LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
Tuesday, December 8,
1992
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING PETITIONS
Mr. Gulzar Cheema (The Maples): Mr. Speaker, I beg to presentthe petition of
W.J. Karle, J.P. Karle, Thom Irving and others,requesting the government of
Mr. Speaker: I have
reviewed the petition of the honourablemember for
To the Legislature of the
WHEREAS each year smoke from stubble burning descends
uponthe
WHEREAS the Parents Support Group of Children with Asthma
haslong criticized the harmful effects of stubble burning; and
WHEREAS the smoke caused from stubble burning is not
healthyfor the general public and tends to aggravate the problems ofasthma
sufferers and people with chronic lung problems; and
WHEREAS alternative practices to stubble burning
arenecessitated by the fact that the smoke can place some people inlife‑threatening
situations; and
WHEREAS the 1987 Clean Environment Commission Report
onPublic Hearings, "Investigation of Smoke Problems fromAgriculture Crop
Residue and Peatland Burning," contained therecommendation that a review
of the crop residue burningsituation be conducted in five years' time,
including are‑examination of the necessity for legislated regulatory
control.
THEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the
LegislativeAssembly will urge the government of
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
Bill 208‑The
Workers Compensation Amendment Act
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by themember
for Radisson (Ms. Cerilli), that Bill 208, The WorkersCompensation Amendment
Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur lesaccidents du travail, be introduced and that
the same be nowreceived and read a first time.
Motion presented.
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(1335)
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): Mr. Speaker, this bill is designedto
recognize the occupational health hazards encountered byfirefighters in the
performance of their duties while protectingthe lives and property of
Manitobans.
Medical studies have shown that there is a greater
incidenceof heart injury and injuries to the lungs, brains and kidneys
offirefighters than for any other compatible profession.Firefighters were
covered for such work‑related injuries untilWorkers Compensation
regulations were struck down by Justice Lyonin 1988, due to the lack of
specific legislation. This billprovides
the specifics, Mr. Speaker.
This firefighter protection bill has been extensively
debatedby all members wishing to do so in the last session of theLegislature
and was, except for procedure, nearly passed atcommittee.
I am sure that all members support firefighters and
wouldwish to move this bill forward with a minimum of debate. Thankyou, Mr. Speaker.
Motion agreed to.
Introduction of Guests
Mr. Speaker: Prior to
Oral Questions, may I direct the attentionof honourable members to the gallery,
where we have with us thisafternoon, from the
Also this afternoon, we have from the
On behalf of all honourable members, I would like to
welcomeyou here this afternoon.
ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
Decentralization
Criteria
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, myquestion is to the First
Minister.
The government is proceeding with their
decentralizationprograms and having announcements being made by various
cabinetministers at various photo opportunities almost on aweekend‑by‑weekend
basis.
Some Honourable Members:
Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please.
Mr. Doer: We are
obviously hitting a raw nerve, Mr. Speaker.
The government has proceeded with decisions to announce
26jobs in Carman and deliver 31 jobs. It
has proceeded to announcejobs in Winkler and deliver those jobs. It has proceeded toannounce various jobs and
even exceed that in some communitiesheld by Conservative cabinet ministers.
On the other hand, communities with higher unemployment,
withjust the same kind of economic needs, if not greater economicneeds, outside
of
I would like to ask the Premier: What criteria are hisgovernment using in the
decentralization program that he hasimplemented?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, the criteria involve acommon‑sense
analysis of what services can be provided bygovernment at least as efficiently
and effectively outside thecity of
We have steadfastly said that if we lack either
thetechnology or the ability to provide the services as efficientlyif not more
efficiently and effectively in the host community,then obviously we cannot
transfer the jobs into the hostcommunity.
Consequently, every individual decision has beenbased on that kind of
analysis, and we have proceeded, as themember has well documented, to
decentralize more than 550 jobsnow throughout the
Mr. Doer: Mr.
