NDP candidate has her eye on Ottawa

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This article was published 13/09/2021 (1482 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Madelaine Dwyer is running on behalf of the NDP for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley, a riding that has historically been a Liberal and Conservative stronghold.

Dwyer, 31, has a keen sense of the needs of working families. On top of raising three children, the Westwood resident is a labourer with the City of Winnipeg’s water services and president of the CUPE 500’s water and waste unit.

“I want to make life more affordable for everyone, but also for families,” she said. “I think I can be a strong voice for the community in Ottawa.”

The need for affordable schooling is top of mind for Dwyer, as parent to a student with sights set on a post-secondary education. This could be achieved by expanding the federal government’s non-repayable education grants and forgiving up to $20,000 of student debt, she told The Metro.

To meet the needs of families with young children, Dwyer is backing the NDP’s goal to adopt a universal $10 per day daycare strategy and wants to see this plan turned into cut and dry legislation. Dwyer has served on her childrens’ daycare board of directors for a decade and vouches for the importance of high-quality, public child care.

Services like dental, eye care, prescription medications and mental health services should be covered under universal health care, Dwyer said. She added that no Manitoban should have to foot the cost of these basic services, Dwyer said.

“I definitely think a lot of families and just the community in general would benefit from having those services included in a universal health care system — especially prescription medications,” she said.

Dwyer is speaking out against the privatization of health care — particularly long-term care for seniors — and wants to see this sector fall under the same principles as the Canada Health Act.

As an avid outdoorsperson, Dwyer said she vows to speak out for the conservation of Manitoba’s green spaces and waterways.

“I’m quite excited that the NDP wants to get the environmental bill of rights, so we can protect 30 percent of the land, fresh water, and oceans that we have by 2030,” she said.

Dwyer recognizes the need for immediate action on the climate crisis, which fed into the wildfires and drought that ravaged the province this past summer. A new net-zero law to drastically slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is one initiative Dwyer would stand by if elected. She also wants to see large companies held accountable for emissions and waste, especially plastics.

Doug Eyolfson (Lib.), Marty Morantz (CPC), Vanessa Parks (Green), and Angela Van Hussen (PPC) are also confirmed candidates in Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley.