Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen says dialysis services are coming to the Automobile City.

Goertzen says his government announced that in this week's Throne Speech, which is a general overview of their intentions.

"I was very pleased to hear," says Goertzen.

He notes a lot of people from Steinbach and area are currently travelling to Winnipeg for this service.

"I and others have been advocating for quite some time about the need to get dialysis service in Steinbach," shares Goertzen. "This is really good news."

The Steinbach MLA says more details will be coming regarding the timeline for this.

"But for the first time we have that commitment from government to have that dialysis service in Steinbach," he says. "So people who need the service or who might need it in the future I think should feel very good about that."

Bob Barrow of Steinbach campaigned many times for the service. In the spring of 2019 he told steinbachonline.com that he was driving an elderly gentleman to Winnipeg for dialysis three times a week for the past 18 months. At the time, he noted there were many others in the same boat, suggesting patients have been forced to move to Winnipeg because they could not afford the transportation costs.

sures. "In the budget next year in the spring, you will hear more specifics about how starting next year we're going to start reducing that education tax on homes, so residential properties."

This legislative session runs until December 3rd. Goertzen says as Education Minister he was at the Manitoba Legislature nearly every day through summer. But, now he gets to debate in the assembly again. Goertzen says nothing is exactly the way it once was. For example, there are fewer MLAs in the Chamber, politicians are distanced and there are health protocols to follow.

"A lot of people have had to do a lot of different things since March of this year and had to learn a lot of new ways, and some of them that are inconvenient but that's fine, we are learning this together and the Assembly is no different," shares Goertzen. "So I'm glad that we're back and whatever change it results in, change I'm sure that we will all find our way through."