Speaker, we have decisions being cancelled inareas of higher unemployment, in
northern
I would like to know from the Premier: Are the criteriapolitical considerations of
the Conservative front benches or theeconomic considerations in
Mr. Filmon: The
commitments that we have undertaken to northern
Mr. Doer: The
Premier quotes Flin Flon; he should note thatthere were 24 jobs promised, seven
delivered, and 12 jobs lost sofar in Flin Flon.
I would like to ask the Premier: He has argued for fairnesswith the Prime
Minister; he has argued that
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Mr. Filmon: Mr.
Speaker, we will talk about intellectualconsistency and the New Democrats. That is a contradiction interms. The New Democrats may want to judge us based
on theircriteria, and we will not accept that judgment. They playedpolitics in everything they did,
and we will not do that. Thatis why we
have placed jobs in Thompson, that is why we haveplaced jobs in Flin Flon, that
is why we have placed jobsthroughout this province, in Brandon East and in many
areas thatare not represented by members on this side of the House, becausewe
are doing it in the interests of fairness, we are doing it inthe interest of
consistency, which is more than I can say for mycolleague opposite.
Mr. Doer: I have a
new question for the Premier, and I want totable a memo from the clerk of
cabinet, who works directly forthe Premier, to the co‑ordinator of
decentralization. I wouldlike to quote
from that memo that states, quote: The
HonourableJim Downey brought a provincial map showing locations ofdecentralized
operations to cabinet. Please prepare a
similarmap using a provincial constituency map as the base for showingthe
proposed decentralization moves.
I would like to ask the Premier: Is this the criterion thePremier actually
used and instructed his whole government to dopre‑election in 1990 in
terms of decisions of this government?
Mr. Filmon: I cannot
believe that the member would even put thatforward when he knows that we have
put jobs in Dauphin, we haveput jobs in Thompson, we have put jobs in Flin
Flon, we have putjobs in Brandon East, we have put jobs in Selkirk. We have putjobs in all of these areas that
are not Conservative seats. Themember
opposite has totally destroyed his own argument by virtueof the information
that we have provided for him. It is
absolutenonsense.
Mr. Doer: Mr.
Speaker, when the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey) andthe co‑chair of the
election planning committee bring a map tocabinet, that is not good enough for
the Premier because ageographic map is not good enough for their cabinet. They need aconstituency map before the
election.
How does the Premier justify instructing the Civil
Servicethrough the clerk of cabinet to prepare a constituency map, andhow can
he say and stand up in this House and not admit that thiswas a political
decision from Day One? The cancellation
of jobsin rural
Mr. Filmon: Mr.
Speaker, because we anticipated that we wouldget this kind of foolish argument
from the member for Concordia(Mr. Doer), we wanted to make sure that we had the
evidence todemonstrate that we had put jobs in Thompson, that we had putjobs in
Flin Flon, that we had put jobs in Dauphin, that we hadput jobs in Selkirk,
that we had put jobs in Brandon East,because we knew exactly the kind of
foolish argument that hewould put forward.
Mr. Doer: Mr.
Speaker, he did in fact promise pre‑election jobsin Dauphin, and then he
cancelled them after the election.
Hepromised 34 before the election, 60 of them lost after theelection;
promised jobs in Flin Flon, 24 before the election,seven were delivered, 12
were cancelled after the election;promised jobs in The Pas, six were delivered,
19 jobs were lost.
What are the criteria this Premier is using? He is usingpartisan, political interference
in the delivery of publicservices in this province. This memo proves that this Premierwas only
interested in his own re‑election, not interested in theeconomic well‑being
of Manitobans throughout this province.
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Mr. Filmon: Mr.
Speaker, the member opposite comes forward withabsolute balderdash. The reality is that there are manycommunities
that have not got the jobs that have been promised,one being
Video Lottery Terminals
Legion Participation
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
This government's "anything goes" gambling
policy is hurtinga great number of Manitobans.
In fact, we have one legion inSte. Rose that has sent out minutes
indicating that they aregoing to have to shut down the legion, by the looks of
it, by theend of this month, because of the way in which this government
isintroducing its gambling policy, if they even have a gamblingpolicy.
