Manitoba Provincial Election

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by esquire

I would say no. In many ways things are in worse shape than they were 5 years ago. But I guess you could say the same thing about the federal Liberals propped up by the NDP.

The point being that the last several years have been exceptionally difficult for all governing parties. I'm sure that had the Manitoba PCs known what was coming 5 years ago, they would have likely done certain things differently.

You’re right, all provinces have had to deal with COVID. So considering that, compared to all other provinces, has the Manitoba PCs done better, worse, or the same?

[esquire]

^ I don't know. I've been to 8 of the 10 provinces since the pandemic began but as a visitor I'm not really in a position to assess how their governments have done relative to Manitoba's. It's complicated by the fact that they all started in different positions.

[VANRIDERFAN]

The beauty of Manitoba is that it's the tortoise of Canada. Slow and steady, no big jumps but no big falls either.

Usually the province isn't too badly affected by resource sectors up and downs but floods are the kickers.
If Winnipeg had been established at Selkirk or Lower Fort Garry and grown to the NW then the Red River would not have been the threat it is today. Also looking at Brandon for its idiotic decision to develop on a flood plain.

But I digress, both parties have their blind spots and there is never a magic bullet to get Manitoba on a better economic footing.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Manitoba health care:

I was back in the province over the weekend and chatting with my sister about the state of health care at our home town. The last long term in resident Dr. in Killarney has left. There is the continuous revolving door of overwhelmingly foreign doctors who come to the Tri-Lake Health Care Centre, do their minimum time and then get out to other places.

One of the Doctors told my sister that they actually liked the region and would like to stay, but since they cannot do much more than suture cuts or refer patients to specialists, they are bored out of their fucking skulls. Some of them spend a week or so per month in Brandon or Winnipeg to keep up their ER or surgery skills. But that is not a long term solution.

Local hospitals are not allowed to do minor surgery or births anymore so attracting doctors to do work that a Med Aide (using a military term) is very very tough.

Doesn't matter who is in power, this is a huge issue in the hinterlands.

[esquire]

^ That is not just a Manitoba problem, that is a Canada-wide problem. Getting doctors (or lawyers, or CPAs, or any trained professional) to smaller towns is a huge challenge. I think health departments are acknowledging reality and retrenching their health human resources in larger places. That works for Southern Manitoba, i.e. anything really serious goes to Winnipeg, Brandon or one of a handful of larger centres, while the smaller rural hospitals become some variation on a primary care facility with maybe a PCH attached. But that leaves the north out cold because attracting docs to places like Thompson or Flin Flon is a huge challenge. Not many docs want to work in places like those.

No political party has the market cornered on counteracting that trend.

[djforsberg]

This is why I honestly think healthcare should be a federal responsibility. It makes no sense whatsoever to have separate, provincial run systems. It causes far more problems than it provides benefits. This whole “different provinces have different healthcare needs” argument is dumb. You could make that argument all the way down to the neighbourhood level.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That is not just a Manitoba problem, that is a Canada-wide problem. Getting doctors (or lawyers, or CPAs, or any trained professional) to smaller towns is a huge challenge. I think health departments are acknowledging reality and retrenching their health human resources in larger places. That works for Southern Manitoba, i.e. anything really serious goes to Winnipeg, Brandon or one of a handful of larger centres, while the smaller rural hospitals become some variation on a primary care facility with maybe a PCH attached. But that leaves the north out cold because attracting docs to places like Thompson or Flin Flon is a huge challenge. Not many docs want to work in places like those.

No political party has the market cornered on counteracting that trend.

There is no reason that we cannot return birthing to local hospitals. Females having been giving birth to new carbon units for eons. It's not rocket science.

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

There is no reason that we cannot return birthing to local hospitals. Females having been giving birth to new carbon units for eons. It's not rocket science.

This is a result of cost cutting. Can you guess which type of governments put cutting services ahead of improving service quality and outcomes?

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That is not just a Manitoba problem, that is a Canada-wide problem. Getting doctors (or lawyers, or CPAs, or any trained professional) to smaller towns is a huge challenge.

Actually with the ability to work remotely and most relevant documents being digital now it is getting easier for professionals like lawyers, CPAs, and other skilled and higher paid knowledge workers to relocate to smaller towns/rural areas. You need to still match the right person to the lifestyle of that area though.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

There is no reason that we cannot return birthing to local hospitals. Females having been giving birth to new carbon units for eons. It's not rocket science.

