View From the Legislature

Over the past several weeks the Manitoba government has been making a concentrated effort to reach out to diplomatic officials representing countries from around the world.

On Tuesday of this week the province celebrated Agriculture Awareness Day in a virtual format welcoming guests from around the world to recognize the contribution of agriculture to the province of Manitoba and to the world.

Recently I was asked by a reporter how I felt the communities that I represent have changed as a result of the global pandemic. That is a difficult question to answer.

On Friday of last week, former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall released his independent investigation into the approval and construction of the Bipole III hydro line and the Keeyask generating project.

The spring session of the Manitoba Legislature begins next week, and it will be one of the most active sessions in some time with more than 50 pieces of legislation scheduled to be debated and voted upon before the Legislature breaks in June.

Over the past several weeks we have seen a number of services and activities reopen to Manitobans. From retail outlets to personal services such as haircuts to restaurants to outdoor recreation to indoor faith services, there have been reopening’s in many different areas.

These days there are many things that we are missing. The pandemic has caused either the cancellation or the alteration of many of the things that we enjoy participating in.

Over the past week there has been a great deal of concern about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.

There have been many important budgets in the history of Manitoba. Through floods and fires, Manitoba’s finances are often challenged by forces that are not entirely in the control of the province.

The peaceful transition of power. It is something that those of us who live in western democracies have largely taken for granted. We perform our civic duty of voting on election day and then, almost automatically, the winning party assumes power.