Manitoba Politics

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, JCon said:

Rinse. Repeat. They have nothing else. No ideas. 

For some, good ideas for the benefit of the general masses are not their incentive nor part of their rewards system. So it makes sense because they don't want them.

Some are not there to serve the general public, they are there to fulfil their own personal circle agendas by steering, distracting, deluding the knuckle dragging me me me crowd away from good ideas.

It's their business model.

[Wideleft]

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has made changes to her cabinet.

She is demoting three ministers who recently announced they will not be running in the next election — Cameron Friesen in finance, Reg Helwer in government services, and Alan Lagimodiere in Indigenous reconciliation.

Four backbenchers, all from Winnipeg, are being promoted to cabinet — Obby Khan, Kevin Klein, Janice Morley-Lecomte and James Teitsma.

Some ministers are changing portfolios.

Cliff Cullen moves from economic development to finance, while Eileen Clarke moves from municipal relations to Indigenous reconciliation.

Stefanson said in early January she would shuffle her cabinet, after four ministers announced they would not be running again in the election slated for Oct. 3.

Last week, Friesen announced he was leaving his finance portfolio and would soon resign his legislature seat to try for a seat in the House of Commons.

The shuffle comes as the governing Progressive Conservatives have lagged behind the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls for two years.

The drop started during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitals began to struggle to deal with rising patient counts and surgeries were postponed. In 2021, dozens of intensive care patients were flown to other provinces in a bid to free up beds.

Stefanson has also recently shaken up her staff as well. She changed her chief of staff and replaced her communications director.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023

The Canadian Press

 

 

The highest level of education mentioned in our new Minister of Advanced Education's bio:

 

About Sarah Guillemard

Sarah is a community activist and long-time Fort Richmond resident.

A graduate of Fort Richmond Collegiate,

[bigg jay]

22 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has made changes to her cabinet.

She is demoting three ministers who recently announced they will not be running in the next election — Cameron Friesen in finance, Reg Helwer in government services, and Alan Lagimodiere in Indigenous reconciliation.

Four backbenchers, all from Winnipeg, are being promoted to cabinet — Obby Khan, Kevin Klein, Janice Morley-Lecomte and James Teitsma.

Some ministers are changing portfolios.

Cliff Cullen moves from economic development to finance, while Eileen Clarke moves from municipal relations to Indigenous reconciliation.

Stefanson said in early January she would shuffle her cabinet, after four ministers announced they would not be running again in the election slated for Oct. 3.

Last week, Friesen announced he was leaving his finance portfolio and would soon resign his legislature seat to try for a seat in the House of Commons.

The shuffle comes as the governing Progressive Conservatives have lagged behind the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls for two years.

The drop started during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitals began to struggle to deal with rising patient counts and surgeries were postponed. In 2021, dozens of intensive care patients were flown to other provinces in a bid to free up beds.

Stefanson has also recently shaken up her staff as well. She changed her chief of staff and replaced her communications director.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023

The Canadian Press

 

 

The highest level of education mentioned in our new Minister of Advanced Education's bio:

 

About Sarah Guillemard

Sarah is a community activist and long-time Fort Richmond resident.

A graduate of Fort Richmond Collegiate,

Scraping the bottom of the barrel but Stefanson doesn't have much choice at this point.  Don't worry about Guillemard's education though, she can just drive by the U of M and then claim that she went there.  It's the same thing in her world.

[rebusrankin]

Josh Guenter is assisting with the budget and his educational and life resume is pretty weak as well.

[Wideleft]

17 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Josh Guenter is assisting with the budget and his educational and life resume is pretty weak as well.

This Josh Guenter?

"Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has booted a Tory MLA from his job as legislative assistant for the health minister over his continued disagreement about COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Josh Guenter, the MLA for Borderland in southern Manitoba, went to a trucker protest at the Manitoba-U.S. border on Highway 75 over the weekend and took to social media to say he supports the group fighting mandatory vaccines for truckers.

