Manitoba schools celebrate Pink Shirt Day
Anti-bullying movement brings sea of pink to Manitoba schools
A number of Manitoba schools worked to combat bullying by celebrating Pink Shirt Day Wednesday.
They were among thousands across Canada that celebrated the anti-bullying movement.
The movement began in 2007, when two Nova Scotia students arranged for students at their school to wear pink shirts after a new student was bullied for wearing one.
Now, students across Canada celebrate each year on the third Wednesday of February.
Winnipeg’s Hastings School took part in the event this year. Many students wore pink shirts, and an assembly on anti-bullying was offered to students.
One Grade 7 class at the school is creating an anti-bullying video for the day.
The class said cyber-bullies have become a greater problem in recent years.
"Behind the computer or behind the device, they feel safer so they can say whatever they want," said Sophia Detillieux, a student in the class.
The Manitoban government is hoping to stop bullying whether it takes place online or on school grounds.
The Selinger government has introduced Bill 18, which outlines a number of mandatory anti-bullying measures for schools.
But the bill has been met with opposition from religious schools, that say some of its provisions infringe on their religious freedoms."If a group of students come forward, and they want to have a gay-straight alliance in their school, they have to be accommodated," said Manitoba’s education minister Nancy Allan.