Audrey Gordon Explained

Audrey Gordon
Office:Manitoba Minister of Health
Term Start:January 18, 2022
Term End:October 17, 2023
Premier:Heather Stefanson
Predecessor:Portfolio renamed
Successor:Uzoma Asagwara
Office1:Manitoba Minister of Health and Seniors Care
Term Start1:August 18, 2021
Term End1:January 18, 2022
Premier1:Brian Pallister
Kelvin Goertzen
Heather Stefanson
Predecessor1:Heather Stefanson
Successor1:Portfolio renamed
Office2:Minister of Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery
Term Start2:January 5, 2021
Term End2:January 18, 2022
Premier2:Brian Pallister
Kelvin Goertzen
Heather Stefanson
Predecessor2:Portfolio established
Successor2:Sarah Guillemard
Office3:Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Southdale
Predecessor3:Andrew Smith
Successor3:Renée Cable
Term Start3:September 10, 2019
Term End3:September 5, 2023
Party:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Residence:Winnipeg, Manitoba

Audrey Gordon is a Canadian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2019 to 2023, representing the electoral district of Southdale as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.[1] Alongside Jamie Moses and Uzoma Asagwara, she was one of the first three Black Canadian MLAs elected in the 2019 Manitoba general election.[1]

Political career

At the 2016 general election, Gordon stood in the central Winnipeg constituency of Fort Rouge. She came in second place to Wab Kinew, who later became leader of the Manitoba NDP, narrowing the NDP majority in the district; Manitoba Liberal Party leader Rana Bokhari, who did not have a seat at the time of the election, ran third in this riding.

At the 2019 general election, Gordon was elected in the southeastern Winnipeg constituency of Southdale.[2]

In August 2020, Gordon was victim of a racist attack when a bench with her image on it was defaced with graffiti.[3] [4]

In May 2021 Springs Church, of which Gordon is a member, held an in-person graduation event. This was in defiance of restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Gordon eventually commented on the event in a Facebook post, adding: "I have read several posts stating that I was present at the Springs graduation ceremony. To my knowledge, no evidence has been provided to substantiate this claim."[5] Her Facebook page was later deactivated.

In November 2021, Gordon was criticized for offering "thoughts and prayers" to Manitobans who had their surgeries cancelled and placed on a waitlist of over 130,000 postponed procedures.[6] As of December 7, the delayed procedure backlog has surpassed 152,000[7] and on December 8 health officials announced that they would look at cancelling additional surgical procedures as ICU beds are required for new COVID-19 patients that are being admitted to hospitals.[8]

Gordon received further criticism from the opposition and in the media after a third of the nurses in the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program resigned in March 2023.[9] When confronted by the opposition, Gordon shifted the blame to "health system leaders" in the bureaucracy despite this being under her portfolio, bringing on more outcry over her leadership.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Bryce Hoye, "Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time MLAs". CBC News Manitoba, September 11, 2019.
  2. Web site: Manitoba Electoral Riding: Southdale. 2020-10-28. Global News. en-US.
  3. Web site: Hoye. Bryce. Aug 10, 2020. Manitoba MLA 'saddened' but undeterred by racist graffiti on bus bench with her image. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200811161826/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/audrey-gordon-racist-graffiti-bus-bench-winnipeg-1.5680490 . 2020-08-11 . CBC News - Manitoba.
  4. Web site: McKendrick. Devon. 2020-08-10. Winnipeg MLA has bus bench defaced with racist graffiti. 2020-10-28. Winnipeg. en.
  5. Web site: Winnipeg's Springs Church faces backlash for maskless graduation photos, pastor says they followed rules. 2021-05-23. CBC News. en-US.
  6. Web site: Manitoba health minister offers 'thoughts and prayers' to those affected by postponed surgeries. live. 2021-12-08. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116010519/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/surgery-diagnostic-backlog-manitoba-task-force-1.6250023 . 2021-11-16 .
  7. Web site: Surgical, diagnostic backlog surpasses 152,000 cases in Manitoba, doctors' group says. live. 2021-12-08. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211207180100/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-surgical-diagnostic-backlog-doctors-manitoba-1.6276422 . 2021-12-07 .
  8. Web site: Health officials look at cancelling more surgeries as Manitoba ICUs face continued strain. live. 2021-12-08. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211208152330/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/covid-19-update-manitoba-1.6277617 . 2021-12-08 .
  9. News: NDP calls for Manitoba health minister to resign after more nurses quit program for sex assault victims . . March 22, 2023.
  10. News: Health minister wrong to pass the buck . . March 24, 2023.