Winnipeg Election 2022

Nic Devine - Pembina Trails - 1

What got you into politics?

I do not want to be a politician but I can’t be a School Trustee without getting into politics so…

I want to be an agent of positive proactive change within the school system. In a way, I suppose it is my grandchildren that encouraged me to run. They are just entering school and I am heavily invested in how they will finish it.

School Trustees, at first glance, have a lot of control over certain things within the school system but real policy and the ultimate direction is set by the Premier, the Minister of Education and the Department of Education. I’m not so sure that is the best way to do it. It is so top down; shouldn’t it be bottom up – parents, students and teachers are much more involved in education than the premier.

So I am here to look, listen and learn how to change that around.

What experience will you bring to compliment your role as (Mayor / Councillor / School Trustee)?

No experience as a politician and none as a School Trustee. I do have over 30 years as a teacher.

What are some issues that you would like to stand for in your role as (Mayor / Councillor / School Trustee), and why are these issues important to you?

I have been overwhelmed by the number of inquiries that I have had from individuals and groups wanting my stand on everything from police in the schools to which books I would ban from school libraries. Indigenous teaching – too much, too little; what age should sex be taught in school, should it be taught? Is there too much emphasis on LGBTQ2S+ or too little, what’s my stand on gender neutral bathrooms, on O’Canada, on the Monarchy, teachers’ salaries and on and on. It is the equivalent of death by a thousand cuts.

The problem is bigger than these questions, bigger than the sum of these questions but in some way the questions, their pinpoint focus, is probably part of the reason nothing really changes in education.

Do you have any other comments regarding your candidacy?

Yes but 200 words is barely me getting started.