Education System
Core Curriculum
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
In dealing with the public education system in the province of Manitoba, notwithstanding the fact that this government in the last three years has reduced dramatically the contribution from the provincial government and downloaded the costs to the property taxpayer by some $35 million in their education funding, we find an education system that is dominated more by the personality of the minister rather than long-term planning and long-term research about the impact of changes in the province of Manitoba.
Mr. Speaker, two previous ministers ago in the Conservative government, we were told and instructed, Manitobans were instructed that skills for independent living would now be a core mandatory subject across Manitoba, so, of course, 700 schools and all the teachers and all the communities had to head off in the Derkach direction or the member for Roblin-Russell's (Mr. Derkach) direction under the Conservatives. A couple of years later the deputy minister sends out a letter saying, oh, we have a new minister now and this is no longer a necessary mandatory course.
I would like to ask the Premier: Is there any research or study into the changes that this government makes in terms of its impact, and is there any study going on into the changes in education so we are not going, on the one hand, to make a course mandatory one day, and on the other hand when the minister changes, to make it optional and have all that wasted energy the next day?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, while I am on my feet, I would like to take the opportunity to extend on behalf of all my colleagues our congratulations and best wishes to the Leader of the Liberal Party (Mr. Edwards) and his wife, Anne, on the birth yesterday of their fourth child, a boy. We certainly wish them good health and all good wishes to them on this very happy occasion.
In response to the questions of the Leader of the Opposition, I might say that certainly I have attended, for instance, even in the last couple of weeks, two all-day sessions in which we met with the teachers of Manitoba and the parents of Manitoba in which we brought in speakers such as Andrew Nikiforuk and former Dean John Stapleton of education, and numerous people with backgrounds in education and interests in education to talk about education change and reform.
Interestingly enough, former Dean Stapleton put into perspective the fact that change is taking place in the field of education worldwide, that we are in the throes of making changes for the first time in 25 years to improve our education system. In fact, things such as enhancing core curricula, standards and testing, many of these elements, more parental involvement, all of the things that we are putting forward as a government, are in the mainstream and characterized of change that is taking place in places like New Zealand, Australia, England and throughout the civilized world. So the changes that we are talking about--and I know that there is a natural reflex of reaction against change; in fact, a speaker at--[interjection]
An Honourable Member: Do not mumble, John.
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Mr. John Plohman (Dauphin): It is my last chance. [applause]
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, that is the most enthusiastic support I have seen for anything the member for Dauphin has said in 15 years in this House. I just want to say, we look forward to having him respond more fully to our enthusiastic response later today as he gives us his swan song.
We basically--as was said by Nuala Beck at the women's forum just two weeks ago here in Manitoba, the only people in society who look forward to change are babies with wet bottoms. What we are seeing is a natural reflex reaction to any type of change.
I might say that the changes that are being brought in are the product of extensive discussion and consultation, and the Minister of Education (Mr. Manness) was characterized by the president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society as being the most approachable Minister of Education that the Teachers' Society has ever had to deal with, in his recollection.
Having said that, I will apologize for my voice and the laryngitis, and since I want to save it, Mr. Speaker, I will just tell the Leader of the Opposition that perhaps he could direct his questions to other people in the course of--I know he will be disappointed not to be able to hear from me, but I will ask him to direct his questions to others.
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, the only change for those babies with wet bottoms is the new taxes that were put on in 1993 in the budget by the Conservative Party, but I guess babies do not count for their so-called tax freeze, the alleged tax freeze.
Perhaps my questions to the First Minister could be answered with yes or no, and that would make it a lot easier on his voice, because he did not answer the first question when I asked about the issue of confusion about curriculum changes back and forth. What we need is orderly planning in our education system, not one minister change the curriculum one day and another minister, with their own personality, change it back the other day. That is the question--orderly change in a changing society, not the flip-flop changes that we see from the government on the basis of confusion and lack of research and personality of ministers.
Recess
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): I would like to ask the Premier another question which he can answer very simply.
Mr. Speaker, all the advice we have had and all the advice we have received over the last period of time indicates for young people that the old motto of a sound mind and a sound body is verified by research and new research after research, in terms of the validity of having children get exercise and the need for recess for children that is proposed to be changed by this government in terms of the provisions.
