Dan Vandal

Modernizing our universal health-care system

I hear from our community every day how hard it is to find a family doctor; how emergency rooms are closing or wait times are incredibly long, sometimes with tragic results; how the need for mental health and substance use support far outweighs capacity. Our health-care system and workers are under enormous strain, a situation made worse by the pandemic, and needs immediate action.

Explaining the Canada Dental Benefit

Many Canadians have been struggling with the rising cost of living, and our government’s primary goal has been to make life more affordable for Canadian families. Many among us do not have dental insurance, and because dental care is expensive, one third of Canadians are unable to see a dentist and get the dental care they need.

Building a better future, together

At the end of October, together with colleagues from the federal government including the Prime Minister, I took part in the XXVII Triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians held by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress right here in Winnipeg. The theme was “Stronger Together” – and Manitobans understand how important it is to work together to build a strong community. We continue to welcome Ukrainians fleeing an unjust war to our province, as we support the government of Ukraine in resisting the Russian invasion of their country. The new Ukraine Sovereignty Bonds, just announced by our government, will allow all Canadians to invest in supporting and rebuilding Ukraine.

Battling our addiction and opioid crisis

On Friday, Aug. 26, I had the pleasure of visiting Morberg House, home of St. Boniface Street Links, to announce important funding to help address the overdose crisis in our city and province.

Welcoming Ukrainians to Manitoba

On May 23, colleagues and I welcomed 328 Ukraine nationals to Manitoba. This was the first of three federal charter flights to Canada; the others landed in Montréal on May 29 and in Halifax on June 2.

It was a very emotional time, seeing individuals and families who had travelled for hours and days to find safety within our borders. They received a warm welcome as members of Manitoba’s large Ukrainian community came out to meet them. Saint Boniface – Saint Vital is home to over 13,000 residents with Ukrainian heritage, many of whom have been supporting efforts to welcome refugees of the war in Ukraine.

In order to help Ukrainian refugees, we launched the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) for individuals fleeing Ukraine, which offers safe harbour for up to three years. As of May 25, Canada had approved more than 120,000 applications through CUAET. We have also expanded settlement services until March 31, 2023 for temporary residents under the CUAET. Key services include language training, orientation to life in Canada, and services to access the labour market.

In addition, we have extended temporary status and issued open work permits to Ukrainian visitors, workers and students who are in Canada and cannot go home.

Making child care affordable

Child care is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. The time for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system is now. Our government has successfully signed agreements with nine provinces and all three territories. Last August, we announced an agreement with Manitoba which will ensure that all families in the province have access to high-quality, affordable, and flexible early learning and child care. This means more child-care spaces and more early childhood educators for our province.Manitoba will receive a total of over $1.2 billion in federal funding over five years to significantly improve early learning and child care for children in the province:• Ensuring that Manitoba families have access to regulated child care for an average of $10 a day by 2023;• Increasing the number of child-care spaces in not‐for‐profit centres and homes by 23,000 by 2025-2026, including 1,700 extended hour child care spaces for families requiring child care in the evening and on weekends;• Increasing the number of child-care workers providing regulated child care by 15% by 2025-26• Introducing a wage grid to support the attraction and retention of early childhood educators;• Developing and funding a plan to ensure vulnerable communities have equitable access.This agreement builds on our prior investments in early learning and child care, including our agreement signed in 2018 with Manitoba for $47 million over three years to create 1,400 new and newly-funded spaces. This new, historic investment will drive economic growth, increase women’s participation in the workforce, and offer every child in Manitoba the best start in life. 

Child care is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. The time for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system is now. Our government has successfully signed agreements with nine provinces and all three territories. 

Last August, we announced an agreement with Manitoba which will ensure that all families in the province have access to high-quality, affordable, and flexible early learning and child care. This means more child-care spaces and more early childhood educators for our province.

Infrastructure builds communities

When we think about what builds a community, we first think of people. But there is also the large amount of infrastructure that surrounds it, things such as recreational centres, libraries, sidewalks, pathways, water and wastewater, transit and roads.

The Canada Community-Building Fund, formerly the Gas Tax Fund, provides communities across Manitoba with stable and flexible funding for their infrastructure priorities. This year, our government doubled the amount of funding allocated, which means that Manitoba has received $75.8 million for the 2021-22 fiscal year, and a top-up of more than $72.5 million.

Of this funding, Winnipeg will benefit from $46.4 million and a $44.4 million top-up, for a total of more than $90.8 million to help the City of Winnipeg maintain and improve its infrastructure. Municipalities allocate these funds to carry out infrastructure projects that support the well-being of their residents, and can use the funds immediately for priority projects, bank them for later use, pool the dollars with other communities for shared infrastructure projects, or use them to finance major infrastructure expenditures.

I am pleased to see the impact that the Canada Community-Building Fund is having in Saint Boniface – Saint Vital. It has helped fund important renovations at Bonivital Pool, major road renewal on streets like Archibald and Dunkirk, and a planned new splash pad at Champlain Community Centre.

A new vision for the Prairies

On Oct. 26, I was sworn in as Canada’s northern affairs minister, as well as minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the first-ever Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan).

The next day, I was sworn in as the member of Parliament for Saint Boniface – Saint Vital, a role in which I have had the privilege and honour of serving for the past six years.

PrairiesCan is a new regional development agency, born from the former Western Economic Diversification. It is dedicated solely to the Prairies and is intended to facilitate connections with local businesses and create greater agility to find solutions to the challenges. With more funding and points of service in the Prairies, it will improve access and collaboration between the federal government and businesses, academia, non-profits and other levels of government.

