Rochelle Squires

Plenty to be happy about in 2023

Happy new year! I wish all of you an amazing 2023!

’Tis the season for loving and sharing

As our community’s winter traditions and festivities begin, I wish all of you the season’s best and a very Merry Christmas. Acceptez mes vœux les plus chaleureux pour un joyeux saison.

Connecting with the community

As the summer comes to a close, I cannot help but express my gratitude to the beautiful community of Riel for their resilience over these past two years.

A busy December, and a sad farewell

Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone.

What a year it has been. There have been many highlights and moments to celebrate — particularly when we saw our Winnipeg Blue Bombers bring home the Grey Cup for the second time in a row — but there have been struggles too as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge us all.

I hope that you and your loved ones have been able to spend time together safely to celebreate the season.

December is always a busy month, and top of the list is getting the word out about the Building Sustainable Communities intake happening now. Applications for community development grants of up to $300,000 are being accepted until Jan. 17, 2022, from non-profit and charitable organizations, as well as municipalities.

Supporting those living with disabilities

Nearly one in six people in our province live with disabilities, and in honour of supporting inclusion, our government shone a blue and purple spotlight on the Manitoba Legislature to mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October.

On Oct. 29, I was thrilled to attend a work-site at the Red River Co-op food store in Riel with an admirable individual during Take Your MLA to Work Day. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time on the job with such an enthusiastic employee and this was a testament to the significant contributions made by Manitobans with disabilities in inclusive workforces throughout Manitoba.

Earlier this month, our government wrapped up the condensed two-week sitting of the third session of the 42nd Legislature. During this short session, we successfully passed Bill 72, the Disability Support Act and amendments to the Manitoba Assistance Act.

This legislation to support the development of a new income support program for individuals living with severe and prolonged disabilities has been one of my personal priorities since moving into the Families portfolio. After the legislation passed, I had the honour of participating in the royal assent ceremony in my capacity as deputy premier to declare this bill as legislation.

Take time to discuss truth and reconciliation

Earlier this year, Canada declared Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and I am proud to say that our government announced that Manitoba would be recognizing the week of Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 as Truth and Reconciliation Week. This week was declared to bring awareness to the history of Indigenous peoples and to honour survivors of residential schools, their families, their communities and all of those who never made it home.

On Sept. 30, with my family by my side, I participated in a healing walk hosted by survivors beginning at the Museum of Human Rights, and ending at St. John’s Park. This was a valuable learning experience for me, as I had the chance to listen and learn from knowledge keepers, elders and survivors about our collective responsibility to acknowledge and learn from the mistakes of our past.

We also had the opportunity to attend Orange Shirt Day activities and ceremonies at the Manitoba Museum. My grandson Theo had a fantastic time exploring the exhibits. This was an incredible day, and I would recommend that everyone take every opportunity to surround themselves with people brave enough to face the systemic racism rooted in our country’s past, and to discuss opportunities to move forward in the future.

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Manitoba on the precipice of something historic

As the 60th woman ever to get elected to the Manitoba legislature, and as one of a few dozen women ever to hold a cabinet position in the province of Manitoba, I write this column with a clear bias of wanting to improve outcomes for women and to see more women than ever succeed in leadership roles.

Why is this so important to me? Well, it’s not because I don’t like men in leadership roles. In fact, I can point to numerous men and countless decisions made here in our great province that were the result of male leadership.

But I also believe women bring a different perspective, and one that is perhaps more reflective of 51 per cent of our population. I am also committed to the notion that a more balanced approach can lead to better outcomes for everyone in society.

As the former status of women minster and as one who has been advancing women’s issues for several years, it’s fair to ask: have we moved the dial at all? Are we closer to parity? And the answer is—no!

Restrictions ease but we must still help others

Congratulations, Manitoba! We are leading the country in vaccination rates, and because of this, we are able to move forward with a re-opening plan that includes getting back to the things we love with the people we love. Restaurants, wedding, fitness centers, movie theatres, and so much more, are open and excited to greet us all.

While we still have to be cautious, as this pandemic is not entirely in our rear view mirror, we have much to be hopeful for. I look forward to resuming in-person events and meetings, and seeing you all soon.