I would like to ask the Premier: In light of the fact that we have had three different Ministers of Education, will he overrule his existing Minister of Education and change the direction in education and maintain recess as a mandatory part for Grade 5 and Grade 6 kids in our schools?
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Education and Training): Mr. Speaker, let me state for the record, in case members would like to make sport of this issue, that I support recess in the school. I enjoyed it when I was a student and I know my children enjoyed it, and I imagine most students in the public school system find recess a redeeming feature of school.
Mr. Speaker, all we have tried to do is to allow school divisions an opportunity to decide how it is that they wish to build their own school program. It is just in totally keeping with the whole reform package. A number of school divisions have asked us for that leeway, no different than what happens in the province of Saskatchewan, where their school divisions have a leeway to direct as little as five minutes a day into recess or as much as 20 minutes a day.
Mr. Speaker, what we are saying to our school divisions is if you want this tool amongst the many others that were provided in the letter--the letter that was known by the opposition; they had a copy of it in their hand the other day when they brought forward the question--many options to try and again take into account the core subject areas which were being taken away from, 110 hours per subject area in many cases being squeezed to 80 in mathematics, as we were able to find out, and our greater emphasis that we have put into the core subject areas, and the impact it was having on some of the optional areas, we took that into account. We said to the school divisions, here are seven areas that you can use. If no school division wants that, we will not change the regulation. Ten minutes will then be the requirement in the morning, in the afternoon, if nobody wants the change.
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Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, the reason why the province has certain standards and certain mandatory provisions--and, of course, the government flip-flops on them considerably. I mentioned the independent living course that the government made mandatory on the one day by fiat from the former minister for the whole school system, and then the next day with a personality change from a different Minister of Education, they stroked that program right off. After sending 700 schools off in one direction, they send them back in another direction.
What we are calling on, Mr. Speaker, will this government--because it does not study, it goes more by impulse than study. It goes more by impulsive personalities than on long-term stable changes to meet the changing needs in a changing society and a changing education system.
Can the Premier (Mr. Filmon), today, table any studies he has that indicates that this will improve the quality of education for our kids in Grades 5 and 6, to change the standard for recess? If he cannot do that, will we keep this as a standard for our children in our schools so they will have sound minds and sound bodies in our education system?
Mr. Manness: Mr. Speaker, the member attempts to misrepresent the actual situation. The member talks about mandatory aspects. We do not have them. The very essence of the reform is to accept the common cry that came from teachers, from trustees and from superintendents to define basic education in this province, define what it is that our students are expected to learn in their formative years of training.
Mr. Speaker, they have been pleading for that for years in this jurisdiction and others. We have done that. We have mandated that there indeed should be a certain number of hours directed towards the core subject areas in keeping with what the community wanted, Mr. Speaker.
We have done that, and the first question that the Leader of the NDP asked with respect to all of those changes is recess. He has no credibility in this issue. His party has no credibility in this issue. That is why he enters the debate on recess, nothing else.
Youth Crime Rate
Prevention Programs
Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): Mr. Speaker, we are all saddened today by another tragedy involving youth violence, this on top of Statistics Canada records showing that violent youth offences in Manitoba increased last year at triple the national average, the worst rate in Canada.
My question to the Minister of Justice: Would the minister now admit that her PR efforts have done nothing to counter the government's policies which have bred the worst crime rate in all of Canada?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Mr. Speaker, I think the member should clarify the date of the statistics that he was using. To my knowledge the statistics ended March '94. Since that time, we introduced in February of '94 a very comprehensive plan to deal with youth violence in this province.
Part of that comprehensive plan was action on the Young Offenders Act which we expected from the federal government. We have not yet seen that action, nor have we had any support from the NDP party or the Liberal Party in this province.
We also took action in the area of corrections and action in the area of prevention. This government has taken a comprehensive action in the area of youth crime and violence.
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Mr. Mackintosh: For the real story, would the minister explain to Manitobans whatever happened to her promises from last February for action on youth crime including the wilderness camps, the provincial council on youth crime, the youth advisory council, the hundreds of recommendations from the youth summit on crime and violence, the expanded mandate of youth justice committees? What ever happened to those, Mr. Speaker?
Mrs. Vodrey: I hope that I will have the opportunity to explain every single one of the initiatives we put forward in our plan.
