LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY OF
Wednesday,
March 24, 1993
The House met at 1:30
p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE
PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING
PETITIONS
Mr. Gregory Dewar
(Selkirk): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
Sheila Inman, Sharon Anderson, Gwen Duguid and others, requesting the Family
Services minister (Mr. Gilleshammer) consider restoring funding for the
friendship centres in
Mr. George Hickes (Point
Douglas): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
Olga McIvor, Lawrence Campbell, Brian Beauchamp and others requesting the
Family Services minister (Mr. Gilleshammer) consider restoring funding for the
friendship centres in
* * *
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
V. Gregg, L. Friesen, F. Kozak and others requesting the Minister of Labour
(Mr. Praznik) to consider holding public hearings on wide‑open Sunday
shopping throughout
* * *
Mr. Clif Evans
(Interlake): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
Frederick Harper, Cory Henderson, Elaine Marko and others requesting the Family
Services minister (Mr. Gilleshammer) consider restoring funding for the
friendship centres in
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member (Mr. Storie), and it complies with the privileges and the
practices of the House and it complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the
petition read? [agreed]
Mr. Clerk (William
Remnant): The petition of the undersigned citizens of
the
WHEREAS the United Nations has declared
1993 the International Year of the World's Indigenous People with the theme,
"Indigenous People: a new
partnership"; and
WHEREAS the provincial government has
totally discontinued funding to all friendship centres; and
WHEREAS the provincial government has
stated that these cuts mirror the federal cuts; and
WHEREAS the elimination of all funding to
friendship centres will result in the loss of many jobs as well as the services
and programs provided, such as:
assistance to the elderly, the homeless, youth programming, the socially
disadvantaged, families in crisis, education, recreation and cultural
programming, housing relocation, fine options, counselling, court assistance, advocacy;
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislative Assembly of
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable
member (Mr. Clif Evans), and it complies with the privileges and the practices
of the House and it complies with the rules.
Is it the will of the House to have the petition read? [agreed]
Mr. Clerk: The petition of undersigned citizens of the
WHEREAS the United Nations has declared
1993 the International Year of the World's Indigenous People with the theme,
"Indigenous People: a new
partnership"; and
WHEREAS the provincial government has
totally discontinued funding to all friendship centres; and
WHEREAS the provincial government has
stated that these cuts mirror the federal cuts; and
WHEREAS the elimination of all funding to
friendship centres will result in the loss of many jobs as well as the services
and programs provided, such as:
assistance to the elderly, the homeless, youth programming, the socially
disadvantaged, families in crisis, education, recreation and cultural
programming, housing relocation, fine options, counselling, court assistance,
advocacy;
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray
that the Legislative Assembly of
TABLING OF
REPORTS
Hon. Darren Praznik
(Minister responsible for The Civil Service Superannuation Act): Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the 1992
Annual Report of the
Introduction
of Guests
Mr. Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the
attention of honourable members to the gallery, where we have with us this
afternoon from the
Also this afternoon, we have, from the
Inkster Seniors Luncheon Club, 50 seniors under the direction of Mary Deibert.
This institution is located in the constituency of the honourable member for
Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak).
On behalf of all honourable members, I
would like to welcome you here this afternoon.
* (1335)
ORAL
QUESTION PERIOD
Government
Relationship
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, we have been asking the First
Minister for the last week and a half questions about the decisions that have
been made by his government, dealing with volunteer groups and organizations
and Manitobans dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Mr. Speaker, today on the steps of the
Legislature, the member for Osborne (Mr. Alcock) made some very interesting
points about the number of kids who used to be in institutional care. Over a
thousand kids were in high‑cost institutional care 10 years ago. Under changes that were made to foster
parents and the kind of supports put in for foster parents and children, that
number has been reduced to under 200 in terms of acute institutional care,
whereas the foster kids have increased by up to about 2,500. Those numbers are consistent with our
material in the same area, that having a good foster parents system, with
strong supports, is good in terms of the emotional care for those children and
is very, very sound economically for the province, which is the ultimate
guardian for those children.
Yesterday, the Premier stated that foster
parents can be replaced, Mr. Speaker.
Now this, we believe, is not the tone to arrive at an agreement with the
very vital‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Point of
Order
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): I know that the member opposite would not
want to leave on the record something that is patently untrue. Mr. Speaker, he has stated something that has
never been stated by me throughout any of my discussions with respect to the
foster parent issue.
