Legend

• PC Progressive Conservative
• LIB Liberal
• NDP New Democratic Party
• CPC-M Communist
• GPM Green
• IND Independent
• MF Manitoba First
• MBFWD Manitoba Forward

• The provincial government says consolidating Winnipeg’s six acute care hospitals down to three will improve overall medical care for patients. Is that the right move?

  Great idea

  Good idea

  We’ll see

  Not a good idea

  Terrible idea

  GPM

  MJ Willard: In talking to the people in the community, it is the wrong decision. People don’t have transportation to go to outlying urgent care hospitals so end up at the HSC or St Boniface because they can walk there. Misericordia Urgent Care was such a useful location. The government needs to find economies in how health care is delivered but this proposal has been implemented in too hasty a fashion without enough consultation with the health care providers. On-going consultation with the front-line workers is needed to ensure that health care spending is appropriate.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: Terrible idea - one that seems to have been introduced by the Pallister government’s formation of some’brainy team’ that came up with a cost-slashing, “looks good on paper” scheme. When my mother was dying in Hospital in 2018 I asked the Nurses about the Pallister reforms. They all said it was a bad, confusing plan which added to their stress and fatigue on shift. I’m with these front-line Health workers. Conservatives care about cutting back costs, not our citizens.

• How much control should the provincial government have over the operations of Crown corporations like Manitoba Public Insurance and Manitoba Hydro?

  Hands-off

  Not much say

  50/50

  Some oversight

  Direct supervision

  GPM

  MJ Willard: Governance models for Crown Corporations need to be clarified. Accountability, transparency and openness must be applied consistently. The governors (board members) of the Crown Corporations should work closely with the Senior civil servants and leaders in the private sector. This can lead to a balance of power between the public and private sectors, producing optimum governance of the corporation. The government responsible for the corporation should publish mandate letters for the Crown governors, with expectations and accountabilities spelled out, such that the Canadian citizen can be informed of the priorities. CEO selection should involve the board members. Regular interactions in a structured format should occur between the Crown Corporation, the Ministers and the Deputy Ministers, with most of the interaction occurring between the CEO and the Deputy Minister. If the Deputy Minister and Minister find the Crown Corporation is not operating as per the mandate, a review of the goals and objectives should occur during the regularly scheduled interactions to adjust the goals, priorities, and define the methods of accountability.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: Hands off our AUTOPAC ! MPI and Manitoba Hydro must remain Crown Corporations and exist for the needs of citizens. MTS also must be restored as a Crown Corporation. The Communist Party will also work to push for the creation of a Crown corporation to provide public transit across the province. How else are Manitobans to travel for needed specialist medical appointments or family visit trips now that Greyhound buses have shut down operations?

• The Pallister government plans to eliminate the deficit by 2022. Should balancing the books be a priority?

  Essential

  High priority

  Neutral

  Low priority

  Not important

  GPM

  MJ Willard: Obviously, a balanced budget is ideal but not at the expense of needed social services. Elimination of items from the budget must be done with careful consideration and with the involvement of the service providers and front-line workers. Economies in the budget are best solved with care rather than using the goal of the numbers on the budget document being balanced without concern for health care, education, and community services that work for the good of the citizens. The budget cannot be balanced at the expense of decreasing services which strengthen the social and ecological fabric of the province. The fact is that the cost of servicing the debt, as a per cent of total expenditures, has gone down from 6.7% in 2008/09 to 5.5% in 2017/18.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: Government debt do not run like Household debt: governments everywhere have debts. The scale of the MB debt is exaggerated by the Palmister Tories. instead of trying to reduce public deficits in the post-2009 recessionary period, government should increase spending, helping businesses to grow and providing employment. Government debt will rise, of course, but the government can run fiscal surpluses to pay it down when growth returns. Austerity is not a logical policy in these times. We had a global recession beginning in 2009 and economists see a very strong possibility that the US is going to have another recession in 2020. We are greatly dependent on the US economy. It’s time to spend so that citizens can spend to assist business.

• In Budget 2019, the provincial government spent approximately $350 million on highways. The construction industry says we need to invest more. Is $350 million the right amount?

  Way too little

  A little under

  About right

  A little too much

  Way too much

  GPM

  MJ Willard: The PC government says we’ve been spending too much on roads and physical infrastructure, which was based on the idea that it has exceeded the rate of inflation. But that is a false conclusion when, or if, the deterioration of the physical infrastructure is happening at a rate faster than the rate of inflation. A level of capital investment that maintains the infrastructure at an acceptable state of repair is required. But, even more, a level of investment in green infrastructure that reverses the deterioration in the province’s natural capital such as the water quality in our waterways, the health of wetlands, and the health of our agricultural soils is needed. These have been deteriorating over the last 30 or 40 years and continue to deteriorate. We need substantial investments to reverse these trends.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: My wife and I recently took a road trip through the province and Ontario. We found what every trucker knows : our city roads and sections of provincial roads are in an underfunded condition and the repairs permitted by the Tories are insufficient. Bicycle lanes are being introduced into the city, but the pace of bicycle lane construction must be accelerated for the growing numbers who need to use bikes for city transit. Winnipegers deserve safe travel whether by bus, automobiles or motorcycles or bicycles.

