LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY OF
Tuesday,
May 5, 1992
The House met at 1:30
p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE
PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING
PETITIONS
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs
(Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr.
Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Lorraine Roels, Coreen Roulette,
Hedwig Mueller and others urging the government to consider establishing an
Office of the Children's Advocate independent of cabinet and reporting directly
to the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Gregory Dewar
(Selkirk): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
Al Park, Lori Pichor, E. Sandercock and others requesting the Minister of
Family Services (Mr. Gilleshammer) consider a one‑year moratorium on the
closure on the Human Resources Opportunity Centre in Selkirk.
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member for Wolseley (Ms. Friesen).
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
WHEREAS the Dutch Elm Disease control
program is of primary importance to the protection of the city's many elm
trees; and
WHEREAS the Minister of Natural Resources
(Mr. Enns) himself stated that, "It is vital that we continue our active
fight against Dutch Elm Disease in
WHEREAS despite that verbal commitment,
the government of
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the government of
* * *
I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member of
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)
* * *
I have reviewed the petition of the honourable
member for Brandon East (Mr. Leonard Evans), 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
The
The citizens of
The
The administration of the hospital has
been forced to take drastic measures including the elimination of the
Palliative Care Unit and gynecological wards, along with the layoff of over 30
staff, mainly licensed practical nurses, to cope with a funding shortfall of
over $1.3 million; and
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislature of the
PRESENTING
REPORTS BY STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Mrs. Louise Dacquay
(Chairperson of Committees): The
Committee of Supply has adopted a certain resolution, directs me to report the
same and asks leave to sit again.
I move, seconded by the honourable member
for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine), that the report of the committee be
received.
Motion agreed to.
TABLING OF
REPORTS
Hon. Harry Enns
(Minister of Natural Resources): It is
with considerable pleasure that I table the Annual Report, the year ending 1990‑91,
The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.
Introduction of Guests
Mr. Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the
attention of all members to the gallery, where we have with us this afternoon
from the Garden City Collegiate, twenty‑six Grade 11 students under the
direction of Roberta Topping. This
school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Kildonan
(Mr. Chomiak).
Also this afternoon, we have the Student
Council of the Silver Heights Collegiate under the direction of Mr. Wallace
Linton, the principal. This school is
located in the constituency of the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr.
McAlpine).
Also this afternoon, from
On behalf of all members, I welcome you
here this afternoon.
ORAL
QUESTION PERIOD
Economic
Growth
Private
Sector Investment
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Yes, Mr. Speaker, the question is to the First
Minister.
Last Friday, unfortunately, statistics
provided by Statistics
Mr. Speaker, the Premier has tried to
create an illusion with the public that it is based on labour incomes in this
province. In spite of the fact that other provinces in Atlantic Canada had the
same public sector wage freeze that the Premier implemented in this province,
the Premier has tried to create the illusion that this is the reason for the
decline in domestic growth in this province, being in last place.
Mr. Speaker, if you really look at the
numbers, it is really that the decline takes place in the private sector. Many of the factors of private sector
investment in 1991 declined dramatically.
I would ask the question, in 1991, the private capital investment
declined some 15.3 percent, the largest decline of any province in the country‑‑again,
last place. I would ask the Premier why
private sector investment declined $277 million in 1991, the largest decline of
any province in
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, we notice the priorities and the
directions of the New Democratic Party.
They always have their directions in reverse, always heading backwards
and always looking for where they can find the most negative. The prince of
darkness, as I have called him earlier, is at it over and over again, day after
day.
There is an article in today's paper that
he may or may not have read‑‑Manitoba mood called upbeat. They talk about, again, for the third time in
a matter of two weeks, a new forecast coming out by another forecasting
organization that is suggesting, once again, that in the coming years, in '92,
'93 and '94, we will be in the top part of the provinces of this country in
terms of economic growth.
I also suggest to him that Stats Canada is
suggesting that we will have the highest overall capital investment growth of
any province in the country this year, in private and public capital
investment. We will have, in terms of
manufacturing investment, the highest increase, 31.7 percent in manufacturing
capital investment. These are all the
positive signs.
