Sarah Pinsent-Bardarson, the NDP’s candidate for the Interlake-Gimli riding in Manitoba’s 43rd election, addressed some of the major issues facing the riding, including the critical state of health-care, lack of sufficient funding for rural education, the government’s alienation of commercial fishers, lack of maintenance on provincial drains and the persistent high cost of living.
Pinsent-Bardarson, who ran for the riding in 2019 and has spent the past four years hearing the concerns of residents and councils across the Interlake, said one of the biggest issues she hears from people on the doorstep is cuts to health care which have resulted in delays in access to timely care and fears that emergency care won’t be available when they need it.
Pinsent-Bardarson said the NDP’s plan is to reverse the funding cuts that have degraded health-care services and staffing in the rural riding. The party promises to build a new ER in Eriksdale to improve services for those who live along Highway 6 between Winnipeg and Thompson and also address a lack of health-care staffing and burnout with a $500-million recruitment and retention program. The program will address shortages of physicians, paramedics, nurses, healthcare aides and lab staff that arose as a result of “seven years of deep” cuts.
“There’s been significant staffing shortages in recent years and an unwillingness by the PC government to fill vacant positions although there are qualified local professionals who are prepared to take on these roles,” said Pinsent-Bardarson, who lives in Gimli, is a mental health therapist and owns Lean In Counselling & Consulting. “We have to recruit and train staff to fill all the health care roles that are currently vacant … and get all our facilities operating to full capacity.”
In the Interlake, Pinsent-Bardarson said emergency calls have increased by 50 per cent since 2018, but the government closed EMS stations and failed to hire new paramedics. The government also failed to build the 1,200 new personal care home beds it promised in the 2019 election.
“Pallister and Stefanson failed to protect seniors during the pandemic and covered up years of abuse and neglect in personal care homes,” she said. “They failed to build the 1,200 PCH beds promised and we’re in a net deficit; they’ve actually taken away beds instead of building additional ones. We’ll be establishing PCH beds and increase the direct hours of care for seniors.”
On the education front, Pinsent-Bardarson said she and party leader Wab Kinew have met with Interlake school divisions such as Lakeshore and Evergreen to understand how they’re coping with funding deficits.
“Schools should be a place where all our kids have the supports they need to succeed. Our team is committed to providing stable education funding that will keep up with inflation so that schools can plan with certainty for the future,” she said.
The Conservative government made “an attempt to strip local control from school divisions” with Bill 64, she said, but the NDP will protect decision-making autonomy at the local level so that divisions can address the unique needs of their students. The party will also reduce class sizes and hire more teachers and assistants.
On the provincial drainage infrastructure front, Pinsent-Bardarson said she’s met with municipalities to hear their concerns regarding the government’s lack of maintenance of its drainage infrastructure and how that continues to negatively impact agricultural producers.
Drainage is a concern in many municipalities including Fisher, Bifrost-Riverton, Armstrong and Coldwell, she said. The RM of Fisher, for instance, has had no maintenance done and the government hasn’t authorized any work to proceed on a project even though the RM has done its part.
“We know the government has downloaded the responsibility of drainage, infrastructure and wildlife management areas onto municipalities,” said Pinsent-Bardarson. “There’s lots of work to be done and an opportunity to meet needs that have been unaddressed over the past seven years.”
Given the commercial fishery is so important to Interlake communities that rely on it for their livelihoods and its contribution to Manitoba’s economy, Pinsent-Bardarson said the NDP is committed to building a relationship with fishers by giving them a seat at the government’s decision-making table and sharing data about fish stocks.
“Commercial fishers deserve to see the stock data that has changed their livelihoods and created such a mess for their industry. We’re committed to an ongoing consultation with the fishers and to transparency. It’s a priority for the NDP to partner with fishers and restore that lost dignity and respect,” she said. “As stewards of the lake, fishers understand their quotas and which mesh sizes are necessary. They want to talk with the government about licensing and disciplinary processes. We’re committed to creating an advisory table that will consult with and rely on fishers for their knowledge and wisdom.”
As the cost of living and the housing crisis continue to stress Interlakers, Pinsent-Bardarson said the NDP will be introducing some immediate relief measures should it form government.
“We will drop gasoline prices by 14 cents a litre. That will help put money back in Manitobans pockets right away and we hope it will also have an effect on grocery prices, which grocers say are so expensive because of the costs related to transportation,” she said. “Secondly, we’re going to freeze Hydro rates for the first year so that Manitobans can better cope with the cost of inflation.”
That will especially benefit Interlakers who have to travel far distances to work, school or to the city for medical appointments.
Pinsent-Bardarson’s office is located at 33 Centre Street in Gimli and opens at 9 a.m. Contact her by phone (204) 960-8378 or email interlake-gimli@mbndp.ca Visit sarahbardarson.ca online.
