When Crisis Comes, Put People First

Jannetje Van Went | Winnipeg municipal election position | October 28, 2026

I remember what it felt like to face a pandemic while worrying about income, housing and the people beside me. For many households, the federal emergency benefit was the money that made it possible to get through another month. I am grateful that help arrived. I also believe Manitobans have the right to ask whether every level of government did enough, soon enough, for the people most at risk of losing their stability.

The pandemic made one question impossible to ignore: when a crisis hits, whose needs does government put first?

Manitoba offered some support to businesses and frontline workers. That does not end the conversation. We need to hear from people who fell outside program rules, essential workers who felt their risk went unrecognized, and small businesses that survived the emergency only to face rising costs afterward. We need to examine what worked and what failed, using records as well as the experiences of the people affected.

I want the same scrutiny applied to public spending. In 2020, Winnipeg City Council endorsed a request to redirect federal infrastructure funding toward upgrades at the North End wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater treatment matters. So does a clear public account of why funds were redirected, what other projects were affected, and how those decisions served residents during a crisis. Asking for that account is a citizen’s right.

Health decisions also require trust. Manitobans deserve to know which public health authorities advised each major decision, how personal information was protected, what public communication cost, and how officials evaluated its value. These questions should be answered with accessible records, independent review where warranted, and respect for the people who lived through the consequences.

For the October 28 municipal election, I ask every candidate for mayor and council to commit to:

1. Publish clear accounts of emergency spending, including contracts, funding sources and measurable results.

2. Explain major changes to infrastructure priorities and give residents a meaningful chance to be heard before future changes.

3. Show how emergency plans protect housing, essential services and small local businesses, especially when provincial or federal assistance is delayed.

4. Make public communication accessible and accountable, with its cost and purpose disclosed.

5. Listen to residents and frontline workers after a crisis, then publish what the City will change before the next one.

This is the position I will carry beyond election day: public money and public authority must answer to the public. I will challenge decisions that leave ordinary people carrying the risk while powerful interests receive the benefit. I want a Winnipeg where survival, privacy and a secure place to live count in every government decision.

No One Left Behind.