Gender education, health care hot topics at byelection debate

SPRUCEWOODS — Gender education and health-care issues were awkwardly debated during the second all-candidates debate in the Spruce Woods byelection on Wednesday night.

Progressive Conservative Colleen Robbins was the only candidate at the debate who vocalized concerns about sexuality issues in public schools, saying she believes parents need to be responsible for their children.

The candidates were asked their thoughts on parental rights issues, as well as library books tied to identity issues such as LGBTQ subjects in local schools.

“What I do know is, simply, I don’t believe that teachers should be responsible,” Robbins said. “Our parents should be responsible for their children, not the teacher … I believe that the parents should be involved until their child is an adult.”

Robbins said she doesn’t discriminate against people based on their sexuality or identity.

“I’ve always said that, but I honestly, I accept queers, I accept them all, and I have friends that are them. I have a campaign manager that is gay,” she said. “And I want to make it straight that I am not against any gay, lesbians whatsoever. I have lots of friends that are.”

Liberal candidate Stephen Reid, a teacher, refuted the idea that educators are involved in children’s identities in this way. Reid said he believes that teachers are not nudging children toward any changes to their sexuality or body identities in local schools.

“There is no way a student is going to get any sort of push towards being trans, gay, lesbian, etc., or change the chemistry of your body or whatever is also being suggested here,” said Reid.

“As far as teachers being responsible for children versus parents, as a teacher, I’m with my students seven, eight hours a day. I am very responsible for them, and I’m very involved in their community and their lives, but there is certainly no indoctrination.”

NDP candidate Ray Berthelette did not offer comments on the issue.

Other topics at the debate — which drew about 90 people to the Sprucewoods Community Hall — included health care, roads and social media.

After it was mentioned that Robbins had deleted years-old social media posts during the byelection, panellist Deveryn Ross asked the other two candidates to clarify if they had done the same. Both candidates said they had.

Berthelette said he had deleted some post regarding the Clinton family, and Reid said he had deleted a post where he felt he had been “sucked” into a debate with an NDP supporter.

On the issue of health care, Robbins, a former nurse, criticized the sitting NDP government, saying the party has not delivered results on the issue since campaigning around it in 2023.

“Go back to the 2023 election, 90 per cent of that election was about health care and how the NDP have the plan to fix it. I have not seen any of that plan. I have not seen anything that has been fixed. I would say it’s went backwards and backwards.”

Berthelette responded by saying the NDP has only been two years in office, and that has not been enough time to patch up shortcomings he said are due to the former PC government.

“Yes, there, there’s some issues with doctors and health-care professionals. But we are working hard to get those rectified,” said Berthelette. “So it’s a work in progress, and after seven years of cutting and marking down our health-care system.”

To solve the problem of a shortage of health-care professionals, Berthelette stood by the NDP plan to double the size of its medical training program at Brandon University, adding 10 new seats to train doctors.

Robbins said the province should look at incentives to attract doctors to the province. She said the province could follow in the footsteps of a program in Saskatchewan, where she said doctors are attracted by a $50,000 incentive on a three-year deal to stay in the province.

Reid said that Manitoba deals with the issue of two governing parties — the Tories and the NDP — that fight against each other, and that is preventing solutions on health care.

“We have a crisis, and the money that is needed for that crisis is being put inside the Perimeter,” when it should be placed into rural communities, said Reid.

The debate was organized by The Brandon Sun, Brandon University and Westman Communications. Other panellists included BU associate professor of political science Kelly Saunders and Sun reporter Alex Lambert. It was officiated by Kerry Auriat.

Advance voting is available at two venues ahead of election day. The option is available until Aug. 23 at Glenboro Raystone Memorial Centre at 214 Broadway St. in Glenboro, and until Aug. 25 at Spruce Woods Local Election Office at 811 18th St. North in the Corral Centre in Brandon.

Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

Everyone must show ID to vote — either one piece of government-issued photo ID with your current address (such as a driver’s licence) or two other pieces. The voter information card can be used as one of the two pieces of ID. For a complete list of acceptable ID, visit electionsmanitoba.ca.

Election day is Aug. 26.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com