Letter to Manitoba MLA
1. Find the email address for your MLA here: Who is my MLA?
2. The email address for Tracy Schmidt, Mister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, is mineecl@manitoba.ca
3. The email address for Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba, is premier@manitoba.ca
4. Copy and paste the following text into your word document or into an email.
5. Email it to your MLA, Tracy Schmidt, and Wab Kinew
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[Your Name and Address]
[Date]​
[MLA’s Name/Contact Details]
CC: Tracy Schmidt, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, mineecl@manitoba.ca
CC: Wab Kinew, Premier, premier@manitoba.ca
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Subject: Urgent Request to Reverse Changes to Teacher Certification Requirements
Dear [MLA’s Name],
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I am writing to you as my MLA to express my deep concern regarding the recent amendments to the Teaching Certificates and Qualifications Regulation under The Education Administration Act. These changes eliminate all subject-area requirements for teacher certification, significantly lowering the certification standards. Specifically, the amendments removed senior years credit requirements in an approved teachable major and minor; early-middle years credit requirements in an approved teachable major and minor; and early-middle years credit requirements for math, science, English/French, and history/geography. This decision undermines the educational quality in Manitoba schools by permitting teachers to enter the classroom without sufficient training in core academic subjects, thus compromising the education that Manitoba students receive.
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Ensuring that teachers have a strong background in the subjects they teach is essential for student success. Manitoba students already rank among the worst in Canada on PISA, TIMSS, and PCAP, and Grade 12 provincial tests scores show our students are struggling academically. This decision risks further exacerbating the problem.
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I also find it concerning that key stakeholders—including parents and post-secondary educators outside of faculties of education—were not consulted before these changes were made. Transparency and public input are vital when making decisions that affect the future of our education system.
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Manitobans have been misled about the reasons for these changes. They are not supported by research (https://sites.google.com/view/manitoba-math-myths), and it is misleading to suggest they align Manitoba with other provinces. For example, Nova Scotia has not indicated plans to remove all subject requirements for certification, even though this has been stated in the media. Ontario requires teachers to pass a math certification test, while Quebec has the most rigorous subject requirements in Canada. Every university in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia mandate a minimum number of credits in core subjects for teachers. Instead of lowering standards to the weakest in the country, our government should be strengthening subject requirements for teachers.
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Lowering subject-area requirements to address teacher shortages is not a reasonable solution. Instead, I urge the government to explore alternative measures that maintain high standards while addressing staffing concerns. Other jurisdictions have found ways to attract and retain qualified teachers without sacrificing teacher subject expertise.
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I ask you to advocate for the reversal of these changes and the reinstatement of teachable majors and minors, as well as subject-specific requirements for early-middle years teachers. Our students deserve teachers who are well-equipped with the knowledge and training necessary to provide them with the highest quality education.
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Several paper petitions have been presented in the Legislative Assembly, with more to come. An online petition has also gathered a significant number of signatures and comments: www.change.org/teacher-qualifications. This issue is of great concern to Manitobans.
Please let me know how you plan to address this issue. I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.
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Sincerely,
[Your Name]
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