"Spent some time today with family, friends and scores of peaceful, freedom-loving Canadians in the freedom convoy," he wrote in a Facebook post."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/josh-guenter-mla-borderlands-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-trucker-convoy-1.6334431

New cabinet minister James Teitsma:

A Progressive Conservative MLA travelled outside the province in December while his government is urging people to stay in their homes.

Radisson MLA James Teitsma went to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia with members of his immediate household using their personal vehicle from Dec. 21-30, the PC caucus confirmed Monday. 

His office said he was on a family vacation with members of his household, and they stayed in rental accommodations and did not gather or socialize with anyone outside their immediate household. 

Manitobans are legally allowed to travel outside the province, but the government has strongly advised against it. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-tory-mla-tra-james-teitsma-travelled-abroad-1.5860999

New Cabinet Minister Janice Morley-LeComte:

A Winnipeg restaurant owner says MLA Janice Morley-Lecomte tried to get lunch in her café on Friday without showing adequate proof of vaccination, which has been a requirement in Manitoba for months.

Wendy May said when her staff at the Oakwood Café in south Osborne asked the PC MLA for her vaccine card, she instead produced a printed-out piece of paper. While that paper appeared to show Morley-Lecomte's vaccination record, it didn't have a QR code to scan to verify it was real, May said.

Restaurants across Manitoba have been required to check for proof of vaccination for dine-in customers since September. The government's website says the Manitoba Immunization Card and the Pan-Canadian Proof of Vaccination Credential — both of which have scannable codes — are acceptable forms.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/janice-morley-lecomte-manitoba-mla-restaurant-vaccine-card-1.6257442

Edited January 30, 2023 by Wideleft

[WildPath]

5 hours ago, Wideleft said:

This Josh Guenter?

"Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has booted a Tory MLA from his job as legislative assistant for the health minister over his continued disagreement about COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Josh Guenter, the MLA for Borderland in southern Manitoba, went to a trucker protest at the Manitoba-U.S. border on Highway 75 over the weekend and took to social media to say he supports the group fighting mandatory vaccines for truckers.

"Spent some time today with family, friends and scores of peaceful, freedom-loving Canadians in the freedom convoy," he wrote in a Facebook post."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/josh-guenter-mla-borderlands-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-trucker-convoy-1.6334431

New cabinet minister James Teitsma:

A Progressive Conservative MLA travelled outside the province in December while his government is urging people to stay in their homes.

Radisson MLA James Teitsma went to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia with members of his immediate household using their personal vehicle from Dec. 21-30, the PC caucus confirmed Monday. 

His office said he was on a family vacation with members of his household, and they stayed in rental accommodations and did not gather or socialize with anyone outside their immediate household. 

Manitobans are legally allowed to travel outside the province, but the government has strongly advised against it. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-tory-mla-tra-james-teitsma-travelled-abroad-1.5860999

New Cabinet Minister Janice Morley-LeComte:

A Winnipeg restaurant owner says MLA Janice Morley-Lecomte tried to get lunch in her café on Friday without showing adequate proof of vaccination, which has been a requirement in Manitoba for months.

Wendy May said when her staff at the Oakwood Café in south Osborne asked the PC MLA for her vaccine card, she instead produced a printed-out piece of paper. While that paper appeared to show Morley-Lecomte's vaccination record, it didn't have a QR code to scan to verify it was real, May said.

Restaurants across Manitoba have been required to check for proof of vaccination for dine-in customers since September. The government's website says the Manitoba Immunization Card and the Pan-Canadian Proof of Vaccination Credential — both of which have scannable codes — are acceptable forms.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/janice-morley-lecomte-manitoba-mla-restaurant-vaccine-card-1.6257442

You're forgetting about Obby. The guy should be in charge of the department of government grants. Received the most Covid funding grants from the PCs while unsure which party he would join. Soon after receiving the grant he joins the PCs and his business is no more.

Wondering if they are trying to add to the resume of some of these candidates to give them more credibility for the next election. I know Obby and Klein were tight in the byelections and I wouldn't be surprised to see Teitsma and Morley-Lecomte pushed too. I'm sure they'll all be front and centre giving away tax dollars making a ton of announcements over the next few months with Stefanson in preparation for the next election.

