LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
Tuesday, March 9, 1993
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
Bill 214‑The Beverage
Container Act
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Second Opposition):
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for
Motion presented.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, I
briefly want to put on the record once again, since this is not the first time
our party has introduced this legislation, a piece of legislation which is long
overdue.
It is very clear that in provinces where there is such a
piece of legislation, 80 to 90 percent of soft drink bottles are indeed kept in
circulation; they are returned. We have
a voluntary system; we get back less than 50 percent. They are filling our landfill sites, they are
a disgrace to the environment, and it is time we changed.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 215‑‑The Public
Schools Amendment Act (2)
Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood):
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for
Motion presented.
Ms. Gray: Mr. Speaker, this
bill is being introduced to entrench in The Public Schools Act the principles
which should be embodied in
This bill acknowledges that parents should be fully
informed of the progress of their children in schools so that they are able to
make informed decisions about their children's education. Parents should have the right and the
opportunity to be heard by the teacher, the school staff, school boards and the
Department of Education.
This bill will also entrench a parent's right to
assistance for children who have special needs.
Finally, parents have the right to expect that a school
system has safeguards that govern them.
The rights which this bill proposes to entrench in The
Public Schools Act are not only parents' rights, Mr. Speaker, but the rights of
our children who are, after all, the future of
Motion agreed to.
TABLING OF REPORTS
Mr. Speaker: Is there leave of the House to allow
me to revert back to Ministerial Statements and Tabling of Reports? [agreed]
Under Ministerial Statements and Tabling of Reports, I am
pleased to table, in accordance with Section 55 of The Freedom of Information
Act, the report of the Ombudsman for the calendar year January 1, 1991, to
December 31, 1991.
Introduction of Guests
Mr.
Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the
attention of honourable members to the Speaker's Gallery where we have with us
this afternoon Senator Morford‑Burg from the state of
On behalf of all honourable members, I would like to
welcome you here this afternoon.
Also this afternoon, we have seated in the public gallery,
from the
On behalf of all honourable members, I would like to
welcome you here this afternoon.
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ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
enRoute
Employment Status
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition):
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey). Since the time that Air Canada has been
privatized by the federal Conservatives in
We have asked questions before about the status of these
financial services jobs in
I would like to ask the Deputy Premier: What action has this government taken to keep
those 100 jobs from enRoute located in the city of
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of Highways and
Transportation): Mr.
Speaker, let me first of all indicate to the member that there have been
ongoing discussions taking place with the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and Air Canada,
as well as Canadian, in terms of the impact of some of the decisions that are
being made, over which we basically have no control.
The member is well aware of the negotiations that have
taken place initially between Canadian and Air
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, I am
pleased to hear the Premier (Mr. Filmon) is actively engaged in maintaining the
jobs in
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Can the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey) explain today
the announcement made by Diners Club and enRoute that their operating division
in
How does that impact on
the 100 jobs that are now located in the city of
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of Highways and
Transportation): Mr.
Speaker, we are trying to get that information. I would have to take the
question as notice and try and get back to him.
enRoute
Employment Status
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, I would refer the Deputy Premier
(Mr. Downey) to an announcement made this morning by Citibank
My question to the Deputy Premier is: What is the status of the 100 jobs in
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Highways and
Transportation (Mr. Driedger) I believe has addressed the broader issue as it
relates to the services provided here in Winnipeg.
Let me assure the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Doer),
unlike him and his party when they had the most unfriendly tax regime in the
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition):
Well, Mr. Speaker, hot air does not keep jobs in
So I ask the Deputy Premier, now that he has this little
tirade off his shoulders, could he please tell Manitobans what is the status of
the 100 jobs presently located in
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of Highways and
Transportation): Mr.
Speaker, I do not have the precise information on that, and that is what we are
trying to establish. There are
announcements made and we are trying to establish exactly the impact that it
will have. As soon as I have that
information, I am prepared to share it with members here. While we are getting this information, we
also want to make sure that we can take and stress the importance of these jobs
to
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enRoute
Employment Status
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, the Premier (Mr. Filmon) is the
Chair of the Economic Development Board of Cabinet, and he has had contact, as
the Minister of Transportation has indicated, on the enRoute situation.