These are built upon the solid base that
we have formed in this province by virtue of the fiscal policies that have kept
our taxes down for five straight budgets, that have kept our deficit down at
levels, overall, that have been half of those under the Pawley administration,
and all this during a period of time in which we have had a very, very severe
recession.
We have set the base. We have set the opportunity. Obviously
forecasters are suggesting that we will now see the kinds of fruits of our
labour that all of us want to have, all of us, that is, except the Leader of
the New Democratic Party, who only wants to see negative situations in this
province, who only wants to preach doom and gloom, who does not want to believe
in the people of this province.
We believe in the people of this province,
and we believe the growth that is being forecast will indeed come forward
because of the policies that we have set in place.
* (1340)
Manufacturing
Investment
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, what we want this Premier to do
is accept responsibility for his last‑place performance in economic
performance, primarily in the private sector.
On November 1, 1990, the Premier said in
this Chamber, again,
The Premier keeps pulling out these things
from the Business section, Mr. Speaker, but economic performance belies the
Premier's words in this Chamber.
A second question‑‑the Premier
has not answered why private sector investment was in last place. He has not answered the question, if you go
down 15 percent, that is not a solid foundation, as the Premier alleges. That is a decline of our foundation, Mr.
Speaker. In fact, we are back to pre‑'85
days in private sector investment. I
think the Premier should be accountable for that point.
Mr. Speaker, the manufacturing investment
in this province declined 38.1 percent, the second worst performance in 1991 in
this very important private sector area of any other province in
Can the Premier, as chair of the economic
committee of cabinet and as the person who is in charge of the economy of this
province, explain to the people of
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Again, the Leader of the Opposition wants to
concentrate on the past. We did not put
in place the Economic Development Board of Cabinet until last fall, late in the
fall, after the year was already done, because we saw the things that had to be
done.
We put in place the budgetary conditions,
no increase in taxes for five straight budgets under this administration, a
deficit that has been kept much more under control than all of the other
deficits in this country, including particularly New Democratic provinces who
are raising taxes and deficits right across the country.
The results of it are that this year,
manufacturing capital investment is expected to be the highest increase of any
province in the country. That is the
kind of thing that is resulting from the policies that we have put in place.
Economic
Implementation
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): A final question‑‑and the Premier
again, looking at private sector indicators of the onomy, a final indication is
that residential construction declined in Manitoba by 40 percent, Mr.
Speaker. Now, it is going to go up this
year. If you are going to go up from
three houses to four houses, it is going to go up 33 percent, but it declined
by 40 percent.[interjection] Well, the
Minister of Finance (Mr. Manness) will want to explain why
Will the Premier now admit that they do
not have a clue about what is going on in this economy? They are not getting the investment that they
talked about in both the private and public sectors. Will he do something positive like an
economic summit of business, labour and government to get Manitobans working
together to get our economy on a good path, a positive path, in 1992?
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is
dead wrong. The figures he quotes
demonstrate that we are getting the results and the performance that we were
looking for.
Every single one of the forecasters is
suggesting that we will be in the top three or four provinces in the country in
terms of economic growth, in terms of private capital investment, in terms of
public capital investment, in terms of housing starts, in terms of every one of
those indicators, manufacturing capital investment, every single one of
them. All of the forecasters are
suggesting that in '92, '93, '94, we are going to be in the top half of the
provinces in the country as a result of the things that we did in a difficult
year.
Nobody suggests that 1991 was not a tough
year on our economy, as it was on economies everywhere in this world. The only place that fact has been lost is in
the mind of the Leader of the Opposition, who does not know what is happening
anywhere in the world. He has his head
in the sand, and he is looking at what is in his own political interest to look
at. We are looking at what is in the
best interests of the people of
* (1345)
Mining
Communities
Government
Initiatives
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, maybe the Premier (Mr. Filmon)
should take that message to
On Sunday afternoon, I attended a meeting
with hundreds of other people from the community of
Mr. Speaker, the Manitoba Mineral
Resources corporation, a Crown corporation, has some $24 million in the bank.