My question to the Premier is: Will the minister change thepolicy and allow
VLTs in the legion halls, given that it is anabsolute shame, the manner in
which this government is treatingthe legions throughout this province, absolute
shame?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I can tell the memberfor
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please.
Mr. Filmon: Well, it
shows that the New Democrats never couldhandicap properly.
The answer to his question is: That is a matter that we arestill under
discussion with with representatives of the legionsof this province on, and we
will continue to consult as we moveforward on various different aspects of our
policy with respectto gaming in this province.
The minister responsible, the Minister of Culture,
Heritageand Citizenship (Mrs. Mitchelson), has been very fair and
veryreasonable and has spent time listening to people who haveconcerns, from
all areas of the province and from all varioussectors, including the legions.
Mr. Lamoureux: Mr.
Speaker, I find it somewhat unfortunate thatwe have one legion in particular
that is having to look atclosing their doors because of actions of this
government, whichis most unfortunate, because this government is not prepared
orwas not prepared to introduce a gambling policy, that it hasdecided to do it
in such an ad hoc way in which you are pittingcommunities against communities.
Why did this government not think through all
theimplications before bringing in the VLT system?
Mr. Filmon: Mr.
Speaker, the various programs that have beenbrought forward in this province
have been brought forward withintent and purpose.
The member talks about a legion possibly closing its
doors.We would have lost half of the hotels in southern rural Manitobaif we had
not brought forth the policy of implementing VLTs inthose hotels. The hotel keepers and the hotel owners have
saidthat publicly. He, as a member of
this Legislature, ought to beconcerned about that because it would have been a
very negativeimpact on many of the communities in rural southern
I know that the member for Interlake (Mr. Clif
Evans)understands that full well. It is
a very substantial economicbenefit to those people, so we have brought forward
thesepolicies after careful consideration.
We have announced thatthese policies are progressing step by step, and
so that when webrought the VLTs into rural southern
We have said that we are going to be expanding it so
thathotels within the city of
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Mr. Lamoureux: Mr.
Speaker, the Premier says that he wasconcerned and he listened to the
hoteliers. Why is the Premiernot
concerned in listening to what the legions are saying? Whyis it that the Premier is being very one‑sided
on this wholedebate? There has been no
public consultation. There has notbeen
any coherent policy. An ad hoc‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. The honourable member for
Inksterhas put his question.
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker,
the question was, why am I notconcerned?
The answer is that I am concerned; that ourgovernment is concerned. That is why we are in the midst
ofconsultations with the legions. If we
were not concerned, wewould not be in discussion with them.
Decentralization
Criteria
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
I want to ask the Premier: Is this map still in use, or hasthe map
changed since the election, and is that why all thedecentralized jobs are going
to Tory ridings or ridings‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. The honourable member has put
herquestion.
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker‑‑
Some Honourable Members:
Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. We do not need a singsong right
now.
Mr. Filmon: You know, Mr. Speaker,
here we have the member
Ms. Wowchuk: Mr.
Speaker, we voted against politicalinterference.
Mr. Speaker, will the Premier tell us then when we will
seethis government carry through with the balance of its promisedjobs? When will we see jobs in Dauphin? When will we see jobsin Thompson and in The
Pas?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker,
you know, here is the member for SwanRiver; we have a personal care home being
constructed, thanks tothe policies and the decisions of this government, right
in hercommunity of
Completion
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. I would ask the honourable
memberfor
Ms. Wowchuk: Yes, I
will remove that.
Mr. Speaker: The
honourable member for
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Ms. Wowchuk: Will the
Premier admit that he is misleading thepublic while carrying on about
proceeding with decentralizationsince the Minister of Rural Development (Mr.
Derkach) has alreadytold the Dauphin media that the remaining 160 or 170 jobs
willnot be carried out for the next two or three years, or is thisgovernment‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. The honourable member has put
herquestion.
