NDP promises more firefighters for city

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/09/2011 (5446 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New Democratic Party Leader Greg Selinger pledged four new firefighter/paramedics for Brandon and more money for home care during a campaign stop in Brandon on Saturday.

Selinger said the $400,000 investment in new firefighter/paramedics would provide staff for a new Brandon Fire and Emergency Services ambulance that was supplied several months ago.

“This is another full route that will be managed here that will improve the ability to respond to people’s needs in this community and I think this is something Brandon will benefit from,” Selinger said while standing in front of Brandon Firehall No. 1, surrounded by two ambulances and a mixture of on- and off-duty firefighter/paramedics.

The announcement was welcomed by local firefighter/paramedics, who were on hand.

“We are pleased because we have lobbied this government and different ministers for eight-to-10 months,” said Lt. Wade Ritchie, the president of the Brandon Fire-Paramedics Association. “(The new ambulance) has been our backup unit but now we can man it and get it on the streets.”

However Progressive Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen said it was a move of “desperation.”

“If you look at the plan we put out weeks ago, it includes both improved safety for paramedics with power lift equipment in ambulances and also a wider scope of practice for paramedics to provide better front-line health care for Manitobans,” McFadyen said.

In promising $190,000 for home care in Brandon, Selinger said more staff would be available on weekends and evenings and that hospital beds would ultimately be freed up for other Manitobans.

“The savings will accrue by having more hospital beds open, so it’s avoiding the cost of having people not have access to beds when they need them,” Selinger said. “They will get more timely care, more access to the hospital more rapidly and their issues will be dealt with more rapidly. It’s about making the system work more efficiently.”

McFadyen questioned how Selinger could make that pledge, “when health-care services are being cut back across the province because of his mismanagement of that system.”

“It looks like he’s desperately trying to cover up for the cuts that have already taken place under his watch,” McFadyen said. “Home care is notifying clients across the province that they are cutting back the hours of service to their clients, cutting back time allocations for bathing and meals and other important activities for clients.”

Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard said the announcement was positive, but was, “something that should have been done some time ago.”

“These issues should have been addressed,” Gerrard said. “There’s more people in personal care homes when they should have been able to stay in their homes longer. We need a flexible approach and to ensure that home care services are there for people.”

Selinger also pledged funding and tax breaks for private developers to build up to 2,500 housing units across the province.

A new $25-million grant would be available for private developers to build 500 rental units across Manitoba at or below median rent levels.

Another 1,000 rental units in either downtown Brandon or Winnipeg, can be built using tax increment financing. That enables developers to reinvest property taxes generated by the housing block back into the project for up to 15 years.

Selinger cited the McKenzie Seeds building as an example where tax increment financing can repurpose a building for affordable housing needs, but did not break down the total number of housing units Brandonites would actually see built in the Wheat City.

“It will depend on the applications that come forward,” Selinger said. “The private sector has an opportunity to take advantage of these programs and good projects will be qualified.”

The remaining 1,000 rental units will be for families and seniors in suburban Winnipeg.

McFadyen was not impressed, saying after 12 years of New Democratic governments that, “rents are skyrocketing and we have a housing shortage.”

“He’s failed after 12 years, so we have no reason to believe that giving him 16 years will make anything better,” McFadyen said of Selinger. “I think it’s desperation and it’s unlikely he’ll keep that promise in any event, given the budgetary problems.”

McFadyen said new policies that stimulate private investment in housing is his preferred approach to address affordable housing needs.

“Then you can address the need for affordable housing with appropriate investment in public housing,” McFadyen said. “You have to have an expanding economy to have the resources for public housing as well as providing a framework for more private investment in housing.”

Gerrard said he favoured using tax increment financing for affordable housing projects.

“There is a major issue with housing shortages in Brandon and the approach the NDP has used is a very expensive one when you look at the units built compared to the dollars spent,” Gerrard said. “We need to do better because it helps all of us.”

» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com