LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY OF
Monday,
April 13, 1992
The House met at 1:30
p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE
PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING
PETITIONS
Ms. Judy Wasylycia‑Leis
(
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member for Interlake (Mr. Clif Evans), and it complies with the
privileges and practices of the House and complies with the rules (by
leave). Is it the will of the House to
have the petition read?
The petition of the undersigned citizens
of the
THAT locally controlled public housing
with elected and appointed board members encourages democratic and accountable
decision making; and
Many housing authority boards included
tenants on the board of directors; and
Volunteers serving on boards made
worthwhile contributions to local housing authorities by serving their tenants,
their community and in saving taxpayers' money; and
With no consultation, the provincial
government fired 600 volunteer board members, abolished 98 local housing
authorities, laid off staff and centralized purchasing and administration;
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislature of the
* * *
I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member for
The petition of the undersigned citizens
of the
THAT child abuse is a crime abhorred by
all good citizens of our society, but nonetheless it exists in today's world;
and
It is the responsibility of the government
to recognize and deal with this most vicious of crimes; and
Programs like the Fight Back Against Child
Abuse campaign raise public awareness and necessary funds to deal with crime;
and
The decision to terminate the Fight Back Against
Child Abuse campaign will hamper the efforts of all good citizens to help
abused children.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislature of the
* * *
I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member for
The petition of the undersigned citizens
of the
THAT locally controlled public housing
with elected and appointed board members encourages democratic and accountable
decision making; and
Many housing authority boards included
tenants on the board of directors; and
Volunteers serving on boards made
worthwhile contributions to local housing authorities by serving their tenants,
their community and in saving taxpayers' money; and
With no consultation, the provincial
government fired 600 volunteer board members, abolished 98 local housing
authorities, laid off staff and centralized purchasing and administration;
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislature of the
* * *
I have reviewed the petition of the honourable
member for Burrows (Mr. Martindale), and it complies with the privileges and
practices of the House and complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the
petition read?
The petition of the undersigned citizens
of the
THAT child abuse is a crime abhorred by
all good citizens of our society, but nonetheless it exists in today's world;
and
It is the responsibility of the government
to recognize and deal with this most vicious of crimes; and
Programs like the Fight Back Against Child
Abuse campaign raise public awareness and necessary funds to deal with crime;
and
The decision to terminate the Fight Back
Against Child Abuse campaign will hamper the efforts of all good citizens to
help abused children.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislature of the
* (1335)
TABLING OF
REPORTS
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey
(Minister of Education and Training): Mr.
Speaker, I would like to table the Supplementary Information for Legislative
Review, 1992‑93, Departmental Expenditure Estimates for the Department of
Education and Training.
Hon. James McCrae
(Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Mr. Speaker, I am tabling today the
annual report for
1990
of the Office of the Commissioner for the Law Enforcement Review Agency.
INTRODUCTION
OF BILLS
Bill 77‑The
Liquor Control Amendment Act
Mr. George Hickes (Point
Douglas): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the
honourable member for
Motion presented.
Mr. Hickes: Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the rules, I
would just like to make a very brief comment.
As most honourable members are aware, it
is believed that at least nine residents of
The amendment I am proposing will lend a
partial solution to a very serious problem.
This bill would amend the definition of liquor in The Liquor Control Act
so that cooking wines or liquors with an alcohol content in excess of 19
percent would be under the control of the Liquor Control Commission.
I look forward to the appropriate support
from all members of this very important bill.
Motion agreed to.
Introduction
of Guests
Mr. Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the
attention of honourable members to the gallery, where have with us this
afternoon, from the
On behalf of all honourable members, I
welcome you here this afternoon.
