Happy New Year everyone, I hope the holidays were a wonderful chance to spend time with family and unwind.
2023 will be an exciting year for me as your MLA, as I have the opportunity to see our community continue to grow and thrive after the many challenges of the past few years.
I am also excited as we have entered the last year of the current legislative session before the general election scheduled for October 2023, and I will be fighting hard for our communities until the very last moment! Working as your MLA for Thompson has been such an amazing experience so far. I’ve received a great deal of love and support from our community and have learned new perspectives on the challenges our communities face.
Unfortunately, under the Progressive Conservative government led by Heather Stefanson, many issues that we face in the north are being ignored. For example, the maintenance and clearing of roads and highways in the north has consistently fallen short, a fact that was highlighted this holiday season. The PCs have failed to fill highway staff positions across the province, which has led to our highways not being cleared in a timely manner, leading to more dangerous driving conditions. The provincial government should take road and highway safety seriously and act to fill vacant maintenance and snow clearing positions. The PCs should also stop their cuts to maintenance and snow clearing so that all Manitobans are safe on our roads. Safe roads are important not only for the safety of Manitobans, but also for the health of our economy. Fewer road closures due to poor conditions leads to easier transport of goods and services, which increases economic activity.
Having lived in the north for my whole life, I’ve seen the danger of uncleared highways first hand, as I’m sure many of you have. Without proper funding and urgent action by the provincial government, uncleared and poorly maintained highways will become more common, putting drivers and our economy at risk.
The NDP caucus will continue to fight for proper investment in northern infrastructure and road safety. We will continue to hold the PC government to account for their neglect, austerity, and poor decisions that have made life less affordable and endangered the lives of Northern Manitobans.
I continue to look forward to seeing many of you in the community during the legislative break, so please do not hesitate to reach out over the coming weeks by calling my office at 204-677-4789, reaching us by email at [email protected], or coming to see us at 402-79 Selkirk Avenue in Thompson.
