has been able to flatten the curve and make it through this unprecedented time with relatively low numbers. That’s not to say there has not been a toll. Unfortu- nately, at the time of writing, there have been 7 deaths in Manitoba due to COV- ID-19. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives. I send my deepest condolences during this difficult time.


There has also taken a mental health


toll on Manitobans. When our top Public Health Official made the call for Mani- tobans to stay home, we did. Manito- bans who could work from home did so, people put their social lives on hold, and all non-essential public activity came to a standstill. Our lower numbers can be at- tributed to these precautions. However, it has been hard on people. The lack of social interaction and family get-togeth- ers has made many feel lonely, isolated, and depressed. There has been a rise in anxiety and as such, the Province has established anxiety supports specifically for those struggling at this time. I’d like to thank the very hard-working health care


Change in the time of COVID-19 T


hank you to all Manitobans who have and continue to stay home during this COVID-19 pandemic. Due to your vigilance, our province


you to Dr. Brent Roussin, the Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, and Lanette Siragusa, the Provincial Chief Nursing Officer, for their tireless efforts. These two public servants have been the face of delivering the COVID-19 news and strategies daily. Thanks to them, Manitobans have received the information they needed to make smart decisions that have led us to where we are today: in the process of reopening.


Myrna Driedger Broadway Journal


Beginning on May 4, 2020, Manitoba began the slow process of reopening and that is due to the incredibly hard work of all Manitobans. We have changed how we live, we have changed how we work, we have endured difficult times. This has all been in pursuit of flattening the curve, a difficult task that many countries and cities have struggled with all over the world. Our numbers have been low, and the evidence of community transmission is not a high risk at this time. In and around the constituency of Ro-


blin there are many amazing businesses, organizations, and nature areas. Each


professionals in our province. From the nurses, doc- tors, respiratory therapists and the healthcare aides, to the people cleaning the hospitals, I am so grateful to all of you. An amazing team of public health profes- sionals are also working behind the scenes, planning, procuring, communicating, and strategizing on how best to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank


u


one of these has had to change, adapt, and in some cases temporarily shut their down their operations. These measures have contributed to Manitoba having some of the lowest case numbers in the country. Thank you to everyone who has done their part! Some of these organizations have had to dramati- cally change their way of operating: Gyms: The Yoga Barre, Pro-fitness, Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness have all had to adapt their ways of doing business. Some are using social media platforms to offer online classes. Check out their websites and


Instagram pages for more information on home work- outs. Restaurants: Taverna Rodos has been offering de-


livery and keeping people happy with their generous portions. Pizza Hotline. Sorrentos and Boston Pizza are offering take-out and delivery options. Nick’s Inn has some great options for take-out and so does the Headingley Grill. And now many restaurants and pa- tios are open under careful guidelines. Religious institutions: I know that right now, many people are missing their Sunday gatherings. I appreciate the effort by all those who have sacrificed to stay home. Grocery stores: The precautions the grocery stores


have taken during this unprecedented time have been admirable. Thank you to the grocery stores in the con- stituency of Roblin for enabling residents to carry on grocery shopping while providing a safe environment and sanitizing carts and baskets. Parks and trails: Parks and walking trails have been especially popular during this time. As the weather warms up, everyone wants to get out, exercise, and en- joy our beautiful surroundings. However, to promote good health, everyone must remember to stay away from crowds in these places. If a park is full or a walk- ing trail packed, remember to turn around and head home. Even as the Provincial Public Health experts ease up some restrictions, it’s important to remember that not everything is back to normal. Thank you to all community members, businesses,


and organizations who have changed, compromised, reorganized, and sacrificed to ensure the safety of our communities.


Hon. Myrna Driedger is MLA for Charleswood and Speaker of the legislative assembly.


Rogernomics in 2020: Caring for people by funding individuals instead of the state


Continued from page 1


wash their hands and avoid crowds without closing society. Ironically, with little to no fiscal room left to collapse the economy again, governments will still have to reckon with the enormous cost of the original shutdown’s deficits and debts. With this, it’s appropriate to discuss the thinking of Sir Roger Douglas, a for- mer Finance Minister of New Zealand. Douglas was the point man confronting that country’s 1984 fiscal and economic meltdown. He rescued NZ by orches- trating rapid structural changes. These changes involved tax reforms, privatiza- tion, and deregulation, along with major reforms and reductions in the public sec- tor.


The policy of rapid structural reform


even ended up having its own name, “Rogernomics”, bringing Sir Roger in- ternational acclaim in 1985, when he won the prestigious Euromoney Maga- zine’s International Finance Minister of the year award.