I ask him to read Hansard, in which I
say: " . . . there are many, many
Manitobans who love and care for children and who will continue to provide that
service for the funding that is available."
At no time in my remarks did I say that
they could be replaced, and I would ask him not to continue with that
falsehood.
Mr. Speaker: The honourable First Minister does not have a
point of order. It was a dispute over
the facts.
* * *
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, I would refer the Premier to
many, many media statements yesterday and today, and let me‑‑
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Premier why, in
his comments about what he said in Hansard, he did not read out: "I regret the attitude that has been
taken by the foster parents' association, but we will indeed find foster care .
. . ."
He only read the rest of his sentence, Mr.
Speaker. The bottom line‑‑and
I accept the Premier's words, but what he has said to the foster parents of
I would ask the Premier to meet in
partnership with the foster parents' association and get a long‑term
agreement with the foster parents' association rather than having this
confrontation and rhetoric between the Premier and the foster parents of
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, one of the first issues that we
as government were confronted with in 1988 was the woefully low and inadequate
rates that were paid to foster parents in the province of
We, in consultation with them over the
space of the last five years, have increased not only the rates to foster
parents but indeed the special payments that allowed for children who had been
previously institutionalized to be cared for because of substantial increase in
the special needs rates that were built into those. Even the basic rates were increased so
dramatically that today they are, even with the reduction that is being
protested, third highest in the country, because we care about the work of
foster parents. We care about the
contribution they make, and we care about the needs that are there for the
children.
I repeat, this is the
Foster
Families
Rate
Negotiations
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of
the Opposition): Mr. Speaker, the Premier did not answer the
question. I asked the Premier whether he
would lower his rhetoric, lower his confrontation, lower his unilateral action
and meet in partnership with the foster parents' association of
Will the Premier agree to meet and
negotiate with the foster parents' association, negotiate with those people in
a partnership way, Mr. Speaker, rather than the unilateral, confrontational
approach that this government is taking with those very vital services for
Manitobans?
* (1340)
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, it is not I who is engaging in
rhetoric or confrontation. It is not I
who is threatening that foster parents will withdraw services. It is not I who is talking about hotels and
other accommodation. It is the Leader of
the Opposition who is fomenting that discontent and who is using that
exaggerated rhetoric and indeed that confrontational approach. I have never had that approach.
It is I and my government who met before
to settle the problems that were left for us by the New Democrats and who
entered into an agreement to raise the rates to levels that are now more than
comparable, in fact, well above those rates that are paid by most other
provinces in
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, my question to the Premier
is: Why will he not meet and have a
partnership? Is "partnership"
rhetoric? Partnership is vital for foster parents.
We are just asking the Premier to sit down
with the foster parents' association and the foster parents of this province to
try to have a partnership for our children, because it is absolutely essential
that we not have confrontation between the Premier and the foster parents'
association, as we see right now in this province. [interjection] Well, the
government's own officials are now talking about the need for receiving homes,
hotels and other short‑term crisis measures rather than having the long‑term
emotional care which is much more cost‑effective for all of us than what
we have in place now.
So I would ask the Premier again: Yes or no, will he sit down with the foster
parents' association of
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I am not ignoring the association. We have a minister responsible for Family
Services who is responsible for the liaison and the dialogue with this
organization, as he is with any other organization that comes under the
responsibility of his ministry. That is
the term of minister responsible. He is
responsible for those areas.
In addition to that, of course, I will say
that if the purpose of the meeting is simply to increase rates at a time when
we do not have the resources to do that, Mr. Speaker, that will not‑‑
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we are
paying rates that are the third highest in
* (1345)
Department
of Family Services
Reduced
Workweek
Mr. Doug Martindale
(Burrows): Mr. Speaker, we have the budget of the
Department of Family Services. We see
that there is an increase in salaries while at the same time there is a
decrease in maintenance of children and external agencies of over $3
million. I believe this budget is not
well thought out. The staff are already
overworked. They have very high
caseloads, and studies show that they are 200 percent understaffed. Child and Family Services staff, because of a
decision and a bill coming in by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Manness), may be
forced to take 10 days off like other civil servants.