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lamont-stefanson-suspension-sought-1.6731401

Quote

Manitoba's Liberal leader wants a judge to suspend Premier Heather Stefanson from the legislature for three months if the court decides she violated provincial conflict of interest rules.

On Feb. 13, Manitoba's Court of King's Bench will hold a hearing to determine whether Stefanson contravened conflict of interest legislation when she did not promptly disclose $31 million worth of real estate sales by a company that listed her as a director.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont launched the civil lawsuit in 2022, after Stefanson apologized for failing to submit disclosure paperwork following the sale of three Winnipeg properties owned by McDonald Grain Company Ltd., a real estate holding company.

Those transactions took place in 2016 and 2019, before the Tuxedo MLA became Manitoba's premier.

The province's Conflict of Interest Act states MLAs must notify the clerk of the legislative assembly within 30 days if they dispose of any asset.

Stefanson told reporters in January 2022 she did not submit the paperwork within the required 30 days.

 

[WildPath]

6 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lamont-stefanson-suspension-sought-1.6731401

 

Just some background on this. Lamont had to bring the case forward as a civilian (and had to pay legal charges personally) because there was no other way to enforce accountability on Stefanson.

[JCon]

1 hour ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lamont-stefanson-suspension-sought-1.6731401

 

PC stands for Party of Crime. 

[Tracker]

17 minutes ago, JCon said:

PC stands for Party of Crime. 

When you rule by divine right, laws are irrelevant and do not apply to anyone but the peasants.

[Mark H.]

It's like a race to finish last. We now have NDP candidates asking people to donate their "rebate" cheques to their campaigns.

 

[Wideleft]

Stefanson-Glover leadership fight leaves Manitoba PCs with $300K election-year hangover

 

Party used donations to cover legal, audit costs stemming from 2021 leadership race dispute, premier says

Bartley Kives, Joanne Levasseur · CBC News · Posted: Feb 22, 2023 5:00 AM CST | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

 

Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party has to replace $300,000 worth of political donations after using money it already raised to ease a lingering financial headache from its fractious 2021 leadership race.

The governing PCs face an additional election year fundraising burden after the central party used donations to pay for legal and audit costs following Heather Stefanson's narrow victory over Shelly Glover, party spokesperson Michele Halverson confirmed.

Slightly more than $300,000 was raised by PC constituency associations and transferred to the party, Halverson said in a statement.

"This effort started over a year ago with $300,000 raised by our constituencies," she said. "These funds, which were held by the party, have since been forgiven in support of our overall financial and organizational efforts."

Those overall efforts, Halverson confirmed, include the financial aftermath of the 2021 leadership race, which Stefanson won by a 363-vote margin on Oct. 30, 2021.

An effort by Glover to overturn that result in court was quashed by a judge seven weeks later, on Dec. 17, 2021.

• Judge dismisses Shelly Glover's application to throw out Manitoba PC Party leadership result

According the Progressive Conservative Party's financial statements for 2021, nearly $280,000 worth of legal and audit bills contributed to an overall deficit of slightly more than $415,000.

Comments to constituency

Earlier this month, Stefanson told members of her Tuxedo constituency association that the lawsuit continues to affect the party's finances.

"We were unfortunately in a lawsuit which continues, and that is unfortunate, but it's the situation that we're in as a party," Stefanson said in an audio recording provided to CBC News by a Tuxedo PC association member.

"Of course, these lawsuits cost money, and so the central party asked constituencies to forgive the money that was owed back to the constituencies in order to help pay for that," Stefanson continued.

"So that was more than $300,000 that was owed out to the constituencies. We of course said we're fine with that; everyone did as well. All of my colleagues did. So I'm very proud of that, but [this is] a very difficult time."

• Manitoba PCs could take financial hit after abruptly sticking a fork in fall fundraising dinner

The premier went on to say the PCs must move forward and focus on fundraising in advance of a provincial election slated for Oct. 3.

"We've got a lot of work to do and I think we can spend upwards of ... $55,000 in the constituency for the election campaign. We want to make sure that we've got those dollars in our in our bank," she said, referring to the Tuxedo constituency association's balance.