Let me remind the member, first of all, that the recommendations that came from the Summit on Youth Crime and Violence were recommendations which members of the community have adopted. Perhaps the member has not worked with his community in that area, but certainly others have. Schools, church groups, Y neighbours' groups in community areas have in fact begun to look at how they can become active in the area of youth crime and violence.
Then, we introduced about three or four weeks ago a program called No Need To Argue. No Need To Argue is a program which deals with young people in junior high school and high school in the city of Winnipeg. It is a co-operative program with business, with the community, with government, with schools and with young people themselves because young people at the summit said they wanted the opportunity to be involved in solutions, that most young people are in fact good and they have solutions to offer.
All we heard from the other side was criticism. Young people in this province want to become involved and now they have an opportunity.
Mr. Mackintosh: Mr. Speaker, instead of spending thousands of dollars on glossy, phoney pamphlets insulting the intelligence of Manitobans about the Conservative record on crime, I ask the minister, I ask the government, would it now cancel this cheap phoney propaganda and deal with the real crime record of this government and would it tell Manitobans what are we spending on this nonsense?
Mrs. Vodrey: This government has a record in the area of law and order that is unequalled across Canada. Our record is one which deals with young people, which deals with adults, which deals with prevention and involves the community.
Mr. Speaker, we do not take the hug-a-thug approach of the opposite side. Thank you.
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Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood): Mr. Speaker, before I begin my question, I would like to thank the Premier (Mr. Filmon) for his kind comments in regard to the Leader of the Liberal Party.
Let me indicate that in fact the baby was born early this morning. Anne Mackay and the father are doing well. The baby is doing well. His name is Adam Daniel. He was eight pounds, 10 ounces, and he is a brother for Beth, Evan and Wynn.
Home Care Program
Staffing
Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Since before Christmas there have been a proliferation of ads in the newspaper advertising for home care attendants in the Home Care program. We understand these ads are there because there has been an increased number of people who are being discharged from hospital who require trained service from home care attendants, but in fact we do not have much of a trained labour force. People are waiting right now to be discharged because we do not have the home care attendants.
Can the Minister of Health indicate what his plan is to ensure that we do have a trained labour pool in place? We have had a health reform plan for three years, yet now we are in a crisis situation not having trained personnel. What is the minister going to do about this situation?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, I join with the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and with my colleague in congratulating the family of Adam Daniel, and Adam Daniel himself, and I hope that he has a long, productive, happy and healthy life.
Mr. Speaker, the one thing I am not going to do is engage in the kind of discussion that our federal Minister of Health has been engaging in lately. When challenged in the face of the extensive cuts to health, social service spending, the response is, we are going to stand up for the principles embodied in the Health Act but we are going to be very flexible about it.
Mr. Speaker, I think my colleagues in the Liberal Party here in Manitoba are going to have to help explain to Manitobans just what federal Minister of Health Marleau meant when she made those comments.
Mr. Speaker, the ads the honourable member refers to in the newspapers for additional staff in the Home Care program indicates rather clearly I suggest of the increased activity going on in the Home Care program which since this government took office has increased in terms of its resourcing by some 93 percent. That says that something good is happening in the health care system.
Ms. Gray: Mr. Speaker, with a supplementary question to the Minister of Health: There is still a crisis in the Home Care program because one of the areas in which we are very much understaffed is home care attendants to deal with overnight situations, and that is because of the nature of the work and the fact of poor pay. This has been an issue for the last number of months, and we have people and families who are under stress out in the community because there is not continuous service in an overnight situation.
Can the Minister of Health tell us what he plans to do for Manitobans and for seniors to ensure that we rectify this situation?
(Mrs. Louise Dacquay, Madam Deputy Speaker, in the Chair)
Mr. McCrae: Well, I am not sure what the honourable member means by "poor pay" but there are probably 45,000 federal civil servants who are going to talk about no pay, and that might give the honourable member some reason to make some explanations of her own.
We are very interested, Madam Deputy Speaker, in ensuring that the people who do work for the Home Care program are properly trained. I will take the honourable member's recommendations very seriously indeed. In fact, earlier today I met with Peter Olfert of the Manitoba Government Employees' Union and we discussed a number of matters. The one thing he asked me to do was be more vociferous in defending the Home Care program, and I wonder what he means by that when his friends in the New Democratic Party want to do the opposite every time they turn around.