I would like to ask the Minister of Family
Services if he has thought through and if he has a rational plan for deciding
how to deliver services to children and families with fewer staff working fewer
hours with high caseloads that they are having difficulty meeting now. What is your plan? How are you going to do it?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, last week I met with the board chairs and the executive directors of
the Winnipeg Child and Family Services agencies,. the central
Budget
Decisions
Mr. Doug Martindale
(Burrows): Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell the House
how and where he plans to save $3 million on the maintenance of children when
there have been changes to child care fees, to nursery school fees, the
elimination of funding to the foster parent association, the Indian and Metis
friendship centres and MAPO, all of which are providing preventative services,
resources in the community, all of which are provided more cheaply, all of
which keep children out of care?
How does this minister plan to save money
when the alternative is better than taking children into care?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr. Speaker,
we have indicated, in comments following the announcement that the Finance
minister made two weeks ago on some of the budget decisions, that we will work
with the communities to maintain the vital services that these organizations
perform‑‑and that your Leader has indicated the difficult decisions
and difficult choices that all governments have to make. We have made those choices where they will
not impact directly on the services provided for children.
Mr. Martindale: Mr. Speaker, I am afraid that all of these
decisions are going to negatively impact on the lives of children. How does this minister plan to meet the needs
of children and cut the budget when the decisions of this government will
increase the cost, as children will be staying in care longer because, for
example, the courts may be closed on Friday, so children will be staying in
care over the weekend? Fewer parents
will be‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
The honourable member has put his question.
Mr. Gilleshammer: I am pleased that the member wants to get into
the Budget Debate, and that is precisely why we presented that information here
in the House last week. I indicated in
my first answer that in meeting with the chairpeople of the Child and Family
Services agencies and the executive directors, they felt that they could work
with us to resolve some of the issues around salary for the staff who work
there and some of our other budget decisions and continue to have a very good
workable system here in
Foster
Families
Rate
Negotiations
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs
(Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr.
Speaker, my question is for the Premier.
I am going to quote from the Premier's own
words of August 24, 1988: "We are
providing an increase that will give foster parents of
My question to the Premier is: If he thought it was a good step in the right
direction in 1988 because it was cost‑effective as well as it was quality
care, why has he changed his mind?
* (1350)
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): I have not changed my mind. The fact is that we have raised the rates to
the level now where they do meet those needs that were not met before under the
New Democrats. Now, Mr. Speaker, we are
in a situation where, for a province whose cost of living is eighth highest in
the country, we are providing support that has them at the third highest in the
country. That is a reasonable balance;
that is a reasonable approach.
In addition to all of the increases that
have been made over the past five years, budget after budget, to foster care
rates, we have also increased special needs rates as well, and that provides
for the kind of support that we believe appropriate today and is a vastly
different situation than that which I was speaking about in 1988 on August 24.
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs
(Leader of the Second Opposition): He was taking
pride in the fact that he thought his government was in the upper levels, in
the second place he talked about. He is
now quite deliberately making them third place, and he says that is good
enough.
Interestingly enough, if you listen to the
foster parents out there today, their major concern was not about per
diems. Their major concern was about
their association which provides them with support. Now if the Premier is in a tight financial
squeeze, why has he chosen to take away from these foster families the only
support they have, which is the Manitoba Foster Family Association?
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Now, Mr. Speaker, we have a different approach
being taken by the Leader of the Liberal Party.
She is now talking that the priority is not care of the children, it is
care of the association.
Point of
Order
Mrs. Carstairs: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, the Premier
knows full well that that was not the question I asked him. The question I asked him very clearly was why
has he taken away the support of these parents.
Mr. Speaker: The honourable Leader of the second opposition
party does not have a point of order. It
is clearly a dispute over the facts.
* * *
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, we are and continue to be concerned
to ensure that the rates that are paid are sufficient to meet the needs of
caring for the children. That is our
first priority. That is what I have been speaking about in my answers to
previous questions.
I note that in today's Winnipeg Free
Press, or perhaps it was yesterday's‑‑no it was today's, Mr.
Speaker‑‑it lists the various functions of the foster parents'
association. It lists five of them. The first one is advocacy for foster parents
coping with false abuse. The second is
advocacy for foster parents in conflict with child welfare. The third is lobby group to negotiate with
province on reasonable rates. The fourth
is lobby group that negotiated the first damage compensation, and fifth is
training and education for foster parents.
