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Manitoba 2023 provincial election

Responses from the Electoral Candidates
Responses are arranged according to the date we received them. The first response received in each party appears at the top of that section.

Manitoba Liberal Party individual candidate responses
Jean Luc Bouché – Radisson Candidate
Robert-Falcon Ouellette – Southdale & Windsor Park Candidate
Ernie Nathaniel – Fort Richmond Candidate
Date: Monday, September 18, 2023 at 10:13 PM
Subject: Re: Arthritis Consumer Experts Survey for Manitoba Election
From: Jean Luc Bouché

Response

if elected i would be looking into what may be done.

jean-luc bouché

Date: September 20, 2023 at 9:25:01 PM PDT
Subject: Re: Arthritis Consumer Experts Survey for Manitoba Election
From: Robert-Falcon Ouellette

Response

Dear Anita, Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns about the long wait times for knee surgeries and the prevention of arthritis. I understand how crucial these issues are, not only for you but for countless others in our community who face similar challenges.
  1. I believe that timely access to medical procedures is a cornerstone of a robust healthcare system. I am committed to working with medical professionals, hospital administrators, and other policymakers to find sustainable solutions to reduce wait times. This may include streamlining processes, increasing funding for surgical units, or encouraging the adoption of best practices from regions where wait times are notably lower. We simply do not have enough doctors or nurses. We need to train more healthcare professionals at the University of Manitoba so that we have people we can hire in our health system. If need be we must even consider sending people outside the province to other jurisdictions and substantially reduce the wait times so we can catch up. I know people that have waited two years. They put their life on hold and cannot enjoy their life, retire or even work in they need.
  2. While addressing the wait times for surgeries is crucial, I also recognize the importance of proactive measures. By focusing on preventive strategies, we can reduce the number of people requiring surgery in the first place. This includes public awareness campaigns about the importance of physical activity, proper nutrition, and early intervention. Additionally, I support funding research on arthritis to better understand its causes and to develop innovative prevention techniques.
  3. Co-operative care and rehabilitation are vital for patients undergoing knee surgeries. A strong focus on rehabilitation can ensure that patients not only recover from their surgeries faster but also regain full functionality and prevent future complications.
  4. I am committed to regularly consulting with medical experts, patient advocacy groups, and individuals like you to ensure our policies and strategies are effective and address real-world challenges.
Your voice and your experiences matter. Please know that I am actively advocating for improvements in our healthcare system to ensure that everyone has access to the timely and quality care they deserve. I invite you to continue this dialogue with me and join any community forums or discussions we might organize in the future on this topic.

Thank you once again for bringing this to my attention, and please do not hesitate to reach out if you have further insights or questions. https://www.manitobaliberals.ca/post/dignified-income-supports-for-all-manitobans-ending-penalties-for-work.

Merci Thank you

Dr Robert Falcon Ouellette, CD
Manitoba Liberal Party
Candidate MLA
Windsor-Park-Southdale-Niakwa
https://www.manitobaliberals.ca/rfalcon-ouellette

PS If you call I am door knocking from 1-4:30pm and 5 till 8pm everyday. I will respond outside these times.

Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 9:40 PM
Subject: Re: Arthritis Consumer Experts Survey for Manitoba Election
From: Ernie Nathaniel

Response

Anita, Cheryl,

I apologize for responding so late. Somehow I missed your email. I have a friend with severe rheumatoid arthritis and its crippling consequences are just horrible.

All of your questions are extremely reasonable. Although my parents taught medical school, and my brother taught nurses, I am not a medical professional. However, I support much needed improvement in the way arthritis is both treated in a timely fashion as well as how it should be looked at with much more prominence.

In our platform, there are specifics at recruiting, training, and retaining healthcare staff.

But specifically, the Manitoba Liberal Party fundamentals include:
  1. Healthcare for all Manitobans is fundamental. We have always emphasized evidence based decision making, and arthritis care should be no different. The lack of rural care in all areas of healthcare, including arthritis is evident. I will do all I can to help this situation be improved. Specific strategies will be developed.
  2. Virtual care is extremely cost-effective, and can relieve healthcare issues in a timely manner. BIPOC persons having difficulty over 3x more, could be due to language, or computer difficulties. This may require centers to be setup for such virtual interactions where people who have poor connections or computer hardware could come to access virtual healthcare. This should be looked into, and I will recommend.
  3. An arthritis "liason" for Indigenous is needed. On our platform, we advocate creating an Indigenous Secretariat "that will have an independent voice directing government on how best to offer programs and services for Indigenous Peoples. That would include implementing the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensure that Jordan's Principle is enforced." These steps may help us achieve the outcomes needed for Indigenous people.
  4. Timely surgery - my gosh this situation is horrible in Manitoba. Concordia Hospital used to do so much and in a much more timely manner. I am hearing some very bad stories of hip and knee replacements being done at Grace Hospital and I'm not sure what's happening there. A lot of damage in our healthcare has been done by the Conservative government, and it will take time to repair, but I will advocate as hard as possible for this to be a priority. I had a friend who was waiting for hip surgery and to see the pain he was enduring, waiting for this was heart breaking.
  5. Continued affordability of drugs - The Manitoba Liberal Party will restore the coverage of life-saving drugs including diabetes, pumps and CGMs, CPAP machines. The federal Liberal plan for Universal Pharmacare, will no doubt improve drug affordability for every province. I had to look up "biosimilars" as I wasn't sure what they were compared to generic drugs. Biosilimars being biologics, appear to perform better than generics and are considerably less expensive to develop than biologics. I would press for this, and I must confess, I have to learn a lot more about them.
I know these answers may be incomplete, but caring for people is on our hearts as a priority. We do not want a 2-tiered system that favours the rich over those less fortunate. That just creates another class system.

If I get elected, I will keep these questions and goals in mind and do what I can to advocate for those suffering.

Thank you,

Ernie Nathaniel