NDP not as Green and Growing as they claim

Have you seen the latest taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign by the NDP to convince you about how 'green' the NDP is?

Don't believe it for a second.

An excellent critique of the NDP's 'Green and Growing' claims has been presented by the environmental organization Manitoba Wildlands. For full details, take a look at http://manitobawildlands.org/pa_commitments.htm#critique

But I will quickly mention three points:

1) The NDP are environmental slowpokes. At the rate the NDP has been going since 1999 in designating new protected areas, Manitoba Wildlands says: "it would take the province the next 50 years to actually make the decisions regarding the candidate areas for protected status which are currently in the system now."

2) The NDP are creating a smokescreen to suggest they are taking action when they are not. Manitoba Wildlands says: "New special protection and management designations" are a smokescreen designed to delay protected areas decisions; the tools to designate the "unique areas"... already exist under current legislation."

3) The NDP use lip service rather than real service. Manitoba Wildlands says: "The Manitoba government's support for the World Heritage Site nomination has been lip service only"

And I would point out that Manitoba Wildlands did not mention the NDP's dismal failure with respect to establishing a new Lowlands National Park in Manitoba.

The fact is that the only thing that's 'green and growing' under the NDP are the ever increasing algal blooms on Lake Winnipeg! While it spends all its effort and our money in trying to convince us that everything is just fine, the NDP continues to do remarkably little to help save Lake Winnipeg.

Darfur

Sunday afternoon, a sizeable crowd marched from the University of Winnipeg to the Legislature to express their concern about the situation in Darfur. As I walked with others to draw attention to this important issue, I talked with individuals who have come from Africa to Manitoba, or who have visited Africa recently. There is a big concern that this is a repeat of the genocide which happened in Rwanda, and that the world is not acting to prevent the tragedy in Darfur.

To learn more about the terrible situation in Darfur, visit:
Save Darfur www.savedarfur.org
Coalition for Darfur www.coalitionfordarfur.blogspot.com
Africa Action www.africaaction.org
Genocide Intervention Network www.genocideintervention.net

The Adoption '06 Journey Conference - and Candle Lighting Ceremony

Late Saturday afternoon at the legislature, adoptees, birth families and adopted families gathered for a candle lighting ceremony as part of the Adoption Journey Conference held in Winnipeg.

I met people from various parts of Manitoba - Miami, near MacGregor, St. Pierre and Winnipeg at the ceremony at the Legislature. I heard that the Conference was very useful in helping people to come together to talk about the adoption process, raising adopted children and to get the perspective of children who were adopted.

The Second Annual Fundraising Banquet for the African Canadian Cultural Centre

Last night, at the Convention Centre, there was the second annual banquet in support of the African Canadian Cultural Centre. This important initiative is moving forward but it is not there yet - and more funds are needed before it becomes a reality.

Chaired by Mr. Akim Kambamba, with Mr. Bill Norrie as Keynote Speaker, and with much African dancing and drumming, the event at the Convention Centre was a success.

The photos were all taken at the event.

Multiple Sclerosis - The need for real action

I have been giving some more thought on the issue of getting action in Manitoba on Multiple Sclerosis. A big question that I am thinking about right now is: does the new NDP Minister of Health have the health care experience needed to handle this particularly important portfolio?

I think the new minister's handling of Multiple Sclerosis is an early test of her ability. Here is why.

Based on the figures provided at the Multiple Sclerosis conference this weekend, it is clear that this disease costs the health care system more than $100 million per year in Manitoba. Obviously, we need to get the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this condition right. We need to have, in essence, a well-functioning 'Centre of Excellence in Multiple Sclerosis' in Manitoba which can integrate prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and database management to make sure we are making progress. Here's some reasons why.

1) It is vitally important the Multiple Sclerosis is detected and treated early.

Evidence presented at the conference emphasized that early detection and treatment can modify the disease of Multiple Sclerosis and considerably improve the outcome for people – as well as decrease health care costs to our system.

So, we need much greater public awareness of the signs and symptoms of MS. For example, 40% of people with Multiple Sclerosis initially present with double vision (or in medical terminology – diplopia). For example, 64% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis have optic neuritis (an inflammation of the nerve which goes to the eye) and this will usually present with loss of vision or changes in vision leading to a decrease in the ability to see colours or to see contrast.

We also need a well coordinated province-wide approach to detecting and treating multiple sclerosis early on.

2) Multiple Sclerosis may be preventable in some people.

