January 4, 2016
Premier Appoints Andrew Swan as Manitoba's Special Envoy for Military Affairs
Premier Greg Selinger today appointed Minto MLA Andrew Swan as Manitoba’s special envoy for military affairs.
“Manitobans owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courageous men and women who have served so selflessly to protect us here at home and around the world,” said Premier Selinger. “Our government also feels very strongly that military families must be supported, which is why we created the position of Manitoba’s special envoy for military affairs. I know that Andrew Swan will do an outstanding job of representing the interests of military families who have done so much to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy.”
Swan has strong connections with the Canadian Armed Forces including being recently appointed to the Regimental Senate of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. His grandfather, James Swan, served as a regimental sergeant major of the Winnipeg Light Infantry during the Second World War.
The premier commended Healthy Living and Seniors Minister Deanne Crothers for her leadership over the last two years in her capacity as the special envoy for military affairs. During this time, a number of supports were put in place to help veterans and their families including making it easier for veterans to transfer their military experience in the skilled trades into civilian jobs and gain Red Seal certification, and introducing Support Our Troops license plates so that Manitobans can show their support for the men and women serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and help fund scholarships for military families.
These built on a number of initiatives the Manitoba government has introduced including:
• passing legislation protecting the jobs of reservists when they are called into service,
• designating the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg the ‘Highway of Heroes’,
• supporting family resource centres to assist veteran’s families, and
• extending the right to vote in provincial elections to armed forces personnel serving outside Manitoba.
“I am honoured to serve the interests of military families here in Manitoba and would like to thank Deanne Crothers for the hard work she put into this job for the past two years,” said Swan.
Minister Crothers thanked the premier for giving her the opportunity to learn from military families about the supports they need here in Manitoba.
“Serving as the special envoy for military affairs has been an absolute privilege and I know that Andrew Swan will continue to build on our government’s support for military families here in Manitoba,” she said.
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