I would ask the Deputy Premier: When was the last time they met with the
Citibank operations? What was the status
of those discussions in terms of those 100 high‑tech jobs in
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Mr. Speaker, as far as any meetings or any
activity as it relates to the Premier, I will have to take that part of the question
as notice.
Vision Capital Fund
Funding Recipients—Women
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): While I am on my feet, Mr. Speaker, I will
respond to yesterday's question by the Leader of the Opposition as it related to
the Vision Capital program, a program that was established in 1987 by the
former administration which set up the board of some six individuals who were
all men. The Leader of the Opposition yesterday in his question certainly has a
short memory.
The establishment of Vision Capital, Mr. Speaker, allows
for those people investing in Vision Capital to have a representative on the
board. The government had the
opportunity to put one individual on that board and that individual is the
Deputy Minister of I, T and T who is Mr. Goyan, but the initial establishment
of it was set up by the NDP government, of which six people were appointed, all
of them men.
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, we did have 41 percent of people
on boards of commissions who were women, but if we had six men on that economic
committee and you have nine men on that committee, we are both wrong and we
both should change it. I do not mind
admitting that. So on behalf of our
previous government and that committee, I think we were wrong and we should
have changed it.
enRoute
Employment Status
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): A final question, Mr. Speaker. This is a very serious question for the 100
families tonight that have the press release from Diners Club and enRoute and
Citibank. They do not know whether these
100 new jobs announced in
I would ask the Deputy Premier to immediately obtain the
information that he should have today, and inform the House of whether we have
lost those 100 jobs in
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that when that
information is available, we will make it available to the House. I can assure him as well that we will do
everything we can to encourage employment and maintenance of jobs in this
province.
Vision Capital Fund
Funding Recipients—Women
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): I should further add, I was negligent in my responding to
yesterday's question, and I said I would bring this information forward. He makes reference to boards and commissions
having 41 percent female when he was in government. That has now risen to some 43 percent under
this government.
In 1987, Mr. Speaker, in the executive positions within
government, I believe they had something like 8 percent. Eight percent of those
individuals were women. That has now
doubled to almost 16 percent under this government. That is in executive positions within
government.
Economic Growth
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): Mr. Speaker, I
have a question for the Minister of Finance.
On the 5th of May of this year the Premier (Mr. Filmon)
stated in this House that: 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 '92, '93 and '94 we will be in the top
half of provinces. The figures
demonstrate we are getting the results and the performance that we are looking
for.
Well, sad to say that we are not in the top half. We are seventh in this country now. The Conference Board of Canada has just come
out with its forecast and has downgraded
I would like to ask the Minister of Finance a very simple
question. Why are his economic policies
producing this result?
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Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the fact that the
ranking by the Conference Board for the '93 forecast is dropping. The final forecast at this time shows a
number just slightly below the national average, I believe a 2.5 percent
forecast of growth for the
Let me say that we still see some very encouraging signs,
particularly in the investment side.
Manufacturing shipments in themselves were also encouraging. Let me say that the national average, I would
say, given the experience over the last two years, I would never, ever want to
lay whatever claim the member wants to make at this point in time on the basis
of one snapshot in a period of time.
Those forecasts changed dramatically in 1992. They changed dramatically in 1991. I would welcome an ongoing debate with the
member on any series of numbers, but I say to him it is foolhardy to dwell on
one number at one point in time.
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, the
Finance minister is correct. They come
out positive and then they get revised downward each year. That has happened
every year since this government has been in office.
Out‑Migration Statistics
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): Mr. Speaker,
another indicator of how well we are doing is whether or not people are
choosing to stay here. The fact is in
the first three quarters of the recent year, nearly 5,000 people have chosen to
move out. That is a net loss of
4,894. Last year, 7,663 and the year
before that, over 10,000. Over 40,000
people have chosen to leave this province under this Finance minister's
rule. Why?
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, population growth from October 1,
'91, to October 1, '92, totalled 4,000 people.
I would say to the member that population growth in the province is
stagnant, as it is in seven other provinces in the land. It is a well‑known fact that the main
province experiencing population growth right today is the
Mr. Speaker, after
Mr. Alcock: In fact, Mr. Speaker,
the losses in manufacturing are greater than average.