Can the Minister of Energy and Mines or
the First Minister (Mr. Filmon) explain to the people of
Hon. James Downey
(Minister of Energy and Mines): Mr.
Speaker, I want to first of all express the concern for the individuals who are
impacted when these kinds of things happen dealing with a mining community. That is why this government took a very
proactive position and introduced one of the best mining incentive programs in
this country. We introduced an
exploration incentive program that is not matched anywhere in this country, so
that the private sector could come forward, along with the mineral resources
exploration program of government, to find those resources that are there, to
bring new life to communities such as
What I would ask the member is: Why, in his term of government, did they not
introduce something? They put us in the
worst position in this country, Mr. Speaker, as far as taxes are concerned in
the mining industry.
Mr. Storie: . . . dollars in Leaf Rapids, in
Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy of this
minister, to stand up and say the Mineral Exploration Incentive Program, which
was introduced in 1991, was going to be of any help.
Mr. Speaker, why has this government been
so indifferent to the fate of mining communities in northern
Mr. Downey: Again, the member wants to play politics with
the lives of the people of
There is, Mr. Speaker, an extended exploration
budget being put in place by HBM&S for that community. Some $4.5 million will be spent this year in
the exploration field.
As well, Mr. Speaker, this government has
put a program in place that will encourage exploration. Mining companies like HBM&S will be able
to write off 150 percent of their exploration expenses against their
income. That is available to HBM&S.
Exploration
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, the government has known about
this for at least a year and perhaps two.
As much as two years ago, I was asking the then Minister of Energy and
Mines to double the exploration budget of Manitoba Mineral Resources to prevent
this kind of tragedy.
My question is to the Minister of Energy
and Mines, the minister responsible for MMR.
Why has the government refused the pleas
of the community and myself to increase the exploration budget as much as two
or three years ago to prevent the closure today because of a lack of ore?
Hon. James Downey
(Minister of Energy and Mines): Mr.
Speaker, there has been approximately $30 million expended in that area over
the last 10 years to find new orebodies.
We have not reduced the expenditures.
In fact, the expenditures have been increased by HBM&S to find new
reserves. We have put in place tax
policies that are exceptionally good for the searching of new mineral deposits.
I can say, Mr. Speaker, why did the
government, of which he sat as the minister, not‑‑why were those
programs not in place five years ago and six and seven years ago to encourage
investment? [interjection]
No, they were not. In fact, the mining industry believed that
the New Democratic Party policies were still in place and that we wanted to
participate in 50 percent of every mine that was developed in this
country. That is not the case.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, we‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has already used his
question and his two supplementary questions.
* (1350)
Social
Assistance
Food
Allowance
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs
(Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr.
Speaker, for days, we have been hearing the bad economic forecasts and the
forecasts about the very low quality of education that is available to our
children from coast to coast in this country.
It is time to put a very human face on the whole issue of how people are
surviving in
We have a Family Services minister who has
before us in this House a bill which is going to reduce the benefit for food
that people are going to receive. Mr.
Speaker, infants on a provincial payment scale will receive $83.90. At present, they are receiving $152 per
month.
Will the minister explain to this House why
this government is going to get a cash revenue increase as a result of this new
system of $5.6 million?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, much of what the member has put on the record is in error.
The bill before the House, Bill 70, is to
create the same entrance requirements across this province to access social
allowances and to indicate that there will be a standardized level of social
allowances. That is what the bill is
intended to do, and we look forward to members entering the debate on Bill 70.
The government, the department is
currently meeting with members of the SARC committee, which has members from
MAUM, UMM and the City of
We are currently meeting with the SARC committee
to work out a lot of the other details that will be put in place after Bill 70
is passed.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, 89 percent of all social
assistance recipients live in
Will the minister explain why he is
accepting as his level playing field, the level playing field of 11 percent of
the social assistance recipients and not the level playing field of 89 percent
of the social assistance recipients, resulting in for a family of one adult and
one infant and one five‑year‑old child, $102.50 less a month for
food, $1,230 a year less for food?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, again the member, I think, needs
to take an accurate look at the legislation that is before the House to see
what in fact it does, and that is to create one standard rate across the
province and to set the same entrance requirements for people wishing to access
social allowances.