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, we announced, I believeit was
about three years ago, at the Union of ManitobaMunicipalities annual meeting,
in fact, it was November of 1989in
In conjunction with that, jobs have gone to Dauphin,
jobshave gone to Selkirk, jobs have gone to Brandon East, jobs havegone to
Thompson, jobs have gone to Flin Flon, all of those areasof New Democratic
Party holdings we, we have decentralized jobs,Mr. Speaker. That is because of a commitment that
thisgovernment has made, a commitment to fairness, a commitment tobalance and a
commitment to rural and northern
Decentralization
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): Mr. Speaker, the North has beenparticularly
hard hit by cuts in government positions and thepolitical decisions as to where
decentralization is takingplace. The
unemployment rate currently in The Pas sits at 25percent, and the more further
north you go, it is 90 percent.
My question is to the First Minister (Mr. Filmon): Sinceunemployment in the North is the highest
of any region in thecountry, why did this government put the majority of jobs
insouthwest
Hon. James Downey (Minister of Northern Affairs): Mr. Speaker,for a member who decided to run
for a party, who was unable toget one thing under the New Democratic Party, to
ask this kind ofa question, where in fact the Community Economic
DevelopmentFund, with some 12 employees, is now operating out of Thompson,
The Pas, as well, was a recipient of decentralized
jobs,which are important in that community and, as well, Mr. Speaker,major initiatives
by this government to assure the ongoingoperation of the Manfor Repap plant, a
credit to this government,not to the one he chose to sit with.
Decentralization
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): My supplementary question, Mr.Speaker, is
again directed to the First Minister.
How does the First Minister explain the fact that there
arefewer civil servant positions in northern
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, there are fewer civilservant
positions overall in this province. That
is the realityof having government be more efficient and taking less
dollarsfrom the taxpayer. That is the
reality. We do not want to addmore taxes
like New Democrats do. We absolutely
refuse to raisethe taxes in the obscene way that the New Democrats did. As aresult of that, we have 1,200 fewer civil
servants across theprovince as a whole.
We believe that is the right policy, andthe people of
Funding
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): Mr. Speaker, my last question isagain directed
to the First Minister.
Over the past two years, despite a rising unemployment
ratein the North and the need for more training,
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, you know, this is awonderful way
for the New Democrats to start rumours in thisHouse, is to imply through
questions that something is beingconsidered.
I know of no plans to target any particular area.We have an obligation
to review the entire workings of the CivilService to ensure that we can deliver
the services of thisprovince as efficiently and effectively as possible. We willcontinue to examine every possible
avenue. We will go throughline by line,
position by position, department by department,section by section, and make
sure that we can have this CivilService operate as efficiently as possible, and
we will examineevery particular option, because we do not want to raise
taxeslike the New Democrats raised taxes.
That is the wrong policy,and we reject it.
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Video Lottery Terminals
Revenues
Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Mr. Speaker, I have a questionfor the
Minister of Rural Development.
Last July, when the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey) announced
theestablishment of video lottery terminals for rural
Can the minister tell the House when he changed the
policyand why? Why is this minister
breaking a commitment made to thepeople of
Hon. Leonard Derkach (Minister of Rural Development): Mr.Speaker, I do not know where the member
does his research andgets his information, but indeed neither the $7 million‑‑that
wasa figure that I do not know where it came from. Certainly it didnot come from our
office. I indicated in the very
beginning thatwe had been given some $2.4 million for the REDI program from
VLTrevenues. In addition there was over
$895,000, I believe, givento the Grow Bonds program from the VLT revenues. In addition, weput $740,000 into The Green
Team. So, in total, we havecommitted
over $4 million to various Rural Economic DevelopmentInitiatives across this
province.
It is true that the anticipated revenues were going to
be$5.3 million. That is something that
we had to put our bestefforts in guessing, what the revenues were going to be,
becausewe had no history of VLT revenues in this province prior to
usintroducing them last November. If
there are additionalrevenues, those will be dealt with through the normal
process andthe budget process.
