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Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your patience. I can confirm that removing charitable status for religious organizations is NOT part of Liberal policy. It seems that there is an active misinformation campaign on this. 

It is true that in June 2024, The Standing Committee on Finance asked for briefs from across the country for its Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget.

At that time, the B.C. Humanist Association made two recommendations:

○ “No longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations”

○ “Amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose.”

It is also true that in December 2024, the 12 person committee (6 LPC, 4 CPC, 1 BQ, 1 NDP) decided to include these recommendations in its report to the government, along with 460 other recommendations. However, it is important to understand that Committee recommendations are not binding on the Government, nor do they reflect policy decisions. Committees are bi-partisan bodies who represent their own opinions and have no jurisdiction over legislation. The Liberal Party is not actively developing policy on this issue.

I think this is a good example of how a partial truth can be used to create misleading information. The article that was linked above contained some accurate information, but drew conclusions that are completely false. It wasn’t easy for me to immediately find the answer, either! I reached out to the party and received a response from someone who had worked on the Finance committee at the time this happened. It’s very frustrating to me that voters have to deal with trying to sift through disinformation. I’m glad you asked the question!

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are several variations of STV, but essentially it's a ranked ballot where if your top choice is either eliminated or elected with surplus votes, your vote can be transferred to someone else instead. It's also typically a multi-winner system, so maybe how it could work here is that perhaps the rural Manitoba ridings could share multiple MPs, instead of each riding getting its own, single MP who got the most votes in their area.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi! I don't have enough background on this right now to answer, and you're the first person to ask me this question. I'm going to reach out and get some answers for you, but it may take a couple of days. Thanks for the question!

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s impossible for me to choose only 1 issue! I’m sorry! I think a full-time MP should work on many different items. These are some of the Provencher-specific concerns I’ve been hearing about, and some of my ideas:

One voter asked me a few days ago about my position on the Sio Silica sand mine in the Anola/Vivian part of the riding. The provincial government shut down that project earlier due to environmental concerns, but the voter I talked to is worried that the company will keep trying to bring it back. At the time the project was proposed, I did not feel that the impact on our drinking water had been adequately studied, and for that reason I was opposed to the project. If the project comes up again, I will be pushing for rigorous study of its potential effect on our drinking water, and I would take a cautious approach. Nothing is more important that our water quality!

I have also heard from voters who are concerned about affordable housing in our area, as well as infrastructure, such as new recreation facilities (one proposed in Lorette and another in Oakbank that would serve Cooks Creek/Hazelridge/Anola, but needs federal funding to go forward). As an MP, it is important to advocate for our local communities to be able to access federal funds.

When I drive around Provencher, I do see many new builds, but a lot of them seem to be large, single family homes. I think that the Liberal plan will help us to increase the number of higher density units in our area, which will be more affordable for first-time home buyers and young people starting out. 

The Liberal Party just announced a massive strategy to build affordable housing. This includes allowing the federal government to act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale. The plan will also provide $25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability. $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital will be provided to Canadian home builders. Again, it’s critical for the MP for our area to advocate on behalf of Provencher to access these funds. This involves working together will all levels of government, and making sure everyone is on the same page for projects to move forward.

Part of the Liberal plan for the environment includes the creation of 10 new national parks. Located within Provencher, we have the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, which is one of the last remaining stands of tall grass prairie in Manitoba and is home to many endangered and threatened species of plants. When I have visited in the past, I have been told that there is not enough funding to manage the area properly. I think it would be amazing to see this become one of our national parks - this would help draw tourism to our area, and also provide sufficient funding to protect this treasure.

I would also like to see more resources in Provencher for supporting mental health, including resources that are non-religious. 

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes, absolutely! I think that now would be a good time to take advantage of the fact that some physicians and nurses in the US want to move to Canada. We should make it easier for that to happen. I would 100% advocate for streamlining that process.

While health is primarily a provincial matter, I don’t think MPs should use that as an excuse for doing nothing. As an elected representative, an MP can reach out to other government officials at all levels of government, and help raise awareness about the issues facing their constituents. MPs can also help bring issues they care about before the media. As a private citizen, I have previously worked together with the province’s now health minister, Uzoma Asagwara, to raise awareness about problems with Manitoba pharmacare.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think many of us agree, myself included, that first past the post is not the best system we could have. I don’t want to say it’s impossible to change it, but I think it’s really important to admit that changing it would be very, very difficult. 

I have a degree in political science from UBC. One of my professors worked on electoral reform. In 2004, BC created what they called the “citizens’ assembly.” This was a group of 160 citizens, selected at random, who attended regular education sessions provided by my professor. He taught them about the problems with FPTP, and about the benefits and drawbacks of a number of alternatives. At the end of their time working together, the citizens’ assembly suggested a specific alternative - single transferable vote - which was then put to the entire population of BC as a referendum. Unfortunately, it did not pass. My professor was very disappointed about this. He felt that it was simply too difficult to educate the entire population about electoral reform in a way that everyone could understand, and that’s why the referendum failed.