Education and Retraining Programs
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): Mr. Speaker,
I would like to ask the Finance minister how his policies in education to
remove money from education and training in this province square with his
vision of opportunities for all Manitobans.
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, the member opposite says that they are my
policies. I would remind, under the
parliamentary system, Executive Council is given the responsibility of making
decisions with respect to budgetary matters.
I invite the member, once I bring down the budget, and
that probably will not be in the month of March unfortunately, but I invite the
member to balance all of the decisions that will be made in the area of
education with all of the other decisions being made in all of the other
departments, and I would say to him, he would acknowledge that there would be
tremendous balance with respect to all the decisions made in government that
will be presented when the budget is brought forward.
School Divisions
Clinician Funding
Mr. John Plohman (Dauphin):
Mr. Speaker, last week we asked the Minister of Education about cuts of
nearly 70 speech pathologists, child psychologists and staff at the Diagnostic
Support Centre which would affect the most vulnerable children in our
communities.
The minister's position was that a $45,000 grant for 700
students would enable divisions to hire their own clinicians and that services
would not be affected.
Mr. Speaker, since the Manitoba Speech and Hearing
Association has written in a recent letter, and I quote: Ms. Vodrey stated that the layoffs at the
Child Care and Development Branch will not affect services. We believe this is highly erroneous.
In other words, this minister was not telling the truth
in this House, Mr. Speaker.
I want to ask the minister‑‑
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Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I would ask the honourable member for Dauphin
to withdraw that remark and to rephrase his question.
Mr. Plohman: Mr. Speaker, I will certainly
withdraw that.
Mr. Speaker: I would like to
thank the honourable member for Dauphin.
Mr. Plohman: My interpretation of
it is not relevant here, of those words.
I want to ask the minister whether she will now admit
that hard‑pressed school divisions will be unable to meet the required
service levels and that in fact the information that she gave to the House was
not accurate last week.
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Education and Training): Mr. Speaker, we have included within our ed
funding finance model a provision for the hiring of clinicians within divisions
because we recognized from the very beginning their importance to education for
special needs young people, in fact all young people.
The member may not know that there are many young people
in school who receive clinician services for a short or a longer period of
time.
The member perhaps was not listening last week when I let
him know, and when I let the House know and let the people of
Mr. Plohman: Mr. Speaker, the minister has not
allowed for any operating funds. There
will be at least another $30,000 for clinician costs to divisions, an
offloading of over $2 million by this Minister of Finance (Mr. Manness) on hard‑pressed
divisions.
I want to ask the Minister of Finance how he can claim
that this government is making decisions based on cost‑effectiveness when
it is obvious that the cost to the school divisions to hire these clinicians,
who do not have the economies of scale that the province would have with the
larger numbers, they will not be able to afford these and that there will be
extremely larger costs to the school divisions.
Will the Minister of Finance justify those kinds of
decisions?
Mrs. Vodrey: The member is not
very familiar with our school funding formula, so let me provide him with some
instructions. In that school funding formula, the grant provides for both the funds
to pay the salary operating dollars and also the administrative dollars. That has now been rolled into one grant.
Mr. Plohman: Will this minister
of privilege now admit that this‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I would remind the honourable member for
Dauphin to refer to all honourable members as the honourable member for their
constituency or the honourable Minister of Education and Training, whatever the
responsibility.
Mr. Plohman: Mr. Speaker, will this privileged
Minister of Education now admit that this ill‑conceived decision for the
people of
Mrs. Vodrey: I said on the first day that we
discussed this, there are already 10 rural school divisions, and one of them is
the member for Thompson's (Mr. Ashton) school division, which are currently
operating with their own clinician support, and they did not rely on the
Department of Education to hire their clinicians. What we have done through this is to, through
our clinician grant, allow individual school divisions then to hire their
clinicians.
By doing so, they will then have the control and be able
to provide the direction to their clinicians.
But I will also remind the member that we in the Department of Education
will still provide support. We will
still provide the supervision support for the certification of clinicians, and
that under our current formula, it will allow school divisions to hire more
clinicians than previously through our department.
