A veteran bureaucrat in Manitoba’s education department will temporarily lead the office responsible for investigating inappropriate conduct by teachers.

The province has tapped David Yeo as acting commissioner of teacher professional conduct, the government said Monday, after the premier said Bobbi Taillefer, the first appointee to the role, was fired for working out of province.

While a full-time commissioner will be appointed as soon as possible, Yeo “brings deep experience and stability” to the office, having worked for Manitoba’s Education Department in various capacities for more than 30 years, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said in a statement.

He’s served as a policy manager in teacher certification, a director in the education administration services branch, assistant deputy minister of the former corporate and education services division, assistant deputy minister of the former K-12 education division and as a special adviser to the deputy education minister.

The search for a replacement was initiated after the province cut ties with Taillefer, who had been a teacher and union executive before taking on the commissioner’s role in 2024.

The Winnipeg Free Press broke the news last week that Taillefer was doing the job from Florida, and said the province had previously been unaware she was working remotely.

Schmidt initially referred to the departure as a resignation, but Premier Wab Kinew said on Friday she was actually fired.

“We said, ‘You cannot be in Florida.’ We’re here, the kids are here, the teachers are here. The commissioner needs to be in Manitoba.”

The premier said last week Taillefer was given the opportunity by Schmidt to characterize her departure as a resignation, “but for us, what was happening was not acceptable, so we cut ties.”

Taillefer served as a teacher and school principal before working for the Manitoba Teachers’ Society and Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

She was appointed Manitoba’s first independent education commissioner in 2024.

The position was created to investigate reports of teacher misconduct made by the public, school boards or employers. The commissioner is also tasked with issuing penalties to teachers and producing disciplinary reports that are published online.

During her tenure, Taillefer investigated and penalized several teachers through disciplinary actions that ranged from reprimands and required training to suspensions, outright dismissal and loss of teaching licences.

Schmidt said in her statement the work of the commissioner’s office is continuing without interruption during the leadership transition.