ORAL
QUESTION PERIOD
Abitibi-Price
‑
Financial
Status
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, on March 27, I raised a number
of questions with the Premier dealing with the financial situation of Abitibi‑Price
in that it was owned by the
The Premier at the time, in Hansard,
stated that there were negotiations going on for the takeover of the operation,
the community‑owned operation, but that he was at the First Ministers'
meeting on the economy and he could not give us the details of the financial
implications of the bankers meeting with
I wonder if the Premier could advise us on
the financial situation at the
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, the
meetings continue to go on, as the Leader of the Opposition has indicated. To my knowledge, nothing has changed. Abitibi‑Price indicated close to a year
ago that they would not continue in the ownership and operation of the plant at
The efforts that our government have been
putting forward‑‑and I met at least twice in
I know that there have been countless
meetings involving people such as the member for Lac du Bonnet (Mr. Praznik) in
his capacity and interested in it, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism
(Mr. Stefanson), other ministers of this administration, with the people trying
to put together the package which would allow other people to acquire the
control and continue the operations of the
* (1340)
De‑inking
Plant
Feasibility
Study
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, the Premier also took as notice,
on the same day, the status of proposals before the Western Diversification
committee of the federal cabinet dealing with a proposal to have a de‑inking
plant operation as part of the divestiture and the takeover of the community‑based
group, a de‑inking operation that could potentially deal with the recommendations
that the government finds before it in dealing with the Clean Environment
Commission and a substitute for the fibre that may be necessary if the
government proceeds with those recommendations.
I was wondering today, given the fact the
Premier took this question as notice, what is the status of the de‑inking
plant operation? Will we receive any
support from either the provincial or federal government, particularly the
federal government because Western Diversification seems to us to be totally
appropriate for this kind of change into the future? What is the status of that
proposal?
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): As I indicated in response to that question a
couple of weeks ago, it is the responsibility of the proponents to go to
Western Diversification and to ask for their support. I understand that has been done.
I might say that our caucus met last
Monday, as I believe the opposition caucuses met last week with the principals
of the Abitibi‑Price operation, including representatives of those who
intend to be part of the takeover package.
We confirmed our continued support for the de‑inking facility as
part of that takeover.
I would just indicate that the information
we have been given by those who plan to take over or are in the process of
seeking financial support for a takeover, I would hope, is no different than
the information they have provided to the opposition caucuses, and that is that
basically the operations of the Pine Falls pulp and paper mill would be in
jeopardy and in fact the economics would be likely unfeasible if the
recommendations of the Clean Environment Commission were adopted by this
administration, regardless of the availability of some recycled stock in terms
of the de‑inking facility. If that
is different from what has been portrayed to the opposition caucuses, perhaps
they could say so publicly.
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, we have a consultant's report,
Bowell Consultants, which is well known by the government, a report that was
commissioned by the band in the area dealing with the feasibility of the plant,
a feasibility study that took place even before the recommendations were
recommended to the government from the Clean Environment Commission, talking
about that this plant would not be viable, notwithstanding any recommendations
to the Clean Environment Commission, without a recycling proposal and a de‑inking
proposal.
The government has its own studies that it
has commissioned dealing with this operation.
I was wondering, given the fact the government has had those consultant
reports for a number of months, whether the government will make those reports
public so that debate going on about the jobs and the environmental commission
recommendations and all the issues that are at stake‑‑and they are
very important‑‑could be debated in a full way, Mr. Speaker, by
Manitobans dealing with these very important policy issues.
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I am not in possession of that
report nor have I seen that report, but I do know from the briefings that I
have had that the plant will require certainly equivalent availability of wood
for the process to what it currently has. In fact, given the tremendous losses
that were sustained in the forest fires of the 1980s, much of the previously
committed timberland has been destroyed by fires, and therefore, it is
questionable as to whether or not the existing stock is sufficient for its
viability.
That is why we have indicated for quite
some time now, certainly more than a year, that we are very supportive of and
very receptive to having a de‑inking plant as part of the overall
takeover and restructuring of that operation so that they will have sufficient
recycled stock to supplement what appears to be a shortage of new wood stock to
the operation.
Minister's
Communication
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, I have a new question to the
Premier.
The Premier and I had, again, a debate on
March 23‑‑or not a debate but a discussion about the
I was wondering whether the Premier (Mr.
Filmon) has reviewed this proposal and whether he has communicated to the
* (1345)
Hon. Glen Cummings
(Minister of Environment): Mr. Speaker, I would
like the opportunity to bring the Leader of the Opposition up to date on the
circumstances surrounding
We have had discussions with some of the bands
in the area. I personally spoke to the Ontario Minister of Environment not very
long ago, and until we receive something more substantive, however, our
position is unchanged.