The member disputes the truth. That is true, and also, Mr. Speaker,
divisions may decide‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I would like to remind the honourable
minister that answers to questions should be as brief as possible.
Essential Services
Reduced Workweek
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): There is growing confusion about exactly what
this government is doing in terms of public services in this province,
particularly in regard to the enforced 10 days with leave and closure policy
that this government is bringing in, in terms of public services.
We saw yesterday, for example, that the
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Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Labour):
Mr. Speaker, as we announced at the time of the announcement of the reduced
workweek program, we would be asking each department to develop models within
their departments for the delivery of service, although the general model was
to go to the Friday and Christmas closure period.
That work is currently underway in each department, and
we will be able to make announcements closer to the time that the reduced
workweek actually comes into effect.
Mr. Ashton: In other words, the
government does not know yet.
Crown Corporations
Reduced Workweek
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson):
In terms of Crown corporations, since I asked questions on Hydro and MTS
on Friday, I would like to ask the minister responsible for the Liquor Control
Commission (Mrs. McIntosh), how are they going to enforce this 10‑day‑off
policy. For example, are they going to
be closing liquor stores for 10 days over the summer, Mr. Speaker, or do they
not know what they are doing yet?
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Labour): You know, if we had announced all the details
of the plan at the moment, the member for Thompson would have accused us of not
consulting with departments or applying common sense.
Mr. Speaker, we announced a principle. We have plenty of time in which to make it
operational. We are consulting in
departments; plans are being developed.
The same rule applies to Crown corporations. They are in the process of developing plans
in their own operations, and those will be announced in due course.
Mr. Ashton: Mr. Speaker, so the
same rules are being applied so, I take it, when it comes to liquor commissions,
they will not be closed on Friday if they are considered an essential
service. I still do not have an answer.
Civil Service Layoff Statistics
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): I would like to ask another question, final
question, Mr. Speaker, of the minister.
I would like to ask: What is the
sum total of positions that this government is eliminating? We have already received the announcement of
290, and we have seen the additional 66 clinicians. What is the total number of positions and
services that those positions were going to be providing, that are going to be
eliminated from the provincial Civil Service this year? What is the bottom
line?
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Labour): Mr. Speaker, first of all, again, the member
for Thompson somehow sees that it is a terrible process that we would go to
Crown corporations and ask them to develop plans and models. Obviously, we want to avoid the situation
where there is not common sense, applied in the case of the Liquor Commission,
other Crown corporations that are revenue generating, and they are developing
those models.
With respect to this year's budget, notice was already
provided, and that is an old story of approximately 300 individuals who would
be affected by this year's budget. In terms
of number of positions, for that he will have to wait for the budget, but I
would remind honourable members, we have had 400 applications to VSIP, and the
matching process is underway. So the number of people actually affected will
not be known yet.
* * *
Mr. Speaker: The honourable
Minister of Justice, responding to a question taken as notice?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Justice and Attorney
General): Yes, Mr.
Speaker.
I rise today again to correct some false information put
on the record by the honourable member for St. James (Mr. Edwards). I have been
asking him for five years not to do this‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Is the honourable minister responding to a
question that he took as notice? [interjection! Yes. The honourable minister will get to the
point.
Point of Order
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Second Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, I do not recall hearing the
minister saying that he was taking as notice, and I would ask him, which
question is it that he is responding to.
Maybe he should have made a ministerial statement.
Mr. Speaker: On the point of order
raised by the honourable member for
Mr. McCrae: On the point of
order, yesterday the honourable member asked some questions about temporary
absences. I said that I have to be
careful with this honourable member and that I would check the facts and report,
and here I am ready to go.
Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader):
Let us not be too cute with the words that are used. The minister did not take the question as
notice, and that is the only way in which he may rise now to add additional
information. If he wants to get into
debate with the member for St. James about this particular issue, there are
other opportunities, Mr. Speaker, but he should not waste the time in Question
Period.
Mr. McCrae: On the same point of
order, I will cease and desist if honourable members do not want the correct
information.
Mr. Speaker: I was recognizing the
honourable minister because I thought he was responding to a question taken as
notice.
