Cindy Lamoureux

Our health-care system is essential to a functioning province and that is why our health-care workers deserve to be treated fairly and with the utmost respect. Furthermore, they deserve to be properly thanked and acknowledged for the work they have been doing and continue to do to keep Manitobans safe and healthy.

For nearly two years now, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, people working in our health-care system have been forced to work long shifts, put themselves in vulnerable situations and sacrificed so much of their own lives. They workers have given time, put themselves at greater health risks and sacrificed not being at home with their families as much. We all need to be concerned that our health-care workers are not overcome by pandemic fatigue.

I believe that sometimes it can be easy for us to take our health-care system for granted. Many of us who were born and raised here in Canada have never feared not being able to access health-care resources. Today that is changing — just look at the growing number of procedures being delayed because of COVID. The pandemic means our resources are sparse, and we all need to do our part in this pandemic by trying our best not to spread the virus. Being fully vaccinated and getting a booster shot is important — but we can still do more.

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, it is important that we prevent our hospitals from becoming overrun and having to send patients out of province. This means we must be careful and continue to follow public health orders, even though I know we are so tired from the past two years.

Over the last year, I have been working towards the provincial government passing important legislation that would mandate provincially appointed judges to take formal courses dealing with sexual assault.

A similar bill was introduced nationally for federal judges, and it is important that Manitoba follows suit as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, sexual assaults continue to happen across the country, including here in Manitoba. As a result, many cases end up in the courts and we must ensure that those making life-changing decisions are educated and equipped to deal with them in a professional and sensitive manner.

Last year, I introduced Bill 215, which would ensure that all individuals being considered as judges complete education in sexual assault law. The bill also requires the chief judge to establish and implement a continuing education program for judges and judicial justices of the peace. The program would be made public and would be reviewed annually to ensure accountability.

The continuing discoveries of children’s bodies in unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools in Canada has sparked a lot of conversation. We are certainly way past due for real action and reconciliation, which is why all governments and elected officials must do their part to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada.

I believe there are various ways we can approach this, but here are a few working ideas in which I would like to hear back about:

As many of you know, my father, who is the MP for Winnipeg North, and I host a Canada Day celebration for our community every year. Over the years, we have hosted several Indigenous performers who have been amazing. However, I believe we need to go beyond celebrating Indigenous culture through performances and do even more. We need to be creating the opportunity for elders and those in the performance groups to talk, teach and connect with others in attendance. One way of doing this would be by creating an education segment in our agenda.

Furthermore, with respect to Canada Day specifically, I would like to set up an area where people can come to learn about our history — including residential schools. My hope is that this will provide an opportunity for more people to learn about Canada’s true history.

Getting vaccinated is very important not only for you as an individual, but for all of us as a community.

I understand there are concerns and for some, these concerns are factoring into decisions around receiving the vaccine. If you are feeling concerned, please speak with a health-care professional because vaccines are safe, effective, and our new normal begins when we have reached our maximum number of people being vaccinated.

Manitoba vaccination rates are doing well, and chances are by the time you are reading this, you will be eligible to make an appointment.

All of Tyndall Park falls under community-based eligibility, which means everyone who is 12 and older, or working in specified jobs in the area, is now eligible to apply for and receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

The provincial government released its 2021 budget on April 7, and what I am hearing from the residents in Tyndall Park is that there was a lot missing in terms of addressing the needs of Manitobans during a pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, it has become evident that we need more money invested in our mental health resources. More attention needs to be brought to a Pharmacare program ensuring Manitobans are not having to choose between shelter, food and prescribed medications. And it is imperative that nurses have a new contract, as they have been working without one for over four years.

The budget also does not address the needs of Manitoba’s early childhood education and K to 12 education system. It is going to be critical to our post-pandemic recovery that families can go back to work and right now, these resources are not in place.

Our K to 12 teachers and school administrators have gone above and beyond and done an incredible job of adapting to keep students safe and educated. In meetings with several school divisions, we have heard they are facing significant shortfalls — including being able to adequately assist children with learning disabilities. Yet recently, the premier said he thinks it’s right for teachers to have to spend their own money on supplies for their classrooms. This statement is completely unacceptable.

Living in a pandemic for the last year has highlighted our health system and the incredible work our health-care providers and administrators do every day in our hospitals, long-term care homes, clinics and more.

For myself, it has further highlighted what our province could be doing to better support those in our health-care fields as well as Manitobans who struggle to afford prescribed medications.

This is why it is critical that as a province we start pushing for a national pharmacare program.

For those not familiar with the idea, this would be a prescription medication insurance for all, whereby all Canadians would have access to prescribed medication based on their needs.

A few weeks ago, the provincial government announced the Caregiver Wage Support and the Manitoba Bridge grant.

Many of you reached out to express your concerns about being deemed ineligible, despite how essential your hard work is during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is extremely disappointing to see so many of our essential workers not receiving the recognition or support they need.

The Caregiver Wage Support program should include health-care workers such as nurses, medical assistants and receptionists, dentists and dental assistants, front-line lab workers, lab technicians and technologists, pharmacy employees, home care workers and attendants, residential support workers, dietary aides, care home nurses and support staff. It should also include child-care workers such as teachers, special education staff, administrators, educational assistants, early child-care workers, and custodial staff.

Recent public health orders have made it very difficult for businesses to stay afloat. At such a turbulent time in our economy, we must stand up for independent and small businesses. They are the backbone to our economy and play a huge role in making Manitoba the beautiful province that it is.

November was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time when we look at going the extra mile to raise the profile of the consequences of domestic violence.

