Kelvin Goertzen (file photo)

Mantioba Education Critic Kelvin Goertzen expects public hearings on the government's proposed Anti-Bullying Bill will wrap up this week. He says a majority of the presentations over the past week have shown there must be changes made to improve the bill.

"About 90 to 95 per cent of the people who've come forward and given their stories about being bullied feel that Bill 18 would not have helped them. We also had some school kids who are still in school who talked about their experiences of being bullied who also said the Bill wouldn't help them in their current situations."

Goertzen says he will wait until the public hearings are finished to draft amendments to make Bill 18 better.

"I want to wait until after the hearings are over and actually hear from all of the presenters because that will shape what the amendments look like. I don't  have any preconceived notions of what the amendments will look like so we want to get through the hearings and then bring forward amendments later in the week. I hope the government is listening. It's hard not to be moved by the presentations. It's hard not to be moved by the many people who say that they are, or were, bullied and that the Bill wouldn't help them."

Goertzen says there's a good chance the hearings will end Wednesday evening and that the Bill will move to final approval by Friday.