June 1, 2020

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg MB — The Manitoba NDP and Manitoba Liberals say the Pallister government’s decision to shut down the Manitoba Legislative Assembly is simply unacceptable in the midst of a global pandemic and economic crisis.

In a joint request, NDP House Leader Nahanni Fontaine and Manitoba Liberal House Leader Jon Gerrard asked the PCs to return to the regular sittings of the Legislature in order to make up for weeks of time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NDP and Liberals would like to see the Manitoba Legislature return for all of June and all of September, before the fall sitting in October.

The Premier is refusing to be accountable to the people of Manitoba. There is considerable work that needs to be done to complete the Legislative business for Spring Sitting.

“Since the House adjourned on March 19, 2020, there’s been little effort from the Premier to sit and do the Legislative business of the Assembly Manitobans elected us to do. Negotiations have been nothing more than a couple of texts and very little discussion between House Leaders. There isn’t a sense of urgency on behalf of the government to do the work of the Assembly ensuring accountability and transparency.” said Nahanni Fontaine, MLA for St. Johns.

“We are basically locked out of work. There is seven weeks of session to make up, and we should be getting ready now for a possible second wave in the fall.” said Jon Gerrard, MLA for River Heights. “This is not the time for the Premier and his MLAs to hit the golf course. We should be working.”