The Gerrard Report

Today we released our Manitoba Liberal Caucus report designed to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in Manitoba.   For me it has been a three months journey to understand the reasons for so much homelessness in Manitoba.  Nancy Chippendale, an activist concerned about the needs of those experiencing homelessness approached me early last fall to say that we needed to look into the situation in Manitoba.   Nancy said " This winter, with the COVID-19 pandemic there are going to be unique challenges.   Many of the places people experiencing homelessness may be closed or inaccessible due to COVID-19."   We started the planning in October and in November  and December we talked to  many, many  people who are trying  to help those who are homeless. As well we talked to individuals with lived experience of being homeless.  With Nancy's help, I have learned a lot, and the result is this report.  The full report - titled "All the way home:  Ending 40+ years o

  On January 29, 2021 we released our Manitoba Liberal Caucus report on the state of support  for Manitoba's seniors.  The report focused particularly on the need for a Manitoba Seniors' Advocate and on the need for improvements in long term care facilities.  The Media release is below.  The report itself can be found by:clicking on this link.    The title of the report is Standing Up  for Seniors:  Ending 40+ years of Neglect.  Why Manitoba needs a Seniors' Advocate and a new model for Long Term Care.  Manitoba Liberals Release Report Detailing 40+ Years of Neglect in Seniors Care:   Seniors need Advocate, System Needs Reform Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB - The Manitoba Liberal Caucus released a report detailing 40+ years of warnings and reports of neglect by Manitoba Governments of the conditions in personal care homes they say contributed to the appalling Covid-19 death toll in personal care homes across the province. Of all OECD countries, Canada’s death rate

Today the Pallister  government released the report on the tragedy which occurred at the Maples personal care home in October  to December 2020.   There were far too many people infected with COVID-19 (73 staff and 157 residents) and far too many deaths (56).  It did not have to be this way.  The central finding of the report was: "The review found that while pandemic plans had  been prepared and were in place, the site was not prepared for the significant reduction in available staff once they had been  exposed to COVID-19  and were required to self-isolate.  In addition, the urgency of requests for additional on-site staffing supports were not  fully understood until the situation became critical.   While additional staff were brought in, many were not skilled in providing long-term care services and  lacked training in infection prevention and control and specialized housekeeping skills."    Five  months before, Manitoba Liberals had warned the Premier three times that pre