Posted on 09/11/2012, 9:03 am, by mySteinbach

Long-Time Justice Critic Moving To Education

Steinbach MLA, Kelvin Goertzen, says he is looking forward to a change in critic responsibilities after being handed the Education file by new Leader Brian Pallister. Goertzen has been his party’s justice critic for the better part of 7 years.

“I am looking forward to digging into a different file,” said Goertzen. “As justice critic I often had the opportunity to look at the education system from the perspective of how it can be changed to help reduce crime among young people. I am really looking forward to being able to look at the system as a whole and discuss ideas and improvements,” said Goertzen.

Goertzen noted that as a parent of a young child in the public school system, he has a vested interest in his new job.

“There is no doubt that as a parent of a school age child I look at things differently than I did even a couple of years ago. I have so much more appreciation for the importance of our schools and those who work within them” said Goertzen.

Goertzen said he will take the next several weeks to meet with stakeholders in the education system and read and conduct research on his new role. He says despite being justice critic for a long time he expects the transition to be a good one.

“The first thing I thought of when I heard about the change is it’s going to be a whole lot more fun visiting schools than it was visiting jails!”