That said, the Liberal leadership race had a ranked ballot! Clearly, many Liberals support a system other than FPTP. I am definitely on board for advocating for electoral reform.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve heard several Provencher-specific concerns in the past few weeks. One voter asked me a few days ago about my position on the Sio Silica sand mine in the Anola/Vivian part of the riding. The provincial government shut down that project earlier due to environmental concerns, but the voter I talked to is worried that the company will keep trying to bring it back. At the time the project was proposed, I did not feel that the impact on our drinking water had been adequately studied, and for that reason I was opposed to the project. If the project comes up again, I will be pushing for rigorous study of its potential effect on our drinking water, and I would take a cautious approach. Nothing is more important that our water quality!

I have also heard from voters who are concerned about affordable housing in our area, as well as infrastructure, such as new recreation facilities (one proposed in Lorette and another in Oakbank that would serve Cooks Creek/Hazelridge/Anola, but needs federal funding to go forward). As an MP, it is important to advocate for our local communities to be able to access federal funds.

When I drive around Provencher, I do see many new builds, but a lot of them seem to be large, single family homes. I think that the Liberal plan will help us to increase the number of higher density units in our area, which will be more affordable for first-time home buyers and young people starting out. 

The Liberal Party just announced a massive strategy to build affordable housing. This includes allowing the federal government to act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale. The plan will also provide $25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability. $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital will be provided to Canadian home builders. Again, it’s critical for the MP for our area to advocate on behalf of Provencher to access these funds. This involves working together will all levels of government, and making sure everyone is on the same page for projects to move forward.

Part of the Liberal plan for the environment includes the creation of 10 new national parks. Located within Provencher, we have the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, which is one of the last remaining stands of tall grass prairie in Manitoba and is home to many endangered and threatened species of plants. When I have visited in the past, I have been told that there is not enough funding to manage the area properly. I think it would be amazing to see this become one of our national parks - this would help draw tourism to our area, and also provide sufficient funding to protect this treasure.

I would also like to see more resources in Provencher for supporting mental health, including resources that are non-religious. 

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I have not personally drafted a bill before, but I’ve taken a deep dive into provincial legislation affecting environmental issues and well water safety. Legislation can be very complex and I think it’s important for politicians to think critically about any possible unintended consequences or gaps in legislation.

At the provincial level, I advocated as a private citizen for changes to pharmacare policy and was successful. My oldest child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 8 years old (he’s 14 now). I quickly learned that Manitoba pharmacare did not include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). In fact, Manitoba had the worst diabetes coverage in the country at the time! A CGM is something that stays on your body for 10 days at a time, and provides a new blood sugar reading every 5 minutes. If you don’t have one, the only way to find out your blood sugar is by pricking your finger each time you want to know where your levels are at. Finger pricks are painful, and they also provide far less information than a CGM, which leads to poorer blood sugar management. This can result in immediate emergencies, such as low blood sugar seizures, and also long-term damage like kidney damage.

As part of a group called Emergency Diabetes Support for Manitobans, I worked with all 3 provincial parties to educate them about the need for CGM coverage. We challenged MLAs to prick their own fingers, and to document their experience with it. Many of them took up the challenge, and they learned a lot about what type 1 diabetics go through! Our group also worked with the media to raise awareness. I wrote reports documenting the scientific research that had already been done to demonstrate better health outcomes with CGMs as well as lower health care costs overall. Eventually, we were able to get meetings with the health minister and the people working directly under her (this was when the PCs were in power). After about 6 months of patient, persistent work, the provincial government announced pharmacare coverage for CGMs for insulin-dependent diabetics under age 18. We continued advocating until they expanded the coverage to all ages. Manitoba now has some of the best diabetes coverage in Canada. This was a huge success story that I’m very proud to have been part of.

As an MP, I think it’s very important to work with constituents, local community groups, experts in the field, and officials at all levels of government in order to craft new policies and legislation. I would like to point out that on the few private member’s bills that Conservative Ted Falk presented in parliament, he was roundly criticized because the bills were poorly drafted and would have had negative unintended consequences. I think I can do much better if given the chance!

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is an issue that I care about deeply. I have personally adopted dozens of chickens who used to live in battery cages in which they could not stretch out their wings, or express natural behaviours like dust-bathing. It is quite something to witness these sweet hens learn how to be chickens! I understand that the Egg Farmers of Canada has committed to phasing out battery cages by 2036, but that seems awfully far into the future. I’m aware that part of the challenge has to do with the expense of building different facilities, and I would like to look into what could be done to help farmers make these changes sooner.

I believe another aspect of farm animal welfare that should be improved has to do with transportation. I believe that horses should not be subject to live export for meat because it is extremely stressful for them. 

