St. Vital
Manitoba Liberal Party (MLP) - Candidate: Peter Bastians
The candidate did not respond by our September 20, 2023 deadline
New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP) - Candidate: Jamie Moses
Q: How have disabilities played a role in your life and the lives of your loved ones?
Knowing that there are approximately 234,000 Manitobans living with a disability, I have intentionally spent time during the past 4 years as MLA for St. Vital learning and listening to members of the disability community (including attending the July 14th Disability Vote Matters rally), so that I can better understand the challenges that people living with disabilities face in Manitoba. Issues from accessible and affordable housing, wages for disability support workers, to supports for employment opportunities. I have learned that it is important to continue conversations with people living with disabilities, so that any policies can be crafted with the input of people living with disabilities and their families.
Q: Which one of DMVote’s 5 priority issues is of the greatest interest to you and why?
While all five of the priorities are important, to me dealing with the challenges in services and resources is particularly critical. With the PC government’s failure to increase funding to community based organizations and with the growing wait times for disability and health care related services, many Manitobans are suffering. That’s why our NDP plan to strengthen and reinvest in our health care system, including home care, will be particularly beneficial for the community of people living with disabilities and their families.
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?
Manitobans with disabilities have the basic human right to fully participate in all aspects of life – but unfortunately, stigma and systemic barriers often prevent that from happening. Government needs to take action to combat stigma, to come at it from every angle and provide solutions so people can live with dignity whether that’s at school, at work, or anywhere else. We need to work with the community to implement and enforce the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, supporting education and awareness campaigns, and properly funding disability supports – including raising wages for disability workers. People with disabilities need to be at decision-making tables. The Manitoba NDP will make sure the community is regularly consulted and included from the start – including as a part of our new Premier’s Business and Jobs Council.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (PC) - Candidate: Saima Aziz
Q: How have disabilities played a role in your life and the lives of your loved ones?
Life is never relaxed when you are living with a disability, but there is always a way to make life easier. Staying positive and looking for imaginative solutions to benefit the world helped these inspirational people overcome their circumstances and achieve vastness. Disabilities affect the entire family. A person with a disability can puts families under a great deal of stress, anxiety, emotional, financial, etc.
However, finding resources, knowing what to expect, and planning for the future can greatly improve overall quality of life. The physical and social conditions are vulnerable by this incapacitating condition, which also makes it difficult for people to participate fully in society and to take advantage of equal rights and opportunities.
An individual's disability can play a major role in his/her life: whether it's positive or negative, but overpowering the challenges and emerging confidence is vital and admirable. As a society, it is our utmost duty to allow people with disabilities to experience a life they deserve. Contrastingly, inclusion ensures that each person is able to attain the same outcomes, whether that be in social, educational, or employment settings, inclusion is the best solution to ensure people with disabilities are given the same opportunities to contribute in society.
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.
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.