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, before the newspaper stories and
other communication on this issue, we had also heard informally that the mine
was working with the mining industry in
Mr. Speaker, has the minister, in his
communication with the minister for
Mr. Cummings: Mr. Speaker, let me make it very clear, there
is quite a significant difference between discussions in the industry and
changes that they are putting forward, and I presume they will, or if they have
not already, put some pressure on the
I do not disagree with the basis of the
Leader of the Opposition's comment, but I do not think he should be attempting
to frighten the people of this province again by talking about possible
leaching into the lake. We are not
talking about anything of that nature.
We have not had any official communication, and I want to tell you that
we will be negotiating with
* (1350)
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, our questions are only intended
to have the earliest warning possible for
I have a further question to the minister,
and he alluded to parts of it in his second question. In September of 1990, the government talked
about draft regulations that they were putting out on the dealing with the
Mr. Speaker, when will we have the
regulations on the
Hon. Glen Cummings
(Minister of Environment): Yes, Mr. Speaker, I
would be quite pleased to provide an update on the status of those
regulations. We are quite prepared to proceed
with proclamation of those regulations and implement them on our side, which is
the only area that we have jurisdiction on, but we have received presentation
from two bands on the
Mr. Speaker, I indicated to them, in the
interests of being co‑operative and the best interests of working towards
a larger management and agreement plan for that area, that we would not
proclaim those regulations, but I have reserved the right to do so or to take
the strongest possible action on our side of the border, if it is required, for
protection of the water.
I would ask you, Mr. Speaker, and anyone
who is interested in this topic to remember that the only place we can regulate
is on the
There seemed to be some confusion for a
short period of time as to whether the ministry of Native Affairs was going to
assume the main responsibility or whether it was the Minister of
Environment. I believe that is now back
in the ministry of Environment's responsibility, and we are proceeding to work
with them.
Health
Care System
Public
Accountability
Mr. Gulzar Cheema (The
Maples): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister
of Health.
We all know that health care is becoming
more and more a serious challenge for all provincial Leaders. Mr. Speaker, we must live in the real world
and not the fantasy land of the New Democratic Party. In
Mr. Speaker, the recent reports of
overbilling by doctors have added to the doubts of the public mind whether the
government is able to exercise any effective accountability and any effective
control in the way we spend $1.8 billion for 1.3 million people.
Can the minister tell this House what the
government is going to do to help the taxpayers of
Hon. Donald Orchard
(Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, I think the preamble to my
honourable friend's question underlines the very serious challenge that all
provincial administrations are now facing to deliver health care. I have often noted that from the comfort of
opposition, New Democrats will always suggest more spending, less
accountability and any number of fixes, that when they are in government, they
immediately strip away from their rhetoric and move to action plans which
involve more management of the health care system.
There is no question that recent
revelations, in terms of the medical review process and, in this particular
instance, the request for repayment by the medical review commission of
inappropriately billed services by three physicians, have raised a whole new
series of issues around the basic trust that we have empowered in the billing
system for fee‑for‑service physicians.
Mr. Speaker, we have checks and balance in
place. They may not be perfect. They may not work 100 percent of the time,
but clearly they have in this instance worked, and we are willing to listen to
reasoned suggestions on how to make the system even work more, including‑‑and
I note, from at least media responses by the opposition, that they would be
open to a legislative resolution of the difficulty of disclosure of physicians,
should that be necessary, given that maybe no other solution might emerge.
* (1355)
Mr. Cheema: Mr. Speaker, will the minister consider one
positive idea? Will he require that
patients sign a form each and every time they see a doctor and also that
patients receive a quarterly statement showing exactly what the doctor has
billed the government on behalf of taxpayers?