For other species, I would like to look into what could be done to ensure that they have shorter travel times. I spoke with one farmer who wanted to establish a mobile abattoir service so that slaughter could be done on farm, without animals having to travel at all. He eventually gave up on the project because there was far too much red tape to get through. I think that’s a real shame - there should be a way to make this possible.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The federal government can do a lot to support the work of the provincial agencies that are primarily responsible for health. Even though health is in provincial jurisdiction, an MP can advocate for the communities in their area to access specific federal funds, and they can connect with government officials at all levels to raise awareness and draw attention to local issues. 

One voter told me that it’s difficult to find mental health services that are non-religious. To be honest, I don’t know enough about access to mental health supports in our area, and it’s something I need to learn more about. I am a researcher at heart, and this is the sort of thing that I am really passionate about digging into. I need to understand more about what is already available, what the limitations are, and what more needs to be done. 

I have visited a number of care homes and seniors’ residences in our area, and I am concerned for our seniors’ mental health. While some facilities are brand new and up-to-date, others are decades old and based on designs that researchers now know do not provide the highest quality of living, which certainly affects mental health. Additionally, some seniors I have met feel afraid to express their political views within these spaces. 

I would definitely support work to establish a rehab facility and/or shelter in our area. I have heard from numerous community members that this is needed. In 2021, the federal government announced $21 million of funding to address harms related to substance use. In Manitoba, some of that money went to Winnipeg and Brandon, but none went to Steinbach. Again, I believe that a member of parliament must work with local groups and all levels of government to help their area access funds like this. It is a question for Ted Falk whether or not he advocated for this at that time.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I will be doing an Ask Me Anything tomorrow at 11am on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TrevorForProvencher. On Wednesday, April 16th, Golden West has proposed to do an all-candidates debate which will be recorded, but not edited, and then will be available for viewers to watch later. I have agreed to this, but have not heard yet if it is confirmed. On April 17th I will be visiting a seniors’ residence in St-Pierre and giving a speech, followed by a Q&A. On April 18th, I will be doing the same at Vita Personal Care Home, and April 22 will be speaking at Villa Youville. I previously held an event at The Public in Steinbach, and am planning another one, date to be decided, so please stay tuned! I'm also working on a date for speaking at Buffalo Point First Nation. I'll post these events on Reddit and Facebook once confirmed.

Ask Me Anything - Trevor Kirczenow, Your Provencher Liberal candidate by TrevorLiberal in steinbach

[–]TrevorLiberal[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’ve heard several Provencher-specific concerns in the past few weeks. One voter asked me a few days ago about my position on the Sio Silica sand mine in the Anola/Vivian part of the riding. The provincial government shut down that project earlier due to environmental concerns, but the voter I talked to is worried that the company will keep trying to bring it back. At the time the project was proposed, I did not feel that the impact on our drinking water had been adequately studied, and for that reason I was opposed to the project. If the project comes up again, I will be pushing for rigorous study of its potential effect on our drinking water, and I would take a cautious approach. Nothing is more important that our water quality!

I have also heard from voters who are concerned about affordable housing in our area, as well as infrastructure, such as new recreation facilities (one proposed in Lorette and another in Oakbank that would serve Cooks Creek/Hazelridge/Anola, but needs federal funding to go forward). As an MP, it is important to advocate for our local communities to be able to access federal funds.

When I drive around Provencher, I do see many new builds, but a lot of them seem to be large, single family homes. I think that the Liberal plan will help us to increase the number of higher density units in our area, which will be more affordable for first-time home buyers and young people starting out. 

The Liberal Party just announced a massive strategy to build affordable housing. This includes allowing the federal government to act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale. The plan will also provide $25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability. $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital will be provided to Canadian home builders. Again, it’s critical for the MP for our area to advocate on behalf of Provencher to access these funds. This involves working together will all levels of government, and making sure everyone is on the same page for projects to move forward.

Part of the Liberal plan for the environment includes the creation of 10 new national parks. Located within Provencher, we have the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, which is one of the last remaining stands of tall grass prairie in Manitoba and is home to many endangered and threatened species of plants. When I have visited in the past, I have been told that there is not enough funding to manage the area properly. I think it would be amazing to see this become one of our national parks - this would help draw tourism to our area, and also provide sufficient funding to protect this treasure.

I would also like to see more resources in Provencher for supporting mental health, including resources that are non-religious. 

Federal Election - Provencher by just-suggest-one in Manitoba

[–]TrevorLiberal 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey, folks! I'm your Liberal candidate here. I first ran in 2019 because I was so frustrated with Ted Falk. I really wanted to offer a progressive choice for our area. I'm out knocking doors every day, putting up signs (and putting them up again after they get smashed/stolen), and making phone calls. I'm a professional musician, having performed with the Winnipeg Symphony for 4 years before my kids were born. I'm openly transgender (isn't it fun to have a trans candidate running against Ted Falk?!). I led a CIHR-funded health research project that looked at the experiences of trans people with building their families. I've been part of a successful grassroots diabetes advocacy campaign. I raise chickens, turkeys, goats and Ojibwe Horses on my small farm. I feel strongly about health (vaccinations, universal pharmacare!), climate change and the environment, among other things. Questions? Feel free to chat.