Lac du Bonnet
Green Party of Manitoba (GPM) - Candidate: Blair Mahaffy
Q: How have disabilities played a role in your life and the lives of your loved ones?
It would be difficult to imagine anyone going through life without having some impact from permanent or temporary disabilities, whether for themselves or with loved ones. Adolescent asthma played a role for me in enjoying sports like other kids, although I see it as a minor inconvenience compared to, for example, my neighbour who was a thalidomide victim. Members of my family have struggled with dyslexia and ADHD, my grandmother had Alzheimer's, and my father had a stroke a decade ago that has negatively impacted his life in many ways. When I was in my early twenties I helped organize and run a summer leadership camp for disabled youth that was sponsored by Rotary clubs. We met some great young people at that camp who were living with vision impairment, spina bifida, cerebral palsy.
Q: Which one of DMVote’s 5 priority issues is of the greatest interest to you and why?
All these priority issues are important. One of my personal areas of interest is the idea of a Basic Income Guarantee. The idea, of course, is to streamline the access for people who need income support - reducing the number of programs, reducing the gatekeeping that tends to be inherent in these systems, and reducing the complexity such as clawbacks. I've been considering how disability needs intersects with the BIG concept and how the the income guarantee might be modified or adjusted to accommodate basic needs.
Not having had the lived experience in terms of housing, access, and discrimination, it would be inappropriate of me to suggest specific solutions. The Green Party is committed to improving democratic processes by implementing things like proportional representation and citizen's assemblies to encourage more participatory decision making instead of top-down proclamations.
Q: Disability discrimination has made up the largest share by far of all the formal complaints lodged with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission over the last 20 years. What do you think accounts for this and what do you think needs to be done to address it?
Discrimination thrives in environments of misinformation, inexperience, and disadvantage. We need to keep working to create a culture of human rights through education and information while removing barriers that disadvantage disabled people. This includes things like improving building standards and access standards both in housing and in public spaces, and improving availability of support resources, not just in urban centres, but in rural areas and on reserves so people can live full lives in their communities.
New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP) - Candidate: Kathy Majowski
The candidate did not respond by our September 20, 2023 deadline
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PC) Candidate: Wayne Ewasko
Q: How have disabilities played a role in your life and the lives of your loved ones?
For over 40 years, many connections with community members, friends and family dealing with challenges due to disabilities. Working in the school system on an incredible student services team, I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from families who have loved ones living with varying degrees of abilities. Within my community, volunteer roles, the same thing and of course during my almost twelve years having the honour of being the MLA for the Lac du Bonnet constituency. Within our immediate family, staying connected with a loved one with a cognitive disability and now a physical disability we see first-hand, on how important wrap around supports are on a daily basis.
Q: Which one of DMVote’s 5 priority issues is of the greatest interest to you and why?
The DMVote top priority issue of greatest interest to PCs is meeting basic needs, because Manitobans living with severe and prolonged disabilities deserve dignified support. After DMVote advocacy called for it in 2019, our PC team delivered Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities, a new disability income support program. There's more to do, but enhancements we made to benefits in recent years are steps in the right direction. It's both important and urgent to get it right, so a re-elected PC government would conduct a review of the newly launched program and involve community members.
Within the Lac du Bonnet Constituency, employment is also a priority. As I had the chance to participate many times in “Take Your MLA to Work Day’, I know that our communities would only benefit from employment opportunities to people with disabilities within their home communities. Many businesses have stepped up and continue to do so.
Q: Disability discrimination has made up the largest share by far of all the formal complaints lodged with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission over the last 20 years. What do you think accounts for this and what do you think needs to be done to address it?
A lack of public awareness of disability issues may be behind disability discrimination; government has a role to play in fighting back against discrimination through public awareness campaigns that highlight things like the positives of hiring persons with disabilities. A re-elected PC government would undertake such a campaign.