This week’s speech from the throne kicked off the first session of the forty-third Manitoba Legislature on November 21. Read by Lieutenant Governor Anita Neville, the speech outlined the priorities of Premier Wab Kinew’s government over the coming four years.
Much of the speech was dedicated to the party’s plans to repair the province’s faltering healthcare system, a platform on which they rode heavily during the fall election.
Healthcare
“We committed to being a listening government,” Neville read. “Our team is launching a healthcare listening tour which will hear from the staff at the bedsides across the province.”
As well as reopening previously closed emergency rooms across Winnipeg, the government plans to open ten additional surgical rooms at the Grace Hospital and expand surgery capacity at three other health centres across the province.
A new mobile MRI unit is slated for delivery to northern Manitoba to improve on the impossible travel expectations for diagnostic treatment of residents living there.
As for healthcare workers, greater autonomy will be given in their decision-making powers. Excess bureaucracy will be removed in order to help reduce burnout.
“Instead of more agency nurses, we will give nurses more agency,” Neville read. “Instead of closing emergency rooms, we will bring emergency rooms closer. And instead of sending more patients out of province to receive surgeries, we will bring more surgeries here, to the province, where you, the patients, live.”
Seniors
Seniors, too, were at the fore of some big promises.
“Our government will never forget the way seniors were neglected in the pandemic,” the address read. “We will not let this happen again.”
To help prevent that, more homecare support will be created so seniors can live out their aging years independently for as long as they choose. As well, PCH residents will see longer hours of direct care each day.
Education
Starting this school year, a nutrition program will be introduced in every school across the province. Class sizes will also be reduced for younger learners and measures taken to ensure that queer and trans students feel safe and respected in their schools.
A deputy minister for Indigenous excellence will be appointed to ensure that Indigenous academic achievement becomes a pillar of the educational system.
Homelessness, Addictions, and Mental Health
Within the next eight years, the NDP government intends to put an end to chronic homelessness if they are elected for a second term. Barriers will be removed so everyone has opportunities for housing, addictions, mental health treatment, and employment opportunities.
“The number of Manitobans dying from drug overdoses continues to rise… Toxic drugs are tearing our families and communities apart. Part of the solution to the addictions crisis is holding those getting rich off of human suffering accountable. We will continue to pursue opiate manufacturers and we will bring in an Unexplained Wealth Act to help build cases against those who profit from the chaos in our communities.”
Landfill Search
As in their campaign platform, the government continues to assure Manitobans that a landfill search for three missing Indigenous women will take place in due time.
“Our first step was welcoming their families into the Legislature where we promised that no government in Manitoba will ever use the families of murder victims as political props again.”
This sentiment was met with applause across the chamber.
Building the Economy by Going Green
Putting Manitoba on the forefront of environmental responsibility doesn’t have to hurt, Kinew says.
“Manitoba has the low carbon electricity, the skilled workforce, the emission-free vehicle manufacturers, and the entrepreneurial spirit to build a lot of wealth in the current economic climate. Our government’s goal is to build our province into a showcase for world. One that shows other provinces and other countries that you can have an advanced growing economy with good jobs that is doing its part to solve global warming.”
Despite the many financial commitments made by the NDPs in this throne speech, the government’s mandate is still focused on balancing the books by the end of their four-year term in office. This, they admit, will take some dedication and hard work.
