A rare instance of Manitoban politics gaining international attention – for all the wrong reasons.
In January 2022, Jon Reyes, a Cabinet Minister in Manitoba’s government, tweeted a photo of his wife Cynthia shovelling their driveway in frigid temperatures after a heavy snowfall. Snug and warm inside their home, Reyes snapped and posted his photo with the caption “Even after a 12-hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast.”
This was never going to win him any awards for Husband of the Year. And voters might be equally cool to his hot take on the merits of shoveling.
The tweet went viral, sparking derision and international news coverage. “12-hour shift” lived on for many days thereafter. Cynthia defended her husband for not helping her or shovelling the driveway himself. But Manitobans, struggling through the Omicron surge, were not so forgiving.
Why the harsh reaction?
It could just be that Manitobans were tired from hunting for N95 masks and rapid tests that the government had failed to deliver. Or maybe the fatigue came from having to shovel their own driveways.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
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