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Domestic Abusers
Discretionary Passes
Mr. Paul Edwards (St. James): Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no fear of
placing a question to the Minister of Justice, never have and I doubt ever
will.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I raised with the minister his
failure to follow through on his spoken commitment to get tough with domestic
assault. I want to raise another
representative case with the minister today.
Mr. Randall Jeffrey McLean was convicted on September 17,
1992, for assaulting his partner with a weapon causing bodily harm. He was convicted at the same time for three
theft offences and given a 12‑month sentence. Five months into his sentence he received a
discretionary 90‑day, unescorted, temporary absence‑‑unescorted,
I emphasize. After that 90 days, of
course, two‑thirds of his sentence being up, according to statute he was
automatically on parole, effectively meaning that seven out of 12 months were
free and clear.
Mr. Speaker, my question to the minister is: Why are discretionary temporary absences
being given in these cases of serious domestic violence, essentially to hustle
convicts out the back door of Headingley Jail?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Justice and Attorney
General): Mr.
Speaker, the honourable member's question is about temporary absences, so I
would like to point out that yesterday he made reference to 108 temporary
absences given to inmates as of February 23.
The member then stated that of the 108, 47 failed to show up at the
community release centre. Well, the
member is clearly wrong.
In fact, for the months of January and February of this
year, a total of 97 irregular temporary absences and 92 intermittent temporary
absences were given out. Out of this
total figure of 189, five individuals either failed to show up or committed
another crime.
I suggest the honourable member‑‑I have done
it for five years and I am asking him again, get your‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Point of Order
Mr. Edwards: Mr. Speaker, on a
point of order, I am shocked that the minister knows so little about the
department that he runs. People do not report to the community release
centre. They report to Headingley Jail‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for St. James clearly
does not have a point of order.
* * *
Mr. Edwards: Mr. Speaker, again
for the same minister, I would like him to answer this question, which I will
pose again, albeit, slightly differently.
Why was Mr. McLean given a 90‑day unescorted pass
when he had committed another assault to cause bodily harm in 1990, violated a
probation order in 1989, had to be transferred to Headingley from Milner Ridge
after three weeks "because he was experiencing problems with authority
figures"? The police were opposed
to his release. The female victim was
not even contacted. Her mother said she
did not want him released because he was a threat to the family‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Does the honourable member for St. James have
a question? Kindly put your question.
Mr. Edwards: Why was he
released? There was nothing going for
this guy. Why was he released?
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Is this an appeal court?
Mr. McCrae: That is a good question. The honourable Leader of the Opposition asks
if this is the appeal court, and I really wonder sometimes.
Mr. Speaker, again, the honourable member has brought
forward a whole bunch of information, and past experience just instinctively
tells me, check it out before you get brought into it with this honourable
member.
He says that I, of all people, should know that they are
supposed to report to Headingley Jail.
Well I, of all people, know that they are supposed to report. Where they are supposed to report is where
they are told to report. It is either at
Headingley, it is either at a community release centre or the job site.
He, the honourable member, and a lot of other people
suggest: Why do you not make prisoners
work? Well, we do, Mr. Speaker. They report to the work sites. The honourable member, of course, would not
grab on to that concept, because he thinks they should throw them in the can
and just leave them there and hope they get better. It does not work that way.
Mr. Edwards: Finally, for the same
minister, Mr. Speaker. Why was Mr.
McLean given a temporary absence in view of the fact that he failed nine out of
10 of the listed criteria in the government's temporary absence policy? The nature of the offence and impact on the
victim failed, criminal history failed‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has put his question.
Mr. McCrae: Mr. Speaker, it is
clear that there are going to be staff at places like Headingley who are going
to feel an impact when populations are low or when absence programs are working
and not keeping people in the jails. We
are not going to need as many staff. I
know that staff make complaints to members like the honourable member for St.
James and people like Donald Campbell in the Winnipeg Free Press. They go running to those kinds of people to
get their message out. The point is the
policy in corrections is not only progressive, but it also works, and that is
what we are about.
Repap Manitoba Inc.
Negotiation Deadline
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister
of Finance, and it has to do with the government's stated promise that it would
finally get aggressive and complete a deal with Repap, a deal that would
benefit northern Manitoba and, of course, the firm itself. Last year the Minister of Finance announced a
series of final deadlines only to keep postponing them.
