A lifelong resident of southeastern Manitoba is running for the Liberal party in La Verendryre.

Monica Guetre, who lives in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, was raised on a dairy farm. She received her post-secondary education at the University of Winnipeg. Later she worked at the university where she helped develop their first-ever sexual harassment guidelines. 

Following her days at the U of W, Guetre did extensive travelling, volunteering with refugee organizations. After returning to Canada, she worked in the Northwest Territories before settling down in southeastern Manitoba where she has been employed by a pharmaceutical manufacturer the last 24 years. 

Guetre says she has done a lot of different volunteer work over the years, including such things as sitting on daycare boards, giving her time with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets program and serving on the board of directors with the Manitoba Liberal Party. 

Guetre says if elected, her number one priority will be to fight against the proposed silica sand extraction project in the Rural Municipality of Springfield. She refers to this as a very urgent matter, noting Manitoba politicians should be doing more to protect our drinking water. It is her opinion that this project would impact every resident, farm and business in eastern Manitoba and that the drilling of holes will lead to the poisoning of our wells and municipal water treatment plants. 

"We don't have enough tax dollars to clean up this planned disaster," she says. 

Guetre says another priority that is high on her list is addressing the healthcare crisis that she says exists today in our province. Guetre says our healthcare system needs to be rebuilt. She notes many Manitobans do not have a family doctor, which means many health problems are not being caught before they become critical. 

"How many of us have had to wait in the Emergency Room for hours, wait to see a specialist or wait months and months for surgery or had a family member die because they have been waiting too long?" she questions. "Delaying is the same as denying health care."

Guetre says another thing she will fight for if elected, is education and rebuilding what she refers to as a damaged K to 12 education system in our province. She feels long-term solutions, rather than knee-jerk reactions need to be developed in our province, as well as a 10-year education plan in partnership with teachers, parents, students and school divisions. Guetre says Manitoba also needs to undertake a curriculum review with the goal of ensuring national and international best practices and the best outcomes for students. 

"We also need to create literacy programs with the goal of making sure that every child in Manitoba can read by the time they finish grade 2," says Guetre. "We need to hire more educational assistants to provide the necessary support to teachers and students."

One final priority is to address the issue of our rising cost of living. Guetre notes it is a huge worry for Manitobans, especially those living in rural parts, to deal with rising mortgage and rent payments.

Meanwhile, Guetre says Manitoba has been ignored far too long under PC and NDP governments and she says the response she has been receiving while knocking on doors has been very positive. 

 

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