Preventing the use of social circumstances including poverty as a reason for taking a child from its parents.

Tuesday November 6th, I spoke in the Manitoba Legislature on Bill 223, the Child and Family Services Amendment Act. This bill will ensure that no child will be taken into care solely as a result of the economic or social situation of the child's parent or guardian. My comments are below:

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Point Douglas (Mrs. Smith) for bringing this forward. It is an important bill. When I was first elected in 1999, I was told that about a third of the children taken from families didn't need to be in care because it was just an issue of social circumstances and poverty that could've been helped.

Over the last 19 years it was very frustrating that this was never adequately addressed and so that we ended up with about 11,000 kids in care, and probably about 85 per cent of them on the basis of neglect, and many of those due to social and economic circumstances.

There needs to be, clearly, from the government's side, a plan to support families who are in difficult economic and social circumstances, so that when you have a child not coming into care, there needs to be an alternative that needs to be vigorous and strong.

I thank the member for Point Douglas and hope that we can pass this through.

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Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.

Being able to participate matters - Let’s build a more inclusive, accessible Manitoba

Too often, our homes, buildings, and outdoor spaces are designed without sufficient consideration given to how they will impact little people, those with large bodies, or those with disabilities. Manitoba should become a leader in designing and building new structures so they’re comfortable and accessible to all. Further, the province needs to do more to adapt our existing infrastructure, so that it meets everyone’s needs. The design of our built environment makes daily living a challenge for too many. A friend, who uses a wheelchair, must call ahead wherever she goes to ensure she can enter a restaurant, store, salon, etc. A young person in River Heights has a struggle each fall to make sure that with his cerebral palsy he is able to get the support he needs to do well in school. A large-bodied man I know has been bedridden for five months because he lacks access to a usable lift or wheelchair. Samantha Trubyk, President of the Little People ...

The Gerrard Report

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