Niki Ashton echoes First Nations’ calls for military aid
Niki Ashton, NDP MP for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, echoed some Manitoba First Nations’ calls for military support on reserves overwhelmed by rising COVID-19 cases.
Manitoba
NDP proposes plan for return to in-person learning
The Manitoba NDP released a statement Jan. 10 calling on the PC government to adopt “measures to make schools safer and ease the burden of at-home learning” on families, and proposed five solutions the provincial government could implement to help families manage the delay to in-person learning.
Ottawa distributing 140 million rapid tests across Canada
Ottawa will be sending 140 million rapid tests to provincial and territorial governments to assist with overwhelmed PCR testing capacities nationwide.
Research begins at the Churchill Marine Observatory
The new Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO) began operations last week, with the first research project underway after over 10 years of development. The CMO is led by a team of University of Manitoba researchers including scientific director David Barber, board of directors chair Gary Stern and chief scientists Feiyue Wang and C.J. Mundy.
Petition for inclusive health care to be read in legislature
Healthcare For All, a coalition made up of 15 grassroots organizations, called for Manitoba’s health-care program to be expanded to include international students, migrant workers, refugees and undocumented people at a press conference last Thursday.
Government making U of M less competitive
Why attend the University of Manitoba? It’s a question that can be asked in two contexts: why does the U of M seemingly feel weighed down by political decisions of the provincial government? And why should a student come to the U of M despite these struggles?
Fishers are not the cause of Lake Winnipeg’s condition
Historically, Manitoba has treated Lake Winnipeg as a sink for resources, citing the lake’s economic value as motivation to maintain its ecological integrity. But this approach means sustaining the bare minimum of environmental standards to ensure its supposed value does not diminish. The result of this approach is a policy of perpetual catch-up — pollute as you go and fix the problem later. That is exactly what the PCs are doing when they blame the sustainability practices of fishers for the lake’s pollution and utter humble praises for Manitoba Hydro in the same speech.
Traffic blocked in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en
Activists blocked traffic on Portage Avenue as part of several rallies organized by Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition on Friday. The rallies were in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders and in opposition to the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline.
Tuxedo UMFA march makes some noise
Despite promotion considered problematic by some, an evening strike march through Old Tuxedo proceeded smoothly last Tuesday.
Austerity holding students and province back
The strike currently taking place at the U of M is only the most recent symptom of the government’s austerity agenda and is making matters worse. If labour market tightness is the problem — as Manitoba’s new premier asserted during her leadership campaign — we should be investing more in our post-secondary institutions and doing more to support students to move through their programs and get in the job market.