, an NDP MLA, introduced a private member’s resolution urging the government to improve policies to protect youth in sports from abuse.
The proposal demanded policy changes that would prevent students and athletes from being allowed into teachers’ and coaches’ homes. It also sought more funding for trauma counselling and to support Sport Manitoba’s support line that helps those who have been abused, harassed, bullied or hazed.
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NDP MLA Jamie Moses introduced a private member’s resolution urging the government to improve policies to protect youth in sports from abuse.
Mr. Moses’ resolution, which was developed with input from teachers and coaches, was brought forward a month after Kelsey McKay, a longtime physical education teacher and football coach at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, was arrested April 12. He faces sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual interference and luring charges dating back to 2004.
While Mr. McKay has yet to stand trial and maintains the presumption of innocence in relation to the charges brought forward, the matter of protecting young students and athletes from abuse remains a priority among amateur sports organizations and government ministries that oversee them.
How high a priority from government MLAs is a good question to consider, especially after the Manitoba legislature debated Mr. Moses’ proposal on May 12.
Instead of calling for a vote on it, government members chose to debate the resolution until its allotted hour elapsed, essentially running out the clock on the resolution’s legislative life.
Mr. Moses’ resolution, which was developed with input from teachers and coaches, was brought forward a month after Kelsey McKay, a longtime physical education teacher and football coach at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, was arrested April 12.
It was an appalling parliamentary manoeuvre that suggests government MLAs need to revisit the sad lessons we learned from the story of Graham James, the former junior hockey coach who was convicted and imprisoned for abusing teenage hockey players in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the early 1990s.
It also suggests they need to listen again to the pleas from advocates such as Sheldon Kennedy, one of the targets of Mr. James’ predations. He is among many who urge governments and sports agencies to enact stronger policies to protect young people from the abusers who have wormed their way into privileged positions in schools and amateur teams.
While private members’ resolutions are a legislative longshot to change government policy or become part of the government’s agenda, on occasion they are accepted by government and opposition members.
While private members’ resolutions are a legislative longshot to change government policy or become part of the government’s agenda, on occasion they are accepted by government and opposition members.
In March, for example, a private member’s resolution brought forward by PC MLA Ron Schuler rightly saw the light of the legislative day. It asked the government to waive fees for Ukrainian refugees when they apply for the province’s nominee program; was passed by MLAs and the fees were removed the same day.
While Mr. Moses’ resolution may not have been perfect, it deserved the respect of a legislature vote that could spur on officials to consider the proposals, and Manitobans deserve to know how their MLAs stand on the proposals devised by the teachers and coaches.
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While NDP MLA Jamie Moses' resolution may not have been perfect, it deserved the respect of a legislature vote that could spur on officials to consider the proposals.
Six days later, on May 18, the province jumped back on the bandwagon, announcing new preventative regulations that include new abuse-prevention training school coaches, teachers and other K-12 personnel would have to complete.
While the new policy is an encouraging step toward creating safer spaces for students and young athletes, the manner in which it was brought forward suggests the PC government is a bit too concerned with who gets the credit for protecting young Manitobans, when its focus should be solely on listening to those who coach, teach and aim to protect them.
