Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 24, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba W. T A Y L O R B L V D W I L K E S A V E ASSINIBOINE FOREST S T E R L IN G LY O N P K W Y S H A F T E S B U R Y B L V D M C C R E A R Y R D G R A N T A V E B o o k Y o u r T o u r N o w ! 204.202.1863 Excellence in Assisted Living Providing a Continuum of Care and Support to seniors in an elegant community that is safe, secure and comfortable. Where Caring is Our Number One Concern™ PROUDLY CANADIAN www.allseniorscare.com 905 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB Enjoy all seasons at our lovely, all-inclusive retirement residence. Worry-Free Living Get Ready for FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025 A4 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM T HE Kinew government has under- gone a cabinet shuffle following the death of education minister Nello Altomare. Altomare, two-term NDP MLA for Transcona, died on Jan. 14 while he was on medical leave. The 61-year-old educator, better known as “the mayor of Transcona” among his political col- leagues, had been living with complica- tions from chemotherapy. On Thursday, one day after a public funeral, the province announced a ser- ies of operational changes that were formalized shortly after his death. Tracy Schmidt, MLA for Rossmere, has moved ministerial files, to educa- tion from environment. Riel MLA Mike Moyes — who was the NDP caucus chair, as well as a legis- lative assistant for both environment and education — will be responsible for Schmidt’s old portfolio. St. Boniface MLA Robert Loiselle has been named the new caucus chair, while Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton is now deputy chair. Schmidt became acting minister of education when Altomare went on medical leave in October, in addition to overseeing the cabinet role she has held since the NDP was sworn in one year earlier. While she is not an educator by trade, Schmidt is the daughter of two teachers whose careers in the Winnipeg School Division span upwards of 80 years, combined. In an interview, she said public edu- cation was the typical dinner-table topic in her home as a child. “I grew up hearing about the needs of students on a daily basis,” she said, adding her parents, much like her pre- decessor, sought to help hungry stu- dents and those without proper winter gear whenever they could. “There was times in the winter where I’d go to get dressed in the morning and my mitts might be missing or my boots might be missing and my mum would say, ‘Don’t worry about it; we’ll go shop- ping after school.’” The mother of three sends all of her children, who range in age from nine to 14, to classes in the River East Transcona School Division. Schmidt hinted she’s hopeful Premier Wab Kinew will issue her a revised mandate letter given Altomare accom- plished an “exceptional” amount during his first year on the job. The NDP rolled out a universal school nutrition program at the start of the school year. “I’m just really excited to pick up that torch and do my best in working for students and families and educa- tors across the province in his honour,” Schmidt said. Prior to entering politics in 2023, she worked as a lawyer specializing in labour and employment law. Schmidt noted many people, both within government and outside of it, are mourning the loss of the former educa- tion minister, and she is keeping the Altomare family in her thoughts as she accepts this “honour of a lifetime” role. She added that she has “absolutely enormous” shoes to fill. Moyes, who is also a parent of school- aged children, is among a number of certified teachers in the NDP caucus. The new minister of environment and climate change taught English and history at Glenlawn Collegiate prior to his 2023 victory over Rochelle Squires, who was PC families minister at the time. Both ministers were sworn in at a pri- vate ceremony. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca NEWS I TOP NEWS Freeland, Carney fighting to be… shortest-serving PM? W HOEVER becomes the next leader of the federal Liber- al party could become the shortest-serving prime minister in Canadian history. Thursday was the deadline for candi- dates to throw their hat into the ring to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader. The party is expected to choose a new boss on March 9. Whoever wins the race will become prime minister and will remain in that position until a new prime minister is sworn in following the next federal election, which could be called as early as the end of March. Since the Liberals have virtually no chance of winning the election, whoever becomes prime minister after March 9 could be in office for as little as 10 weeks before handing over the reins to a new government, which will almost certainly be led by Conserva- tive Leader Pierre Poilievre. The shortest-serving prime minister is Sir Charles Tupper, who held office for only 10 weeks when his Conserva- tive party was defeated in an election in 1896. A close second is former Liberal prime minister John Turner, who held the position for 11 weeks in 1984. The Liberals were defeated by the Progres- sive Conservative party that year. Former PC prime minister Kim Campbell held the role for 123 days after taking over from her predeces- sor, Brian Mulroney. The Tories were crushed in the 1993 election when they lost all but two seats. Could we see a new record for shortest-serving prime minister after the Liberals elect their new leader? It’s possible. It depends on a few factors. Parliament, which was prorogued by Trudeau, resumes sitting on March 24, about two weeks after the Liberals pick a new leader. All opposition par- ties have said they plan to defeat the government on a confidence motion at the earliest opportunity. If they do, that would likely occur the same week the house resumes sitting. Parliament would be dissolved and an election would be called immediately. Federal election campaigns must be at least 37 days, but no more than 51 days. If the government were to fall, for example, on March 25, election day could be as early as May 5. If a new prime minister (Poilievre) were sworn in two weeks later on May 19, the next Liberal leader would have been in office for about 10 weeks — close to Tupper’s record. If the election campaign is closer to 51 days, election day could land on May 12 (it must be a Monday), in which case the new Liberal leader might tie, or come close to tying, Turner’s record. This begs the question: why would anyone want this job if they’re simply going to be relegated to the opposition benches, likely for eight years or more, before they have a realistic shot at becoming prime minister again? Who wants to go down as the shortest-serv- ing prime minister in history? It seems pretty clear the two leading contenders are former finance min- ister Chrystia Freeland and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Car- ney. Both are campaigning on the pipe dream they can win the next election, which they almost certainly