Trail Talking

With the arrival of spring comes time for spring cleaning. The Main Street revitalization project for St. Adolphe and Ile Des Chenes will soon be underway. This past month, businesses and citizens had the chance to attend an open house to view blueprints for the project, and to ask questions and give feedback. I attended the open house for St. Adolphe and can’t wait to see the plans in action.

On March 16, on what would have been his 16th birthday, I had the privilege of standing up in the House at the legislature to honour Tyler Klassen with a private member’s statement while his mother, Lisa Boyd, watched from the gallery. Tyler will be remembered as a hero for donating his organs to dozens of strangers following his death in a car accident near Steinbach last fall, two days after receiving his driver’s licence. It’s tragic and heartbreaking, but Tyler’s story is remarkable and inspiring – because at the time of his death, Tyler was an organ donor.

A few months before the accident, he had said that in the event of his death, he wanted his organs to be used to help as many people as possible. Doctors removed and used Tyler’s kidneys, liver, pancreas and eyes, as well as muscle and tissue. Tyler, in the end, gave 45 people a second chance at life. He was an amazing young man, and his gift to these individuals is one they will never forget.

This is a good month for agricultural events in Manitoba. On March 8, I had the opportunity to attend the Manitoba Egg Farmers annual general meeting in Winnipeg and hear about the great things happening in their sector.

As the legislative session continues this spring, I’m pleased with what our government is doing to improve the child-welfare system. Manitoba needs greater public accountability in child welfare, so our government is making the Office of the Children’s Advocate stronger, more independent and better able to address the needs of kids in care.

We have introduced a bill that will increase the powers and responsibilities of the Children’s Advocate as an independent officer of the legislature. The new Advocate for Children and Youth Act will also expand the mandate of the Advocate’s office beyond Child and Family Services (CFS), in order to help other vulnerable kids and young adults.

Our changes will go a long way toward repairing child welfare in Manitoba following years of mismanagement under the previous government. The new law will also respond to 11 key recommendations made by Commissioner Ted Hughes, who led Manitoba’s public inquiry into the Phoenix Sinclair tragedy.

Manitoba must have much more public accountability in child welfare following the decay of these services for over a decade. Our government is stepping up to address the needs of our province’s most vulnerable children and youth.