The rates will be set on an annual
basis. At the current time, the
department is involved with members of the SARC committee looking at many
details that have to be dealt with prior to this legislation being put into
force. So on the question of rates, I
think it is premature for the member to be saying that the rate is this level
or that level. Those points are points
of discussion that are currently going on with the SARC committee.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, what I am quoting are the rates
set by the province and the city as of March 20, 1992. There has been no rate change since that
time. The minister, on April 13, 1992,
admits that some municipalities have higher rates.
Will he now admit that
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, I say again, the legislation is
still before the House. The legislation
will come into force probably some time in 1992 or 1993. The actual rates will be determined, and the
details will be worked out between the department and the members of the SARC
committee. These negotiations and
discussions are still going on.
* (1355)
Mining
Community Reserve Fund
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier,
who does not seem to want to bother himself with the dirty details of 1,500
people losing their jobs, their homes and their community.
The Premier and this government are in
charge of the Mining Community Reserve Fund which has some $10 million at least
at its disposal.
Will the First Minister today agree to
commit those funds and more, if necessary, to the 480 households, many of whom
are going to be asked to move their homes and their possessions? Will he commit today to provide support in
the neighbourhood of $15,000 to $25,000, which it would take for each person to
relocate?
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, the member for Flin Flon knows
full well that his comments are not accurate.
The fact of the matter is, this
government, because it wanted to increase investment in exploration and
development, has brought in a series of programs that are designed to do
precisely that. For the first time in 20
years, we are seeing massive increases in exploration drilling in this province
in northern
It goes all the way back to the Schreyer
government of the 1970s, when various programs were put in place that
essentially confiscated mining revenues and mining properties from the people
who were there. As a result, wholesale
companies that had been exploring in northern
He presided over a government and over a
mines department that essentially kept out exploration and development from the
private sector, which is what killed the opportunities for
This government has put $55 million into
the renovation and upgrade of Flin Flon, the smelter there, to preserve‑‑[interjection]
Mr. Speaker, none of this was done under New Democratic governments. New Democratic governments would not risk a
nickel in terms of support for these mining communities and would not put in
place policies that would encourage exploration and development. Unfortunately, the people in those
communities are paying the price as a result of their ignorance and of their
bad policies.
Mining
Communities
Employment
Retraining Program
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, I can only say there he goes
again, misleading the Legislature and the people . . . .
In 1988, this government, the NDP
government, invested some $17.7 million‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I would remind the honourable member for Flin
Flon this is not a time for debate.
Kindly put your question, please.
Point of
Order
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, is there no
rule to protect the people of
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
The honourable member does not have a point of order.
* * *
Mr. Speaker: The honourable member for Flin Flon, kindly
put your question, please.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, since this minister took over,
this First Minister (Mr. Filmon), there are one thousand‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Kindly put your question, please.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, will the First Minister now
commit to using the offices of the Department of Education and Training, the
resources at the disposal of the Minister of Energy and Mines to provide
training and retraining opportunities for the 1,000 people who have already
lost their jobs in the mining industry since this First Minister became
Premier, and the 600 people who we learned on Sunday are likely to lose their
jobs by 1994 in the mining industry?
Will he begin a training program now, commit to a training program for
these people‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
The question has been put.
* (1400)
Hon. James Downey
(Minister of Energy and Mines): Mr.
Speaker, again, it is unfortunate that these kinds of things happen in mining
communities. That is why we have put in
programs and initiatives so that we can stem this kind of thing from taking
place. New orebodies being found means
new job opportunities.
We have, some four months ago, Mr.
Speaker, put in place a Worker Adjustment Committee with government, working
with those communities to help them, to assist them. There is the Mining Reserve Fund that the
member refers to, that we have used in the past to assist when these kinds of
unfortunate difficulties come forward.