Mr. Orchard: Mr. Speaker, let me deal with the second
suggestion first. In terms of each
Manitoban receiving with some frequency, on an annual basis or even more
frequently, a summation of billings made on their behalf, there are two issues
here. There is, first of all, the cost
of doing that. I have to say that we
tried something similar when I first came into government, and we did not have
a great deal of positive feedback as to its utility in the overall health care
system from those individual Manitobans receiving their statements. However, I can indicate to my honourable
friend that any Manitoban wishing to receive a copy of their billed services,
that request can be made of the Manitoba Health Services Commission and that
statement can be made available to them.
On the first issue my honourable friend
raised in terms of patients signing, in essence, what I would interpret as
being billing forms, that is worthy of investigation, Sir. I am willing to very much pursue that
suggestion on behalf of my honourable friend in the Liberal Party to see if
there is a method by which the taxpayers, the patients and physicians can
assure that services are appropriately billed as the system would ask us to
assure.
Mr. Cheema: Mr. Speaker, all these ideas will improve our
health care and save X dollars, improve accountability, and also give some
assurance to the health care providers that they are not cheating the system.
Can the minister agree that the government
must do a better job explaining how we spend our $1.8 billion? Now will they launch an education campaign to
make sure the people know how we are spending their $1.8 billion?
Mr. Orchard: Mr. Speaker, again I take that suggestion
from my honourable friend as a valuable suggestion. I know my honourable friends in the media
were present, maybe not themselves personally, but were present today at a debate
that all three of us had before the Manitoba Nurses'
The whole Estimates process is one in
which explanations are made as to how we expend our dollars. I can indicate to my honourable friend that
hopefully we will be able to provide a much more expansive detail of how
current dollars are being spent, some of the challenges that face
administrators, the health care system, political parties currently in
government across
CareerStart
Program
Funding
Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon
East): I have a question for the Minister of
Finance.
We have a very serious unemployment
situation in the
Would the government, would the Minister
of Finance, be prepared to bring the CareerStart program back up to the $7‑million
level that it was at two years ago in light of the very serious unemployment
situation?
* (1400)
Hon. Clayton Manness
(Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, we are
very mindful of the unemployment numbers across
What the member, of course, is trying to
do is focus specifically into some areas.
I would point out for him, for instance, that
Social
Assistance
Employment
Creation Strategy
Mr. Leonard Evans
(Brandon East): Mr. Speaker, I am asking
a question on behalf of thousands of unemployed young people in
Mr. Speaker, a supplementary
question. Would the government contact
the City of
Hon. Clayton Manness
(Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, mindful
again of most of the comments the member has made, I can assure him that in
very short order, there will be a full announcement made by this government
with respect to youth unemployment, to programs put into place to deal with the
program. I can assure him they will be
far beyond some of the programs that the former administration had to deal with
problems that existed during their tenure in government.
Mr. Speaker, those announcements, I tell
the member, are imminent, and I just ask him to hold his position, if he can,
for a few more days.
Mr. Leonard Evans: Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the positive
announcement, but I ask, I repeat, or I change my question a bit. I ask the minister‑‑I am talking
about all people on welfare in the city of
Will this government be prepared to work
with the City of
Mr. Manness: Mr. Speaker, I swear we have been through
this movie before. It was just before
Christmas. It seemed that at that time,
the member was calling on workfare. Of
course, we are starting all over again.
It is a very serious issue. I can
indicate to him, the government will be making an announcement in very short
order. I expect that the member will be
very congratulatory of the efforts put forward by the government, that he will
leap to his feet and congratulate the government for its efforts.
Human
Resources
Mr. Gregory Dewar
(Selkirk): My questions are for the Minister of Family
Services.
Recent statistics show that unemployment,
particularly among young people, has increased once again‑‑this
time to record levels. Will the Minister
of Family Services now review the true costs of increased welfare funding
associated with the shutting down of the Selkirk training plant, the true cost?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, the member raises a similar question to the member for Brandon East
(Mr. Leonard Evans). I would remind him
that we have maintained the CareerStart Program at last year's levels, and
young people and employers across the province are enrolling in that program at
this time. As the Minister of Finance
(Mr. Manness) has indicated, we have a new program which was announced in the
budget, the Partners with Youth program.
We will be bringing forth details on that in the near future.