Although homelessness and the plight of those without homes might seem more visible at this time of year, it is a problem for many people all year long who are precariously housed or experiencing homelessness.

That is why, last year alone, the Progressive Conservative government invested more than $28 million in shelter spaces and we are moving forward with a renewed strategy to find permanent housing solutions with wraparound mental health supports, as well as offering a rent bank to prevent homelessness for those who are experiencing financial difficulties.

Local organizations receive project grants

I am very pleased to say that we have hit our Phase 2 reopening vaccine milestone of 75 per cent first doses and 50 per cent second doses weeks before our Aug. 2 deadline.

With this exciting news, new public health orders will be coming this week. If you are still looking for an opportunity to get vaccinated, walk-in Pfizer and Moderna doses will be available at every vaccine supersite in the province starting Wed., July 14.

As we start to rebuild our economy beyond this pandemic, our government understands the importance of boosting community organizations and investing in local projects that will help build thriving, sustainable communities for everyone’s benefit.

That is why the Building Sustainable Communities program has been expanded for 2021 with up to $13 million available to support 305 community development projects from across the province.

Collège Jeanne-Sauvé soon to expand

The long awaited expansion to Collège Jeanne-Sauvé is happening.

On April 23, I was very pleased to announce our government will provide nearly $10 million in capital funding to College Jeanne-Sauvé for expansions to their school. These upgrades include 16 new classrooms, a science lab, and a new fitness and wellness centre.

This investment is the result of many years of hard work by many stakeholders, and I am very excited to see this project come to fruition. I was joined for this announcement at the school by Louis Riel School Division superintendent Christian Michalik, LRSD board chair Louise Johnston, Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital), Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River), and Alain Michilak, principal of CJS.

As sunny summer weather is on the horizon, I am pleased to announce there are a few organizations in my constituency that will be receiving grant funding through our governments Green Team program.

Budget news and a big thank you

I want to say a big thank you to all those who donated to my clothing and food drive last month.

Thanks to the generosity and kindness of the Riel community, I was able to deliver over 30 bags of clothing to the North End Women’s Centre and Centre Flavie-Laurent. I was also able to deliver over 100 pounds of food to Manitoba Harvest. I am very honoured to be able to represent such a caring and generous community in the Manitoba legislature.

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On April 7, our government presented the 2021 provincial budget. Our government’s priority has been to protect Manitobans throughout the pandemic and to plan for our economic recovery once it’s over.

Tell us how to strengthen the childcare system

A strong, accessible and affordable childcare system is the hallmark of any good community. I know personally that if it weren’t for many dedicated childcare workers and a strong sector, I never would have been able to pursue my career goals or enter the labour market to the extent that I was able to do so.. For that, I say thank you to everyone who is engaged in the sector.

Our Manitoba government is committed to improving the system so that it is able to adapt and change to the emerging needs of our diverse community, as well as able to attract, recruit and retain a dedicated workforce.

To that end, we are asking for your input on how to strengthen the sector. If you are a parent or guardian with a child or children up to the age of 12, we want to hear from you.

Go to www.engagemb.ca/childcare-modernization to participate in the survey today. We are seeking feedback until March 1, and afterwards will be sharing with you the information we obtained on how best to make improvement.

Thank you for helping flatten the curve

Congratulations and thank you to each and every Manitoban who has been helping flatten the curve by following public health orders.

Recently, we heard from nearly 70,000 people regarding modest changes to public health orders. As a result, we are taking a cautious approach to re-opening by allowing retail stores to operate at 25 per cent capacity, allowing personal services such as barber shops and hair salons to reopen at 25 per cent capacity, and allowing visitation with two additional people in a household.

 “As we look at ways to gradually ease restrictions on the way Manitobans socialize and do business, we must always consider the needs of our health-care system and our vulnerable communities, we cannot lose sight of the progress we have made over the last 10 weeks, which is why it is crucial that Manitobans continue to follow the fundamentals as we move forward through this pandemic,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer.