My question is:
Does the minister now have a final deadline by which he will be
completing these negotiations with Repap?
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): I thank the member for the question. I take it that he is supportive of Repap and
he would like to see the major projects proceed, Mr. Speaker, and I would ask
that he try and convince his colleagues also to come aboard.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated last fall and as Repap
indicated, there will not be major expansion over the course of the next year
and a half. The government of the time
has served notice to Repap that we will take as our option and our right, an
opportunity to find a venture capitalist or somebody who will partnership with
Repap, given that they have tremendous financial problems to the extent they
cannot borrow billions of dollars today.
We therefore will give ourselves the opportunity to help find
capital. If we find capital and the
company chooses not to proceed, then we will make a decision at that time.
Government Priority
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): Mr. Speaker, my question is again for the
Minister of Finance.
Given that the Repap takeover announcement was made four
years ago this week and the same minister announced over a year ago that the
province was restructuring a deal, residents of The Pas are not prepared to
stand by and wait for this minister to act, Mr. Speaker. Why is this minister not putting a higher
priority on this issue at a time when people in northern
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, the member's assertion is
wrong. We put a very high priority on
The Pas development. Let me say, and I
know the member is fully aware of this, but this industry has lost upwards of
$3.5 billion over the course of the last two years. There has been incredible consolidation
within this industry throughout
What we have is we have an operation that is on the
margin financially but is still employing several hundreds of people. The
sawmill today is producing well. As a
matter of fact, it is providing, basically, the only net cash flow to Repap and
its whole chain of plants throughout
So I say to the member, Mr. Speaker, we want that
development as badly as the residents of northern Manitoba, particularly The
Pas region, but I also say at least we have in place a plant which is covering
its own variable costs. As I talk to Mr.
Kass of Repap he tells me that, in its whole battery of plants, indeed is the
one shining light. That is how difficult
the circumstances are within that industry across
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Mr. Lathlin: My final question is
again to the Minister of Finance (Mr. Manness).
Given that there are encouraging signs in wood prices, could I ask this
minister to take the initiative along with his colleagues in government to work
full out to get the deal restructured so that northerners, particularly those
residents who are directly affected by the plant, can go ahead on the basis knowing
that their jobs are secure?
Mr. Manness: We have been working more or less
full out over the last two years to try and restructure the deal, but I remind
the member there is not a lending institution in the land today who will put up
$1 billion, not one who will put it up unless all the environmental processes
are in place, unless the native land issues are dealt with.
I say to the member, I have not seen a community‑‑when
I say community I say this in the broadest sense‑‑willingness to
work hand‑in‑hand with the government in a lot of respects to try
and address these problems, but if they were addressed tomorrow I say to the
member still, finding this capital, this $1 billion‑plus today would not
be an easy matter.
That industry is going through tremendous consolidation
at this point in time, so if we can just continue to see that plant operate
more or less at full production over the course of the next year, the
government will continue to try and find the sources of capital.
We will also try and more fully measure and quantify the
resource because that has to be done as we work towards the expansion that we
all want.
Video Lottery Terminals
Revenue Investment
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
Well in excess of $30 million has been collected out of
the rural economy, and only a small fraction of that has been returned into the
rural economy.
My question to the government, any minister who has the
integrity to live up to a commitment that they made, the question is: Why has this government misled rural
Manitobans?
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Mr. Speaker, unlike the party which the member
is trying to represent in the upcoming leadership, we do have people who truly
represent rural
Mr. Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, this
government has not lived up to the commitment.
That is the problem.
Video Lottery Terminals
Revenue Investment
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
Did the Minister of Family Services indicate to at least
one organization that the government does not know what it is going to be
doing, that in fact it could go‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has put his question.
Hon. Clayton Manness (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, let me answer that question and
say yes. There is a good probability
that some measure of the VLTs this year will go to deficit reduction.
Mr. Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker,
significant, in the sense now we have a change in government policy. Finally, the government is being honest. They are saying that VLT revenues are not
just for rural economic development.
Video Lottery Terminals
Revenue Investment
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (