My brother Peter - A public thank you

My whole life, my brother Peter has been a big support. From the days we used to curl together when we were growing up, to the last few days when he drove my parents to Winnipeg from Saskatoon to visit with us, Peter has been a tower of strength.

Taller than me and a better curler than me, Peter chose mathematics in his university years, and then trained as an accountant with Price Waterhouse in Winnipeg in the late 70s and early 80s. After time with Price Waterhouse in Kenya and in Toronto, he moved to work with Raleigh Canada in Toronto and is now the Executive Director at Cosmopolitan Industries in Saskatoon.

Cosmo was founded by the Saskatoon Branch of the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living and the Mental Health Saskatchewan Abilities Council in order to meet the long term needs of adults who are mentally and multiply challenged. Its programs and services are based on the belief "that adults with disabilities have the right to opportunities within their community - to participate in and contribute to, as fully as they are able, all aspects of community life".

In addition to providing programs for those with disabilities (or as I perhaps should say - special abilities), Cosmo is involved in recycling and in making golf clubs. Thus, Cosmo helps provide those with special abilities opportunities to participate and contribute in the larger community. Those who wish more information can go to the Cosmo web site at http://www.members.shaw.ca/cosmoind/

Whether running Cosmo, with his wife Nikki (a first rate psychologist), with their daughter, Sarah and son, Travis, or at the cabin we share at the lake, or with my parents, Peter manages to make time to help others. He deserves a lot of credit and a lot of praise. He may not always have received it - and that is why I am publicly thanking Peter now.

Israel in Egypt

Since 1985, the Mennonite Festival Chorus had been appearing together with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Last night in the oratoria "Israel in Egypt" composed by George Frederic Handel, members of the Mennonite Festival Chorus and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra teamed up to deliver a wonderful performance.

Israel in Egypt is the story of the Hebrew tribes deliverance from Egyptian domination. It is the story of plagues. It is the story of triumphs.

For me, it was fascinating to sit in the same church, Westminster United Church, where I had sat (only a few seats away) the day before. Thursday, I was there to mourn our loss of Campbell Wright. Friday, I was there to listen to the echoes of music and song speaking of plagues and triumphs. Campbell's passing was a great loss, but his efforts are sure to lead to wonderful things yet to come.

Congratulations to conductor Rudy Schellenberg, the co-directors William Baerg, George Wiebe and Rudy Schellenberg, and to all the members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Mennonite Festival Choir who made last night possible.

In the photo, my wife Naomi is shown with Leah Ross who was singing in the Mennonite Festival Chorus. Leah works in my office and we are proud of her singing.

Tasting tea and raising funds

Teas are increasing in popularity, in part because of increasing discussion about the potential health benefits of certain teas. On Academy Road, Cory and Bob Krul have set up Cornelia Bean, a shop full of specialty teas. Cory and Bob mix their own teas and have a wide variety of exotic as well as more conventional teas. I can vouch for their quality because we use them regularly.

Tomorrow, Sunday November 13, we will have a River Heights Liberal Association fundraiser at Cornelia Bean at 417 Academy Road. Please feel free to drop by if you like. It is an exotic tea tasting fundraiser and you will have a chance to sample a variety of teas. It will go from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available in advance or at the door. For tickets, call Liz @ 792-9719 or Jackie @ 489-3277.

The photo shows Bob Krul at Cornelia Bean.

Laying a wreath

It is always an honour to lay a wreath on Remembrance Day to remember those who fought and died so that we can have freedom. Yesterday, I was at the Fort Garry Legion where I laid a wreath on behalf of the Manitoba Liberal Party as part of the ceremony.

I want to say thank you to those who were involved in organizing this event. Thank you Royal Canadian Legion President Brian Cutts and all the folks at the Fort Garry Legion.

Among those who attended the ceremony were Dr. Jean Paterson, the Liberal candidate in Fort Whyte constituency.

In the top photo, I am shown with the cub scouts from the Fort Garry United Church who were an important part of the Remembrance Day service. In the middle, Jean Paterson is shown with Bill Colbourne. The bottom photo shows the Manitoba Liberal Party wreath.

