s many of you know, I began my career as a nurse. I loved every second of it and am so fond of the many memories I have. Work- ing alongside other healthcare professionals within our healthcare system was a formative time in my life. I spent over 20 years as a nurse, and I know that our healthcare system is one of the strongest in the world and it is one that can handle the difficulties ahead as we deal with COVID-19. This COVID-19 pandemic is something that we have never expe- rienced before. It is understandable that this new health issue is causing many people heightened anxiety. As a society, we must all adjust our lives in ways we’ve never had to before. Those who are able to are working from home, kids are out of school and daycare, many people are expe- riencing financial strain, and impor- tantly, many people are worried for their health and the health of their loved ones. These worries are all valid and they are all important. With all the news com- ing out every day about the rise in the numbers of cases and the difficulties other countries are fac- ing, it can become overwhelming.


I believe that it is important to also focus on


the good news stories that are coming out. Mani- toba is an amazing province and to see the people and the businesses come together to support each other during this time has been inspiring. I’d like to highlight just a few of these good news stories happening right here in Manitoba. Hand Sanitizer


Months ago, when the news of COVID-19 first


Good news stories during the COVID-19 pandemic A


began to circulate, hand sanitizer flew off the store shelves. Panic buying created a serious lack of this important product to keep hands clean. Local dis- tilleries have stepped up to the plate and converted their production to hand sanitizer rather than their usual product. These amazing companies include Patent 5 Distillery, Capital K Distill- ery, and Farmery Brewery. These are difficult times and I am so proud to live in a province that is home to these amazing and selfless businesses. Food Donations


Myrna Driedger Broadway Journal


This has undoubtedly been a diffi- cult time for many restaurants. That difficulty has not stopped many of Winnipeg’s amazing eateries from thinking about others, in fact, it has led to a beautiful generosity I know many people will remember for years to come. This is not in any way a full listing of the generosity of Manito- bans, here is a small sample of just a few of our local heroes stepping up to the plate:


Carbone Pizza when first shut down sent its food provisions to Siloam Mission, Lighthouse Mission, and health care workers in seniors’ homes. Pad Thai on Portage Avenue made up meal box- es to donate to front line workers. Chef Ben Kramer organized a call for restau- rants that had excess food upon closing their res- taurants to donate it. He and other chefs turned the food into meals to be donated to Main Street Project’s food bank. This is an inspiring show of community coming together to help those in need.


Defining Canada’s middle class I


n November 2019, Canada’s


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ap- pointed MP Mona Fortier to the


post of Minister of Middle-class Pros- perity. No such ministry has ever existed before. During her first press


conference, the Minister was asked for her defini- tion of the middle class. Her response is summa- rized in the headline of a report by CTV News: “Middle class prosper- ity minister says Canada can't measure who is in the middle class.”


This answer implies the existence of a serious problem for her and the government since it is impossible to adopt poli- cies to serve people whose identity is not known.


Herbert Grubel What the


design of policies over time. The rea- son for this problem is discussed by Thomas Sowell, who shows that in- creases in incomes due to inflation or real gains in income normally experienced by all citizens of Western democracies will neces- sarily decrease the num- ber and average incomes of families in the range of previously specified absolute incomes. An income of $30 thousand may have been a decent, middle-class income in 1970, but is not in 2020. A second definition al-


numbers tell us


It is a puzzle why this problem ex- ists since there are several standard definitions of the middle class used by statisticians and governments around the world. The first considers families to be members of the middle class if they earn incomes falling within a specific range of dollar incomes such as $30 thousand and $50 thousand. Government census and other data readily allow calculation of the num- ber of families in the group and their average incomes. This approach provides useful infor- mation about conditions at a moment in time, but it cannot be used for the


lows the creation of use- ful information through time by making the range of middle-class income a


function of its distribution. For ex- ample, it considers families to have middle-class incomes if they are in the middle three quintiles of the distribu- tion or, in other words, have incomes that are neither in the lowest or high- est twenty percent and therefore are neither “poor” nor “rich”. Under this definition the number and average in- comes of families in the middle class keep up with economy-wide increases in prices and real income and provide information needed to deal with any perceived problems affecting the mid- dle class. A third definition provides the same benefits as the second but is more in tune with the current concern of poli-


Marion Street Eatery made bag lunches for Mor-


berg House in St. Boniface to be given to those in shelter.


Zorba’s in the Forks market made meals to do- nate to ER workers at the St. Boniface Hospital. Great work!


Grocery Stores


As we all have seen, grocery stores and the work- ers within are incredibly important in insuring we have the food supplies we need. I would like to remind everyone that when socially isolating it is important to only go grocery shopping once a week. If possible, only one member of the house- hold needs to make this grocery run. This is a great time to meal plan and use items in your pantry! I am grateful to all the grocery store employees who are working tirelessly. Metro, Loblaws, Empire companies, and Walmart all announced that they would pay their employees $2 more hourly. This is well-deserved for these brave workers navigating an unprecedented time.


Assiniboine Park Zoo


For many people socially isolating and staying home can be tough. It’s great that there are so many online resources to connect us to each other and to connect us to interesting community orga- nizations. Assiniboine Park Zoo will be livestream- ing fun videos on their Facebook page every Mon- day, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:00 p.m. The Zoo is closed to visitors but check them out online! As we all navigate this difficult time, I encour- age everyone to be sure to notice the good that is happening all around us. Manitoba is an amaz- ing province with a deep sense of community filled with generous, amazing people. Hon. Myrna Driedger is MLA for Charleswood and Speaker of the legislative assembly.


ticians and governments with poverty and the incomes of the highest income earners. It has been used by the Orga- nization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “which defines a member of the middle class as anyone who earns between 75 per cent and 200 per cent of median household income after tax. Based on the most recent data available from Statistics Canada, in this country that means anywhere from about $45,000 to $120,000.” It might reasonably be expected that


the government of Canada’s statistical office has access to the basic statistics needed to calculate the incomes and numbers of the middle class based on the last two definitions just discussed. However, Trudeau’s government has failed to do so for unknown rea- sons. Whatever they may be, they have forced two of its ministers to come up with the following strange statements: Bill Morneau, the Minister of Fi-


nance said in the House of Commons on January 30, 2017: “The Government of Canada de- fines the middle class using a broader set of characteristics than merely in- come…Middle-class values are values that are common to most Canadians and from all backgrounds: they be- lieve in working hard to get ahead and hope for a better future for their children…they aspire adequate hous- ing and health care, educational op- portunities for their children, a secure retirement, job security and modest


READERS TELL US


“Con” virus-19 handling raises questions


I


gnaz Semmelweis 1818 – 1865 was a Hungarian – German physician. He discovered that washing his hands considerably reduced birthing mortality


May 2020


rates. When trying to pass this informa- tion on to colleagues, he was ridiculed. Years of ridicule and controversy helped to undermine his health and he died in a mental institution. Reading this horror story, we thought,


“That could never happen in these en- lightened times.” Don’t be so sure. CO- VID-19 has shown us we still have a long way to go. On Dec. 30, Dr. Li Wenliang, a Wu-


hang ophthalmologist, who later died as a result of the virus, publicly pointed out COVID-19’s human-to-human trans- mission capability, which Chinese au- thorities repeatedly denied, and threat- ened him and other doctors for saying this.


It wasn’t till Jan. 20 that China finally admitted that COVID-19 was capable of human to human transmission. By then the virus was spreading throughout


China and globally through air travel. Canada, relying on the Who (World


Health Organization), politicians, and public health experts, not only repeat- edly assured Canadians there would be no major outbreak of COVID-19, de- fending China’s position. This incompetence by those respon-


sible for our health put us into this un- prepared and highly vulnerable state. – Ron Buffie


whatsupwinnipeg.ca 5


spending on leisure pursuits.” Mona Fortier, the Minister of Mid- dle-class Prosperity in her first press conference said: “Well, I define the middle class


where people feel that they can afford their way of life. They have quality of life. And they can ... send their kids to play hockey or even have different activities.


“It's having the cost of living where you can do what you want with your family. So, I think that it's really im- portant that we look at, how do we make our lives more affordable now?” These characteristics of the middle class spelled out by the two ministers are common to all Canadians who, without exception, want a better fu- ture for their children, aspire to ade- quate housing and so on. So, why ap- point a minister with a big staff, high salary, big office and limousine, and charge her with improving the pros- perity of all Canadians, which is the same as the professed goal of all mem- bers of the current Liberal and that of all preceding governments of Canada? Is it possible that the convention- al, empirical measures show that the middle class in Canada has done well and that the Liberals’ slogans about the need to help suffering middle- class families used during the last two federal elections are inconsistent with the facts?


Herbert Grubel is Emeritus Professor


of Economics at Simon Fraser University, and a Senior Fellow at The Fraser In- stitute.


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