As the clock winds down with less than a month until the Manitoban election, the province’s Liberal and NDP candidates have their noses to the grindstone, spending their Sunday hard at work on the campaign trail.
Candid discussions and proposed solutions to crime set the agenda for the Liberals, congregating in Tyndall Park for the morning. Liberal contender, Cindy Lamoureux, detailed her action plan if entrusted with the electorate’s votes. Her strategy encompasses safeguarding the youth from gang involvement and recruiters, and mounting a robust opposition to the sale of illicit drugs. An additional promise is to establish fully equipped mental health and addictions crisis units, specialized in de-escalating volatile circumstances, conducting wellness checks, and efficiently managing those in distress.
Lamoureux remains equally committed to ensuring that a youthful indiscretion doesn’t cast a shadow over their future. Reflecting on society’s attitude towards young offenders, she stated, “Treating a youth who might have made a solitary error at the age of 16, as we currently do, leads to a criminal record that haunts them into adulthood. This, I believe, is an unjust burden on the young.”
Over in St. Boniface, Wab Kinew, the leader of Manitoba’s NDP, shifted the focus towards home care and the enhancement of services for seniors in the province. “The care of our seniors is a universally agreed-upon value,” stated Kinew, “especially in the aftermath of a pandemic.”
He expressed his determination to overhaul the present provincial home care system if he is elected as Manitoba’s next premier. His immediate plan of action involves mobilizing a new labor force of 100 home care workers, with enticing hiring incentives and increased mileage compensation.
Kinew’s strategy aims to decrease the incidents of overlooked or cancelled appointments and prevent workers from prematurely ending service appointments to attend their next client. In support of his argument, Kinew noted a staggering 80,000 home care engagements were abandoned within the first four months of 2023 alone.
He further highlighted the inadequate mileage compensation for home care workers, stating, “With fuel prices soaring, what you earn doesn’t cover the cost of travel between appointments.”
In contrast, PC leader Heather Stefanson rested in the wake of her exhaustive tour of northern Manitoba, which concluded in The Pas on Saturday.
On Oct. 3, 2023, Manitobans will decide at the polls their new provincial government.