Peter Holle Public Policy


A small country relatively isolated from the world


economy in the 1980s, NZ was left alone to dig out of its economic woes. Its closest trading partner was hours across the Tasman Sea, quite unlike Canada which is blessed to be essentially an extension of the richest market in the world. Back then, New Zealand had to make tough choices. It certainly helped that the NZ Labour Party of that time was not an extension of the public sector unions, as we see in many other countries. The NZ’s Cabinet leadership team understood that they could not jump the canyon of imminent bankruptcy through a series of little hops. So, they went as fast and hard as they could.


Their electorate liked strong leadership. The NZ 1987 election produced the shocking re-


sult of returning the Labour government with an increased majority, with some of the plushest ridings switching from the conservative National Party to Labour. (It was the equivalent of the tony Winnipeg suburb of Tuxedo voting for the NDP.) Inevitably, the once steely resolve of


the Labour government withered. Fi- nance Minister Douglas had introduced yet another radical budget. It involved a sweeping reform of welfare (guaranteed minimum family income) and a 23% flat income tax. But, the Prime Min- ister, who had agreed to the reforms, famously chose to take a “tea break” and backtracked on Douglas’ proposal. Douglas resigned, driving a fatal split between Labour reformers and tradi- tionalists. Ironically, demoralized Labour later lost to a rejuvenated NZ National Party, which then proceeded with major re- forms to labour laws and continued fi-


nancial restraint. Roger Douglas was awarded a knighthood after he left politics. And, in a 1999 “turn of the millen- nium” poll, Sir Roger easily ranked near the top of a list identifying the most influential NZ leaders of the century.


It is especially grating to people on the left that Sir


Roger hails from a Labour Party background. His grandfather was a member of the first NZ labour gov- ernment, and his trade union leader father was a MP for 15 years So where is Sir Roger’s thinking today? Unsurprisingly, he has continued to refine and ex- pand his philosophy, involving rethinking and restruc- turing the role of government. His definition of social- ism remains simple – ultimately his version is about removing undeserved privileges, particularly in the


public sector. Douglas seeks to achieve socialist ends: fairness, good public services for all, and opportuni- ty for the underprivileged, but, via capitalist means through the use of competitive markets to maximize people’s choices and welfare by, for example, remov- ing inefficient and unfair public monopolies. Rather than have high taxes nominally routed


through politicians, thus providing expensive, shoddy and producer-focused public services, Douglas would have the government out of the services business. This while making sure that citizens have the means to acquire services like healthcare and education in the competitive marketplace. For example, a voucher sys- tem for schools, where parents get the money, directly empowering them to make their own choices among competing alternatives. Same with healthcare, where citizens would, like Singapore, have medical savings accounts from which they would take care of their family’s’ healthcare needs. Hospitals and schools would all go private, better placed to cater to the needs of the consumers. Sir Roger highlights the savings account model


would encourage rapid wealth accumulation (with unused funds accruing to people’s’ estates). Douglas would replace the welfare system with a simple guar- anteed minimum family income policy. His citizen- focused model would dispose of surplus government assets, including crown corporations, so as to pay down government debt. A leaner government would be funded with a low flat income tax in addition to a broad based GST. Imagine, a greatly slimmed down government re- turning to its role of making policy, setting regula- tions, and collecting taxes in a system maximizing consumer choices. A truly modern Douglas version socialist nirvana! Welcome to the frontier of public policy. Peter Holle is president of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, www.fcpp.org


u Coming back from a losing streak - the Bombers know all about it! Continued from page 3


made a key play when Ottawa got to the Bomber 13. The Bombers won 15 to 0. Teams with a 0.111 winning percentage do not usually record road shutouts. Was it just a fluke? Perhaps not. The Bombers had held Ronnie Lancaster's Rough Riders to just five points in a five to two loss in the previous game.


4 whatsupwinnipeg.ca


Although the Bombers lost their last five games of 1970, their defense gave up only an average of 14 points a game. One of the five losses was due to poor officiating. (1) Between 1967 and 1970, The Blue Bombers were the worst CFL team. It started with the 1967 Blowout loss to Ottawa. The unexpected 1970 shutout


victory in Ottawa was an omen that the worst was over. In 1972, the Bombers came to within one play of playing in the Grey Cup. Since 1958, The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are eight and five in Regu- lar season Games that have ended in a shutout. 1. On Saturday, October 17, 1970, the


Bombers lost 20 to 17 to Edmonton. The poor officiating is backed up by 3 sources: the Game Reports in the Winnipeg Tri- bune, the Winnipeg Free Press and the memoirs of one of the referees Neil Payne called Crimes and Punishment Fred Morris describes himself as a politi-


cal activist and sometime political candi- date.


June 2020


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20