Wednesday was the start of a new daily feature leading up to the election called 730 CKDM’s MLA Q&A. Every day, we’ll feature the three MLA Candidates’ answers to issues facing Parkland residents. The question asked was, what work still needs to be done in the area of healthcare?

PC candidate Brad Michaleski gave us his answer.

“The biggest thing I noticed over the last 3 years is the amount of people that are leaving the region, having to go to Brandon or Winnipeg for services that are non-emergency. That process, mental health, people that are dealing with disabilities, people that are needing healthcare treatment that are non-emergency. There’s a lot of that, that’s going on that could be done in this region. That’s probably the biggest, I know when it comes down to it, there’s lots of non-emergency care that people in the region have to leave the region for. Again, we have a great healthcare system in this region. We have a lot of good people that are working in the healthcare system. We just need to find ways to keep people from having to travel outside the region.”

NDP candidate Darcy Scheller had this to say.

“Investments, definitely investments. The healthcare system in Manitoba is very perforated with all the healthcare cuts, and the callbacks in funding over the last 3 and a half years. I’ve talked with many nurses, support workers, and doctors and they are definitely feeling stretched. So, investing back in for better healthcare for all Manitobans.”

Finally, this was Liberal candidate Cathy Scofield-Singh’s answer.

“Right now, everything is being shifted to the bigger hubs. Dauphin definitely is one of the hubs, but we’re moving everything away from the rural areas. My concern is, if we move everything away from the rural areas, it makes it very difficult for seniors or people who don’t have access to vehicles to get to those areas. They live in those small towns, they want to be able to receive services in those towns, we need to keep our nurses and doctors in our small towns. When someone is ill and sick, they don’t want to be recovering in Winnipeg or Brandon. If your family lives in Alonsa or in Skownan, that’s a long drive to get to. We want people to be closer to their homes, to be able to access healthcare in their communities.”

Be sure to listen during the 7, 8, Noon, 4, and 5 o’clock newscasts for the candidates' answers leading up to election day.