Skip to main content

A question on the government's inaction with respect to the strike at the University of Manitoba

 On Wednesday November 24th, with the strike causing chaos at the University of Manitoba, I asked why the government was not doing more to ensure professors can return to work at the University of Manitoba. My question and the response from the Minister of Education are below. 

Uni­ver­sity of Manitoba Labour Dispute
Impact on Students and Staffing

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Madam Speaker, for 22 days, a strike has been causing chaos at the Uni­ver­sity of Manitoba. Major researchers and teachers are so upset with the chaos, uncertainty and lack of support from this gov­ern­ment that some are con­sid­ering going elsewhere.

      Recruitment has been extremely difficult because of the uncertainty and the lack of support for the uni­ver­sity and its star teachers and researchers by this gov­ern­ment. Students are caught in the middle of the chaos created by this gov­ern­ment. The Premier has had 22 days in office as Premier to provide the leadership and to end the chaos. She has not.

      Why has the Premier failed to act to show support for exceptional teachers and researchers and for the students at the Uni­ver­sity of Manitoba?

Hon. Wayne Ewasko (Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration): Madam Speaker, I understand that the member never lets facts get in the way of his rhetoric.

      Will he and his party stand up today and confirm that both sides should be listening to the mediator, end the strike imme­diately and resolve their differences through binding arbitration?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it.  The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives.  The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support).  It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive

Manitoba Liberal accomplishments

  Examples of Manitoba Liberal accomplishments in the last three years Ensured that 2,000 Manitoba fishers were able to earn a living in 2020   (To see the full story click on this link ). Introduced a bill that includes retired teachers on the Pension Investment Board which governs their pension investments. Introduced amendments to ensure school aged children are included in childcare and early childhood education plans moving forward. Called for improvements in the management of the COVID pandemic: ·          We called for attention to personal care homes even before there was a single case in a personal care home. ·            We called for a rapid response team to address outbreaks in personal care homes months before the PCs acted.  ·          We called for a science-based approach to preparing schools to   improve ventilation and humidity long before the PCs acted. Helped hundreds of individuals with issues during the pandemic including those on social assistance

The Indigenous Science Conference in Winnipeg June 14-16

  June 14 to 16, I spent three days at the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference.  It was very worthwhile.   Speaker after speaker talked of the benefits of using both western or mainstream science and Indigenous science.  There is much we can learn from both approaches.   With me above is Myrle Ballard, one of the principal organizers of the conference.  Myrle Ballard, from Lake St. Martin in Manitoba, worked closely with Roger Dube a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others to make this conference, the first of its kind, a success.  As Roger Dube, Mohawk and Abenaki, a physicist, commented "My feeling is that the fusion of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science methodology should rapidly lead the researchers to much more holistic solutions to problems."   Dr. Myrle Ballard was the first person from her community to get a PhD.  She is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba and the Director of Indigenous Science