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Government Relations Advantage

Building Relationships

Government relations is an ongoing and evolving process, as issues, challenges, budgets, ministers, leaders, and governing parties change. Success comes with knowing how to build relationships to transcend these transitions and fill gaps that inevitably arise from them.

I have seen ideas and initiatives succeed or fail not on their merit, but on the quality and stability of the relationships they required to become well-implemented realities.

I know that my community, legislative, parliamentary, and ministerial successes were directly tied to the relationships I built and nurtured.

I offer my clients the insight they need to establish successful relationships with governments from an insider’s perspective, based on a track record of demonstrated success across all aspects of political life.

Demonstrated Success

Strong community relationships broke the hold of one party on representing my neighbourhood and ensured I held the seat through a contentious local re-election, as our government sought an unprecedented fourth term.

As a rookie MLA, building relationships with experienced legislators, civil servants, and stakeholders resulted in my:

  • Contributing significant revisions to the Child Care Safety Charter draft legislation
  • Chairing the Legislative Review Committee which oversaw the drafting, review, and introduction of all government legislation in Manitoba
  • Appointments to Cabinet Committees as backbench Member: Indigenous Issues, Healthy Child, Priorities and Planning, and Treasury Board

Building on these relationships, I worked across multiple departments, with other levels of government, and a diverse cross-section of stakeholders and community activists to successfully draft and pass two first-in-Canada laws.

I continued to build relationships across borders and the global political landscape during my six years as the President of the Manitoba section of L’Assemblee Parliamentaire de la Francophonie, and Environmental and Education Committee member to the Midwestern Legislative Committee (Council of State Governments).

All of this relationship-building provided me with successful transitions into my two cabinet portfolios. Both appointments occurred in climates where political, caucus, cabinet, and departmental relationships were fraught with tension and breakdowns. The stability, respect, and trust that I invested in relationships was reciprocated, facilitating not only these transitions, but also ensuring long-term success in both offices.

As our responsibilities grow, so too must our relationships and the skills to build and foster them. I continued this effective approach in Ministerial Federal-Provincial-Territorial relationships with fellow Health Ministers, with intergovernmental organizations like the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, and as the National Chair of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) Ministerial Board. I worked directly with the CBS executive while leading all provincial and territorial Health Ministers on policy and funding matters.

Relationship Advantage

I provide my clients with an insider’s perspective on the political and governmental landscape they are navigating, including strategies to build and nurture relationships; from departmental front lines to ministerial offices.

Going beyond traditional models and strategies, my clients receive insights gained from direct experience and demonstrated success.

I provide them with comprehensive analysis and customized policy, programming, and resource documents; strengthening their relationships with governments from their daily engagement to stakeholder positioning, and ministerial meetings.

My clients no longer go to governments with requests for funding, support, or legislative change. Instead, they know how to successfully present effective solutions with straightforward implementation and reasonable investment.

Governments engage with my clients as effective and efficient allies to help them meet increasing service and programming needs, in the face of budgetary pressures.