It has already been said here in this
House, by the Minister of Family Services (Mr. Gilleshammer), that the funding
for training and education for foster parents‑‑special funding has
been earmarked for the Child and Family Services agencies, Mr. Speaker, to
ensure that that function is taken care of.
We are not talking about the care and the
nurturing of the children. We are
talking about advocacy and lobby as a priority over care of the children, in
the mind of the Leader of the Liberal Party.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, Child and Family Services,
according to the Detailed Estimates on Child and Family Support, has been
reduced from $96 million to $92 million.
That is $4 million less, not more money, less money‑‑more
tasks, more functions, less money.
Mr. Speaker, it is very clear to the
foster families that they need support.
They need to have an organization to which they can turn to support
their needs as foster families.
Why is this First Minister, along with his
government, taking away that one support they have that provides them with
counselling, training, accepts 700 to 1,000 calls per month from foster
families seeking assurance and seeking support?
Why is he taking that away from them?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, we have said before that those
supports for counselling and training are going to be available through the
Child and Family Services agencies in
* (1355)
Mr. Steve Ashton
(Thompson): Mr. Speaker, last week I did something the
Premier has refused to do. I spoke to
foster parents in northern
Today I went outside of this Legislature,
as did many MLAs, and I talked to some of the foster parents, people, some of
whom were foster kids themselves, who are extremely concerned about what this
government is doing, former foster kids who are now foster parents. It is hard to express to the Premier the
sense of betrayal, Mr. Speaker, the anger of people who found out from the
media last week that not only were rates being cut to foster kids, but the
association which they have worked so hard to support has had its funding
eliminated.
I would like to just ask one question to
the Premier, and that is: When will he
end the emotional blackmail that is clearly the tactic of this government, Mr.
Speaker, stop the cuts to the Manitoba Foster Family Association and sit down
and work in partnership with foster families in
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): Mr. Speaker, I know that it is all well and
good from their position of irresponsibility for members of the New Democratic
party who, when they were in government, starved foster families in this
province and now, in their hypocritical fashion, try and take on the mantle of
being the champion of the foster families.
Mr. Speaker, that kind of lack of
credibility is why the opposition party is where it is, because they have no
integrity, they have no accountability and they have no credibility to be able
to make that kind of statement.
It is this government that increased the
rates of foster parents to the point that they are now third highest in the
country. It is this government that
remains committed to paying rates that are fair and reasonable to the foster
families of this province.
Mr. Ashton: This talk about integrity, Mr. Speaker, from a
government that silences groups that have the nerve to lobby and advocate and
express the views of the people they represent, he has no business lecturing us
on integrity.
Foster
Families
Rate
Reduction
Mr. Steve Ashton
(Thompson): I want to ask a very specific question on
rates. I want to ask the Premier. He is asking foster parents to take two bucks
per diem away from children. I have a
list here of the specific breakdown of where the funding goes. It does not go to foster parents; it goes to foster
kids.
I would like to ask where the Premier is
saying that $2 should be taken from.
Should it be from food, should it be from health and personal care,
should it be replacement clothing? Where do the foster parents take that $2 a
day away from the foster kids, that this government is dictating they do?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, the funding that is provided in other provinces is far less than is
provided for foster parents in
Mr. Ashton: Mr. Speaker, the minister does not
understand. He talks about this being
tax free. It is not an income to foster
parents.
I ask the same question again, because the
foster parents want an answer. Where do
they take the $2‑a‑day cut from?
What do they cut out that they are currently providing to the foster
kids. What do they cut? Food, health care, what do they cut?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, those funds flow as a lump sum
to the foster parent, and the foster parent will have the discretion to make
whatever adjustments are required to provide for that child within that global
funding that is provided.
* (1400)
Child Care
Services Funding
Ms. Judy Wasylycia-Leis
(St. Johns): You will be interested to know, Mr. Speaker,
that the Canadian Council on Social Development noted in a recent report that
perhaps the greatest impediment to employment outside the home is the lack of
affordable, accessible and flexible child care options for low income and
moderate income individuals, and that the lack of child care is the No. 1
barrier to self‑reliance for sole‑support parents receiving social
assistance.
So what does this government do, Mr.
Speaker? It brings in cutbacks to child
care that in fact act as barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment and
barriers to being self‑reliant as opposed to being on social assistance.
