Paying attention to needs of Manitoba families

The final legislative sitting before the next provincial election resumed on Wednesday, March 1. I’ve been looking forward to resuming session, so that my NDP colleagues and I can hold the Progressive Conservative government to account for their failures in health care, education, on affordability and more.

Our NDP team also recently had a critic shuffle, and I am honoured to take on the new role of families critic. In this role, I will hold the government to account for its failure to work towards ending homelessness, failing to lift Manitobans out of poverty, selling off social housing units, cutting support for children with exceptional needs and much more.

A new report recently revealed that Manitoba has the worst childhood poverty rate in Canada at just under 21 per cent, which is over seven per cent higher than the national average. At least 64,740 Manitoban children are poor and, as a result, many are not getting enough food. This means potentially thousands of kids are going to school on empty stomachs, which impedes their ability to learn. My NDP colleagues and I have been calling on the PC government to act by implementing a universal nutrition program that would guarantee kids at least one meal per day in school. Unfortunately, the PCs have not done so.

After seven years of the PCs in office, Manitobans simply can’t trust the PC government to act on Manitobans’ priorities. Their recent announcement on homelessness is a great example. The PCs claim they’re going to build new affordable housing units, but during their time in office they sold off over 1,200 units and have failed to build a single new unit. In fact, the premier herself was the minister responsible for housing when they sold off those units.

Unlike the PCs, our NDP team has been calling for investments in housing, education, health care and more since day one – not just during an election year. Rest assured that we will continue to listen to Manitobans and to hold the failed PC government to account.

Please feel free to reach out to me by email at nahanni.fontaine@yourmanitoba.ca or by phone at 204 582 1550. Feel free to also stop by my office at 1763 Main St.

Nahanni Fontaine
St. Johns constituency report

Nahanni Fontaine is the NDP MLA for St. Johns.

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