cannot. As expected, the polls show the Liberals remain about 23 percentage points behind the Conservatives even after Trudeau announced his resig- nation. That’s because Canadians are not just disenchanted with the prime minister, they are unhappy with the Liberal party. Perhaps Liberal leadership candi- date and Government House Leader Karina Gould said it best recently: “Canadians have lost faith in our party and we have to earn back their trust.” That will not happen in the next election. It never does for a governing party that has fallen out of favour with the public. It means it doesn’t matter whether Trudeau, Freeland, Carney, Gould or anyone else leads the party into the election (nor what they cam- paign on, be it an anti-Donald Trump agenda or an attempt to distance themselves from the Liberal carbon tax), they will be roundly defeated, as Tupper, Turner and Campbell were. It seems unlikely Freeland or Car- ney would be prepared to stick it out for eight years or more on the oppo- sition benches to get another shot at government in 2033 or 2037 (it’s rare in modern-day Canadian politics for a federal government to serve only one term in office). It’s more likely whoever wins the Liberal leadership race and loses the federal election will step down as party leader at some point, as Campbell did. So why are Freeland and Carney running? Are they really under the illusion they can win the election, or even hold the Conservatives to minori- ty status — both of which are highly unlikely? It’s hard to fathom. It’s not like either candidate is run- ning to raise their profile — both could easily land prestigious appointments outside of politics without seeking the leadership. Do they just want to be prime minis- ter, even if it’s just for a few weeks? If so, one of them will probably get their wish. But they’ll also have to live with the unfortunate distinction of becoming the shortest, or one of the shortest, serving prime ministers in history. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca TOM BRODBECK OPINION Schmidt named education minister MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Tracy Schmidt, MLA for Rossmere, has moved ministerial files, from environment to education. Health staff have bone to pick with government TWO new surveys of allied health-care staff and nurses suggest workloads and morale are worse or unchanged for many since the NDP govern- ment vowed to make life better for them when it was elected 15 months ago. Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba As- sociation of Health Care Professionals, whose members are without a contract, said the results of a poll by that union should set alarm bells ring- ing. “There’s a true disconnect between what gov- ernment is saying in news conferences and cam- paigns, and what people in health care on the front lines see every single day,” he said. “When we hear messaging coming from gov- ernment that doesn’t reflect reality, it leads me to believe we’re at a stalemate in terms of being able to actually fix the system.” The association represents allied health work- ers, including paramedics, respiratory therapists, lab and imaging technologists and mental health clinicians. The union emailed a three-question survey to 6,012 members in December to find out how they felt about staffing, workload and morale in 2024, following a longer survey in May. The latest ques- tionnaire was completed by 1,446 members. Almost half (48 per cent) said their workplace lost staff last year, while 41 per cent said staffing levels were about the same, and 11 per cent said there had been improvement. A majority (62 per cent) said their workload got worse in 2024, while 36 per cent said they were doing about the same amount of work, and two per cent said their workload had decreased. The association said 59 per cent of respondents felt morale had worsened in their workplace, 33 per cent noticed no change and eight per cent re- ported an improvement. An employee who works in mental-health and addictions services said it’s difficult to stay hope- ful or positive, given the state of the system. “I love my job, but sometimes I ask: can I con- tinue to do this?” said the person, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. The employee said current workloads are un- sustainable and more staff are needed to better support patients. While their hope for change has faded, the em- ployee said it’s still early for the NDP. “There was a lot of hope (after the October 2023 election) because their whole basis was fix- ing health care. It’s tough to continue to find that hope when nothing has really changed,” they said. The NDP promised to listen to workers and “rebuild” trust after seven years of Progressive Conservative government. “We hear you,” Health Minister Uzoma Asag- wara said in response to the association survey. “I respect what allied health-care professionals tell us their experiences are, and I take them very seriously.” Under the NDP, Manitoba has hired more than 870 net new health-care workers, and it has seen improvements in vacancy rates, Asagwara said. About 10 per cent of the net new hires were al- lied health positions as of late September. Their contract expired March 31, 2024, making them the only public health-care sector without a new collective agreement, the union said. Pre- viously, the workers went five years without a contract. Linklater called on the government to create a strategy that assesses current allied health staff- ing levels and determines how to retain, recruit and train the number of staff who will be needed in future. Asagwara said the government is happy to work with “experts and partners” to boost capacity. On Monday, the Manitoba Nurses’ Union re- leased the results of its own member survey, which was completed by 1,326 members in Octo- ber. They were asked to grade the government’s performance on fulfilling election promises to improve health care and patient outcomes in the first year of its four-year term. The nurses union said 42 per cent gave the province a “D” (no improvement), and 24 per cent gave a “C” (very minimal improvement). A simi- lar number (23 per cent) gave the government an “F” (things have become worse), while 10 per cent gave a “B” (some improvement) and one per cent offered an “A” (lots of improvement). The union said 65 per cent felt the government was not effective at addressing issues or potential solutions suggested by nurses during Asagwara and Premier Wab Kinew “listening tours” of hos- pitals and other health-care sites. Last June, a Doctors Manitoba report found 46 per cent of physicians were considering leaving the province, retiring or reducing their clinical work hours in the next three years. About three-quarters said they were consid- ering leaving or retiring due to frustration, burn- out, heavy workloads or excessive paperwork, said Doctors Manitoba, which represents more than 4,000 physicians and medical learners. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca CHRIS KITCHING Surveys detail workload worse or unchanged ;