Welcome to the New Year: Our Liberal vision is to be the best in Canada: Manitoba can and should be the best when it comes to child and youth health

With the NDP, Manitoba is ranked second last. With Liberal legislation, Manitoba would be the best in Canada. We can and should be the best. See the full story below.

The Canadian Paediatric Society recently released a report "Are we Doing Enough? A Status Report on Canadian public policy and child and youth health" (see http://www.cps.ca/) - released Dec 8, 2009.

Presently, under the NDP, Manitoba ranks second from the bottom. Converting Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor to numerical ratings of 10,8,6 and 4, gives the following ranking with Nova Scotia the best.

Nova Scotia 82
New Brunswick 78
Ontario 78
Quebec 78
British Columbia 76
Newfoundland and Labrador 74
Prince Edward Island 70
Saskatchewan 68
Manitoba 68
Alberta 64

What was striking to me was that Manitoba's poor ranking is a result of the NDP failure to support or fully implement five pieces of Liberal legislation which are critical to improving child and youth health in Manitoba. If these five pieces of Liberal legislation had been passed and fully implemented, Manitoba would have a score of 90 and be the best in Canada when it comes to child and youth health. Manitoba can be and should be the best in Canada. It is only the NDP which is holding us back.

It is curious to me the number of people who accept the status quo - with Manitoba having a low ranking on many reports like the 2009 Canadian Paediatric Society Report. Liberals believe is does not have to be this way. We can be the best. We should be the best. We may not be able to be the best in everything, but we certainly should do everything we can to be the best in such a critical area as the health of children and youth.

Political pundits, and members of other parties tell me I am making a mistake to put a priority on children and children's health. They emphasize that children don't vote. But, for me, the future of Manitoba is in our children. Our ability to have a strong Manitoba depends critically on how we raise our children. Political pundits can say what they like, but for me, children are at the heart of why I am in politics. And, I believe there are many adults, like me, who believe that we must ensure the health of our children and our youth.

For reference, the pieces of legislation are:
Making booster seats for toddler's mandatory. Such legislation, like that requiring seat belts, exists in almost all other provinces and for good reasons - every dollar spent on a child restraint device, has been found to save $32. There can hardly be a better return on investment, and yet the NDP opposed this measure and made sure it did not pass. (This was Bill 200 of the last session. It was first introduced in May 2008, and has never been supported by the NDP)

Having a provincial plan to address child poverty. Liberals brought in this legislation because poverty is a major issue in Manitoba, and food bank use has gone up enormously under the NDP as a result. Instead of supporting the legislation, modelled on measures passed in other provincees, and acting to reduce poverty and the need for food banks, the NDP called this action to help reduce poverty "drivel". (Bill 201 of this session - first introduced in May 2008, and not supported by the NDP)

Implementing Jordan's Principle. Jordan's Principle provides for the needs of children with special needs to be considered first, including where there are jurisdictional issues between federal and provincial governments. Liberals brought in legislation to achieve this. The NDP have relied on a weak agreement with the federal government which so far is not working all that well (Bill 203 of last session - first introduced in May 2008, and not supported by the NDP)

Making bicycle helmet legislation mandatory. Such legislation now exists in most other provinces and has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing head injuries and deaths. Liberals introduced such legislation, modeled on acts in other provinces. The NDP said the Liberal proposal was "flawed", "recycled hash" and "out of touch". However, while this measure was being debated, the Canadian Public Health Association was meeting in Winnipeg and eminent members of this society were talking about whether a boycott of Manitoba in the future might be needed until the province brought its laws to protect children up the standard of other provinces. (Bill 202 in the last session - first introduced in May 2005, and not supported by the NDP)

Legislation to protect children from second hand smoke in cars (initially a Liberal initiative and now passed in Manitoba through NDP legislation, but not fully implemented)

The bottom line: It is time to support Manitoba Liberals to get a better situation for children in our province.