So, Madam Deputy Speaker, we want to ensure though, getting back to the honourable member's question, that we look very seriously at improving services in our Home Care program even though we are resourcing it at levels never before seen in Manitoba and the activity is indeed increasing.
We want to always do everything we do in the Home Care program with an eye to improving our services. We have many, many thousands of dedicated employees of the Home Care program, Madam Deputy Speaker. We want to continue to work with them to provide Manitobans with the very best that can be offered.
Recruitment/Training Position
Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood): Madam Deputy Speaker, with a final supplementary to the Minister of Health. If he understood the Home Care program, he would realize that overnight attendants in fact are paid a lesser amount of money for the amount of hours they put in, so it has been a difficulty in terms of recruiting the appropriate people for that.
My final question for the minister is: Can he indicate to us, because of the increased number of home care attendants and trained labour pool that we do need, why he chose to have a recruitment and training position from the Home Care program eliminated a year ago, given that we are seeing a great increase in the need for this type of work?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Madam Deputy Speaker, I would be happy to hear further from the honourable member some detail about that particular position, and I would be happy to look into that matter. With respect to the issue of pay, however, for home care attendants, the home care attendants are represented by the Manitoba Government Employees' Union and their pay arrangements are the subject of negotiations which lead to collective agreements.
Education Information System
Progress Report
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): My questions are for the Minister of Education.
Madam Deputy Speaker, in 1994 and 1995, the Department of Education spent close to a million dollars each year to create an educational information system, and in 1995 they propose to spend yet another million dollars. Will the minister explain why the report on the pilot project for the EIS, the educational information system, condemned his department's lack of leadership, communication and commitment, and will he tell us why school boards and superintendents are unaware of any progress which has been made on student records or educational records for the last five years and at the cost of over $2 million?
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Deputy Speaker, we are having some difficulty building the system, the conceptual framework around it, at this time, and yet I remind the member, when we built the MACS assessment system within Health and Rural Development--and that is basically only going to be a fraction of this once the education information system is built--but the cost of that I think was $3 million or $4 million, from memory.
So, Madam Deputy Speaker, I do not know whether the member is talking about the commitment of funds, whether or not she is trying to indicate that this is a large amount of money. I doubt that we will be able to build, once we have completed the information system, below $5 million or $6 million, because, of course, of the incredible amount of information that will be stored therein. I can indicate though that it continues to be one of the department's very high priorities and that we will hopefully have more success over the course of the next number of months.
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Ms. Friesen: Madam Deputy Speaker, my questions in fact relate to the amount of money and the absence of any action; $3 million for no action seems to me a great deal.
SmartHealth Merger
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): I want the minister to explain why the advisory board for the educational information system meetings have been recently postponed, and I would like him to confirm that his government is considering merging the educational information system and the student records number with the Royal Bank health smart card.
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Deputy Speaker, that is not under active consideration. But why we are looking at all alternatives is simply that to create a student number--so I am told--identifiable for each student in the province in itself would be a horrendous cost far beyond one that can be contained within that $3-million, $4-million or $5-million budget.
Obviously a new government, the next Legislature, is going to have to reflect upon how it is or whether it is they want to take a common identifier number that exists now and use it in an educational sense.
Ms. Friesen: That seemed a pretty ambiguous answer. On the one hand it is not being considered, and on the other hand it is.
Confidentiality
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): I would like the minister to tell the House how he is going to ensure, in this prospective layering of two significant and very personal databases, how does he propose to abide by the federal Privacy Act and the EOCD regulations which ensure that personal information should be used only for the purpose for which it is collected.
When you start layering this kind of information you are beyond those guidelines. I think the public needs an assurance of this kind of privacy in this matter.
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Education and Training): I could not agree more with the thrust or the import of the member's question. That is why, of course, when we divested Manitoba Data Services we were very cognizant of the fact that one had to be extra sensitive and careful of information which can be accessed simply by plugging in a specific number. So we are very well mindful of the fact that one has to be very careful.
Madam Deputy Speaker, what the member has been pushing us for over the course of the last year is to move on with building an information system that will very quickly allow interaction of information on an educational sense.
