Manitoba Liberals have a very different vision of the role of government than the NDP. Government should be the servant of the people instead of people being servants to our government.

Yesterday Naomi and I visited with friends in Shoal Lake.  At one stop we talked with a farmer, Kevin Choy.   His situation, similar to many farmers this year, is that he was only able to get about half his crop planted.    The photo above tells the story of one of the farmers in the area (in this case though not Kevin Choy, though Kevin's fields are not far away).

In the last several weeks, as Kevin watched the news and talked to other farmers in the area, he realized that in terms of government help, unless he was in the Interlake or in the area around the Hoop and Hollow Cut south of Portage la Prairie, he was basically out of luck.  Then recently, there was an announcement of support for farmers which appeared to also help farmers in places like Shoal Lake. 

He called up his local agricultual office to ask for information.  The reply was quick "Sorry, I can't help you, I am too busy."

Kevin then asked, "Well, will you get back to me when you find the answer?" 

The reply "No, that's your job to find the answer."

Some help, Some government. 

You see, as Manitoba Liberals we have a very different vision of the role of government.  Manitoba Liberals see government as the servant to the people.   In contrast, as you can see in Manitoba today, the NDP see people as servants to the government. 

Part of the problem today is that people have become very cynical of government.  And with attitudes like those found in NDP Manitoba today, it is not hard to understand why.   In my view, we need to change this.  I have been reading a book "Making Government Great Again."  This book emphasizes, above all else, the need for organizations to understand the needs of the people they serve, and to provide the service they need.   Governments, of course, can't be all things to all people.  But governments need to understand and decide what their role is, and to do that role well.  When government decides to help farmers, the help should be there - not "Sorry, I can't help you, I'm too busy."