Experts at the conference talked about the fact that there are both genetic and environmental reasons for developing Multiple Sclerosis. The environmental causes are not fully defined, but it is very likely that these are preventable causes.

Multiple Sclerosis is more often found in temperate and tropical climates. The reason may be related to sunlight or diet. If it is sunlight related, then some cases may be preventable with exposure to ultra-violet light or by ensuring people have adequate amounts of vitamin D.

Multiple sclerosis is also more often found inland that at the ocean. There is reasonable evidence that MS occurs less in areas where there is a higher intake of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish, and are increasingly available in a variety of other foods (flax oil, omega 3 enriched eggs, etc.). Nutrition experts like Dr. Bruce Holub have been arguing for some time that Canadians generally have too little omega 3 fatty acids compared to the omega 6 fatty acids (found in milk and meats in particular).

If we can decrease the incidence of Multiple Sclerosis through changes in lifestyle, then this will have both major health benefits and major cost savings to our health care system. Manitoba should be part of a national effort to check which changes make a difference and what should be recommended to reduce the incidence of multiple sclerosis.

3) A major change is occurring in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis from traetment in hospital to primary treatment in a clinic.

Presenters at the conference described the dramatic reduction in need for hospitalization for people with Multiple Sclerosis and the need for much more focus on care in a Multiple Sclerosis clinic. For example, one of the major presenting symptoms of MS is optic neuritis. This can now be almost always treated in the clinic. But to do this well, the clinic at the Health Sciences Centre (the major clinic for Multiple Sclerosis in Manitoba) needs to be much better supported and needs to be highly networked with physicians around the province to ensure the best possible care. Better support for this clinic will give better prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and the provision of more resources for the clinic will be offset by decreases in hospital and other treatment costs elsewhere in the health care system.

4) Home care versus personal care homes for those with Multiple Sclerosis.

Discussion I had with attendees at the conference also emphasized the fact that personal care homes are the wrong place to be caring for individuals who are at or near 50 years old with Multiple Sclerosis. The problem is that at present too many individuals who are of younger ages with Multiple Sclerosis are being put in personal care homes with much older individuals. We need much better alternatives for caring for those with multiple sclerosis.


As you can see, there was a lot of solid information to be gained from the conference as well as an opportunity to speak first hand with those with MS and those working with MS. It concerns me greatly not see the new Health Minister attend this event, even for a short while.

Multiple Sclerosis - A serious disease that needs serious action in Manitoba

On Saturday, I attended a major conference on Multiple Sclerosis in Winnipeg. The conference brought together individuals with MS, family members of those with MS, and health care professionals caring for those with MS.

There are a lot of people in Manitoba with Multiple Sclerosis - I've been told the number is around 3,500, though there appears to be some debate over the precise figure. Estimates range between 3,000 and 4,500. The higher number may reflect, in part, the inclusion of those with mild forms of Multiple Sclerosis may be missed in the statistics.

Whatever the precise number is, Multiple Sclerosis is a major disease in our province and needs to be treated as such. At the conference, we heard that the lifetime cost to our health care system is more than $2 million per person with Multiple Sclerosis. Even if the number of patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Manitoba was as low as 3,000, this means a cost to our health care system of $6 billion. We need to make sure as a province that we are doing all we can to give the best possible quality of life for those with Multiple Sclerosis, and to ensure that we have a very cost effective system where dollars are spent wisely.

I want to congratulate the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Manitoba Division for their effort in hosting this important and informative conference.

Particular thanks are due to President Norman Velnes (photo), to Resource Coordinator and Program Planner Darell Hominuk, to Director of Client Services Tracy Brown, to Client Services Assistant Judy Hermiston, to Susan Hologroski Manger, Client Services, to Ellen Karr Cient Services Coordinator and to Nadine Konyk, Rural Client Services Coordinator.

Sadly the new Minister of Health, Theresa Oswald, was not present. I would have thought she would jump at the chance to get fully involved and up-to-date on such a serious disease by attending at least a portion of the conference.

The Treherne Dam

Dams in rural Manitoba are often controversial. Though there are some opponents of the proposed Treherne Dam, there is a large measure of local support. The Treherne Dam on the Boyne River is bring proposed to achieve three objectives – improving opportunities for irrigation and growing potatoes, improving recreational opportunities for the area, and providing a future source of water for the community of Treherne.

Friday afternoon Craig Spencer, one of the foremost advocates for the dam, took me on a tour of the area where the dam would be located, and gave me insight into the need to move forward to help build a better future for Treherne and area.