I want to ask this government: Why would it introduce child care cutbacks
and a policy that will actually result in increased unemployment, increased
numbers on social assistance and increased poverty?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, last fall I had the privilege and pleasure of being at a national
daycare conference in
We have the lowest turnover rate, and the
convention recognizes that
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis: We do not expect the government to understand
the human impact of its cutbacks, but we would hope it would have some economic
rationale for its decisions.
I want to ask the minister then, because
we would assume that there was some kind of study done before embarking upon
these kind of cutbacks: Will the
minister table for the benefit of this House and all Manitobans the impact
study done of its cutbacks to daycare showing how many centres might be forced
to close, how many students would have to give up education and training
programs, how many low income earners would be added to welfare rolls and how
many more children will be forced into poverty?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, the impact is that the funding
that is reduced in the grant level is replaced in the increased subsidies, and
we have asked parents who have subsidized children in care to pay $1.40 a day
for that care. Government provides, in
some cases, $7,000 or $8,000 for an individual child. Sometimes it is $12,000
to $15,000 per family to look after those children who are in care.
We have 10,000 subsidized spaces where the
government pays substantial amounts. In
this province alone, the amount dedicated to daycare has gone from around $26
million in 1988 to over $50 million this current budget year. Our commitment has been substantial. We have put millions and millions of dollars
into daycare, and we still maintain the highest standards of any daycare
operation in this country.
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis: I am wondering if the minister is aware that
the percentage of families in
I want to ask him: Is this government intent on cutting daycare
to the point where one spouse of every two‑earner low income family may
be forced out of the paid labour force, which would result in doubling the
poverty rate and the number of poor families in
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, that 100 percent increase in
funding that daycare has seen over the last five years has created additional
spaces in daycare homes and in daycare centres.
It has allowed more and more people to access subsidies in this
province. We have over 10,000 children
now who are in subsidized spaces in daycare.
I would point out to you that our $50
million is a tremendous commitment on the part of this government towards
daycare, three times what the
Parental
Support
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne):
When you voluntarily take into your home‑‑Mr. Speaker, I
would ask the Premier to listen to this‑‑an abused child, you place
yourself and your entire family at risk.
The number of people willing to foster has
nearly doubled since the
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Premier
that question: Who protects the parents?
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
The honourable member has put his question.
Hon. Gary Filmon
(Premier): As someone who has been a foster parent
himself, I can tell the member for Osborne, I do not need to be lectured to
about what foster parents do for children.
In his very political and sanctimonious way, Mr. Speaker, I think he is
denigrating the debate on this issue.
There continue to be avenues for‑‑
Some Honourable Members:
Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I will let the member ask his next
question.
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, the Premier is not the only
person who has fostered in this province.
The people who do foster in this province are saying: It is not about rates; you can negotiate with
us. It is about support; it is about
protection; it is about training. We are
prepared to put ourselves at risk, but we need support.
I ask the Premier: Who provides that support now that he has cut
the association?
Mr. Filmon: As I have indicated before, funds have been
specifically earmarked with Child and Family Services agencies to be able to
provide‑‑[interjection] Mr. Speaker, if the member wants me to
answer the question, let him listen instead of interrupting like a bully.
[interjection] He finds it funny. Maybe because he is now the big federal
candidate for the Liberal Party, he thinks he can get away with anything. The fact of the matter is‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Point of
Order
Mr. Steve Ashton
(Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, I do
not think it is particularly relevant to refer to any member in terms of any
other aspirations they may have, but it is particularly not appropriate for the
Premier to talk about a member being a bully.
Let us deal with straightforward questions and answers in Question
Period and cut that kind of‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member does not have a point
of order.
* * *
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, there is
money provided and specifically earmarked to Child and Family Services agencies
for the training functions and the counselling functions with respect to
questions. There will continue to be funding
provided for liability insurance, for Legal Aid assistance programs, for damage
compensation plans. There will continue
to be support provided for the various functions to foster families, and there
is in fact a Child Advocate within the
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, the Premier missed the point in
'88, and he missed it again now. The
list he read off, the thing he took exception to in his first question was
advocacy. Advocacy, in this instance,
means protection. It is not training
support.
Who provides that when the agencies are in
conflict with the interests of the foster parents?
* (1410)
Mr. Filmon: I gave him the answer to that question in the
last one. [interjection] Yes, I did.
