Random Notes
Many Manitobans take pride in our abilities to make tight budgets work. We are naturally thrifty people. Some might call this a vice, but in Manitoba this thriftiness is balanced with a reputation for incredible generosity to causes and individuals who need our help. On a personal level, we find ways to stretch limited resources in creative ways, we do things ourselves that we could pay others for, we share resources, use thrift stores for re-cycling and finding different kinds of products that can be of use to our households, we wait for sales and bargains. Sometimes our dual natures of thrift and generosity can ensure that we have unintended consequences that lead to dysfunctional systems, programs, and organizations.
We can rebalance things quite easily in our personal lives if we are committed to change. However, when our whole province seems to be caught in a whole range of collective services and programs that have become outrageously expensive and yet struggle to provide adequate services to our population, we really need to put our best thinking resources to finding better solutions for people and institutions in Manitoba. Our increasing political polarization does not help in the least. These are not problems of the right or the left, these are problems of people who want to live in a safe, prosperous, well-run community. We need to rebalance our systems so that they can provide collective services like health care, education, transportation, child-welfare, justice, policing, fire safety, Indigenous reconciliation, social services, culture, universities, business development, agriculture, and community enhancements in an efficient, effective, and excellent manner. We want to live in Manitoba, and we don’t want to pay excessive taxes, but we also want our overall community to work well.
We really need our politicians at the federal, provincial, and municipal level of every party affiliation to put aside their partisan squabbling and put their best thinking to work for the benefit of all of us. I fear that if we do not address some of the major imbalances very soon, we will be in a desperate state in Manitoba.
Sometimes we think that we can save dollars by not providing certain services and supports for individuals and communities that need extra help, and we end of paying many multiples of the required investment in health care, policing, and justice costs. When we do not pay general practitioners adequately and make their bureaucratic requirements onerous, we should not be surprised that many people cannot find the basic health care supports they need to maintain their health. When we do not seriously address the concerns and needs of the Indigenous community members in a respectful and collaborative way, we cannot be surprised when the impact of generations of unfairness puts tremendous pressure on every system we have in place in the province. When we do not plan adequately for the stresses that our aging baby boom population will put on our health care and community housing systems, we will reap decades of incredible challenges. When we send a firetruck and firemen to deal with emergency health issues requiring paramedics and an ambulance, we cannot be surprised that we have more complicated health issues to deal with in hospitals in very short order. When hospitals are filled with seniors who should be in personal care homes, we cannot be surprised that the hospital hallways are filled with patients who cannot access bed space in the wards. When we are not able to address some of the major environmental issues relating to our water supplies, our climate issues, and the threats of wildfires to wreak incredible damage, we are dooming our children and grandchildren to a lifetime of threats and dangers.
We desperately need dedication to addressing multiple problems in a multi-system clear headed way. We need to be brave enough to shift dollars or find new resources to address many problems at their root. For example, I understand that in the Netherlands the prison system is almost empty. The community leaders attribute this to the radical concept of providing extremely good mental health support systems to people dealing with mental health and addiction issues. Could an approach like this be of benefit in Manitoba? I would tend to think so.
We can achieve better outcomes from the huge investments we make in health care, education and justice, by thinking through all of these issues simultaneously and with open minds to make changes. Is this easy work? Absolutely not. Can we afford to ignore the many problems in our society because our personal life seems secure and reasonably problem free?
Sometimes our thrifty natures as Manitobans cause us to look for the cheapest solutions and turn a blind eye to the long-term consequences of our decisions. Political parties are rewarded for short-term thinking that prioritizes a four-year election cycle. This type of false economizing has become a dangerous luxury that we can no longer afford.
Trudy Schroeder provides project planning and management services to the community through Arts and Heritage Solutions.