I mean, many of us are products of student numbers at university. I mean, we are well aware how the system works. We know that it can be brought forward into this generation, and it has tremendous application within the public school system. That is what we are endeavouring to try and build with the amount of money that has been allocated to us through the budgetary process.
Introduction of Guests
Madam Deputy Speaker: I would like to draw all members' attention to the loge to my left, where we have with us this afternoon Mr. John Angus, the former member for St. Norbert.
Health Care Facilities
Funding
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Madam Deputy Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.
The usual rallying cry from this government is that patient care is not being compromised. They said that when they did the hospital cuts. They said that when they did the devastating home care cuts. They said that when they brought in Connie Curran and gave her $4 million and $800,000 in expenses.
Now in the North where devastating cuts are taking place in the hospitals, how does the minister explain the fact that at Flin Flon Hospital there will only be one nurse covering intensive care and emergency, how at Flin Flon Hospital they will have to combine the medical and pediatric wards and how the combination of the maternity and surgical floors will have to take place as a result of this government's cutbacks? How can they say patient care will not be compromised?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Every step of the way, Madam Deputy Speaker, the focus of our health care system ought to be on the patient, unlike the honourable member for Kildonan who first hears what his union boss friends have to say and then maybe if the patient's agenda fits in with that one we might accept it. That is not the way we do it on this side of the House.
The honourable member referred to home care. May I remind the honourable member that the number of people working in home care in 1995 is 3,543. In 1990, that number was 2,787. There are 756 more people working for home care this year than in 1990. Let not the honourable member mislead anybody else in the light of those numbers.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I answered the honourable member's questions the other day with respect to hospital staffing guidelines. I also made it very clear that if hospital administrations have trouble with the staffing guidelines as they have been laid out and as they have been developed by people who work in the hospitals including northern hospitals, that our department's consultants are there to assist. Should something become a problem for patient care, we would be the first to advise that they pause and they work out the difficulties with us.
The honourable member is very prone to raising concerns when there are not any.
Health Care System
Consultations
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Madam Deputy Speaker, perhaps after the minister reads his own annual report and sees that home support services were down by 2,000 per month--2,000 per month his own annual report--perhaps he will revise his own annual report, page 122.
My supplementary to the minister is: How can he explain these cutbacks to places like Flin Flon, Thompson and other hospitals and crowding in emergency rooms in hospitals and people in the hallways, when hospitals have money to bring in the Centre for Case Management from Boston, Massachusetts to hold seminars on April 3 where health care people have to attend? How can they actually with a straight face allow cutbacks to take place when American companies are brought in to do consulting on behalf of this government?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am not sure if the honourable member is not listening or if he just cannot hear. I just finished telling him that there are 756 more people working in the Home Care program in Manitoba today than there were five years ago. The honourable member can be as selective as he wants in his recitation of the statistics but the idea is to make sure the people are appropriately cared for in their homes. That is why we have hired that many more people to work in our Home Care program.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I also have set out for the honourable member, it was late last year that all of the hospitals in rural and northern Manitoba were advised of the outcome of the review of the staffing guidelines, something that was put on hold a year and a half ago pending that review. We asked the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses, the Manitoba Association of Licensed Practical Nurses, the College of Physicians and Surgeons and others to engage in the review of those staffing guidelines.
Madam Deputy Speaker, there were personnel from the northern hospitals involved in the review. As I said earlier, the implementation of the review will be done in a very, very careful manner.
Funding
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Madam Deputy Speaker, as usual the minister did not answer the question. I will give the minister another opportunity to answer another final supplementary.
While he is looking up the information perhaps he can explain to this House how it is that they can cut back hospitals, have crowding in emergency rooms and at the same time an American is brought in, Dino Brisi, and 200 staff from the Health Sciences Centre are mandatorily told they must attend two 12-hour seminars and one eight-hour seminar on management and conflict resolution, et cetera, while they cut back funding to hospitals. How do they fund that--another consultant from the United States--but they cannot fund hospital patient care?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Madam Deputy Speaker, anything the honourable member said is not correct, because if you look at the spending on health in Manitoba as a percentage of budget, our commitment to health care is significantly more than any commitment ever demonstrated by the New Democrats when they were in office.
May I suggest that the honourable member who raises the issue of conflict resolution engage in a little of that himself, learn just a little bit about how to put the truth on the table and let us deal with what is true instead of with what we can make up as we try to make our arguments for or against whatever case it is.
