Many years ago, when the province started doing what is called pre-budget consultations, it must have seemed like a novel but important concept. Essentially, the minister of finance and some other government officials would go to a variety of places around the province and listen to Manitobans, who had filled a hall, to hear about what their priorities were for the budget. Usually, these meetings took place in the fall prior to the spring budget to provide input and guidance for the government.

The timing of these meetings was just as important as the input that was received. Early in the fall, usually more than six months prior to a provincial budget being read in the Manitoba Legislature, the minister of finance and the department officials are already putting the wheels in motion for the next years budget. This is done by setting financial targets for each of the government departments which tells the departments what there next year’s budget is expected to be. If there are savings that need to be found, that process begins early so that they can be brought to the provincial treasury board months in advance.

The fact that Manitoba’s NDP were only last week doing pre-budget meetings, about four to six weeks (as opposed to four to six months) before the spring budget might leave many Manitobans wondering if their views were really being heard. Because, the NDP have, months ago, given direction to every provincial department what they should expect for funding with directions to get their budgets ready. What real impact will any of these meetings so close to the budget being finalized have or is it really just an exercise that the NDP are doing so they can say that they did?

Because if there was ever a budget that should have both the input and understanding from Manitobans it is this one. Canadians are watching as the economy weakens and costs rise. The ongoing imposition of tariffs and uncertainty regarding the free trade agreement with the United States is impacting every provincial economy, including Manitoba. And yet, the NDP have continued to drive up the deficit by hundreds of millions of dollars while at the same time promising to balance the budget. After having missed their latest financial targets, again by hundreds of millions of dollars, Premier Wab Kinew said they were on track to balance the budget. This not only drew looks of wonderment from reporters and all who heard the comments, but mockery from even those in the government. Nobody believes the NDP are going to balance the budget before the next election as promised, or likely ever.

Last week in his speech in Davos, Prime Minister Carney said , “A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options.” Four days later, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced 12 percent of its workforce – 665 positions — and seven agriculture research facilities are to be cut. Over the weekend we also witnessed the U.S., our largest trading partner and source of much of our processed and fresh foods, lurch even further into violence and unrest. By closing the doors on agricultural research centres and research farms, and ejecting people who represent upwards of 10,000 years’ worth of experience from the public service, Canada will be foreclosing on the discovery, problem-solving, and knowledge-base that would have been created by these institutions, leaving us more vulnerable with fewer options.

“We are facing multiple crises that affect our capacity to produce the food and agricultural products that Canadians need,” said Phil Mount, NFU vice president, policy. “We need more investment, not less, in our public research institutions and personnel. The planned cuts would remove about $154 million from AAFC’s annual budget, but this is a false economy. Cutting our capacity to address known and emerging agriculture problems will be far more costly. For just one example, agricultural economist Dr. Richard Gray has shown that there is a $35 return to farmers and the public for every dollar invested in public plant breeding.”

“AAFC researchers working in the public interest can tackle large, difficult questions and freely share their findings, helping farmers succeed in the long term. Farmers have partnered with AAFC by putting tens of millions of check-off dollars into these research projects, as has the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) which allocates money indirectly contributed by farmers. Closing these AAFC facilities will make it that much harder to find institutions with the capacity to utilize these funds,” said Terry Boehm, NFU representative on the WGRF.

“Cutting the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research Centre, the sustainable livestock programs at Lacombe and the Nappan Research Farm, along with the agro-ecosystem resilience research at Quebec City, weakens Canada’s ability to deal with climate change impacts and biodiversity loss,” said Jenn Pfenning, NFU President. “Farmers in every part of Canada are affected. Research is needed to develop the best kinds of solutions that will be cost-effective for farmers and help us strengthen our food sovereignty.”

With tax season fast approaching, Manitobans are about to see their tax bills go up—again.

Under this failed NDP Government, a middle-class family earning $75,000 now pays more in provincial taxes than the same family in Regina, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver.

The reason? The NDP’s decision to quietly end inflation indexation on income-tax brackets.

Until now, the amount of money you could earn before paying income tax went up a bit each year to keep pace with the rate of inflation.

With the return to Ottawa last week of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and many of those who were in and supported his government, there was a bit of a nostalgic feel in the nation’s capital. Many people, of all political stripes, commented that, regardless of what they felt about the tenure of the Harper government, it did feel like a simpler time. This is probably a common sentiment when people look back at earlier times in their life or career, but there is also some objective truth to the feeling that we are in a world where things that were previously taken for granted no longer seem to be certain.

But quite apart from the feting of the former Harper government, there were other things that were remarkable about the week that spoke well of all political parties in Canada and about the state of Canada itself. At the unveiling of the portrait for former Prime Minister Harper, the current Prime Minister Mark Carney was in attendance and the two shared complimentary comments between them. None of it felt contrived or insincere. Later in the week, Harper sat on a panel with former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien where, again, the discussion was focused on what was good for Canada and not political divides. It is difficult to imagine, in the current environment, a similar event taking place in the United States.

Observers might be quick to add that it is much easier for politicians of different stripes who are not currently elected to engage in these types of discussions that rise above the political fray. And while that may be true, it doesn’t change the fact that they are happening less at a time when we might need them even more.

Not only do they often provide very important strategic considerations, both Harper and Chretien demonstrated that, in their discussion on the current state of relations with the United States, an important signal is sent to Canadians that our political system is based on something greater than pure partisan politics. There was a sense of a greater common good.

When people hear about domestic violence work, they often think about crisis response or shelter services.

Outreach looks a little different. My role focuses on prevention, education, and connection — meeting people where they are, often long before a crisis happens.

At the heart of outreach is Healthy Relationships 101. This means having real, honest conversations about boundaries, consent, communication, and respect. These are topics many of us were never formally taught, yet they shape every relationship we have — romantic, familial, platonic, and professional.

A big part of my work involves youth prevention. I spend time in schools, youth programs, and community spaces talking with young people about what healthy relationships actually look like. We talk about boundaries — how to set them, how to respect them, and how it’s OK if boundaries change over time. We talk about consent as something ongoing and mutual, not a one-time question. We also talk about red flags, power dynamics, and how social media, peer pressure, and cultural messages can blur what healthy behaviour really is.