The Gerrard Report

Tuesday July 23rd was the Youth Parliament "Speaker's Night" dinner.    Abilgail Theano-Pudwill did an excellent job as Master of Ceremonies. Deborah Tsao, Premier of the Youth Parliament for this year spoke to thank all those who contributed to making the dinner a success.  Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg talked about her background as an ecologist studying freshwater ecosystems, and how it has influenced her approach to her time in government in Alberta and her time at the University of Winnipeg. 

Monday July 22 Dougald Lamont presented Young Liberal Scholarships to two worthy students, Rashawna Blair and Tristan Miles Malcolm.  Rashawna Blair will continue her education at the University of Manitoba this coming year.   She emphasized, in her essay, the need to pay attention to health and the environment and to helping students learn about cultural diversity during their school years. Tristan Miles Malcolm will be attending Red River College this coming year.   He emphasized the need to expand and improve social housing in Manitoba, and the need to implement a better plan to address climate change.  Naomi Gerrard was the Master of Ceremonies for the Event.   She and Nora Fien did an excellent job of coordinating the Young Liberal Scholarship program. 

Dougald Lamont spoke earlier today at a news conference beside the Manitoba Legislature on the Manitoba Liberal Party plan for a full tax review.   Dougald Lamont's speech is below:  We’re here on Treaty one territory, the ancestral lands of the anishnaabe and the homeland of the Métis people. Today we’re going to talk about what a Manitoba Liberal government would do about taxes. Now we want to be clear: we believe that for Manitoba to grow and prosper, to keep people here and to attract more to come, we need to focus on opportunity. That means investment in growing businesses, and making sure government is there to support families, communities and the economy with quality education, health care, and infrastructure. Opportunity is what moves people. Manitobans did not move to Fort McMurray because of Alberta’s low taxes, they moved because of the work. So that’s why Manitoba Liberals are focused on investing in Manitoba businesses. We have announced a bu

Yesterday, July 26, Dougald Lamont and the Manitoba Liberal Party released our "Buy Local" strategy.   The press release and backgrounder are below:  Manitoba Liberals “Buy Local” Strategy Will Boost Grassroots Economic Growth WINNIPEG - A Manitoba Liberal Government will boost Manitoba businesses and local economies by running a province-wide “shop local” campaign and introducing procurement policies to make it easier for local businesses to sell to the Manitoba Government. Dougald Lamont, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, said a Manitoba Liberal Government will work together with chambers of commerce to develop a marketing and advertising campaign that would encourage Manitobans to take pride in doing business at locally owned businesses  —  whether it is in buying products services, arts, sports, entertainment, or tourism.  “When we stay local, shop local, and support local entrepreneurs everywhere across the province, it will make a big impact on our eco

Friday July 19th I was with Jim Carr at the River Heights Farmers' Market in the parking lot of the River Heights site of the Corydon Community Centre (at the corner of Oak St. and Grosvenor Ave). It was a good opportunity to pick up vegetables, flax bread and blueberry pie for the weekend.   Stefan Regnier, a farmer from near St. Francois Xavier, shows his bags (below) - which look like plastic bags, but which are not.   They are made from material which is biodegradable and compostible.   Stefan Regnier also uses containers for his tasty small tomatoes which look like plastic but are not (below).   They, like his bags, are biodegradable and compostible.

Tuesday July 16, I attended a workshop "Making Space for Change: The Story of Manitoba's Rent Assist Benefit"   The program highlighted the positive benefits of the rent assist program.  The dramatic cuts by the Pallister government to the amount of support to many families were also shown (graph below).  In the example shown, the Pallister Conservatives cut $190.30 per month from the rent assist contribution for a two parent family with 3 children whose income was at the market basket measure of poverty.   This is a cut of $2283.60 per year for such families under the Pallister Conservatives. 

This afternoon, Dougald Lamont announced our Liberal plan to address the addictions including the meth crisis.   The press release and backgrounder are below.  Manitoba Liberals Announce Plan for Addictions in Manitoba BRANDON  - Alongside Kim Longstreet, Liberal Candidate for Brandon East, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont announced  today  the Liberal plan for the addictions crisis plaguing Manitoba communities. Meth addiction is a fast-moving epidemic and Manitoba is stuck reacting in slow motion. “We haven’t heard a word on prevention from the Pallister Government. All the emphasis from the PCs and NDP has been on dealing with people in the throes of full-blown addiction with no emphasis on prevention,” said Lamont.  “We need to divert people from taking meth in the first place and make sure they can get treatment they need to recover.”  A Manitoba Liberal Government will use a portion of the revenue from legal cannabis to implement the following: Prevention

This morning Dougald Lamont and the Manitoba Liberals announced a new and better approach to managing health care in Manitoba - one that is more responsive to patient and community needs. The press release and backgrounder is below.  Rebuilding Our Health System: Manitoba Liberals Release Plan to Rebuild Community Health Care  WINNIPEG  – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont outlined his party’s plan to stabilize and rebuild Manitoba’s health care system  today . Lamont said that a Manitoba Liberal Government will end decades of overcentralized power in the hands of RHAs by merging them back with Manitoba Health and return greater control and decision-making to the local level across the province  —   community hospitals, clinics and personal care homes. “Even as the Pallister Government is closing ERs, urgent cares and front-line workers are losing their jobs, the Pallister government is creating another, fourth level of bureaucracy, ‘Shared Services’,” said L