Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says a cabinet minister who complained about a sign-language interpreter will stay on in her role as minister responsible for services for people with disabilities.
Kinew says Nahanni Fontaine has apologized and is working to serve the deaf community.
Fontaine hosted a celebration for Indigenous women graduates last week in Winnipeg and a sign-language interpreter was on stage during the minister’s speech.
While preparing to speak to reporters after, Fontaine told one of her staff that she was thrown off by the interpreter’s presence and that the woman should not have been on stage.
The comments were met with widespread criticism and the Opposition Progressive Conservatives called for Fontaine to be removed from her role.
Fontaine issued two apologies in the days after the event and said she had been worried about not being able to see everyone in the room on the small crowded stage.
(This report by Steve Lambert of The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025)
