Former Manitoba commissioner says province knew she was working from Florida

The exterior of the Manitoba Legislature is seen in Winnipeg, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG — The woman who recently served as Manitoba's commissioner of teacher professional conduct is contradicting the government's version of what led to her departure, and she isn't ruling out legal action.

Premier Wab Kinew said last week that Bobbi Taillefer was fired after the recent discovery that she had been working remotely from Florida.

Taillefer said Tuesday that she resigned and had been upfront from Day 1 with the government about working at times from the United States.

"During initial employment discussions, I had specifically advised government officials that I would be spending time travelling, that I would spend time in Florida and that I would need to work remotely," Taillefer wrote in a statement.

"To be clear, my employment contract contained no prohibition as to work location, nor requirement to attend to the physical office at any time. Most meetings were held by Zoom with various government players including the minister of education and her student advisory committee."

Taillefer said she offered to resign after the issue of her location was raised by media and that she later heard the government describe it as a firing. That implies she did something to justify being dismissed, she said.

"This implication is blatantly false and has caused substantial damage to my reputation which I am proud to say heretofore has been exemplary," her statement said.

The government has faced questions about Taillefer for days.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt initially said Taillefer resigned. Kinew later said Taillefer was fired and that he expected someone in her position to be in Manitoba full-time.

On Tuesday, Schmidt said human resource matters are often "incredibly messy" and that the government and Taillefer "parted ways."

Schmidt was unable to explain who in her department might have agreed to let Taillefer work in the U.S. and why it only came to her attention when the Winnipeg Free Press started making inquiries.

"I can't speak on behalf of other people — who told what, when. What I can tell you (is) that, as the minister responsible, when I became aware, I had serious concerns. I discussed those concerns with the premier, and we're moving forward," Schmidt said.

Taillefer said after her position was ended, the government offered her another contract to provide transition services to her replacement, which would have run until mid-July. That shows the government had no issue with her performance, she said.

Schmidt said a transition contract is not unusual.

"I think Manitobans would ... appreciate that in the interests of consistency, this transition period was important."

Taillefer, a former teachers' union leader, was hired more than a year ago as Manitoba's first commissioner of teacher professional conduct.

The appointment came as the province established a public registry of teachers whose certificates have been suspended or cancelled due to misconduct. It allows parents and others to search an online database containing the information.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said the NDP government has been caught not telling the truth about Taillefer's departure.

"I don't think necessarily you fire somebody and they willingly sign another contract to help with the transition," said Tory legislature member Wayne Ewasko.

The province has named David Yeo, a longtime official in the education department, as acting commissioner until a permanent replacement is found.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2026

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press