Medically giving birth is an extremely high risk event. Sure lots of times things go exactly as planned without issues but when something goes wrong it can go very badly in a hurry and resulting in mom, child or both dying. There also isn't a reliable way to predict every scenario either.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Between 1977-2016 there has been 15 years of PC and 24 years of NDP governments. No party has covered themselves in glory over Manitoba Health Care.

From the Free Press last year:

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/op...etual-struggle

In February 1983, (Pawley NDP) there were unacceptable provincial government cost-cutting measures and expenditure guidelines; in June 1997 (Filmon PC), waiting times for ultrasound tests and MRI scans were growing daily; and in November 1998, it was overcrowded emergency rooms and a cancellation of too many surgeries. And, so on and so on.

Indeed, a historical survey of the health-care system in Manitoba is the story on one hand of dedication, innovation and technological advancement; and on the other, of chronic shortages, underfunding, staffing problems and denial, denial, denial.

In Manitoba, health care has long been underfunded and unable to meet rising demand, and federal health-care transfer payments never seem to be adequate, as successive provincial governments have routinely complained. In addition, the tax base is too small to deal with the province’s various socioeconomic disparities and an ever-increasing elderly population. COVID-19 has merely magnified these problems tenfold.

[djforsberg]

Sure, the results are often similar because of situational and external pressures. In Saskatchewan, the Romanow NDP had to convert many rural hospitals to community clinics, mostly because the previous PC government almost bankrupted the province. Someone else mentioned how this pattern of conservative governments messing up the provinces finances and the NDP coming in to attempt to clean it up is also a phenomenon in Manitoba. It’s actually right in the neoliberal playbook of shock therapy and is by design. Then you have the pressures from the feds, the IMF, and credit rating agencies where states’ access to credit is based on having a certain level of privatization, which is often why NDP governments resort to neoliberal policies like other parties do. Either way, when you compare conservative parties and the NDP, only one of those parties is fundamentally against public healthcare and properly-funded public services.

[Riverman]

My new doctor (a Pakistani immigrant) came to Regina to practice. Once he had done his time there his family moved to Ontario as all of his children wanted to attend business school at Western.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

There is no reason that we cannot return birthing to local hospitals. Females having been giving birth to new carbon units for eons. It's not rocket science.

Beyond the medical issues of needing access to critical care if there are complications, having maternity units in every local hospital would be economically ridiculous. You'd have a crew of professionals sitting idle constantly.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by esquire

I would say no. In many ways things are in worse shape than they were 5 years ago. But I guess you could say the same thing about the federal Liberals propped up by the NDP.

The point being that the last several years have been exceptionally difficult for all governing parties. I'm sure that had the Manitoba PCs known what was coming 5 years ago, they would have likely done certain things differently.

If anything the pandemic insulated governments from the oncoming recession that we've been due for awhile now. Inflation has increased their revenues (both direct and transfer payments) to cushion a lot of poor economic policy in this province.

There have been huge opportunities to build sustainably but the focus has been on dispersing those revenues largely to the old wealth in this province with the odd cheque/tax cut of a few hundred bucks out broadly while destroying all public infrastructure in the province with some intent and some being collateral to getting the balance sheet to the spot where it benefits party members.

With this government everything is ideology, nothing pragmatic. Stefanson is more aware of the messaging challenges but her aims are the same as Pallister's.

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

If anything the pandemic insulated governments from the oncoming recession that we've been due for awhile now. Inflation has increased their revenues (both direct and transfer payments) to cushion a lot of poor economic policy in this province.

There have been huge opportunities to build sustainably but the focus has been on dispersing those revenues largely to the old wealth in this province with the odd cheque/tax cut of a few hundred bucks out broadly while destroying all public infrastructure in the province with some intent and some being collateral to getting the balance sheet to the spot where it benefits party members.

With this government everything is ideology, nothing pragmatic. Stefanson is more aware of the messaging challenges but her aims are the same as Pallister's.

Isn’t it nuts how recessions are not only a feature of our current economic model but a tool to be used at any moment? Despite inflation being mostly caused by global supply constraints and corporate profiteering, central banks rising interest rates are being used to raise unemployment and discipline workers to weaken our power, all while doing barely nothing to tame inflation and it’s major causes.

I recommend everyone check out this interview by Jon Stewart of Larry Summers, former American Treasury Secretary where they talking about inflation:

• Video Link

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Isn’t it nuts how recessions are not only a feature of our current economic model but a tool to be used at any moment? Despite inflation being mostly caused by global supply constraints and corporate profiteering, central banks rising interest rates are being used to raise unemployment and discipline workers to weaken our power, all while doing barely nothing to tame inflation and it’s major causes.