This year, the Year of the Veteran, the ceremony was particularly moving. Perhaps, in part, this was because the music of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and their concert "We Shall Not Forget" was still ringing in my ears from the night before. Perhaps it was partly that my parents and my brother were with me.

My father and the Second World War - Anzio

In late January 1944, the First Reconnaisance Regiment was part of the First Division of the British Army as it landed in Anzio, north-east of Rome in Italy. The goal was to create a fast route to Rome, but as it happened the army was to be held at the Anzio beachead until May.

On February 8, 1944, my father, John Gerrard, the medical officer for the regiment, was providing care for the wounded at the Regimental Aid Post. It was a day of heavy fighting. As Gordon Nisbett wrote later "The relentless shelling by 88 mm German guns continued unabated and JG's aid post became crowded. Some men had sustained manageable wounds but others, because of the severity of their wounds, were in need of more help and care than the aid post could give." These men needed to be transported to the field hospital, but such transportation was impossible while the fire was this heavy.

Fortunately, there was a break in the firing, and my father took those in the aid post to the field hospital in the regimental aid truck. "walking and stretchered casualties were crowded into its covered, tiny, rear compartment." Shortly after they had left "a single, heavy shell (we thought one of 155 mm) crashed through the roof of the farmhouse, penetrated two floors and devastated the evacuated regimental aid post." It was little short of a miracle that everyone had been evaculated, and no one was injured or killed.

This was but one incident during three years in which my father was with the First Recce Regiment while it was engaged in the war.

This morning my father was presented with a Thank you badge by the cub scouts of the Fort Garry United Church. The message on the note accompanying the badge is "Scouting thanks you for all you have done to protect Peace and Freedom worldwide."

My thanks go out to Garrett Suss and the other cubs for the effort they made to say thank you. The photo shows my father receiving the badge from Garrett.

Off and running - The Fort Whyte By-election is called

Today at 3:00 p.m., the Fort Whyte by-election was called. By 4:30, Dr. Jean Paterson, our Liberal candidate, was on the streets with other Liberals waving her signs as motorists headed home. Jean is keen. Jean is hard-working. Jean is determined. Now we just have to help her get elected. If you would like to help out - please call Dennis Trochim at 988-9384. If he does not answer immediately leave a message and he will get back to you soon.

If you want more information about Jean, see my blog for November 7, or visit the Manitoba Liberal web site at http://www.manitobaliberals.ca

Campbell Wright - oh how we miss you

The funeral for Campbell Greenway Wright was today. He was 45, and should have been at the peak of his career. But he was taken from us by a disease that we know all too little about - Amyloidosis.

Campbell was a friend. Over the years he was an incredible support to me - in his efforts to help me get elected in River Heights in 1999, and in so many other ways. I miss you badly Campbell. It seems so unfair that you should be taken from us.

His love of the outdoors and his time with family and friends at the cottage were balanced by his skill and ability as a lawyer, and his commitment to help others by volunteering for so many causes. His ability to contribute as President of the Board of the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 2002 was but one example.

Campbell's grandfather on his mother's side was Douglas Campbell, the Liberal premier of Manitoba from 1948-1958. Campbell's great grandfather on his father's side, Thomas Greenway was the Liberal premier of Manitoba from 1888-1900. He had a strong political heritage, and he was very active in politics. He believed in contributing to the public good.

Naomi and I extend our deep sympathy and condolences to Campbell's wife Lynne Arnason, his sons Kirk and Thomas, to his parents Scott and Sonya and to the many other members of his extended family.

A tribute to my parents

Member's statements in the legislature, which are given just after question period, are an opportunity for MLAs like myself to make public comments. Yesterday, I chose to provide a tribute to my parents. The tribute follows. The photo above shows my parents and my son Charles who were visiting the legislature today.

"Mr. Speaker, in two days it will be November 11, Remembrance Day. Today I pay tribute to my parents. During the Second World War, my father served as a medical officer with the Reconisance Regiment of the British Army. He served in North Africa, in Italy and in Israel.

On one occasion, he was moved to the front to fill in where two medical officers had just been killed. While my father was on the front lines, my mother was working with children and helping them to deal with circumstances where air raids were occurring, planes were flying overhead and bombs were dropping. Her ability to tell stories to calm the children under her care was apparently legendary.