Our province is working hard to plan and prepare for a massive immunization campaign but the level of uncertainty caused by missed or reduced vaccine shipments will affect our work in the weeks ahead. That being said, you can rest assured that we are fully equipped to adjust to the changing circumstances.

Thank you for the sacrifices of 2020

As we approach the end of what has been, for many, a very difficult year, I want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you who have endured personal sacrifice for the betterment of all.

Each time you have chosen to stay home, to wear your mask, to shop local using curbside or online methods, and to self-isolate when feeling unwell, you’ve placed others ahead of yourself. I know that none of this has been easy, but to quote one of my favourite authors, Glennon Doyle, “We can do hard things!”

As we have all worked to protect the health-care system and each other, we have had to compromise and sacrifice. For that, I want to offer you my heartfelt gratitude.

I am also pleased to tell you that hope is on the horizon. As many of you know, on Dec. 14, we began our unprecedented COVID-19 vaccine clinic. We received our first trays of the recently approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and used all those doses to inoculate our frontline health-care workers. As we continue to receive doses of approved vaccines (at the time of writing, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been approved, while Moderna’s approval was imminent) we will continue to follow the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on immunization by prioritizing front-line workers and high-risk individuals.

Coping with COVID-19 in Riel

Manitoba has experienced an increase in COVID-19 case numbers in these last few weeks. On Nov. 12, the province moved to the critical level (red) on the #RestartMB pandemic response system to halt transmission and protect Manitoba’s most vulnerable citizens.

Throughout the pandemic, our government has been working hard to protect Manitoba’s front-line workers and to help businesses, non-profit and charitable organizations get through this very challenging time.

On Nov. 16, our government announced a new bridge grant, which will provide a $5,000 grant to eligible small and medium-sized businesses and organizations that were required to fully close their premises to the public to comply with the Manitoba COVID-19 public health orders. The list includes non-essential retailers, restaurants, recreation and sport facilities, museums and galleries, theatres and concert halls, not-for-profit organizations, faith-based organizations and registered charities.

The full list and application criteria are available on the program page at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/programs/bridge-grant.html

Stay vigilant, keep doing the right thing

The weather is getting colder and we are spending more time indoors, which also increases the risk of the spread of COVID-19.

We have seen our numbers increasing but we are not helpless to slow the spread of COVID-19. We did this in this in the spring and we can do it again. I want to thank everyone in the community who is complying with our public health orders and making sacrifices to keep themselves and their neighbours safe.

Our government has increased the number of testing sites and increased the number of tests being done. We have also collaborated with Red River College to get health care students trained to administer COVID-19 tests. Red River College is on track to train over 180 health-care professionals and students to safely perform sample collections at authorized COVID-19 test sites. People can find a testing centre by calling toll-free 1-855-268-4318 or visiting gov.mb.ca/covid19/updates/testing/html.

I would also like to thank Dakota Medical Centre for stepping up to be the first community clinic to offer community-based, doctor’s office COVID-19 testing. It is fantastic to see this kind of collaboration between our government and Doctors Manitoba.

Grants support local improvements

It was a very busy September in Riel. While always following public health guidelines, I have been able to get out and attend a number of community events.

On Sept. 11, I had the pleasure of stopping in at Dakota Community Centre to see its new, enhanced outdoor seating area and beautification improvements around the community centre. I was very happy to provide them with a Building Sustainable Communities grant of $28,297 to help with these improvements.

On Sept. 19, I was honoured to take part in the grand opening of Bishop Grandin Greenway’s Bittersweet Gardens. This project has been in the works for several years, and I was pleased our government was able to provide a Building Sustainable Communities grant of $18,278 to help make this project a reality. I want to congratulate long-time board members Murray Gibson, Michelle Meade and Derick Young, as well as all their volunteers, for all the hard work to make this dream a reality.

There are many in our community who are working hard to help everyone get through this difficult time. I wanted to let you know about an amazing initiative spearheaded by our Louis Riel School Division called RIEL-EVATE. This foundation has been working for many years to provide clothing for infants, children, youth and adults and those in need in our community and in particular, those who are newcomers to Canada. Many of these people are about to experience their first Winnipeg winter and may not have things such as warm coats, mittens and boots to get them through the cold months ahead.