Brewing up Debate: Alternatives to Austerity in Manitoba

Note time change!   Feb 9th start 6:00 pm – come for 5:30 and buy your snack and beverage of choice.

Carbon Pricing and Climate Mitigation Backgrounder Part I

By James Magnus-Johnston

The federal government has stated that if provinces don’t impose a price on carbon, it will impose its own price by 2018.  Trudeau has stated that “if neither price nor cap and trade is in place by 2018, the government of Canada will implement a price in that jurisdiction.”

Eight out of ten provinces will be designing their own mechanism to collect and “recycle” revenues under the new “Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.” While Saskatchewan and Manitoba have chosen not to sign for now, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has stated support for a carbon price. He is currently withholding adoption until an agreement is reached over long-term health care funding.

Pulling back the curtain on University budget reports

By Cameron and Janet Merrill

The need to “tighten our belts” is heard so often in the public sector, it is pretty much accepted without question. This is certainly the case for Canadian universities: actions such as raising tuition fees, cutting programs, increasing class sizes and workloads, closing defined benefit pension plans, cutting salaries, discontinuing library subscriptions, and replacing tenure track positions with casual academic staff are seen as regrettable but necessary when claims of challenging fiscal times are repeated over and over.

How to really help Manitoban families: Build a universal childcare system

By Susan Prentice,

Manitoba’s childcare system is staggering to meet the needs of parents and children, and recent signs give little confidence the new provincial government will respond effectively. Over a dozen community groups who are ready to proceed with building not-for-profit childcare spaces have had their promised provincial capital grants abruptly frozen, halting all expansion. Wait lists for childcare in Manitoba are at an all-time high, at over 15,000 names up from 12,000 just two years ago.

Portage la Prairie P3 decision fails the public interest test

By Paul Moist

Pursuant to new provincial and federal effluent guidelines, the City of Portage la Prairie is required to upgrade its wastewater facilities, known as the Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF). The new Public-Private Partnership (P3) project has not undergone public scrutiny. Past examples point to P3s being more expensive than public management of these project.

Responding to the Fentanyl crisis: Constructing better drug policy in Manitoba

First published on CBC online edition Dec 3, 2016

By Ellen Smirl,

Increasing tragic deaths from Fentanyl are raising calls to deal with this crisis. Evidence shows that controlling supply and criminalizing drug users does not address the root causes of addictions, which are complex and multi-faceted. Research shows that supports to those experiencing addictions, both harm reduction and treatment, are needed as this piece will discuss.

62 Recommendations and the Legacy of Phoenix Sinclair

By Shauna MacKinnon

“ the social and economic conditions that render children vulnerable to abuse and neglect are well beyond the scope of the child welfare system” (Hon. Ted Hughes, Commissioner, The Legacy of Phoenix Sinclair: Achieving the Best for All Our Children).

Phoenix Sinclair spent much of her young life in and out of the care of Child and Family Services. She died at the hands of her parents in 2005.

On December 31, 2013, the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry Commission released its much anticipated final report. Also known as the “Hughes Report” this comprehensive, 3-volume, 870-page document examines the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of 5-year old Phoenix Sinclair and outlines 62 recommendations for action resulting from 21 months of intense proceedings.

Aboriginal Homelessness in Flin Flon Manitoba

Report by Evelyn Peters and Shelly Craig,

While it is widely recognized that Aboriginal people are over-represented in the urban homeless population, most research has focused on Aboriginal homelessness in metropolitan areas. Very little attention has been paid to the issue in small northern towns. The small amount of research that has been done on the topic suggests that there are also challenges associated with Aboriginal homelessness in more remote urban areas, and that there are unique aspects to homeless populations in these areas. This study attempts to contribute to our knowledge about urban Aboriginal homelessness with research on this issues in Flin Flon, Manitoba, a small northern mining community.

Read full report

Newcomer families: The role of housing and wrap around supports in Winnipeg

IRCOM staff and participants.

By Jill Bucklaschuk,

As housing advocates across the country recognize National Housing Day on November 22nd, we must continue to acknowledge the central role of housing in building inclusive communities and seek ways to ensure that all low-income families have access to affordable, safe, and good quality housing. Vulnerable and marginalized populations such as newly arrived immigrant and refugee families all too often suffer the indignity of scouring the private rental market for suitable housing only to face discrimination, unaffordable rental rates, poorly cared for buildings, and undesirable neighbourhoods. Upon arrival in Canada, obtaining housing is a top priority for newcomer families, but finding a suitable residence proves to be a profound challenge without social networks, employment prospects, and knowledge about the nature of both rental markets and neighbourhoods.

Community looking for action plan from Province on poverty

By Josh Brandon,

When Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon delivers the throne speech November 21, a plan for poverty reduction should top the government’s priority list. The Province has promised a plan by next year’s budget and Manitobans are waiting for details.

Poverty comes in many forms, most of them hidden from public view: an empty fridge at the end of the month; a coolness in the room, because hydro rates have gone up and income hasn’t; a mom juggling between her threadbare budget and her child’s unpredictable growth spurts. Poverty reflects the impossible choice of asking not what can be done without, but what is essential that will nonetheless be sacrificed.