WINNIPEG — The Manitoba cabinet minister responsible for services for people with disabilities is apologizing for comments she made about a sign-language interpreter.
Nahanni Fontaine hosted a celebration for Indigenous women graduates Thursday in Winnipeg, and had a sign-language interpreter on stage with her during her speech.
Afterward, while preparing to speak to reporters, Fontaine told one of her staff that she was thrown off by the woman's presence and that the woman should not have been on stage.
The comments were captured and reported on by First Nations TV channel APTN.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives called for Fontaine to apologize and said she should be removed as minister responsible for accessibility.
Fontaine has issued a statement in which she apologizes and says she was worried about not being able to see everyone in the room.
"I was expressing frustration on my poor planning (on) ensuring clear sight lines for all graduates," Fontaine's statement reads.
"My comments did not acknowledge signing is not simply 'hand movements', but a full and rich language used by thousands of Manitobans every day."
Fontaine said she has apologized directly to the interpreter and offered an apology to the deaf community as a whole.
In the video captured by APTN, Fontaine reportedly used an expletive as she complained about the interpreter's presence.
"I was thrown off ... because the woman ... shouldn't have been on the stage," Fontaine is heard telling an off-screen staff member.
The staff member asked whether the interpreter's "frantic hand movements" were distracting, and Fontaine replied, "yeah."
"I'm like ... why did I have her on the stage?" Fontaine said in the video, with a middle word bleeped out.
"I'm like 'you need to leave.'"
The Tory caucus, in a social media post, says Fontaine cannot continue in her current ministerial role.
"This is unbecoming of an elected official and unacceptable from a minister responsible for accessibility," the post says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