Again, Mr. Speaker, let me re‑emphasize
what we have said. There is an expansion of resource discovery activity taking
place in those communities. There will
be job opportunities with the upgrading of the smelter in that whole area. Again, we are doing all we can to encourage
new mining activity to take place in northern
Equity
Insurance
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, it becomes increasingly obvious
this minister does not know what is going on.
Mr. Speaker: Question.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, I will give the Minister of
Energy and Mines and the First Minister (Mr. Filmon), if he cares to dirty his
hands on this issue of 480 people‑‑
Mr. Speaker: The question is?
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, some time ago, I offered the
Minister of Energy and Mines an opportunity to be positive.
Can the minister today tell us whether he
will reconsider and initiate immediately a plan to establish an equity
insurance program for homeowners and small businesses in single‑industry
towns in northern
Hon. James Downey
(Minister of Energy and Mines): Mr.
Speaker, again, one has to be concerned about the individuals who have invested
in their homes and their businesses in the single‑mining industries. The best way to preserve the value of their
homes and their communities is to find new orebodies.
I cannot understand why the member did
not, in his term of office, introduce policies that would help that
happen. Mr. Speaker, what they did was
continue to raise the taxes that put in disincentives.
What I do not want to do, Mr. Speaker, is
create false expectations in valuations of houses or businesses by the
introduction of government money or programming. We do have to assist those people when it is
inevitable that there is no longer any opportunity for them, but let us find an
opportunity to continue through what has traditionally been the mining industry.
Racism
Investigations
Police
Mr. Dave Chomiak
(Kildonan): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister
of Justice (Mr. McCrae) or the First Minister.
Last year, after a $3‑million study
and years of review, two respected judges recommended that a special
investigation unit be set up to investigate allegations regarding incidents
involving the police. Now, after
bringing a judge to review the Pollock matter, after having the RCMP review the
city of
Will the government stop procrastinating
and establish such a unit, as recommended in this report, so that when events
occur, as did occur in the city of
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as
notice on behalf of the Justice minister.
Mr. Chomiak: My supplementary is along the same question,
Mr. Speaker. There is a very good reason
for requiring such an investigation unit.
What if this happened with the RCMP?
Who would the minister call in then?
As I understand, the minister may be calling in the RCMP to deal with
the
Mr. Filmon: I will take that question as notice as well
on behalf of the Minister of Justice (Mr. McCrae).
Mr. Chomiak: My final supplementary, I would urge that the
minister bring it to the Justice minister's attention at the first instance,
because we have been waiting 10 months for this recommendation. We have gone through five or six incidents
that could have been dealt with by this investigation unit.
Economic
Growth
Government
Policy Performance
Mr. Reg Alcock
(Osborne): Mr. Speaker, in the four years since this
government came to power, we have lost the equivalent of 50,000 people in this
province, we are 10th out of 10 in national wealth, we have lost the equivalent
of $300 million in retail trade and $91 million in commercial investment.
I would like to ask the Minister of
Industry and Trade a very simple question.
When this government came to power, we were at one level. Since then, the country has slipped into
recession, but this province has slipped much further. We are now 10th out of 10. How does the Minister for Industry and Trade
explain this?
Hon. Eric Stefanson
(Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): At the outset, I do not accept most of
the honourable member's preamble. He
picks one particular statistic and generalizes it to all aspects of the
economy. I think for somebody who is
showing such a great deal of interest in economic performance indicators, I
would encourage him to read all 12 or 13 of them that are prepared by seven
different agencies, and he will see how we have fared in other areas, in areas
like unemployment as it relates within
We willingly admit we are not satisfied
with where the percentage is, but within
In terms of the future, Mr. Speaker, which
I am sure we are all looking toward the future of
Mr. Alcock: Well, it just so happens that I do read those
indicators, and in 11 out of 15, this province has done worse than the rest of
this country, worse not better, in 11 out of 15 indicators that are reported on
monthly, Mr. Speaker.
My question for the minister is this: How does he explain the fact that this
province is doing so poorly?
Point of
Order
Hon. Clayton Manness
(Government House Leader): Mr. Speaker,
certainly the Minister of Industry and Trade can answer the question. The question has been the same day after day.