Earlier this month, I participated in the official opening of RRC Polytech’s new centre for innovation, Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, meaning ‘Where the Creator sits/Brings light’ in Anishinaabemowin.

Creating opportunities for seniors to connect

While this past year has been a very difficult one for everyone, it has been especially hard on seniors. Many seniors are feeling isolated, and keeping connected and engaged is a challenge.

Through initiatives such as the New Horizons for Seniors Program, we continue to provide support to seniors across Canada. The NHSP is a federal grants and contributions program whose goal is to support projects that empower seniors in their communities and to contribute to improving seniors’ health and well-being.

For example, last year NHSP funded the purchase of iPads at Meadowood Manor on St. Anne’s Road so that residents could stay in touch with family and friends. The supports they usually rely on — like family, friends and many community programs — can’t be there to help them the way they did before the pandemic. These iPads provided them the ability to connect, and their purchase was an example of how we adjusted the NHSP to respond to the new realities seniors are facing due to the pandemic.

Isolation disproportionately impacts seniors. Seniors who are socially isolated make more visits to emergency rooms, use more medication, fall more often and enter residential care sooner. That is why it is so important, now more than ever, to promote and facilitate social participation and inclusion.

Supporting municipal infrastructure

One of the main reasons I decided to run as for Parliament in 2015 was because I was seeing firsthand how the City of Winnipeg and municipalities across Canada needed strong partners at the provincial and federal levels to help with aging infrastructure.

From pools, community centres and libraries to roads and pathways, infrastructure is at the heart of our communities.

Last month, our government proposed a one-time investment of $2.2 billion that would help address infrastructure priorities in municipalities and Indigenous communities across Canada. The funds would flow through the federal gas tax fund.

This would double the federal government’s regular funding for municipalities in 2020-21 and it would provide much needed funding for communities across Manitoba to help reduce the risk of infrastructure projects being delayed or cancelled. This means that Manitoba municipalities would receive an additional $72.5 million in funding, for a total of $145 million in 2020-2021.

Supporting small businesses is key to recovery

Last week was Small Business Week in Canada, a time to recognize and support all the small businesses in Saint Boniface–Saint Vital and across Canada. Choosing to go out on your own to start up and run a small business takes hard work at the best of times — doing so in a global pandemic is an unprecedented challenge.

Small businesses are at the heart of our communities. They add vitality and colour to our neighbourhoods, and they employ our friends and neighbours. They are the lifeblood of our cities and towns across the country. These businesses are built on tenacity, sacrifice, and years of hard work.

Businesses have made incredible sacrifices over these last few months, and they continue to contribute to our communities every day. Small business owners have demonstrated true resilience amid COVID-19, and that is especially true in our community. They have been innovating and adapting their business models or looking to new markets for opportunities for growth.

Now more than ever, they need our support. Saint Boniface – Saint Vital is very fortunate to have a large number of great community-focused small businesses. From the shops on Provencher to the veterinarian in St. Vital, from the restaurant in Southdale to the bike shop on St. Mary’s Road. Whether you live in Island Lakes or Norwood Flats, we all have favourite local spots that need our support.

Supporting our local organizations

Over the past few months, we’ve seen how important our communities are to our well-being. We’ve been connecting virtually and now, thanks to the efforts of all Manitobans, we are able to start getting together in person to see the people we love and do the activities we are passionate about.

That’s why it is important to support local community infrastructure. Recently, I have been happy to announce funding for local initiatives that help our communities connect and grow.

A central part of our communities is our schools. Making our schools accessible to all is important, and I’m proud to have supported the efforts by the Nordale School Parent Advisory Group and administration with a grant of $35,000 through the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF).

Another important hub for our communities are our community centres. They provide welcoming spaces for young and old to laugh, play and meet new friends.

Helping seniors in our community

On Jan.21, I joined my colleague Deb Schulte, minister of seniors, at the Southdale Community Centre to announce $24,373 in funding to help the centre make its programs more accessible for seniors with disabilities.

Southdale C.C. is an important hub for our riding, offering programming for residents in Southdale, Island Lakes, Royalwood and Sage Creek. Under the leadership of Patricia Elliot, chair of the Southdale Seniors, Southdale C.C. has extensive programming for seniors, including yoga, strength training, low impact cardio, card games, and social events.

As Tamara Bauknecht, general manager of Southdale C.C. highlighted, it boasts one of the largest seniors groups in Winnipeg. This funding, provided through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program, will enable Southdale to improve accessibility so that even more seniors can access their programming.

The goal of the New Horizons for Seniors program (NHSP) is to support projects that help improve the well-being of seniors and foster their social inclusion and engagement in all aspects of Canadian society. Over the past few years, several projects in Saint Boniface – Saint Vital have benefitted from NHSP funding, including the Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre, Vital Seniors of Winnipeg and the Tamil Cultural Society of Manitoba.

New year, new role

The past year has certainly been a busy one!

As you may know, I was recently appointed Minister of Northern Affairs. I am honoured and excited to take on this new role. I wanted to write a bit more about how this new role will complement my most important role as your Member of Parliament.

This month, I have travelled to our Northern Territories and to Churchill to meet with local leaders, stakeholders and community members to better understand the issues that are a priority to them. As the new Minister of Northern Affairs, it is important for me to hear from them so that I can ensure that the work we undertake responds to their needs and priorities.

It is similar to the work I do as your MP: in order to be an effective voice for you in the House of Commons and at the Cabinet table, I need to hear from you and meet with you to hear those concerns and suggestions. That’s why it is important for me to continue to attend our community events — from the Breakfasts with Santa to the Canada Day celebrations, each of these allows me to connect with you, the residents of Saint Boniface – Saint Vital.