View From the Legislature

The spring session of the Manitoba Legislature begins next week, and it will be one of the most active sessions in some time with more than 50 pieces of legislation scheduled to be debated and voted upon before the Legislature breaks in June.

Over the past several weeks we have seen a number of services and activities reopen to Manitobans. From retail outlets to personal services such as haircuts to restaurants to outdoor recreation to indoor faith services, there have been reopening’s in many different areas.

These days there are many things that we are missing. The pandemic has caused either the cancellation or the alteration of many of the things that we enjoy participating in.

Over the past week there has been a great deal of concern about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.

There have been many important budgets in the history of Manitoba. Through floods and fires, Manitoba’s finances are often challenged by forces that are not entirely in the control of the province.

The peaceful transition of power. It is something that those of us who live in western democracies have largely taken for granted. We perform our civic duty of voting on election day and then, almost automatically, the winning party assumes power.

On Monday morning at Oakview Place Long Term Care Residence in Winnipeg, 94-year-old Margaret Watson sat down in front of a camera and a select few medical onlookers and became the first person in Manitoba, who is not a healthcare worker, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister changed his provincial Cabinet. This was the first major change to Cabinet roles in about two and a half years and several key positions were reassigned.

The end of a year and the beginning of a new one is the traditional time that we both look back at the year that was and look forward to the one that is to come. This is usually marked by looking at the good that has happened in the year ending and the hopes for the new year.

There has been a lot of talk about Christmas being cancelled this year. Of course, that is not possible. Christmas is a gift that cannot be taken away. But for those of us who have grown up with the traditions of Christmas in our Canadian culture, it is going to feel like a very different Christmas.