Dear Editor,
Children and youth are the future of this province, and all levels of government have the duty to recognize the future leaders of this province need to be treated with respect.
In the case of the NDP, however, respect is a word that falls by the wayside.
Since 2008, the usage of food banks in this province has gone up by nearly 50 per cent – the greatest usage increase of any province in Canada.
This year, 44.7 per cent of the more than 60,000 food bank users in Manitoba are children. At the same time, the government increased taxes which impact the most vulnerable Manitobans the most.
This is a government that created a department specifically for children and youth, giving it a budget of $48 million.
The Minister seems to spend the majority of his time attending media events, while children lose hope and go hungry. Issues like poverty and child hunger need real solutions, not band aids and ribbon cuttings.
Our party has called for the EIA rental allowance to be raised to 75 percent of the median market rates, and we will do that within the first year of taking office.
We will also lower the PST to seven percent in our first term, rolling back the NDP’s unnecessary tax increase and its negative impacts on hard-working Manitoba families.
Steps like these are important to Manitobans and are important in making sure youth are given the opportunity to succeed.
Dennis Smook
PC Critic for Children and Youth Opportunities