"So more work to do. But that's that's the reason why that is not higher than it should be."

The PC's use of donations to help pay for the leadership battle does not appear to be controversial within the party. Several donors contacted by CBC News said they had no concerns about the practice.

Keith Borkowsky, a 2021 PC donor based in Beausejour, Man., said he would have preferred to see the money spent on support for PC candidates this year.

"From my own perspective, I'm not thrilled the money was used for legal purposes that possibly could have been avoided," Borkowsky said in an interview from Brandon.

Royce Koop, a University of Manitoba political studies professor, said he believes the PCs will be able to secure enough new donations during an election year to replace the $300,000.

"I think this is probably something that the Tories can make up," Koop said in a statement.

There could be more costs related to the 2021 leadership contest. Glover and the PCs have yet to agree to costs related to the civil legal action, Glover said in a statement.

While the PCs ended 2021 with a deficit, both the NDP and Liberals posted surpluses for that year. All three of Manitoba's three largest political parties have have yet file their financial statements for 2022.

• Manitoba PCs still enjoy fundraising edge over Opposition NDP, but gap is shrinking

All three of these parties say they will not suffer any financial effects from a separate civil suit: Liberal leader Dougald Lamont's effort to convince a court Stefanson violated provincial conflict of interest rules.

Lamont said he is paying his legal bills out of pocket. Halverson said Stefanson is following suit.

The NDP are not taking part in the suit.

[blue_gold_84]

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/many-manitobans-think-provinces-are-intentionally-ruining-public-health-care-poll-1.6291371

Quote

Nearly half of Manitobans think that provinces are intentionally ruining public health-care with the goal of making privatization look better, according to a new poll.

The online survey was conducted by the Angus Reid Institute from Feb. 1 to 4, asking more than 2,000 Canadian adults their thoughts about the privatization of the health-care system.

It found that 49 per cent of Manitobans agree that the provinces are dragging their feet on public health-care to make privatization look like a better option, while 34 per cent disagree with this sentiment, and 17 per cent couldn’t say one way or the other.

These survey results were released on Monday, just days after Manitoba and the federal government reached a $6.7 billion health-care deal. The deal includes $1.2 billion for a bilateral agreement focusing on shared health-care priorities and a $72 million one-time top-up to the Canada Health Transfer paid to Manitoba to address urgent needs.

 

[WildPath]

9 hours ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/many-manitobans-think-provinces-are-intentionally-ruining-public-health-care-poll-1.6291371

 

That is a pretty incredible statistic.

I would like to further poll the remaining 51% to see how they split between 1) incompetence, 2) indifference, 3) they are doing the best they can despite the evil Federal government.

[Mark H.]

2 hours ago, WildPath said:

3) they are doing the best they can despite the evil Federal government.

The same feds who have added billions to social transfers. 

[CodyT]

On 2023-01-30 at 7:54 PM, WildPath said:

You're forgetting about Obby. The guy should be in charge of the department of government grants. Received the most Covid funding grants from the PCs while unsure which party he would join. Soon after receiving the grant he joins the PCs and his business is no more.

Wondering if they are trying to add to the resume of some of these candidates to give them more credibility for the next election. I know Obby and Klein were tight in the byelections and I wouldn't be surprised to see Teitsma and Morley-Lecomte pushed too. I'm sure they'll all be front and centre giving away tax dollars making a ton of announcements over the next few months with Stefanson in preparation for the next election.

A good friend of mine worked for obby for a long time and let me say without going into detail he was not good to his staff at all.

Not a fan of his based on what I know. Mind you this was a few years ago now and maybe he's changed his practices 

 

[rebusrankin]

I got my cheque from the pcs today so my $ worries are over. What inflation, amirite?

[Tracker]

Our minister of health, Ms. Gordon appeared on tv to explain the PC's dramatic and effective revamping of healthcare but sprinted away from the microphones when asked probing questions.  Hit and run seems to be the evolving strategy for the PCs.

[Wideleft]

14 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

I got my cheque from the pcs today so my $ worries are over. What inflation, amirite?

