The $100 Million Question

First published in the Winnipeg Free Press Friday July 14, 2017 By Lynne Fernandez and Ian Hudson In March of 2017, the Premier claimed that for every one per cent the province lowered (or didn’t raise) wages for …

Giving Manitoba’s Working Families a Fair Shake: The 2016/17 Living Wage Update

By Lynne Fernandez Notwithstanding stable economic growth and consistently low unemployment, poverty remains a problem in Manitoba. In 2014, 11 per cent of Manitobans lived in low income. That’s down from 11.8 per cent in 2011, however child …

Response to Premier’s bike tour from Selkirk to Peguis First Nation

Premier Brian Pallister announced will be riding his bicycle from the St Peter’s Reserve (Selkirk) to Peguis First Nation this June 16 – 17 to recognize the 200th anniversary of the Selkirk Treaty. This blog summarizes the responses by …

Manitoba’s Budget 2017/2018: When no news is bad news

First published on CBC Manitoba blog April 12, 2017 By Lynne Fernandez The government was well aware that many were dreading yesterday’s budget: Non-profit organizations, healthcare workers, educators and public sector workers in general were bracing for Filmon …

Uber No Solution for Winnipeg: Analysis of taxi and transport

By Paul Moist Conservative forces in the provincial legislature and at Winnipeg City Hall are combining to enable ride-sharing services such as Uber and allow its introduction into the Winnipeg market. Acting on recommendations of the December 2016 …

ID requirements will limit turnout

By Lisa Forbes, Molly McCracken and Ellen Smirl First published in the Winnipeg Free Press March 28, 2017 On March 20th Minister of Justice Heather Stefanson introduced an amendment to the Elections Act that would establish a permanent …

Funding non-profit organizations gives good value for money

By Shauna MacKinnon, Several small non-profit organizations (NPOs) are nervously awaiting Manitoba’s 2017 budget. Funding sources they’ve come to rely on have been ‘on pause’ for months and its beginning to affect the services they provide. Many organizations …

Laying few charges will help reduce overcrowding

[This article was first published in the Winnipeg Free Press, March 8, 2017] By John Hutton Manitoba has a higher proportion of adults in custody than any other province. We lock up people more frequently than Saskatchewan by …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs1WumFoxDk

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. For video of this event click HERE.

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 …