Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 27, 2021, Winnipeg, Manitoba oC MHK PAGE A1 FRED GREENSLADE/THE CANADIAN PRESS HOCKEY NIGHT IN WINNIPEG It's been 18 months since fans last filled what's now called the Canada Life Centre to cheer on the Winnipeg Jets. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2019-20 season, while the 2020-21 season was played without fans. Sunday night, the arena was back to its loud, boisterous self as the Jets played their first pre-season game of 2021-22, losing 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators in overtime. / D1 Gender-queer teachers ditch male-female tradition, embrace identity with Mx. honorific Breaking binary MAGGIE MACINTOSH FOLLOWING a mid-pandemic parental leave, teacher Marley Dewar returned to work in the spring to find the letter S on their nameplate — which had long displayed “Ms. Dewar” — had been covered up with an X. Dewar identifies as a queer, non-binary parent and educator in rural Manitoba, and uses they and them pronouns. And after coming out to colleagues, students and families near the end of the 2020-2021 school year, they started using Mx. as a teacher title instead of Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss. “It’s completely changed my attitude about myself in the class. I find that I’m more confident and I feel more myself. I feel visible and seen,” said Dewar, a Grade 7/8 homeroom teacher at Hartney School, after a recent school day. Be it through icebreaker activities or casual conversations, teachers and students have been getting acquainted with each other since returning to classrooms across the province earlier this month. Educators who are gender-queer — an umbrella term that indicates one identifies with neither, both or a combination of male and female genders — are increasingly using Mx. as an honorific, to both denote their non-binary identities and hold space for the LGBTQ2S community at school. The gender-neutral prefix, which is pronounced to sound like mix, was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015, as the title grew in popularity. It was first coined in the 1970s as a feminist term for those who did not want their gender to be revealed in their title, according to Merriam-Webster’s definition, which was included in the publication in 2017. Lindsay Brown first came across the honorific about 10 years ago, when the English teacher at Maples Collegiate was studying the work of Kate Bornstein, an American author and gender theorist. Brown recalled being awestruck after reading an article Born-stein, who is transgender, had published that referenced Mx.— so much so, the Winnipeg teacher began using the salutation. Students and colleagues alike have quickly picked up the honorific, but many still struggle with using they and them in a singular context, said the non-binary educator. “It makes me wonder: is it just that this is a word that they have never heard before, and that’s why it’s easy to pick up? Whereas, Kim Cao, a teacher at Garden City Collegiate, left, and Lindsay Brown, of Maples Collegiate, are both using Mx. as an honorific. changing from she/her to they/them involves language they’re familiar with and that unsettles them?” they said. Brown’s English Language Arts classroom is a fitting place to have such conversations; they suggested one does not need to look any further than a Shakespearean script for proof that dialect is ever-changing. “But, at the end of the day, what does it really matter? What’s more important: the grammar of what you’re speaking, or accurately reflecting somebody’s identity back to them?” added Brown.• BINARY, CONTINUED ON A2 Bishops try to atone for residential schools Catholic apology unanimous, unequivocal JOHN LONGHURST c I ANADA’S Roman Catholic bishops’ apology to Indigenous people — days before the first National Day for ' Truth and Reconciliation — was a unanimous bid to atone for the atrocities of the Indian Residential Schools and a commitment to forge a new relationship between the church and First Nations. That’s the way Bishop William McGrattan of the Archdiocese of Calgary describes how the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) agreed to say sorry for the role that church played in the residential school system. A First Nations representative said she’s grateful but is taking a wait-and-see approach. Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said she welcomed the bishops’ full-throated apology, but noted that their promises fall short of the actions the Indigenous community has called for. “The words of the apology speak to a commitment by the (Catholic) church to the healing path forward with First Nations and Indigenous peoples,” Archibald said in a statement Friday. “Only time will tell if concrete actions will follow the words of contrition by the bishops.” McGrattan invoked divine intervention in the assembly’s decision to apologize. “I believe God intervened in us coming together, with such a strong, committed message of this apology,” said McGrattan, the newly elected vice-president of the CCCB. It was, he added, “an opportunity for us to speak with one voice, a moment not only for the Roman Catholic Church, but for all Canadians.” • APOLOGY, CONTINUED ON A2 Fixing relationship with China tricky: expertsThe two Michaels are home; tough choices for Canada LEE BERTHIAUME OTTAWA — The return of two detained Canadians may have ended the most contentious dispute in Canada’s relationship with China, but experts say Ottawa faces a number of other extremely difficult challenges and choices in its dealings with Beijing. Those include immediate issues such as whether to let Chinese telecom giant Huawei participate in Canada’s 5G wireless network, as well as broader questions of whether the emergent Asian superpower should be treated as a partner, competitor or adversary. Global Affairs Minister Marc Garneau acknowledged Sunday the degree to which the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou — had impeded ties between the two countries. “There was no path to a relationship with China as long as the two Michaels were being detained,” Garneau said during an appearance on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live, referencing the colloquial term adopted around the world when discussing the former detainees.• CHINA, CONTINUED ON A2 <§> INSIDE I KENNEY WON'T CLOSE DOCTOR DÉJÁ VU TRAIN MISHAP KILLS 3 HIGH-VISIBILITY ART Alberta premier rejects call for measures to combat surging COVID-19 cases / A3 Manitoba's broken promises on neurology to blame for latest case of brain drain: doc / B1 An Amtrak train derailed in Montana, killing three and sending seven to hospital / A5 Teen's clothing design marries orange safety gear, reconciliation / C1 A_01_Sep-27-21_FP_01.indd A1 2021-09-26 10:52 PM ;