The Almost Giant Killer - Steven Montague

Months of knocking on doors and talking with people in Ward 8 in Brandon, and Steven Montague came within 28 votes of defeating Margo Campbell to become the new councilor for the ward. Steven is a person to watch in the future in Brandon.

South-western Manitoba - continuing education - economic development - and ensuring good water treatment

Friday, in south-western Manitoba. I visited people in Deloraine, in Melita, in Reston and in Brandon. There is a hunger for economic development but it is not happening as well as it needs to happen. There should be much more in the way of local opportunities for young people. And it is not just a matter of creating jobs for young people, it is also a matter of helping young people to see the opportunities to start businesses and create their own jobs for themselves and for others.

And it is not just a matter of bringing in big projects from outside. We need a provincial government which has a much clearer vision of working with communities to foster increased local opportunities for starting and building businesses. In the era of the internet and the world wide web, many businesses can be located away from major centres, but we have not yet done enough to create the environment to facilitate the building of such businesses in communities like Deloraine and Melita and Reston.

While the rural municipality of Pipestone has been fortunate to bring in more oil revenue this year, there is not yet a clear plan to use the funds wisely to build for the future.

There is some adult education in Deloraine, but there are problems training individuals to be certified to operate water treatment plants. I suspect, as well, that we need to be doing better in training and developing the entrepreneurs who will start and grow businesses in Deloraine and nearby communities.

There is much that is possible – to build on the existing agricultural base - from wind energy to ethanol to biodiesel. There are also new opportunities in information technology and environmental industries.

One positive development which is coming is the Cancer Care centre in Deloraine. Using strong information technology and other supports, this centre will enable a considerable part of cancer treatment to be delivered locally. In the 1990s, this approach to outreach and improved local delivery of medical care had been extended to many communities around Manitoba. It should not have taken so long to get it to Deloraine. Indeed, there are other areas of health care, where we should be working in a similar fashion to provide more health care locally. Indeed, a focus of the provincial government should be to ensure that more services are delivered locally instead of the opposite.

NDP fail Manitoba when it comes to research and innovation

NDP give little attention to Research and Innovation even though it is one of the most important area to emphasize if Manitoba is to move forward

Under the NDP, Manitoba rate of investment in research and innovation is 0.82% of GDP, just half the national average of 1.64%. It shows that the NDP have failed to ensure investment in one of the most important area to the future of our province. It is no wonder Manitoba continues to do poorly compared to other provinces.

The lack of investment in research and development and in innovation is a major reason behind the NDP’s continued failure to halt the brain-drain of skilled Manitobans leaving for other provinces.

The poor record of the NDP is apparent from a look at the “Invest” section of MB Check-up, a report issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba.


Indicators shown in report include:
statistics from the

· Manitoba’s ratio of R&D investment to GDP of 0.82% – half the Canadian average of 1.64%
· Manitoba’s employment share of workers in the natural and applied sciences that has fallen from 5.3% in 2000 to 4.9% in 2005, while the Canadian average rose from 6.7% to 6.9% during the same period
· Manitoba has one of the lowest rates in Canada for labour productivity at 32.3%, far behind the rest of Canada (37.6%) including Alberta (40.7%), Ontario (39.1%), British Columbia (35.8%) and Saskatchewan (35.7%)
· Manitoba has an effective provincial tax rate of 17.8% at the $80,000 bracket, one that is considerably higher than the rest of Canada (15.3%), and in particular Ontario (14.6%), Saskatchewan (13.6%), Alberta (10.2%) and British Columbia (10.1%)

The falling proportion of employment share of workrs in the natural and applied sciences indicates either Manitoba is not training enough scientists, engineers, skilled labourers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals – or we are disproportionately losing these highly-skilled and educated individuals to other provinces. The latter is far more consistent with what I hear from young people. They’re the ones saying Manitoba is not doing enough to create the jobs that will keep them here. What we really need is a Liberal provincial government and a Liberal Premier who is interested in keeping talent in Manitoba and knows how to get the job done.

Amnesty International Dinner at St. Mary's Academy

Thursday evening, at the Amnesty International Dinner at St. Mary’s Academy, Noelle DePape was the featured speaker. A remarkable woman, Noelle has traveled to many parts of the world and presently works with Youth Internship Projects at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Congratulations to those at St. Mary’s Academy who worked so hard to make this event such a success.

In the photo, Noelle DePape is with my wife Naomi at the dinner.