November 11 is a day to remember all those who fought to preserve the freedom and democracy we treasure so much. In paying tribute to my parents, I also honour all others who contributed to preserving and enhancing the democratic rights and freedoms we care so much about."

Working for a more open and accountable health care system

Frances Raglan was admitted to Riverview Health Centre on October 8, 2001. She and her family were told it was for a short-term stay to treat an ankle ulcer and that she would soon be going home on home care. Unknown to Mrs. Raglan or her family, the chart had an order "Reassure the patient/resident/signfiicant other(s) that all comfort measures will be continued to ensure a dignified death." She died in the Riverview Health Centre 18 days later.

The Protection for Persons in Care Office carried out an investigation and reported their findings on January 16, 2002. For three years, Frances Raglan's family had to fight before getting access to the report to see what it said. They asked for help from Manitoba's Ombudsman Barry Tucket. At one point he was so frustrated in his efforts that he told them that the system failed Frances Raglan at both ends and he was mad about the delays.

In order to improve our health care system we need to be more open. People want to know details of their care and their relative's care. We need to be able to learn from mistakes, and this means recognizing they have happened, and acknowledging and apologizing for errors. It also means that circumstances where errors occur need to be looked at carefully and recommendations for improvement made and implemented.

The Protection for Persons in Care Office report contains 8 recommendations. One of these emphasized that "the nursing care plan reflect the current health status of the patient", clearly recognizing that a patient admitted for short term care for an ulcer should not have a care plan which emphasizes dealing with a dignified death.

Yesterday, in question period, I asked the Minister of Health to provide a letter to the Raglan family with details of the extent to which each of the recommendations have been implemented. Familes who have experienced difficulties with the health care system want to know that something has been done to prevent future similar problems. Information on the implementation of recommendations can demonstrate that improvements have been made.

Having a more open health care system is not easy. As a doctor, I know because I have had experience as a caregiver. But my experience as a physician provided lessons which taught me that there are big advantages in being open with patients and their families. Patients and their familes and friends are an important part of the network of care which is so important to achieving the best care possible.

[Follow up: As a result of the efforts of Frances Raglan and our persistence in putting forward a bill to provide for 24 hour access to medical records for those in hospital or personal care homes, legislation to this effect was finally passed in 2008].

We also need a more accountable health care system. Three years ago, November 28, 2002 Roy Romanow in his Commissions Report on the Future of Health Care in Canada recommended that Accountability become a major principle for the operation of our medicare system in Canada. I agree. Indeed, in 2003, in 2004 and today, I introduced legislation which would have required that health services delivered in Manitoba under The Health Services Act and The Health Services Insurance Act comply with the fundamental principle of accountability. The bills I introduced in 2003 and 2004 were not supported by either the NDP or the Conservatives in Manitoba. I am trying again this year in introducing Bill 203 which will provide for accountability as a major principle in the delivery of health care in Manitoba. I welcome your comments.

Leslie Worthington - Apostle of quality health care

Just over two years ago, on October 29, 2003, Leslie came with her family to bring her father to the emergency room at Concordia Hospital. For a whole variety of reasons, Leslie was very concerned about the care provided to her father. A critical clinical occurrence review team looked at this situation and provided ten recommendations. But, the recommendations have not been fully implemented. On October 13, on CJOB, on Richard Cloutier's show, Leslie had a chance to push Dr. Rob Robson, chief patient safety officer with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority on why the recommendations had not been implemented.

The transcript of the conversations on CJOB follows:

Richard Cloutier: "mistakes were made that's been acknowledged, recommendations were made that's been acknowledged. Why's it so tough to implement them?"

Dr. Rob Robson: "... we can review a situation, we can make recommendations, and yet it can still be difficult to get them put in place."

Richard Cloutier: "she [Leslie Worthington] says because they [Concordia Hospital] do not fall technically within the WRHA they are not bound by these recommendations.

Dr. Rob Robson: "On a technical level, that's correct, Concordia is an independent facility... as I explained to Leslie I am not in a position to force somebody to do something, because there isn't that direct linkage there, it's a fact of life, I can't change that."

