The Manitoba Legislature will end its session on Tuesday March 15th and sometime between then and March 22nd a provincial election will begin with Election Day being April 19th. It’s been four and a half years since the last provincial election in 2011 and a great deal has happened during that time.
Not long after the election Manitobans had one of the largest tax increases in our province’s history imposed on them when Greg Selinger extended the PST to items such as home insurance. A year later, he increased the PST from 7% to 8%.
The PST increase and the refusal to hold a referendum led to a summer long sitting as Progressive Conservative MLAs stood up for Manitobans and remained in the legislature for the longest spring session in our province’s history. As House Leader for the Manitoba Progressive Conservative’s I was proud to work as a team with my colleagues to ensure Manitobans frustration over this tax increase and broken promise were heard.
Those actions helped expose cracks within the NDP and by the end of 2014 the divisions were on full display as a rebellion within the NDP took hold and senior cabinet ministers in Greg Selinger’s government quit, leading to a leadership race. While Mr. Selinger hung on to his leadership, the divides in the NDP remained and Manitobans now have a government that is more divided and dysfunctional than ever before.
During all of this, there were many local issues that continued to be a priority. The growth of our region, while positive, brings its own challenges. While I was glad that the push to get the emergency room at the Bethesda Hospital expanded finally met with success after many years of community advocacy, the redesigned entrance to the main hospital has caused many difficulties for those who are mobility challenged.
Many residents also expressed concern over the past several years about the growing level of debt in Manitoba as well as how Manitoba Hydro is being operated under the NDP government. They worry about what the debt means to their children and their grandchildren and those are concerns that need to be addressed by the next government.
Over the past four and a half years my wife Kim and I have again been overwhelmed by the kind and caring nature of our region. We witness the generosity to others almost daily and have experienced many kind words and prayers from so many. We feel incredibly grateful to represent the residents of our region in the Manitoba Legislature.
April 19th will be the day that Manitobans not only make a judgment about the past performance of the government but look to the future of our province. The optimism that I feel for our region extends to our entire province and my hope is that there will be change for the better following the election. In our democracy that decision rests where it should, with the voters themselves. April 19th is, as it should be, about Manitobans and the future of their province.
