Poverty on the Agenda: an analysis of party platforms

By Josh Brandon  Manitobans rate themselves to be a generous and caring society. When natural disasters strike, we are the first to respond. Manitobans are Canada’s most reliable donors to causes both at home and abroad. So how …

Publicly-owned liquor stores work for Manitoba

By Cheryl Lysy With the provincial election around the corner, parties are gearing up with promises for Manitobans. The Liberal leader, Rana Bokhari, is promising to turn liquor sales into private business. The Conservatives and NDP have stated …

Student Issues are Election Issues

By Brianne Goertzen and Michael Barkman  Lazy, entitled, apathetic, disengaged, these are just some of the words that are used to mis-categorize and label post-secondary students. The reality of the average Manitoban student strings together a series of …

Federal Budget provides opportunities for Social Housing in Manitoba

By Josh Brandon Budget 2016 provides some welcome news for nearly 600,000 Canadian families who depend on social housing. The budget allocates $2.3 billion dollars over two years for housing initiatives. While this announcement falls short of the …

Mainstream media, reconciliation and Wab Kinew

By Tina Keeper and Shauna MacKinnon Winnipeg Free Press columnist Gordon Sinclair’s depiction of Wab Kinew is offensive with damaging implications that reach beyond the election (WFP March 12th and 26th, 2016). Sinclair uses his privileged position as …

Who’s Doing What about Poverty Reduction?

By Shauna MacKinnon For Manitoban’s concerned about poverty, there will be much to consider when sorting through political party platforms and promises in search of a meaningful poverty reduction plan. Poverty alleviation is a long-term proposition. No provincial …

Regulating Fringe Banking in Manitoba: a work in progress

By Seed Winnipeg Since 2007 the Manitoba government has undertaken a series of steps to regulate fringe banks. Arguably this is contributing to the common good, because of the growth of fringe financial services and the process of …

Critics Wrong- Economy Strong

By Lynne Fernandez Although the 137 page fiscal update is much shorter on detail than a full budget would be, there are enough broad strokes to give us a bit of an economic picture. And that picture generated …

Accessible and in the Public Interest? Manitoba’s University System

By Mark Hudson Manitobans recognize that universities play a variety of important social roles, well beyond preparing people for successful careers. University research plays a foundational role in advancing our understanding of the world, helps develop solutions to …

Manitoba’s Pension Record

By Paul Moist Pensions and the retirement security concerns of Canadians have been in the news in a big way in recent years. With two-thirds of Canadian workers not covered by a workplace pension plan and a majority …