Mr. Dewar: Mr. Speaker, what will this minister say to
the over 500 Selkirk residents who signed the petition opposing the closure and
the dozens of single parents and young people who are being shut out of
training opportunities by this minister?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, this budget has seen a massive increase
in the spending of Family Services far outstripping some of the estimates of
spending brought forward by people who work, I am sure, with the opposition
caucus. We have an increase of almost 9
percent in the Family Services budget this year. We have some ongoing programs which assist
with job creation, the Single Parent Job Access, the Gateway program, and the
HROCs and HROPs.
From time to time, we have to review the
success of those programs and make necessary changes to more adequately supply
the training for people who are looking for work in the 1990s.
Mr. Dewar: Selkirk had a very successful program
there. Instead of closing this centre
and having to increase welfare funding, will the minister postpone the closing
for a year while he has the chance to meet with organizations involved and
review the cost savings of keeping the centre training the unemployed?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, we have given a thorough review
to our training programs, and I would remind the member that there are training
programs coming out of other departments as well that will be working to assist
Manitobans who want to get back into the work force. We have looked very carefully at the programs
and particularly the people accessing those programs who can also access the
programs in
Bill 70
Cost
Savings
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs
(Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr.
Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Family Services.
Behind the very poor unemployment
statistics and the poor
In Bill 70, the government wants to
establish a one‑tiered welfare system, a system that we support provided
it does not lead to a decrease in benefits for welfare recipients, for the 89
percent of the cases who live in the city of
Can the Minister of Family Services today
tell this House how much the province will pay by decreasing the benefits
covered by the province in this one‑tiered system?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, the member of the Liberal Party brought forward a lot of statistics,
some of which we will have to look at because I believe they are somewhat
questionable.
At the present time, the provincial social
allowance rolls take care of some 27,000 cases, and on the municipal rolls,
there are around 12,000 cases. What this
legislation is going to do, and I am pleased that the member is going to
support it, is allow equal access to the program, no matter where you live in
At the present time, there is a group of
officials from my department and also members of the SARC committee that was
established in 1989 working on some of the details of the program, and the
figures that the member is looking for are not yet available.
* (1410)
Mrs. Carstairs: Well, Mr. Speaker, that is simply not true.
Many of the figures are certainly very much available. The payments that are paid under the
provincial system and the payments paid by the city are available. They have been paid for a number of years, so
they are not hidden figures.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Family
Services tell this House, what is the saving to the
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, the increase in our budget in
social allowances this budget year alone is some $41 million. That includes the
creation of a new program for the disabled.
It includes an increase of 3.6 percent in the basic rates. It includes an increase of 3 percent in the
shelter component of the social allowances as well as a flowing of the tax
credits on a more timely basis. Now the
work that is being done by the SARC committee and the department is going to
establish a single rate. It is also
going to establish a common eligibility for the program.
The rates that are existing across the
province today certainly are public, but they vary from one municipality to
another. In many cases, they are much
lower than the provincial rate. What the
SARC committee and the officials are doing now is they are looking at the
details of those programs, and probably by the end of May or June of this year,
we will be able to come forward, when the legislation is passed, with the
information on that rate.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that in order to
equal some of the benefits that have not been paid in the past, the province
will have to put in a contribution of somewhere between $500,000 and $1.5
million. At the same time, they will
decrease their benefits to the City of
Can the minister explain why he thinks it
is an appropriate time for the government of the
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, the information that the member
brings forward is not entirely correct.
We have increased the spending on social allowances in this budget by
$41 million alone. There are going to be
changes in the amount of social allowances that flow to recipients. In many municipalities the social allowances
at this time are a fraction of what the provincial rate is. There are some that have allowances that are
equal to the provincial rate and others where it varies on the higher
side. We are working with the SARC
committee to finalize these details. We
are working as well, and hope that members will move the legislation along to
bring this to a reality, and we will be announcing those rates some time
probably in June, after this committee has had a chance to do its work.
Furnace
Inspections
Condemning
Authority
Mr. Jim Maloway
(Elmwood): Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of
Labour.
Recent reports of heat exchanger failures in
Flame‑Master furnaces have caused widespread concern in the public of
Has the Minister of Labour determined who
has the authority to condemn furnaces?
