May 1, 2025
Nathan Martindale
Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday, May 1, 2025
While for many years Canada has enjoyed a global reputation as a predominantly safe place to live, the erosion of that reality — which more recently we have seen play out in communities across the country — is a clear and present threat to that reputation.
The Manitoba Teachers’ Society, representing 16,600 public school teachers across the province, has taken vocal and steadfast positions in opposition to the banning of books from libraries, wresting control of hiring practices from school divisions and the spewing of hate-fuelled rhetoric at school trustee meetings. We do so recognizing that efforts to undermine public education through bodies such as our school boards create a portal to a much larger prize: that of destroying systems of democracy, law, and human rights.
This brings me to Bill 43, The Human Rights Code Amendment Act. The amendment proposed by our provincial government is significant; the kind of thing that earns a country, and a province, the reputation as a safe and secure place for all.
Bill 43 proposes that gender expression be added to those characteristics already protected under human rights legislation in Manitoba. According to Egale Canada, gender expression is defined as “the way gender is presented and communicated to the world through clothing, speech, body language, hairstyle, voice and/or the emphasis or de-emphasis of body characteristics and behaviours.”
Let’s be clear that defending human rights for marginalized or vulnerable persons, including their right to gender expression, does not infringe on anyone else’s human rights.
In fact, I would argue that the more protected marginalized or vulnerable folks are, the more each and every one of us will benefit from a safer, kinder and just society.
Bill 43 represents a victory for all of us.
It is a victory for parents and caregivers who want to send their children to safe and supportive schools, free of harassment and bullying that far too often have lifelong physical and emotional impacts.
It is a victory for parents of children who are not marginalized, shaping communities in which those who have power and voice are governed by kindness, understanding, and a commitment to belonging and security guaranteed for all.
It is a victory for workplaces, giving them a North Star, guiding development of organizational cultures in which colleagues welcome, support and learn from one another.
It is a victory for our communities, which are the beneficiaries of the diverse, vibrant lived experiences of their citizens.
And of course, it is a victory for those among us who are most vulnerable, who are counting on us to stand up for them, to speak out for them.
Strengthening human rights is essential — perhaps the most important work of any government. And while the federal government passed Bill-C16 in 2017 adding gender identity and expression to Charter rights, similar protections do not exist in some provinces, Manitoba included. This leaves gaps for discrimination in areas such as health care, education and criminal justice, because these systems are governed by provincial and territorial human rights law.
Genocides are born in the vacuum created by erasing human rights. We need look no further than our own backyards, to the multi-generational impacts of residential schools to see ample evidence of that.
A quick Google search will reveal the heartbreaking trend of suicide among those who do not present in a manner that conforms with what for many is a pink and blue “gender reveal party” world. We must be firm in our conviction that no person, young or old, should be subjected to violence, harassment, or be compelled take their own life because the rest of us stood by in silence.
Rights which for many years we have believed to be inalienable are not. We have witnessed the rolling back of rights and freedoms in other countries, including the United States. Even within the context of our own federal election, the Conservative Party leader made it clear that if elected he would have passed a law overriding our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
If that doesn’t terrify you, it should. It’s what makes Bill 43 all the more important.
To be human is to have a heart, and we are all human. No matter how we dress, no matter if we wear make-up, no matter if we dye our hair or wear it in ways some might find non-traditional, we all have the right to safety and security.
Bill 43 is a crucial step in that direction, prioritizing and protecting human rights rooted in love and compassion for oneself, and one’s neighbour.
If you looked at me, you’d see someone granted all the privilege imaginable. With my privilege comes the responsibility to speak out in defence of legislation like Bill 43.
I’m speaking out because I’m privileged. I’m speaking out because I’m a parent, I’m speaking out because I’m a teacher and I’m speaking out because I’m a union leader.
I’m speaking out — not just for me, not just for my members, but for all of us.
Nathan Martindale is president of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society