If conflict resolution school is not good enough, maybe he could go to acting school and be in on some of those commercials that he and his friends are putting out.
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Point of Order
Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, it is not parliamentary to suggest that a member would bring anything to this House other than the truth. The member has brought forward the situation in Flin Flon and northern hospitals, and I think we would appreciate on what may be the last Question Period if we could once actually get a response from the Minister of Health to the questions we have been asking on health care.
Madam Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for Thompson does not have a point of order.
Provincial Parks
Endangered Spaces Program
Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland): Madam Deputy Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Natural Resources concerning the four new parks in northern Manitoba.
On Friday, the minister admitted that the logging, mining and Hydro officials he consulted with had no economic plans for these areas. Will the minister tell the House how these areas qualify as endangered spaces?
(Mr. Speaker in the Chair)
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of Natural Resources): Mr. Speaker, it is a pretty broad complex process that we go through because there is a whole bunch of areas that get identified by the department by all kinds of people that play a role in this thing.
Ultimately, it is matter of a process of elimination, depending on people that have concerns about an area that is identified. This is not an unusual process. We have done that with the Churchill park, the national park that is now moving ahead, I might say, very positively, and I am very pleased about that.
I can get the criteria for the member specifically as to how the process, and it quite an extensive process. I make no apologies. I think it is a very positive process that we go through in establishing these parks.
Mr. Robinson: Mr. Speaker, since the areas were chosen to partially fulfill broken election promises, not because of their diversity, will the minister rescind or amend the December 21, 1994, Order-in-Council that now has been requested of him by the Grand Chief of MKO George Muswagon, along with the Chief of the Sayisi Dene First Nation at Tadoule Lake, Ernie Bussidor, along with many other First Nations in Manitoba?
Mr. Driedger: Mr. Speaker, I thought I had clarified the process the other day when the member raised a question about it, where I said that we have basically established these parks under the parks act that has been passed and has not been proclaimed.
We will be going through a process where every one of these parks, the provincial parks that we have, are going to be subjected to public input, public review. The people that basically want to and have interest in it can take and make a presentation to us on what they want to have done with these parks. I would expect and hope that the people that have concerns--you know, they might not have shown that concern the first time around; they certainly will have the option to do that the next time around, and I hope they avail themselves of that opportunity to make their views known at that time.
First Nations Working Group
Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland): Mr. Speaker, my final question to the minister is this: Will the minister establish a First Nations government working group on these and future land designations related to the World Wildlife Fund's Endangered Spaces campaign?
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of Natural Resources): Mr. Speaker, I am not quite clear as to what the member is implying by his question, but if it has to do with consultation, I am prepared to get involved with any group that has interests or concerns, whether it is parks or any issues within my Department of Natural Resources.
If I might suggest, because I did not quite get the full context of the question that he raised, I would suggest that maybe if he wants to put it in writing and send it to me, I am certainly willing to respond.
Agriculture Industry
Poultry Hatchery Regulations
Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture. [interjection] I support all of them.
Over the past number of years, there has been tension between Manitoba's hatching egg producers and one particular hatchery, Carleton's. The reason for this tension is Carleton's arbitrary decision to impose a 50-mile distance restriction between producers, operations and the hatchery. Despite this requirement Carleton continues to fill a large percentage of its quota with hatching eggs imported from the United States.
Could the minister explain why one hatchery in Manitoba has been allowed to discriminate against Manitoba producers through distance requirements while other successful hatcheries such as Granny's have no regulations and buy almost exclusively Manitoba products?
Hon. Harry Enns (Minister of Agriculture): I thank the honourable member for the question. He does raise a legitimate issue that has troubled the hatchery egg-laying business in Manitoba for some time. I had appointed an interim board of three members who I want to stress are doing that as a result of their long experience in the industry to try to bring some resolution to some of the problems that are troubling this part of the poultry industry.
Part of the problem is quality, Mr. Speaker. I am afraid distance to hatchery has something to do with that. The particular producer in question, particular hatchery in question, maintains there has been repeated problems of maintaining quality of the eggs being produced, and the hatchery in question has imposed that distance limit with respect to deliveries to that hatchery.