Mr. Gaudry: In case
the minister has not seen the press releasefrom his department, I will table
it. A promise was made todirect all
revenues into rural conomic development, a promisethis government is
breaking. If it was the government's
intentto use VLT revenues for general purposes, why did this ministernot have
the integrity and the honesty to say so from thebeginning?
Mr. Derkach: Mr.
Speaker, it is interesting that the member getsup now in support of rural
economic development, because first ofall they voted against it in the
beginning.
Let me say that, indeed, every penny that we were given
inthe Estimates process and in the budget process will be used forRural
Economic Development Initiatives. As I
have indicated, wehave already committed over $4 million towards Rural
EconomicDevelopment Initiatives in rural
Mr. Gaudry: If the
minister has committed it, will the ministercommit today to channel every penny
raised from rural VLTs backto rural
Mr. Derkach: Mr.
Speaker, when we introduced video lotteriesinto this province, first of all the
opposition and, I might say,the member's own party, the critic from the Liberal
Party, hisown party, were opposed to video lottery terminals and the
wholeconcept. We indicated at that time,
in anticipation of revenuesof somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5.3 million,
that thoserevenues would be used for Rural Economic DevelopmentInitiatives. That commitment stands. We have committed over $4million to date to
Rural Economic Development Initiatives, andour commitment is to rural
Decentralization
Vital Statistics Branch
Mr. John Plohman (Dauphin): Mr. Speaker, the Premier (Mr.Filmon) stood in
this House and said that politics andconstituency maps had nothing to do with
the criteria in makingdecisions with regard to decentralization. Yet, since the 1990election, we have had, of
the 34 jobs that were to be transferredto Dauphin, only seven of those
transferred. So 27 were nottransferred
to Dauphin. In addition to that, we have
had over 30jobs lost in Corrections, in Agriculture, in Natural Resources,in
Highways, in various departments, over 60 jobs lost.
I want to ask the First Minister or the Minister of
RuralDevelopment why those jobs for Vital Statistics were notdelivered to
Dauphin as promised.
Hon. Leonard Derkach (Minister of Rural Development): Mr.Speaker, I have indicated on several
occasions that when thecommitment was made, I believe it was 640 jobs that
would bedecentralized throughout rural
So our commitment is to rural
Mr. Plohman: Mr.
Speaker, that answer is absolutely untrue.
Inthis same memo that my Leader quoted from earlier, it said thatat
cabinet each minister will be required to agree that eachproposed move within
their department is practical, feasible,logistically sound and achievable by
the established target date.
What is this minister's excuse for not delivering? How is itthat he is saying he found out later
about computerization‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. The honourable member has put
hisquestion.
Mr. Derkach: Mr.
Speaker, I think the member for Dauphin justread the answer into the record
when he asked the question.First of all, it has to be practical. Secondly, every departmentwas asked to ensure
that before we decentralized any positions,we would make sure that the
decentralization process would besuch that would benefit the community and
would not be done insuch a way that would be a haphazard way.
If we compare our decentralization program to any of
theother provinces that have attempted decentralization, ourdecentralization
program is probably the most successful in
Mr. Plohman: Mr.
Speaker, how can this minister stand in thisHouse and tell this House the
information that he has when infact this memo was written February 16, 1990,
prior to the publicannouncement? It was
his job to ensure that these decisions werelogistically sound before they were
announced. If they met thatcriteria, why
were they announced if they could not bedelivered? What games were‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order,
please. The honourable member has put
hisquestion.
Mr. Derkach: Mr. Speaker,
I can tell the member from Dauphinthat indeed our commitment is not‑‑
An Honourable Member: For
Dauphin.
Mr. Derkach: For
Dauphin, because he is not from Dauphin.
When Vital Statistics was identified to be moved to
Dauphin,one of the things that the department did bring to our attentionwas
that it would be far better and far more practical for us todo the entire
computerization system renewal before that kind ofan initiative could be
embarked upon. The co‑ordinator
ofdecentralization pressed the department to get some answers interms of how
long this would take.
