By Kirsten Bernas,
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press September 19, 2024
THE crisis caused by the recent pause in the Canada Manitoba Housing Benefit (CMHB) demonstrates the volatility of income subsidies as a solution for housing insecurity and homelessness. Housing advocates want governments to quit relying on private sector focused rent benefits, and instead prioritize investments in long-term public assets through the development and maintenance of social housing.
September 19 2024, 12:00 PM CST
For Immediate Release (Winnipeg, Treaty One):
Addressing a major gap in public conversation, a new report proposing a wide-reaching, publicly-supported retrofit program for Manitoba homes was released today from researchers at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba office, and the University of Manitoba.
Eliminating fossil fuels in home heating and cooling is a key, yet often overlooked and under discussed, part of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050—a goal set by the federal government and many others globally. Transitioning to renewable heating and cooling systems will require significant improvements in residential energy efficiency. Currently, buildings account for 17% of GHG emissions in Manitoba and 44% in Winnipeg
The report titled Manitoba Builds Green: Opportunities for a Residential Retrofit Program proposes a wide-reaching, publicly-supported residential retrofit program that would be an engine of transformative green economic growth. Based on interviews with 15 leaders from across the building sector, the report outlines policy changes required to kickstart a green building retrofit industry in Manitoba, expand training and workforce development opportunities, and finance the upfront costs of building retrofits.
By Elizabeth Comack
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press September 11, 2024
The Free Press reported on Aug. 30 the sentencing of Arcel Bissonnette, a doctor convicted of sexual assault against his female patients ( Sex-assaulting ex-doc earns 12-year jail sentence). At a trial last November, Bissonnette was convicted of sexually assaulting five women during pelvic examinations between 2001 and 2017. In February, the doctor pled guilty to charges involving the sexual assaults of two more women in 2005 and 2011.
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press September 10, 2024
MANITOBA’S buildings have a massive opportunity beneath them — unused renewable energy. Incredibly, the technology exists to extract it via geothermal heating and cooling.
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press September 3, 2024
September 8, is International Literacy Day. Regrettably, few people know this. Literacy is a subject largely hidden from public view, even though a decade ago 192,000 Manitobans aged 18-65 years had literacy levels sufficiently low that they could not participate fully in society. In addition to these Manitobans, there are additional tens of thousands who, for various reasons, do not have a high school diploma and would like to earn one. Most cannot because for the past two decades, Manitoba’s adult basic education system has been underfunded, thus restricting access.
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press August 28, 2024
Since the oil price shocks of 2021/22, gas taxes have become highly political in Canada. Premier Smith in Alberta, and Premier Ford slashed gas taxes in 2021/22. In January 2024, Premier Kinew followed suit by implementing Manitoba’s gas tax holiday.
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press August 2, 2024
By Anne Lindsey
Anyone driving Highway 17 from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay will pass through Ignace a couple of hours east of Dryden. A modest Canadian Shield town with about 1300 inhabitants, Ignace was built on the forest industry, but like so many northern Ontario towns, today actively seeks other economic opportunities.
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press August 1, 2024.
By Shauna MacKinnon
Manitoba politicians are fixated on the “Houston model” as the solution to homelessness.
The obsession began prior to the recent provincial election when then opposition leader Wab Kinew pointed to the Houston model as the approach his government would take if elected. Since then Houston has seen a trail of Manitoba delegations. In September 2023 Mayor Gillingham and his housing advisor visited Houston. In March 2024 the Winnipeg Free Press sent a reporter and a CBC reporter followed in May 2024. This past week Manitoba’s Housing Minister took a delegation of 26 people to Houston. Houston is celebrated for its success in greatly reducing homelessness, however investigative journalists in the U.S. have revealed the same issues that Manitoba housing advocates have long pointed out having seen the limitations of a similar approach used here.
Shauna MacKinnon with Joel Templeman and Shanleigh Chartrand
North End Connect was established during the COVID-19 pandemic by organizations situated on Selkirk Avenue. They were concerned about the pandemic’s impact on low-income households in the neighbourhood who were further disadvantaged because they did not have access to the internet. They wanted to better understand the challenges related to digital exclusion and identify potential solutions. In 2021 Joel Templeman, Executive Director of the Internet Society (Manitoba Chapter) and graduate student at the University of Calgary approached the MRA for support for the research component of this community-led project. Since then, North End Connect has moved from research to action, working in collaboration with the community toward its digital inclusion goals.
The MRA wanted to learn more about North End Connect’s transformative research approach and the status of the project. MRA Principal Investigator Shauna MacKinnon spoke with Joel Templeman and Shanleigh Chartrand about North End Connect. Their conversation is below, edited for length.
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