After two years of championing legislation to protect paramedics, police, firefighters and victims of crime from contacting blood-borne diseases and seeing it quickly pass the Legislature last June, Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen is disappointed that the NDP government has yet to sign off on the legislation to officially make it law.
“This is legislation that has been several years in the making and will help protect those who protect us and those who are victims of crime,” said Goertzen. “It’s been sitting on the Minister’s desk for months awaiting a signature to make it law and it just doesn’t seem to be a priority for the government. That is tremendously disappointing.”
Last year, after two years of Goertzen introducing his own Bill, the NDP government finally agreed to pass legislation that allows paramedics, police, firefighters and victims of crime to have the blood they come into contact with during their work or after being assaulted in a crime, tested for disease. The legislation would bring peace of mind to emergency personnel and victims of crime that they or their families are not at risk for contracting a disease.
While the Bill moved quickly through the Manitoba Legislature, receiving all party support, it has yet to be proclaimed into law. Proclamation can be done in a day and simply requires the approval of Cabinet.
“There is no real opposition to this legislation and most people agree it could save lives. Yet it took two years for the NDP to agree to pass it in the Legislature and now it is taking months to have it signed into law,” said Goertzen.
Goertzen noted that other pieces of legislation the NDP have passed, such as the Bill that will give the NDP $1 million of taxpayers’ dollars to fight the next election or the Bill that put a moratorium on the livestock industry were proclaimed and made law almost immediately.
“I guess it just shows where the NDP’s priorities are,” said Goertzen.
