Roblin

Manitoba Liberal Party (MLP) - Candidate: Detlev Regelsky

The candidate did not respond by our September 20, 2023 deadline

New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP) - Candidate: Madelaine Dwyer

The candidate did not respond by our September 20, 2023 deadline

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PC) - Candidate: Kathleen Cook

Q: How have disabilities played a role in your life and the lives of your loved ones?

I have not personally been impacted by disability - but I believe the job of an elected official is to represent all of their constituents whether they can personally relate to their experiences or not. I appreciate your advocacy work because it brings awareness to these important matters for all Manitobans, including those of us who have not been directly affected.

Q: Which one of DMVote’s 5 priority issues is of the greatest interest to you and why?

While all of the priority areas are important, the one that is of greatest interest to me as a candidate is meeting basic needs. I’m proud to run for the party that established the first Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities program, which was a much-needed step in the right direction; however, we recognize there is more work to do. It’s important to get it right, and I would like to see a re-elected PC government review the newly launched program and involve community members in those discussions to ensure it’s effective.

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?

I would be interested to know why disability discrimination makes up the largest number of complaints to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission - it may have something to do with a lack of public awareness around disability issues. I think awareness increases with public campaigns like DMVote 2023, but I think the provincial government also has a role to play. For example, the Accessibility Compliance Secretariat works with organizations to increase awareness around accessibility and compliance with accessibility standards.