Mr. Speaker, I have indicated on many occasions that
whenthat process is complete, we will then revisit that decision andmake sure
that we will live up to our commitments.
Aboriginal Justice
Inquiry
Recommendations
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Mr. Speaker, my question is for theMinister
of Justice.
We raised some questions in this Chamber yesterday about
theAJI, and I noted the minister's press release with respect to theAJI that
107 recommendations or 36 percent of the recommendationsof the AJI were within
provincial jurisdiction.
Can the minister outline today how many of
thoserecommendations have been implemented?
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Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Justice and Attorney
General): Inaddition to support of the government of
Youth Programs
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): The minister specifically, in thepress
release, indicated there would be three initiatives takenout for youth and
crime, youth specialists to work with youngoffenders, family abuse teams and
crime prevention programs foryouth in aboriginal communities.
Can the minister indicate the status of those three
specificprograms that the minister indicated at the time he would
beimplementing?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Justice and Attorney
General): Wehave begun that process with our support
for the St. TheresaPoint Youth Court and, I suggest, the Hollow Water sexual
abuseproject.
As I said, we have begun consultations with respect toaboriginal
court models in selected aboriginal communities forthe most part in northern
Mr. Chomiak: My final
supplementary to the same minister:
Theminister indicated that these three specific programs toyouth‑‑and
that is very timely because youth and crime is a veryserious issue in our
society‑‑would be implemented.
Has theminister implemented these three simple programs that heindicated
in his press release January 28 he would beimplementing?
Mr. McCrae: We have
engaged in more cross‑cultural training,native awareness training
programs amongst officers in ourcorrectional facilities. These are being revised and updated
byofficers of aboriginal ancestry. The
program is part of thebasic training program for all recruits in
corrections.Correction officers who have not taken the course in the pastfive
years will be enrolled with a view to completing the coursewithin the next two
years. We have native advisory
committeesalready formed at Brandon and Dauphin, and we are attempting tocreate
them for all the other institutions. I
mentioned DOTCservices. In the area of
prosecutions, we have made directresponses to the Harper and Osborne aspects of
the AboriginalJustice Inquiry.
Hazardous Waste
Environmental Liability
Mr. Paul Edwards (St. James): My question is for the Minister ofEnvironment,
Mr. Speaker.
In the last session of the Legislature, the House
passedamendments to The Dangerous Goods Handling and TransportationAct, giving
power to the director of enforcement in thedepartment to issue cleanup orders
against almost anyone who wasever involved with a piece of contaminated
property, whether ornot they were directly involved in the contamination. Flowingfrom that the minister appointed an
advisory committee onenvironmental liability.
It has now come forward with itsreport, and the minister has had it
since October 5.
Mr. Speaker, my question for the minister: That reportclearly calls for decisions of
liability apportionment to betaken outside of his office's hands and given to
an independent decision-maker. Will the
minister commit today to abiding bythis report's recommendation and putting
environmental liability decision-making authority in the hands of an
independent body,such as an administrative tribunal or court, instead of
makingthose decisions out of his office?
Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister of Environment): Mr. Speaker, Ithink on one hand the member
would like this minister to take farmore arbitrary action, but on the other
hand, he is not sure thathe is really committed to that. This report that is referred tois a very
valued report, as a matter of fact, a multisectoralresponse to what is a very
difficult problem for the Departmentof Environment. But what he has overlooked however in hisquestion
is that we committed ourselves to a much broaderconsultation as well on the
national scale. I have attempted toput
this on the agenda of the national ministers' conference, andwe will continue
to push forward on a broader basis so that
Mr. Edwards: Mr.
Speaker, perhaps the minister will answer thisquestion. On the last page of this report,
underrecommendations, the committee specifically indicated that thegovernment
must take stronger steps to prevent futurecontamination.
Mr. Speaker, why is it that this minister and this
governmenthas to continue to suffer the admonishment of groups from thebusiness
community like the Canadian Bankers' Association, theWinnipeg Chamber of
Commerce, who are both on this task force?Why does the government have to keep
being criticized by thesebodies to take action to enforce its regulations? This is thethird time this year that this
government has been criticized bythe business community for its lack of
enforcement.