• There have been calls to install safe consumption and/or injection sites in Manitoba, so that people with addictions can consume or inject drugs in a space with medical supervision and more readily available access to addiction services. Are these sites a good idea?

  Urgently needed

  A good idea

  Not sure

  Not necessary

  A bad idea

  GPM

  MJ Willard: The experience in other cities like Vancouver demonstrate the importance of safe injection sites. They reduce health care and policing costs and improve the quality of life of the users. These facilities are staffed by trained medical personnel. When the same people are seen daily, friendly relationships with the clients can develop, producing a level of trust. This may be the first step in the treatment of the addiction once this trust is established. Steps to rehabilitation are then in place.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: No Comment

• How important is it for the provincial government to take steps to address climate change?

  Urgent

  Important

  Neutral

  Not important

  Unnecessary

  GPM

  MJ Willard: The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast a serious threat to our quality of life, and in fact, the scientific evidence indicates it can threaten our very survival if we do not modify our use of the planet’s resources immediately. The IPCC report indicates the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by half over the next 11 years to avoid catastrophic climate change. The provincial government must do its part by committing, at a minimum, to a 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. Education, training in the new industries, and improvement of transportation and housing must all be supported, pointing to a positive direction.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: 98% percent of climate scientists who have done real research into the effects of pollution say governments must act now to avoid climate disaster by 2050. Manitoba is part of the planet. We need to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 and eliminate them entirely by 2050. The Communist Party of Canada-Manitoba is pushing for the development of renewable energy sources - solar, wind, thermal, hydro-electric in a publicly owned energy sector, with an east-west power grid.

• Will a carbon tax influence consumer behaviour, such as encouraging people to drive less or make their homes more efficient?

  Definitely won't

  Probably won't

  Not sure

  Probably will

  Definitely will

  GPM

  MJ Willard: A carbon tax, will, with time, alter consumers’ and producers’ behaviour. Shoppers know that increasing the cost of a product or service results in buying either less of it or looking for a cheaper substitute. Producers, if they are taxed more for producing greenhouse gases, will, with time, find ways to produce their product while producing less greenhouse gases or stop production of that product or increase the price they sell it for. Recently, 5 prominent Canadian economists released a report through the Eco Fiscal Commission of Canada refuting 10 common myths about carbon taxes. The bottom line is that carbon taxes work and can be designed to be fair to the consumer while resulting in lower carbon emissions.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: No Comment

• I would rather have more money in my pocket through tax cuts than have the provincial government increase spending on public services.

  Strongly disagree

  Somewhat disagree

  Neutral

  Somewhat agree

  Strongly agree

  GPM

  MJ Willard: The issue is that tax cuts would imply offering some public services only to those who can afford them. What about the citizens who cannot afford to buy these public services? Strong public services are the backbone of a civilized society. Publicly funded health care, public works, police and justice services are all examples of beneficial public services provided by government. All are funded through tax dollars with many of the services inadequately funded, resulting in services that have suboptimal performance because of this lack of spending. The wait times for medical services and justice services are prime examples. One of the fastest growing industries is storage lockers for the storing of household goods that aren’t being used. Landfills are full of used clothing. Food wastes approach 50% of the food produced in some cases. The electronics industry is constantly introducing new products making the old ones obsolete. Many houses are larger than needed, resulting in high debt loads. These are the attitudes that will need to be changed to reduce the effects of wasteful production of goods.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: No Comment

• Manitoba’s K-12 education system is currently undergoing a review of curriculum and spending models. How much control should school boards have when it comes to making education budgets?

  Total control

  More control

  Current system

  Less control

  No control

  GPM

  MJ Willard: School boards set curricula and building needs as well as teachers and ancillary work staff needed and budget accordingly. Transparency and accountability are important and should be determined by the government to ensure proper spending for the educational benefit aimed for. This oversight then allows access for the citizens to evaluate whether the school board trustees are carrying out their mandate adequately. Manitoba is the only province in Canada that still gives local school boards the authority to set budgets and raise taxes through property taxes. The primary issue is that low income homeowners often pay a larger percentage of their income on education taxes compared to the high-income homeowners. The Green Party of Manitoba will replace the education property tax with an increase in the personal and corporate income tax rates that, overall, raise the same amount of money. It will leave some discretionary spending authority with local school divisions. By expansion of jobs in renewables, the income tax base can be expanded to allow for an increase in the revenue base without an individual increase.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: teachers are front line workers. School boards are elected by the Manitoba citizens. I think we have a reasonable balance between school boards and teaching leaders.

• How much do you consider a candidate’s personal history - before they entered politics - when deciding who to vote for?

  Not at all

  Very little

  Neutral

  Somewhat

  A lot

  GPM

  MJ Willard: The candidate’s background may give insight into their range of experiences in life, as well as some idea as to their work ethic. It can identify areas of expertise that may be useful in the legislative body to provide an area of expertise not offered by others as well as evidence of teamwork ability and ability as a leader for the community.

  CPC-M

  Andrew Taylor: If a candidate has been bad to employees or notorious in their community or often absent from the province altogether it is vitally important that their lifestyle behavior as a citizen be given scrutiny.

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