I would refer you to Beauchesne 409, point
(8): "A question that has
previously been answered ought not to be asked again."
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I would refer
you to Beauchesne 409.(3) and I quote:
"The question ought to seek information and, therefore, cannot be
based upon a hypothesis, cannot seek an opinion, either legal or otherwise, and
must not suggest its own answer, be argumentative"‑‑and this
is the point I emphasize‑‑"be argumentative or make
representations."
Mr. Speaker, we can go through this day
in, day out. There can be general
questions, and we can debate so‑called statements of fact, but by these
rules, I say the question that is put over and over again asking for a
generalized answer is out of order.
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, I can
understand why the Minister of Finance (Mr. Manness) is so embarrassed by this
question, but if you check the record today, you will find that the question I
asked the second time was different from the question I asked the first time,
and I believe that as a member in this House, I have the right to question the
policies of this government, and I shall continue to do so.
If they cannot explain why their policies
are failing, that is their problem, not mine.
Mr. Steve Ashton
(Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, on the
point of order, I think the government House leader is correct on one
point. Beauchesne is very clear. A minister may decline to answer a question
without stating the reason for refusing, and insistence on an answer is out of
order, with no debate being allowed.
Indeed, we can understand why the
government may not wish to answer this question. It is obviously very embarrassing to them to
be shown day after day to be 10th out of 10 economically, but on the other
point raised by the minister, I would suggest to him that if he wishes to get
Question Period back to the normal way of functioning, he might ask his
minister to just simply answer the question‑‑why are we 10th out of
10?
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. On the point of order raised by the
honourable government House leader, it has been the practice here in
The guidelines that were distributed to
members quite clearly spell out that a question must not repeat an earlier
question which was answered or to which an answer was refused at that sitting.
I believe the honourable member's second
question was not repetitive of his first question, therefore the honourable
member's question was in order.
* (1410)
Mr. Stefanson: Once again, I believe I have to correct the
honourable member's preamble in terms of performance indicators and where
Out of the 11 traditional performance indicators,
Mr. Speaker, I want to quickly walk through them for the benefit of the
honourable member for Osborne, that in the manufacturing sector performance, in
employment, we are above
Mr. Speaker, the record speaks for itself
today in terms of the economic indicators where
Economic
Growth
Full-Time
Employment
Mr. Reg Alcock
(Osborne): Mr. Speaker, the Finance minister's predictions
are not reality. Reality is that we have
lost the equivalent of 26,000 full‑time jobs in this province.
I would like to ask a question to the
Minister of Labour, a very simple question to the Minister of Labour. How does he account for the fact that we have
lost, under this government, the four years that this government has been in
power, the equivalent of 26,000 full‑time jobs in this province?
Hon. Darren Praznik
(Minister of Labour): Mr. Speaker, I think if the member would wake
up and look at the fact that we are going through a very difficult recession,
as my colleagues in this House have answered the member on numerous occasions,
and as the member knows, we are going through tremendous restructuring of our
economy.
I am sure the member would agree‑‑[interjection]
Well, the member from his seat talks about last place. The member still has not recognized, I think,
what has happened in the agricultural community, what that has meant to income
in our province. He has not recognized
changes. We have seen a debate go on
here today about the mining industry, 20 years of bad mining policy‑‑and
now we are reaping the benefits of that in this province.
Mr. Speaker, it takes time, as the member
will acknowledge, to get the province onto the right course, and that is what
is happening now.
Point of
Order
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, the
Minister of Labour continues to put false information on the record.
Mr. Speaker, the legislation the province
operates under was put in place by the
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member does not have a point
of order. It is a dispute over the
facts.
Public
Utilities
Lock-Off
Statistics
Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): My question is to the Minister of Consumer
and Corporate Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, on June 25, '91, on page 3841
of Hansard, the Premier (Mr. Filmon) of this province said, and I quote: ". . . I want the NDP to save $10 a
month for every senior in this building by passing Bill 44."‑‑which
was the gas disconnection bill.
Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of
Consumer and Corporate Affairs claimed that 3,000 people would have their gas
cut off this year.