View From the Legislature

During this time, the work of government has not only continued, in many ways it has accelerated. However, like almost every aspect of society, it is functioning in a different way then it did prior to COVID-19 beginning in the province. While many more things are done by conference calls and video meetings than in the past, there are still other meetings that continue to take place in the traditional way.

Cabinet meetings, which are usually held weekly, have continued as have the various sub-committees of Cabinet. These are now done in adherence to the physical distancing directions as well as the recommendations on length of times for meetings. However, both in Parliament and in the Manitoba Legislature, the regular sitting of the House has been interrupted. One of the struggles has been to find a way to ensure the recommendations for physical distancing can be adhered to while meeting in the Legislative Assembly with seating that is fixed and very close together. This is the same challenge that Parliament in Ottawa is dealing with.

And yet, there is important work that needs to happen particularly to help deal with the impact of COVID-19. So on Wednesday of this week the Manitoba Legislature did resume for a special sitting to consider a number of pieces of legislation and matters related to the COVID-19 response.

Similar to what has been done in Ottawa, the Legislature met with a reduced number of elected members to ensure that the physical distancing recommendations could be adhered to. That meant that instead of the usual 57 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) there were 20, including the Speaker. As House Leader for the Manitoba Government, I was one of those selected to be in attendance for this special sitting.

The past several weeks have been difficult both financially and personally on many Manitobans. This past Easter I know that many families, mine included, were missing getting together with their friends and family. As well, while faith leaders did an excellent job of streaming services online, it was a great disappointment to people of the Christian faith not to be able to gather in their churches during this key celebration of their faith.

However, the short-term efforts that Manitobans have made to reduce the spread of the coronavirus will have long term benefits. The hope is that because of these efforts Manitoba will be able to recover economically and from a health perspective faster than many jurisdictions in Canada and around the world.

For updates on the measures that are being taken in Manitoba to reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19, please visit gov.mb.ca. This website is updated daily and provides you reliable information on what is happening in Manitoba.