Sociocultural

Primary and Secondary Education

Updated on April 14, 2016


Promises to continue funding public schools at or above the rate of economic growth. (1) Pledges $50 million toward public schools, including $20 million for upgrades to arts classrooms, $10 million for modern technology, $10 million for a School Safety Access Fund, and $10 million for play structures. (1) Promises $30 million toward shop classes and $20 million for science labs. (1) Introduced Bill 18, an anti-bullying law that focuses on schools, including the protection of Gay-Straight Alliances. (2) Envisions dual-credit courses in all secondary schools, which provide either college or university credits in addition to secondary credits. (3) Is committed to keeping class sizes small. (4) Plans to make targeted investments into breakfast programs, early reading, and math support. (4)	Promises to establish a ‘Read to Succeed’ initiative with reading labs and mentoring in an effort to improve students’ literacy rates in the long term. This includes the establishment of a “clear and reputable” benchmarking system. (5) Pledges to empower educators to evaluate student work as they see fit, including giving a zero grade for zero work. (5) Endeavours to reduce the red tape in special needs education funding applications. (5) Promises to give teachers full professional discretion to provide report cards in plain language, including the ability to comment on student behaviour. (5)	Pledges to provide all-day Kindergarten in view of improving students’ cognitive preparation and reducing the income gap in education, at a cost of $50 million over five years. (6) Promises to provide applied behaviour analysis to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, at a cost of $3 million. (6) Is committed to working with teachers and school districts to raise the amount of physical education students receive, which the party claims will save healthcare money. (6) Plans to build a new school in south Brandon. (6)	Promises to eliminate property-based school taxes and replace funding with corporate and funding income tax, in view of fixing inequities. (4, 7) Pledges to remove junk food from schools to help combat obesity. (7) Is committed to enhancing arts education, including expanding the availability of arts education in elementary schools, high schools, and post-secondary educational institutions. (8)

References

Seniors

Updated on April 14, 2016


Promises to create 1,000 new personal care home beds (PCHs), and to issue a call for proposals for additional community built and owned, non-profit PCH facilities, including one in the North. (1) Is committed to protecting seniors using home care from user fees and other moves towards privatization. (1) Pledges to improve home care with extended respite hours, expanded pilot programs offering longer after-hours services, and more support for intensive home care services. (1) Promises to create new hospice beds by working with community groups like Jocelyn House and funding a new research chair in palliative care with the University of Manitoba. (1) Plans to increase the Seniors’ School Tax Rebate from $470 to $2,300 for the 2016 property year. This will mean 98 percent of seniors pay no more school taxes, while the wealthiest two percent of seniors continue to pay some school taxes. (2)	Promises to fast-track the construction of 1200 new personal care home beds (PCHs), and will develop a framework to do so, for a total cost of $160 million per year. (3) Pledges to create the province’s first dedicated stroke unit. (3)	Promises to create the province’s first dedicated stroke unit. The party claims this will cost $7.5 million annually, but savings to the system are $70 million annually, for a net gain of $62 million. (4) Pledges to implement a pay-for-results system for faster knee and hip surgery, which the party argues is cost-neutral. (4) Is committed to providing free ambulance services for seniors with an income lower than $20,000, at a cost of $1.5 million annually. (4)	Pledges to end elder poverty through its guaranteed annual income program. (5) Promises to expand resources to help to keep people living in their homes longer. (5) Is committed to protecting pensions from corporate skimming and bankruptcies. (5)

References

Post-Secondary Education

Updated on April 14, 2016


Promises to invest $40 million to replace student loans with grants. (1) Is committed to providing free tuition to students in care up to age 25. (1) Pledges to double funding for the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative, from $4.5 million to $9 million. (1) Promises to invest $12 million for student family housing at Brandon University. (1) Plans to launch a pilot program to provide more supports for adult learners looking to upgrade their academic skills before going to university, college or into an apprenticeship. (1) Pledges to keep the Manitoba Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate in place. (1) Promises to provide $350,000 to help Manitoba colleges and universities support Indigenous culture on campus. (1) Envisions dual-credit courses in all secondary schools, which provide either college or university credits in addition to secondary credits. (2)	Promises to increase the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative to $20 million from the current $9 million by increasing government funding and seeking more corporate donations. (3) Plans to develop scholarships and bursaries for students in fields with strong labour market outcomes and employability potential. (3)	Promises to maintain present funding levels and adjust for inflation. (4) Pledges to turn provincial student loans into non-repayable grants, and to work with the federal government to ensure the feds do the same. This is projected to cost $10 million annually. (4, 5) Plans to repeal current legislation that scales back student loans if a student earns more than $100 per week, so that students are not punished for working. (4)	Pledges to enhance arts education, including expanding the availability of arts education in elementary schools, high schools, and post-secondary educational institutions. (6)

References

Day Care and Child Care

Updated on April 14, 2016


Pledges $25 million for 12,000 new, public and community-operated child care spaces, including 100 in the St. James neighbourhood. (1) Promises to move most school-age spaces into schools to make child care even more convenient for parents, and to create more infant and preschool spaces in schools. (1) Is committed to doubling employment opportunities and increasing wages for child care workers. (1) Promises to invest $375,000 to promote healthy eating for young children by encouraging positive eating environments in child-care settings. (2) Pledges $1000 grants for parent councils to offset child minding costs. (3) Introduced a bill advocating Customary Care, which would allow children in Child and Family Services care to stay in their communities, but the bill failed to pass. (4)	Promises to simplify the process of opening home-based child care centres and increase funding for home-based child care spaces for: infants by 70%, preschool-aged children by 68%, and school-aged children by 15%. (5) Pledges to increase incentives for Manitobans to train as Early Childhood Educators by providing more post-secondary scholarships and bursaries. (5) Endeavours to build 550 new child care spaces this year, especially in schools, through social enterprise initiatives (including with the organization Family Dynamics) and public-private partnerships. (5, 6) Is committed to reducing the number of children in Child and Family Services care by improving the economy. (7)	Pledges to increase spending on child care by $30 million, to be put toward new and rehabilitated spaces as well as increased training and salaries for child care workers. (8) Promises to reduce number of children in Child and Family Services care in half by spending more money on working toward family supports than on apprehending children. (9) Pledges to give children the option to remain in Child and Family Services care until age 25. (9)	Pledges to establish a universal provincially funded child care system. (10)

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