Flin
Flon/Creighton Crisis Centre
Meeting
Request
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, it is not only foster parents or
friendship centres or daycares that are under attack. The Minister of Family
Services announced some two weeks ago now that the crisis centre, the only
crisis centre in the province that has had its funding completely withdrawn,
will be closing.
My question is to the Minister of Family
Services. Will the minister attend with
me a public meeting dealing with the crisis that the community of Flin Flon,
the women of Flin Flon, abused and potentially abused families in Flin Flon are
going to have when this crisis centre closes at the end of this month?
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, I indicated in questions on this topic last week that we are looking
at a delivery system on a regional basis for Family Dispute Services. We have been in touch with, not only staff
from within our department of Family Dispute, but also the shelter directors
association. We feel that while there
will be reduced access in the immediate Flin Flon area‑‑and we have
also alerted the Province of Saskatchewan, who were the primary users of that
shelter‑‑there are services available. I also indicated to the member that the RCMP
have enhanced services there to make the connection with the shelter at The Pas
for anyone in need of those services.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, the minister has been told in no
uncertain terms that that is nonsense.
Mr. Speaker, my question: Will the minister now come and explain to the
families who may be in crisis, to the women whose lives may be in jeopardy the
rationale for the closing of the Flin Flon/Creighton Crisis Centre? Will he explain to the women in that
community how they are going to access services some two hours away?
Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Speaker, one of the member's colleagues
invited me to go to The Pas today on another issue, and because of cabinet and
because of meetings here with the Foster Family Association at noon, I was not
able to do that. If I am not able to go,
we will have staff attend that.
Flin
Flon/Creighton Crisis Centre
Meeting
Request
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin
Flon): Mr. Speaker, my final question is to the
Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
This government has announced a zero
tolerance policy when it comes to abuse.
This government talks a great deal about the need for protecting
families who are victims of violence.
Will the Minister responsible for the
Status of Women attend the meeting in Flin Flon to explain to the families and
the women who may fear for their lives and the safety of their children how
this closure is going to protect women in that community?
Hon. Bonnie Mitchelson
(Minister responsible for the Status of Women): Mr. Speaker, this government has great
concern about the safety of women and indeed children throughout the
As the Minister of Family Services (Mr.
Gilleshammer) has indicated, we have had to make some very difficult decisions.
The shelter in Flin Flon/Creighton, in fact, that served the majority of women
from the
We have every confidence that we will
attempt in every way to ensure that the women in the Flin Flon and immediate
area are served through a regional process that has been put in place by the
Department of Family Services and the minister.
Point of
Order
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, does the
minister know where Flin Flon is? Can
the minister explain‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member does not have a point
of order.
* * *
Mrs. Mitchelson: Mr. Speaker, I believe I probably visited Flin
Flon more recently than the member who represents the area.
Street
Kids and Youth Program
Alternative
Programs
Ms. Marianne Cerilli
(Radisson): Mr. Speaker, this government does not seem to
understand that the less support you have for foster families the more at‑risk
youth you are going to have, the more at‑risk youth on the streets. I have been asking questions of this
government related to the serious costs and problems of young people who are
out of work, out of school and living off the streets.
Today, I have the annual report from the
YMCA, which sponsors the Street Kids and Youth project, Mr. Speaker, which
shows that in 1991 there were 1,120 young people and in 1992 there were 6,600
young people who used the service of this agency, which this government is going
to allow to close.
My question, Mr. Speaker, is: How is this government going to meet the
needs of the ever‑increasing demand of the ever‑increasing number
of young people on the streets in
Hon. Harold Gilleshammer
(Minister of Family Services): Mr.
Speaker, by continuing to fund the many, many organizations which provide
services to street children, whether it is the Family Services agencies,
whether it is places like the Children's Home of Winnipeg, Rossbrook House and
others.
We are not in a position to take on
additional responsibilities that other funders have started and now see fit to
reduce that funding. We will continue to
fund many of the organizations that we have funded in the past to provide those
services.
Ms. Cerilli: Mr. Speaker, this government has the legal
responsibility‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Radisson has time
for one very short question.
Ms. Cerilli: Is this government telling the House that its
bottom‑line budgeting process is more important than its legal
responsibility to provide food, shelter and clothing for minors in the
Mr. Speaker: Time for Oral Questions has expired.
ORDERS OF
THE DAY
Hon. Clayton Manness (Governme