Street looks to make inroads for Tories in Point Douglas

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This article was published 29/03/2016 (3843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s Point Douglas constituency has a full slate of candidates — including one Brandon resident.

Marsha Street will carry the Progressive Conservative banner in the constituency, challenging NDP incumbent Kevin Chief, Liberal candidate Althea Guiboche and Green candidate Alberteen Spence.

“I’ve worked in various capacities with the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives for over 20 years, and have always known the day would come when I’d put my name forward to run for office,” Street said in a statement via email.

“That day has come. Brandon already has two excellent candidates, so when the opportunity arose to run in Point Douglas, I decided to put my name forward.”

Guiboche is widely known as Winnipeg’s “bannock lady” for distributing food to the homeless and needy. She lives in Point Douglas and takes issue with a candidate being parachuted in from a different city.

“We totally need a representative that is from the struggle, that is from the area, that is ready to advocate on behalf of the people living there,” Guiboche said. “I don’t feel that she would be connected in any way to any of the constituents.”

Point Douglas is plagued by poverty, unemployment and homelessness, which Guiboche says she has experienced first-hand.

“How is (Street) even aware of what needs to be done?” Guiboche asked.

“We need people that … know how it feels to be forgotten by the government — and that’s me … I would say 80 per cent of my population are like me — single mothers with young children, and so those are the ones I’m fighting for.”

Street has lived in Brandon for the past eight years, where she works as an educational assistant and a mental health proctor. Her stepfather is Robert Sopuck, Conservative MP for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa. She spent a few summers in Winnipeg, and lived there in the late 1990s.

“I’m going to do my best to get to know as many of the people in Point Douglas as I can, listen to their concerns on the doorsteps and explain to them what the Pallister PC team will bring to all Manitobans,” she said.

“And if I’m fortunate enough to earn their support, I’m going to move here so I can represent them to the best of my abilities.”

PC Leader Brian Pallister defended the decision to have Street as a Point Douglas candidate, calling her a “compassionate person.”

“Point Douglas has some tremendously difficult challenges, and it’s a fit I think that makes sense,” Pallister said while in Brandon on Monday.

“I know her family to be just tremendous people dedicated to public service, dedicated to uplifting those who need help and this fits right in, I think, with the kind of caring people we have on our team.

“We’re people who come from diverse backgrounds, but we’ve all experienced challenges in our life and we all understand the importance of helping people up — and Marsha does, too.”

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