I recommend everyone check out this interview by Jon Stewart of Larry Summers, former American Treasury Secretary where they talking about inflation:

• Video Link

That Summers interview is a great look into how the political class views economics...and yeah the guy is an economist but he's lost touch with practicality of the theory he's preaching and he's applying business theory broadly to the real world.

His basic view of the world is through a demand curve which is fine if you're running a business, but now it's being translated into government finance and the economy of real people. Sustainability isn't built into that system. If a business crashes it ends and either reconstitutes or another business takes it place. If the economy of an entire province like Manitoba or a region like the Canadian prairies crashes it lies in ruins...there is no end and try again. You have to work with the ruins that are left and PEOPLE LIVE THERE.

I don't see any party in this country having any understanding of what our economy actually is and what economic policies are. There's no one about to come in with a pragmatic approach, they are all swayed by business, ideology and self-interest (most dangerously like the current MB government).

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

That Summers interview is a great look into how the political class views economics...and yeah the guy is an economist but he's lost touch with practicality of the theory he's preaching and he's applying business theory broadly to the real world.

His basic view of the world is through a demand curve which is fine if you're running a business, but now it's being translated into government finance and the economy of real people. Sustainability isn't built into that system. If a business crashes it ends and either reconstitutes or another business takes it place. If the economy of an entire province like Manitoba or a region like the Canadian prairies crashes it lies in ruins...there is no end and try again. You have to work with the ruins that are left and PEOPLE LIVE THERE.

I don't see any party in this country having any understanding of what our economy actually is and what economic policies are. There's no one about to come in with a pragmatic approach, they are all swayed by business, ideology and self-interest (most dangerously like the current MB government).

Yup, no major political party at any level currently has any plans to significantly change the way the economy works. Some are much better on worker's rights than other's though. Look for things like making unionization easier, taking financial burdens off of families to raise children or care for sick or aging loved ones, properly funding education and healthcare, limiting CEO and executive pay, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and raising the minimum wage (which, would cause everyone's wages to rise, not just those making minimum wage). These are the things that would benefit workers and their families.

[thurmas]

Thanks PCs your ridiculous tax cuts to the rich home owners continue to bear fruit :

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...cuts-1.6791661

Hanover School Division plans to cut teachers, programs to make up for revenue shortfall

Southeastern Manitoba division the latest to say provincial funding hikes are not enough

Southeastern Manitoba's Hanover School Division is the latest in the province to declare it doesn't have enough revenue to meet expenses in the coming year.

The school division announced Thursday it plans to cut teaching positions, eliminate services and dip into its surplus this coming fiscal year as part of a plan to make up for a $2.7-million deficit.

The funding shortfall comes in spite of an operational funding increase from the province, the division said in a statement.

While the division received a provincial funding increase of $1.1 million as well as an $850,000 grant to offset a provincial education property tax cut, expenses rose $4.7 million, creating the $2.7-million deficit.

"The cost increase is primarily due to inflationary measures and expected wage settlements," the division said in its statement.

Since school divisions are no longer permitted by the province to raise education taxes without facing a funding clawback, Hanover plans to balance its budget through a series of cuts, transfers and deferrals.

In a statement on Thursday, Hanover said it intends to shed 10.5 teaching positions in order to save $1.25 million, save $315,000 by cutting back on bus replacements, trim $290,000 from its school maintenance budget, reduce spending on information technology by $100,000 and eliminate $235,000 worth of programs.

The division also plans to transfer $500,000 from its surplus to cover the funding shortfall and put off adding 15 teaching positions, which were intended to handle increasing enrolment in the fast-growing division.

Hanover operates 19 schools in Steinbach, Niverville, Blumenort, New Bothwell, Crystal Springs, Grunthal, Kleefeld, Landmark and Mitchell.

The division joins Winnipeg's Louis Riel School Division and Seven Oaks School Division in complaining provincial funding increases are not keeping pace with actual costs.

Education Minister Wayne Ewasko was asked for comment, but a response wasn't immediately received.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Yup, no major political party at any level currently has any plans to significantly change the way the economy works. Some are much better on worker's rights than other's though. Look for things like making unionization easier, taking financial burdens off of families to raise children or care for sick or aging loved ones, properly funding education and healthcare, limiting CEO and executive pay, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and raising the minimum wage (which, would cause everyone's wages to rise, not just those making minimum wage). These are the things that would benefit workers and their families.

On paper, that is straight out of the NDP platform. Unfortunately, when the NDP has governed, they often fall short of implementing these policies.

I'm coming to believe the shift of power between conservative and socialist government may be of benefit to the province, considering there is really no middle ground.