Treaty 1 Territory, Homeland of the Red River Métis, Winnipeg MB - The Manitoba Liberal Party hosted its one-day Annual General Meeting today at the Best Western Airport Hotel.
“We’ve got great candidates nominated, with more to come, and a solid plan to deliver on the issues that matter most to Manitobans - health care, reconciliation, education, crime and the environment,” said Dougald Lamont, Manitoba Liberal Party Leader and MLA for St. Boniface. “We will pay every nurse in the system $10,000 as a thank you, and we’ll offer $10,000 to nurses who come back into the public system for two years. We’ll also offer $5,000 to other health care workers and teams. And we’ll take a meaningful step in reconciliation by returning the $338-million in federal child benefits to First Nations children in CFS, that was illegally taken by the NDP and PCs alike.”
The day consisted of a Women’s Association Breakfast, Association Meetings, as well as Health, Policy, and Indigenous Rights Panels.
At the AGM, ahead of a provincial general election this year, the Manitoba Liberal Party made a series of policy commitments on health, reconciliation, education and crime.
1. To improve health wait times for Manitobans, and encourage workers to stay or join the public health system, we’ll introduce 'Thank You Retention Bonuses’ of $10,000 to nurses who have been working in the public system, $10,000 to nurses who return to the public system for two years, and $5,000 to all other health care workers.
2. We will return the $338-million to Indigenous children in CFS that was illegally taken from them by the Manitoba PC and NDP governments and negotiate further restitution for the damage caused by the 2000s scoop. Manitoba's Court found that the Manitoba Government violated the human rights of Indigenous children in CFS custody by illegally taking $338-million in federal child benefits intended for their care. 3. To help families in these tough times, we will ensure that no child ever starts the school day hungry, by implementing a K-12 universal nutritional program, and make sure that schools get the funding they need to support every single student.
4. We will make the streets safer and crack down on human trafficking by cutting off criminals’ source of funds. A recent Globe and Mail investigation found that transnational criminal organizations are laundering their funds from human trafficking through numbered companies across Canada, including Manitoba. It is only possible because Manitoba’s lax laws on corporate disclosure lets them hide.
Manitoba Liberals will implement a transparent and searchable public registry of beneficial ownership so that criminals can’t hide their identity behind a corporate front. The measure will help detect and prevent money laundering and tax evasion.
Those were just a few of the MLPs platform planks. The MLP is currently updating their climate plan, which in 2019 was more ambitious than both the NDP and the Green Party, while still delivering an economic boost to the province.
“We’re going to offer a plan to get to work right away, tackling major issues that the other parties have fumbled with for years. And we’re doing it in a way that is effective, progressive, and fiscally responsible,” said Lamont. “If we wanted to govern like the NDP or the PCs, or anyone else for that matter, we wouldn’t be Manitoba Liberals.”