Seasons greetings, everyone! As the holidays arrive, I wanted to provide a “year-end” update to the community on some of the things that I have worked on in the legislature.
My first session as the MLA for Thompson began at the tail end of September, and it was truly a whirlwind from the beginning until its end in early December. I witnessed the Progressive Conservative government reject Manitobans’ requests for more affordability measures, refuse to officially recognize Orange Shirt Day in the spirit of reconciliation, and saw them continue down the regressive path that Brian Pallister set them on.
I advocated on behalf of our community by raising concerns about the deteriorating state of healthcare in the north under the PC government. Staffing and funding shortages in northern healthcare have been a severe problem for years and the PCs refuse to take action to fix it. The PCs cut the Thompson foot care clinic and privatized LifeFlight, which provided essential life-saving air ambulance services. I raised these issues repeatedly in the legislature and have continued to push for action since then.
I also presented a private member’s resolution in the legislature calling for the PCs to adequately fund the new Thompson aquatic centre, as the city has gone without one for the last three years. It took many years, and many community members demanding movement on this issue, for the government to commit to providing funding for the new aquatic centre and, even then, the funds offered were not adequate.
On Nov. 15, the PCs shared their speech from the throne. Unfortunately, the throne speech was a doubling down of the poor decisions and neglect of northern communities from the PCs. Northern Manitoba received very little attention in the throne speech, just as it has received very little attention since the PCs took office. I responded to the throne speech in the legislature on Nov. 21 and have continued to fight for the PCs to address northern issues since then.
As 2022 comes to a close, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and the warmest regards for the New Year. I look forward to seeing many of you in the community in the days and weeks to come, 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 Eric.Redhead@yourmanitoba.ca, or coming to see us at 402-79 Selkirk Avenue in Thompson. Thank you all for a wonderful year!