Richard Cloutier: "Who do we hold accountable?

Dr. Rob Robson: "When we have a complex system I guess we are all somewhat accountable."

Leslie does not believe a "somewhat accountable" system is good enough. She is working hard to improve the accountability so that other people can get better treatment than her father received.

Dr. Jean Paterson - Neuroscientist with a human touch

Jean Paterson is a neuroscientist. This means she is a scientist who has been working on understanding the nerve cells which make up the brain. Specifically she has worked on brain cells called neuroglial cells and on neurosensory cells. Part of her research has looked at understanding the changes in the brain neuroglial cells during the development of the brain. Part of her work has looked at the response of the brain to injury and the ability to influence the regrowth of brain cells following injury. Jean is called Dr. Jean Paterson because she has a Ph.D. which she obtained after many years of work in this field.

While she is a scientist, Jean is also a down-to-earth human being who is interested in people and in dogs and in gardens. In the top photo above Jean is inspecting the Xeroscape garden at the Fort Whyte Centre. In the bottom photo, Jean is at home with two of her dogs.

You can learn more about Jean Paterson by visiting early pages on my blog - those shown below:
Oct 6 - Dr. Jean Paterson nominated as the Liberal candidate in the Fort Whyte by-election
Oct 9 - Jean Paterson, a caring person
Oct 16 - Fort Whyte - Jean Paterson and a linear green space.
Oct 23 - Dr. Jean Paterson - her credentials and Vic Grant
Oct 26 - The Victoria Hospital - will it be in the throne speech

Funding for Primary and Secondary Education

I receive many letters from people who would like education tax removed from property taxes. This is an instance where there are clear differences between Manitoba’s three political parties. Let me review this and explain our Liberal approach.

Under the Conservative government of Gary Filmon, the provincial portion of education funding was reduced from 72% to 62% of overall funding. The Gary Doer NDP government has continued the reduction in the provincial portion of education funding from 62% to 56%. Clearly, the level of education tax on property in Manitoba is far too high as a result of the approaches taken by Conservative and NDP governments in Manitoba. In essence, local property taxpayers payments have increased from 28% up to 44% of the overall funding.

The Conservatives now want to change direction and completely remove education taxes from residential property. How will they fund education? This is a critical question for our future growth as a Province. We see a simple removal as fiscally irresponsible and very difficult to achieve without shortchanging funding of education or other critical areas of provincial spending.

In contrast, the NDP government is funding a lower and lower proportion of education expenses. This will inevitably lead to increasing levels of local education property tax. It also leads to greater disparity between one part of the province to another.

Our Liberal approach to education funding is to provide 80% of education funding from provincial general revenues within four years of the start of a Liberal provincial government. This will reduce the education tax on property by more than half, which will be a big benefit to property owners. We will do this because we believe it is financially achievable and fiscally responsible. It also is a good strategy to promote more investment in Manitoba. .

We will also do this because it will leave 20% of the budget on local property taxes and within the control of the local school boards. In a democracy, we see a critical need for checks and balances in our system. Leaving a portion of the taxing power and the decision making power at the local school board level will mean significant continued local ability to influence the quality of education in our public schools. To have all the funding power fully in provincial government hands has the potential to swing the balance too far to the province. To have less than 80% funding provincially means greater inequity across the province and excessively high property taxes.

It should be noted that a thorough report released in spring 2004 called, as we do, for 80% provincial funding of education.

If you have comments on our approach, please send me an email at jgerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca

Cancer Care Manitoba and Barry McArton

Barry McArton, Executive Director of Cancer Care Manitoba has been doing an excellent job of working with people in the community. Most people know of the Bears on Broadway. Fewer people know that Barry McArton has been a strong supporter of Art Expo, and that Art Expo is a strong supporter of Cancer Care Manitoba. Each year, the Manitoba Art Expo raises thousands of dollars for improved cancer care and research for Manitobans.

The top photo shows me with Barry McArton at the Manitoba Art Expo. The artists from the top photo down are Sherry Sobey, Hubert Theroux and my wife Naomi Gerrard. Congratulations to all the volunteers and the artists who made the Manitoba Art Expo such a success.