I have asked the players in the field to try to resolve their issues, and my understanding as of about a week ago or eight or nine days ago was that a resolution was close at hand.
Mr. Speaker: The time for Oral Questions has expired.
Speaker's Ruling
Allegation of Promoting Racism
Mr. Speaker: I have a ruling for the House.
On Wednesday, March 15, 1995, during the Budget Debate and while the honourable member for Inkster (Mr. Lamoureux) had the floor, a matter of privilege was raised by the honourable member for Wellington (Ms. Barrett) alleging that the honourable member for Inkster had accused her of promoting racism in comments on her party's position on the federal immigration guidelines. She then moved a motion that the member for Inkster be asked to withdraw and publicly apologize for the comments.
I would draw the attention of honourable members to Citation 69 of Beauchesne which reads in part: " . . . something can be inflammatory, can be disagreeable, can even be offensive, but it may not be a question of privilege unless the comment actually impinges upon the ability of Members . . . to do their job properly."
Further, I have carefully reviewed the Hansard extract in question and find there is no prima facie evidence of a matter of privilege. The honourable member for Wellington (Ms. Barrett) maybe should have raised a point of order about the language used. In any event, the matter comes to a dispute over the facts about the interpretation by two members of what was meant by what was said. As Citation 494 of Beauchesne advises: " . . . statements by Members respecting themselves and particularly within their own knowledge must be accepted." "On rare occasions this may result in the House having to accept two contradictory accounts of the same incident."
Just a final word, this is not the first time I have had to rule on the use of the word "racism" or the words "racist comments." I would caution all members to be very careful any time they use these words. They are very powerful.
NONPOLITICAL STATEMENTS
Congratulatory Message
Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable Leader of the official opposition have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? [agreed]
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, I would like to join the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the member for Crescentwood (Ms. Gray) in congratulating the family on the birth of Adam Daniel. I would like to wish the father and mother well. I understand the baby and the mother are doing well. I understand also the father is doing well. We congratulate the Edwards family on the birth of their new son.
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Provincial D Peewee Championship
Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable member for Interlake have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? [agreed]
Mr. Clif Evans (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my congratulations to members on this side of the House to the communities involved in last weekend's provincial D Peewee championship. Interlake had the most tournaments being held for the minor hockey system within the Interlake. I want to congratulate the community for their involvement.
I would also like to congratulate the winners. The winners were La Broquerie Habs who won the gold, Wawanesa Black Hawks who won the silver and our own Riverton Eagles 12-to-13-year-old team who won the bronze. Also to add to that they won the north provincial Interlake championship to go along with the bronze medal for all the provincial champions.
I would like to just acknowledge them, Mr. Speaker: Kris Kyle, Kelsey Plett, Michael Johnson, Tyler Evans, Jordan Johnson, Evan Kornelsen, Mark Sigurdson, Alana Grimolfson, Eric Gimolfson, Warren Spring, Darren Kornelsen, Shane Sigurdson, Sean Monkman, Trevor Charrier and Jamie Mowatt; and the coaches: Bob Johnson, Danny Sigurdson and Ken Kornelsen. We wish them well.
High School Basketball Championship
Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable member for Rossmere have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? [agreed]
Mr. Harry Schellenberg (Rossmere): The provincial varsity high school boys basketball AAAA championship tournament was held at the University of Manitoba last weekend with River East Collegiate Kodiak boys winning the championship crown. The River East Collegiate Kodiak boys defeated John Taylor Pipers 56 to 34. The Kodiak basketball team went undefeated in regular KCAC league play, as well as going undefeated in the provincial tournament.
Congratulations are extended to both basketball teams for the excellent play and sportsmanship.
The River East Collegiate boys Kodiak team members are Luc Buller, Chris Fey, Trenton Jones, Matej Maroti, Jeremy Jones, Dave Stelter, Carlos Lopez, Jeremy Hokanson, Daryl Falzarano, Jaret Hamm, Mike Samborski, Scott Sharples and coach Brent Graham.
The most valuable player of the basketball championship tournament was Matej Maroti of River East Collegiate who was ranked the No. 1 varsity player all year. Luc Buller won the Hustle Award and Trenton Jones was placed on the all-star team.
In the quadruple A girls championship St. John's Tigers defeated Vincent Massey from Brandon 49 to 46.
Congratulations go to both teams for a very successful season.