A busy month, plenty to share

Our community has been bustling with cheerful activity this winter. With annual grassroots festivities being in full swing, there is much to share.

I had the privilege of sponsoring the Greendell Community Centre winter carnival, where I volunteered to serve neighbours and friends from behind the canteen. Thank you to the community centre for hosting a successful weekend of curling, hockey and fun.

Many parents depend on full-time child-care programs. With the increasing cost of living, some families cannot afford child-care services that I believe should be available to all.

Child-care in provincial institutions will cost a maximum of $10 a day starting April 2. That’s three years before planned. The expansion of support extends to our hard-working child-care providers, as Manitoba is funding an expansion of training programs, as well as the development of additional on-site child-care spaces and expansion of existing facilities.

For those considering a path in early-childhood development, please note that a reimbursement of up to $5,000 per school year is available to help cover the tuition-related costs of recognized early childhood education (ECE) programs offered at post-secondary institutions in Manitoba. Our government has listened and taken action to build stronger communities.

As an avid bookworm, I was glad to share my spirit of enthusiasm for books with classrooms during “I Love to Read” month in February. I read storybooks to students at H.S. Paul School, Holy Cross School and Dr. D. W Penner School. I offer my sincerest gratitude to all the schools in our community for including me in this experience.

It’s a privilege to support our strong and dedicated teachers that nurture the development of an engaged, involved community of learners. Louis Riel School Division has received $104.5 million in funding for the 2023-24 school year, an $8.1 million increase. I am proud to have been a part of meetings leading up to this announcement and know the funding will be used to best support LRSD’s local needs.

The Manitoba government has unveiled a new whole-of-government strategy, A Place for Everyone, to address homelessness. It aims to strengthen existing services, fund 700 new social housing units this year, ensure 24/7 access to shelter beds and introduce new wrap-around services within housing units to help people most in need. To view the Manitoba government’s complete homelessness strategy, visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/homelessness.

As always, I am collaborating with Harvest Manitoba to collect food for those in our community who may need some help. You can drop off any non-perishable food item at my constituency office located at 5-140 Meadowood Dr. If you would like to donate, my constituency office is also accepting donations of gently used clothing, toys and items for Centre Flavie-Laurent.

In closing, if I can be of assistance to you in navigating any provincial programming, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by emailing rochelle@rochellesquires.ca or calling 204-615-5241.

Rochelle Squires
Riel MLA constituency report

Rochelle Squires is the Progressive Conservative MLA for Riel.

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