I don't want the gubment telling me what my carbon is worth.  Let me sell it on the open market!

[Mark H.]

2 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

I don't want the gubment telling me what my carbon is worth.  Let me sell it on the open market!

I'm putting mine on the beaver currency - put those HBC back stabbers in their place!

[JCon]

15 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

I got my cheque from the pcs today so my $ worries are over. What inflation, amirite?

Just, for the love of God, don't get sick. Or, want to get an education. 

[JohnnyAbonny]

1 hour ago, JCon said:

Just, for the love of God, don't get sick. Or, want to get an education. 

At least an education that doesn’t involve giving six figures to a religious institution. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by JohnnyAbonny

[Tracker]

On 2023-01-30 at 11:35 AM, Wideleft said:

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has made changes to her cabinet.

She is demoting three ministers who recently announced they will not be running in the next election — Cameron Friesen in finance, Reg Helwer in government services, and Alan Lagimodiere in Indigenous reconciliation.

Four backbenchers, all from Winnipeg, are being promoted to cabinet — Obby Khan, Kevin Klein, Janice Morley-Lecomte and James Teitsma.

Some ministers are changing portfolios.

Cliff Cullen moves from economic development to finance, while Eileen Clarke moves from municipal relations to Indigenous reconciliation.

Stefanson said in early January she would shuffle her cabinet, after four ministers announced they would not be running again in the election slated for Oct. 3.

Last week, Friesen announced he was leaving his finance portfolio and would soon resign his legislature seat to try for a seat in the House of Commons.

The shuffle comes as the governing Progressive Conservatives have lagged behind the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls for two years.

The drop started during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitals began to struggle to deal with rising patient counts and surgeries were postponed. In 2021, dozens of intensive care patients were flown to other provinces in a bid to free up beds.

Stefanson has also recently shaken up her staff as well. She changed her chief of staff and replaced her communications director.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023

The Canadian Press

 

 

The highest level of education mentioned in our new Minister of Advanced Education's bio:

 

About Sarah Guillemard

Sarah is a community activist and long-time Fort Richmond resident.

A graduate of Fort Richmond Collegiate,

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/2023-budget-1.6765987

Quote

All working Manitobans will have less of their income taxed — and thousands of the province's lowest income earners will stop paying income tax entirely — as the Progressive Conservative government continues to loosen the purse strings in the waning months before a scheduled October election.

The Manitoba government's 2023 budget, released Tuesday, commits to raise the income level at which people start paying tax from the current $10,145 to $15,000.

That amount — the basic personal exemption — normally increases each year based on the rate of inflation, a calculation that would have raised the exemption to $10,855 this year.

On average, a taxpayer will save $448 due to the larger increase, according to the province. The change also means 47,000 more low-income earners will pay no income tax at all, the province says.

The government is planning as well to raise all tax brackets starting in 2024, which will further lower the tax burden on working Manitobans.

A $363-million deficit is projected, but the government could have balanced its budget with the money it is instead dedicating to tax relief. 

"Unlike the budgets of my predecessors where fiscal responsibility ruled the day, Budget 2023 fully reflects the Progressive Conservative roots of our premier," Cullen said Tuesday afternoon, in his speech presenting the budget in the legislature.

Premier Heather Stefanson, speaking during an early afternoon briefing, said her government's budget "puts hundreds of millions of dollars back in the pockets of Manitobans while investing billions more in the services families rely on."

"It is truly historic help for all Manitobans."

Must be an election year.

[GCn20]

4 hours ago, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/2023-budget-1.6765987

Must be an election year.

Does it even matter what is in the budget. It's over for the PCs in Manitoba in October. That ship has sailed. In four years they can focus on regaining a majority but this budget won't help them then. New leader, new candidates, new vision they can sell against  Kinew's crew is the only path forward for them now.

I, for one, welcome the change. I think political parties have a two term shelf life and should be shown the door. Very rarely does any government do anything very well in their 3rd consecutive term and beyond. Not sure why that is exactly, perhaps they just get tired out or get too brave and start implementing too far away from centre...not sure...but it is usually a **** show.

Edited March 8, 2023 by GCn20