Hon. Darren Praznik
(Minister of Labour): Mr. Speaker, first of all, a very good
question from the member for Elmwood, certainly a very topical issue.
As the member for Elmwood may be aware,
the legislative scheme under which we are operating today is the same
legislative scheme that has been in effect in this province for quite a number
of years. Under The Gas and Oil Burners
Act, they require that designation of furnaces be approved, as prescribed in
the regulations, under a particular regulation that I believe was approved in
1987, which defined "approved" as being approved and listed by the
Canadian Gas Association which approved the furnaces in question.
With respect to insulation, that is done
by the gas company which is required by the legislation and regulations to
supervise and install the fittings and to report back and register with the
department, and those things, of course, have been done.
Regrettably, in this particular instance,
the Canadian Gas Association which certified this particular unit pursuant to
the regulations and the act, there was a flaw in the heat exchanger cells that
was not detected at that particular time, and hence we have the problem today.
Mr. Maloway: Mr. Speaker, from the answer that the
minister has given, he has still not told us who has the ultimate authority to
condemn the furnace because there is major confusion‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Question, please.
Mr. Maloway: Would he clarify and tell us who has the
final authority, the gas company or the government?
Mr. Praznik: Mr. Speaker, of course, this Legislative Assembly,
through The Gas and Oil Burner Act, has the final authority in these matters
under the act and legislative scheme that was established in this province for
some years. The authority for inspection has been designated to the gas company
which is responsible for the installations of the particular furnaces in
question. They, of course, have to
certify and register with the department that the installation meets the
regulation and codes.
The member has made some reference to the
furnace. We put out an announcement a
week or so ago after we received notice from the Canadian Gas Association on
the furnaces. Anyone who has this
particular model is encouraged to contact either the gas company or the
Department of Labour, and we will ensure that things are properly inspected to
see if they contain the cells that are flawed.
Mr. Maloway: Mr. Speaker, it is fairly clear to me that
there is major confusion out in the public as to who really has the authority.
Mandatory
Mr. Jim Maloway
(Elmwood): My final supplementary question to the
minister is this: In view of the number
of recent incidences of carbon monoxide poisoning and since the gas firm and
the department only carry out inspections on request, is the minister prepared
to bring in mandatory, periodic inspections for all furnaces in this province?
Hon. Darren Praznik
(Minister of Labour): Mr. Speaker, the scheme which is currently in
place requires the supplier of the gas to have a responsibility for the
installation and to ensure that it is working properly. They are the providers of the fuel. They have
that responsibility under the act. Where
there is any difficulty that occurs, in this particular case, the inspection
goes on. If individuals have some
concern over their furnace, they have the ability to request an inspection, and
we are pleased to oblige.
I should just tell the honourable member,
in answer to his questions, some very relevant information that I think is
important to this matter. There was some
concern about the costs, in the paper, about the $1,200 per furnace. I understand that staff in the department
have identified the supplier of the cells that can be purchased somewhere in
the neighbourhood of about $60 a cell.
So the cost of actually rectifying this problem could be in the range,
depending on the number of cells that have been affected in the furnace, at
somewhere near a third of the price that has been discussed in the media.
Mr. Speaker: Time for Oral Questions has expired.
NONPOLITICAL
STATEMENTS
Mr. Jack Reimer
(Niakwa): May I have leave to make a nonpolitical
statement?
Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable member for Niakwa have
leave? Leave. Agreed.
Mr. Reimer: It is my pleasure to draw the attention of
the House to the fact that members of the Laotian, Cambodian and Sri Lankan
communities are celebrating their respective New Years during the course of
this week.
Recently, it has been my privilege to
share in some of these New Year celebrations, and I have found them most
enjoyable events. We, as Manitobans,
take pride in our rich and diverse multicultural society. Each of us cherishes the freedom and the
opportunity to express and to foster all aspects of our own cultural heritage,
our own languages, our customs and our traditions. This openness and acceptance is fundamental
to promoting understanding, mutual respect and harmony among all ethnocultural
communities.
The diversity of