Mr. Cummings: Mr.
Speaker, there is, I think, a little bit ofcontradiction between what the
member would like to portray andwhat actually occurs. As a matter of fact, I am admonished
manytimes for the department being too active in its activities inrelationship
to enforcement and control, but let me assure youthat the implementation of The
Dangerous Goods Handling andTransportation Act is the priority function of the
department atthis juncture, and we are moving forward in that respect.
Mr. Speaker: The time
for Oral Questions has expired.
NONPOLITICAL STATEMENTS
Mr. Jack Reimer (Niakwa):
Mr. Speaker, may I have leave to makea nonpolitical statement?
Mr. Speaker: Does the
honourable member for Niakwa have leave tomake a nonpolitical statement?
[agreed]
Mr. Reimer: Today I
would like to pay special recognition to anevent that has been entertaining us
for many years and now hasbeen formally recognized by a major American
travelorganization. Yesterday Folklorama
was named the top event in
The American Bus Association is a major travel
industryorganized in the
The American Bus Association chose our Folklorama over
70other Canadian nominations because of its multicultural appeal,its
reputation, its attendance, the theme and the accessibilityto motor coach
travel. This award recognizes the
outstandingeffort put in by more than 20,000 volunteers who work
efficientlytogether to create the largest multicultural festival in theworld.
These people put in countless hours staffing booths,
stampingpassports, preparing food, performing and
demonstratinghandicrafts. In fact, many
give up part of their holidays justto work at Folklorama. Through their enthusiasm, their
teamwork,their professionalism, these volunteers have placed Folklorama,the
city of
As I mentioned earlier, one of the factors that resulted
inFolklorama being named the top event in
I, like thousands of other people, have been a
regularvisitor to Folklorama. I am proud
of Folklorama and what it doesfor preserving multiculturalism, and I ask all
members in theAssembly to collectively congratulate the organizers
andvolunteers of Folklorama.
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Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): Mr. Speaker, I would like leaveto make a
nonpolitical statement.
Mr. Speaker: Does the
member for Radisson have leave to make anonpolitical statement? [agreed]
Ms. Cerilli: I would
like to join with the honourable memberfrom the government side and express
congratulations to the FolkArts Council and the number of community groups in
Mr. Speaker, I also want to put on the record a couple
ofconcerns that are expressed to me and I also expressed at thepress conference
yesterday regarding Folklorama. I just
want tosay that a number of community groups have expressed to me theirconcern
that Folklorama is in some ways causing them to go intodebt and that we have to
look at carefully to ensure that the $30million coming to the economy from
Folklorama is going to thecommunities that are doing the hard volunteer work
and arerepresenting us so well.
I would just like to encourage all of us to
supportFolklorama and show that multiculturalism is a great asset andone of our
strengths in
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
Mr. Speaker: Does the
honourable member for
Mr. Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, it is a
pleasure for me to stand upand to pay tribute to all the volunteers, and there
are literallyhundreds of thousands of volunteers who have contributed in
someway over the number of years that Folklorama has been inexistence.
I know my colleague from St. Boniface was a mayor of the
oneof the pavilions at one time. For
many of us inside thisChamber, we have participated in different ways, whether
it wasparticipating as a member of the audience, possibly even gettingup or
recruited on the floor to participate in a dance or asong‑‑for some
of us who have volunteered our services, but mostimportantly, to those
volunteers that take so much of theirpersonal time. I am aware of individuals who will take
theirholidays on or during Folklorama so that they can contribute thatmuch more
towards ensuring that this particular event is asuccess.
Mr. Speaker, I guess those are the individuals whom I
reallywant to pay that special tribute to, those individuals who go farbeyond
what most would expect in terms of being able, as I say,to taking their
holidays, by immediately leaving their workplaceand going to the pavilions for
a straight week. It is no easyfeat.
We are not talking about a small number of individuals.