Manitoba Election 2016

James Allum - Fort Garry-Riverview

1. Why did you decide to run in the 2016 Manitoba election?

As the incumbent MLA in Fort-Garry Riverview I am running again to continue working with my friends, neighbours and constituents to make our community strong, safe and sustainable. Education, health care, child care, human rights, community development and our environment are all priorities for the people I represent. We need to keep building our communities and keep Manitoba moving forward. We want to make steady progress on the issues that matter to families so that everyone has the opportunity to live happy and productive lives. The cuts the other parties are promising will hurt Manitobans and move us backward. I’m fighting to make sure that my constituency and my Manitoba is a place where everyone belongs.

2. What experience will you bring to complement your role as MLA?

My commitment to public service started in academia. After completing a BA and MA at Trent University, I went to Queen’s University and completed my PhD in Canadian and Environmental History.

My family and I moved to Winnipeg in 1996 and I worked at the City of Winnipeg Archives and taught part-time in the Department of History at the University of Winnipeg. I also served as Chair of the Manitoba Heritage Council and of the Council on Post-Secondary Education for the Province of Manitoba.

My advocacy work at the time on active transportation, civic heritage and community development was simply a natural extension of my academic work.

I love hockey. I served as convenor and Jack Rabbit hockey coach for the Riverview Community Club. Its fun to run into kids I used to coach who are now all grown up when I’m canvassing out on the doorstep.

I was honoured to serve as Minister of Education and Advanced Learning beginning in 2013. We have made great strides in education including keeping class sizes small, supporting students with special needs, and adapting and collaborating with service providers to support our most marginalized students to stay in school and do well there.

3. Is there anything in particular you would like to change in our province? In your electoral division?

As a government we will continue to invest in Manitoba and work to build a more inclusive society. We have brought significant legislation before the house on Indigenous education, child care in schools, environmental protection and economic development. In Fort Garry Riverview, we will implement our commitment to expand the Harrow Childcare Cooperative, redevelop the Fort Garry Community Centre, and enhance our public schools by building on our investments at College Churchill High School, Institut Collegial Vincent Masset Collegiate, General Byng School, and Ecole Viscount Alexander and Riverview Schools. I’m also excited about the new Access Centre at Bishop Grandin and Pembina that we are building and will complete. It will offer a combination of health and social services tailored to local needs.

4. What key issue(s) / topic(s) would like to stand for in your role as MLA, and why is it important to you?

I talk with families in our constituency struggling with poverty. Our party has worked to address poverty in a number of ways – increasing the minimum wage, implementing rent assist, increasing the number of public housing units, as well as working to break down barriers to employment, and providing services that support families like accessible childcare. It is critical that we continue to work towards equality in our communities, and I’m committed to building on our work to reduce poverty in Manitoba.

We consistently support grassroots efforts of leaders like Sustainable South Osborne and the Harrow Cooperative Childcare centre to run projects and expand efforts on the ground that matter most to people locally. That’s how we build a community where everyone has what they need to grow.

Finally, residents are telling me that it is critical that we keep making steady progress in areas like health care and education and that the cuts the other parties are proposing would set us as a community back. I will fight for the programs and the principles of exclusivity that our community believes in.

5. What is one thing in particular that you value about the electoral division that you wish to represent?

I love that our constituency is so engaged and active. Just last week, I was at the South Osborne Syrian Refugee Initiative fundraising event where over 120 people came together to raise money and offer their support to three Syrian refugee families.

Sustainable South Osborne is another collaborative group taking leadership on food sustainability, respect for the environment, and increasing local inclusion. Parker Wetlands Conservation committee came together to act as stewards of the land at the north west corner of our constituency.

These are just a few of the many examples of active citizens working to improve our neighbourhoods. I try and bring this care, work ethic, and collaborative spirit to my work as an MLA everyday, and if I’m elected, I’ll continue to represent this kind of approach going forward.

6. Do you have any other comments regarding your candidacy?

I want to thank all my friends, family and neighbours who are supporting me in this election. I also want to say how great it has been meeting with families and neighbours on the doorsteps. Our community is such a diverse and incredible place, it would be a privilege to continue representing your priorities in the Legislature.