View From the Legislature

On Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister changed his provincial Cabinet. This was the first major change to Cabinet roles in about two and a half years and several key positions were reassigned. Like others, I was asked to take on new responsibilities in the provincial Cabinet and am looking forward to these new roles.

As part of the Cabinet reassignments, I was appointed Manitoba’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Legislative and Public Affairs. In the role of Deputy Premier I am pleased to be able to support the Premier and Cabinet and to bring the views of constituents and Manitobans to this position. In addition, I will be serving as the Minister of Legislative and Public Affairs. In this role I will retain the position of Government House Leader and be responsible for several areas of government and legislation that deal with the public’s access to government and democracy. These include areas of government that deal with freedom of information, election acts and engaging the views of Manitobans into government. I also look forward to chairing the Regulatory Accountability Committee of Cabinet which will review all pieces of government legislation and regulations.

Having served about two and a half years as the Minister of Education, I want to thank the many people within the Education system and the Department of Education who I have had the chance to meet and work with over that time. The past year in particular has been a challenge as the pandemic has significantly impacted the operation of the education system and shifted much of the focus to being able to keep schools open safely. While that has been a significant and at times emotional challenge, so many people have made it possible to keep in-class learning as safe as possible and as available as possible. It was a pleasure to work with them.

I want to especially congratulate the members of our government who are being welcomed into Cabinet. Throughout the Progressive Conservative Caucus there are qualified and motivated representatives who contribute every day to our government in many ways. And while there are only so many who can serve in a Cabinet at any given time, each plays a role in supporting the provincial government. Joining Cabinet are MLA Wayne Ewasko who will serve as the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration, MLA Derek Johnson, the Minister of Municipal Relations and MLA Audrey Gordon, the new Minister of Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery. Each of these new Ministers will bring unique and important perspectives to the Cabinet discussions.

Thank you most of all to the residents of the Steinbach Constituency for the continued opportunity to serve as the MLA for Steinbach. It remains and will always be the most important and valued job I have in the Manitoba Legislature.