On Nov. 18, I introduced legislation in the Manitoba Legislature that would mandate provincial-appointed judges to take a formal course dealing with sexual assault. It also proposes that the Criminal Code require judges to provide their reasons for the decisions made in sexual assault proceedings.

I am hopeful that this legislation will gain the unanimous support of all parties. National legislation calls for federal judges to show they have participated in a program related to an understanding of the myths and stereotypes of sexual assaults.

Similar legislation has been passed in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador and we need to have it passed here, too, as Manitoba still has an exceptionally high rate of domestic violence and the numbers are getting worse under current pandemic restrictions.

Over the past few weeks the idea of having a seniors’ advocate in Manitoba has gained a lot of traction.

I want to use this as an opportunity to share with you how this idea came to light and why I believe Manitoba could greatly benefit from having a seniors’ advocate.

Prior to being an MLA, I worked for the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba. This is where I first started learning about the issues facing seniors here in our province. When I was elected in 2016, I continued to learn from constituents who are seniors about concerns related to home  care visits, needed renovations, prescription medications, ambulance fees and placement in care homes.

Home care visits take place all over the world and I have come to understand that some of Manitoba’s issues with home care could be better prevented. For example, home-care workers should not have to rush from one side of the city to the other within a 30-minute time span. Some workers are feeling too rushed and some individuals receiving home care are unsatisfied with the care they receive.

With the school year starting up, a lot of parents, teachers and students have been feeling a wide range of emotions, specifically in relation to COVID-19. 

I want to use this opportunity to share some information I gathered from a meeting I had a couple of weeks ago with the minister and deputy minister of education.

During this meeting I asked a total of 36 questions that were submitted to me from constituents. The Q-and-A is posted on my social media, but for the sake of this column, I am going to condense the answers.

Children with underlying conditions or allergies: If a child has an underlying health condition and a note from their physician advising they not return to school, schools are able to use discretion for distance learning if the school has the resources. Parents and teachers can work to ensure children can do their schooling from home. If a student has allergy symptoms, it will be at the teacher’s discretion to send that child home.

Over the last few months, many constituents have called my office about past and current programs offered my provincial and federal governments.

Because of this, I want to use this opportunity to share some answers as well as ways to reach out to me if you have further questions or thoughts to share.

Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — Many Canadians have lost income because of the COVID-19 pandemic. CERB has been implemented for those whose hours have been affected and may need help making ends meet. CERB is still open if you have lost your job due to the pandemic. You can continue to collect as long as you are making an active effort to find employment.Risk recognition — The risk recognition program provided a one-time payment to eligible essential front-line workers who took extraordinary risks to make sure that Manitobans are safe and had their needs met. This program has now closed. The deadline was June 29 and you can no longer apply. If for whatever reason you applied successfully and had not received your money by Aug. 7, please contact 1-888-805-7554. Child tax benefit (CCB) — This past May, there was federal a top-up for the CCB. This meant an extra $300 per child for 2019-20. This was a one-time payment. This past July, the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit increased once again to keep pace with the cost of living. A calculator to estimate the increase can be found here: https://biturl.top/vI32aqDisability credit — People with disabilities have been facing additional challenges through this pandemic. If you are already receiving a disability tax credit or you will be applying for one before Sept 25, you may be eligible for up to $600.Senior rebate — Seniors, those 65 years or older, were eligible to receive a $200 cheque from the provincial government. Unfortunately, you can no longer apply as the deadline has passed. If you did not receive a cheque in May or June, you can claim the senior rebate on your 2020 tax return. Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) boost — If you were receiving OAS, you were eligible for a one-time payment of $300. If you were receiving GIS you were eligible for $200. If you were receiving both OAS and GIS, you were eligible for $500. Unfortunately, this program is now closed and you can no longer apply. My hope is that by providing some of this information, I am able to answer some of your questions.

With that said, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at cindy@gocindy.ca or by calling 204-615-9961.

All of our lives have been impacted over these last few months, some in very intense and severe ways, others more subtly.

COVID-19 has created social distancing and many practices that have meant lack of human contact. The loss of  regular activities and pastimes has been exasperated by the fear of being infected by the novel coronavirus or knowing someone who has been affected by it. With all of these components, if you feel your mental health has been affected please know that you are not alone.

It is critical that we are practising compassion. I also think it is important to reinforce the basics: make sure you’re getting enough sleep, create a disciplined schedule for yourself, eat healthy. Get outside when possible. It is also important to be kind to yourself and compassionate to others. If you’re in need of additional resources, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office or a public resource right here in Tyndall Park, such as Norwest Access Centre at 795 Keewatin St., 204-938-5900.

Every day I have been receiving inquiries about CERB, flight itineraries, gardening centres, PPE, and more. I want to send a huge thank you to my constituents who have taken the time to reach out. I am honoured to represent Tyndall Park and contribute to our community positively in anyway I can.

I am sure anyone reading this has already read a lot of news regarding the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19. I wanted to use my column this month to talk about the virus, precautions we can be taking, and information that is important to know; What is coronavirus (CoV)?According to the World Health Organization, CoV “are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).”

Common signs of infection:According to the Government of Canada website: “Those who are infected with COVID-19 may have little to no symptoms. You may not know you have symptoms of COVID-19 because they are similar to a cold or flu.

"Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to COVID-19. This is the longest-known infectious period for this disease. Scientists are currently investigating if the virus can be transmitted to others if someone is not showing symptoms. While experts believe that it is possible, it is considered to be rare at this point.

"Symptoms have included: fever, cough, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia in both lungs. In severe cases, infection can lead to death. Those most at risk are those with an already compromised immune system.”