LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
Tuesday, May 11, 1993
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING PETITIONS
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Second Opposition):
Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Brad Brown, David
Jacobsen, Ruby Reedman and others urging the government of
* * *
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of
Don Sullivan, Reg Cumming, Harry Mesman and others requesting the Manitoba
Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings) ask for a cumulative basin‑wide
federal environmental review of the
* * *
Mr. John Plohman (Dauphin):
Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Teresa Reynolds, Sheryl
Bernstrom, Jill Terrick and others requesting the Minister of Health (Mr.
Orchard) consider restoring the Children's Dental Program to the level it was
prior to the 1993‑94 budget.
* * *
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the
petition of the honourable member (Ms. Friesen). It complies with the privileges and the
practices of the House and 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
WHEREAS over 1,000
young adults are currently attempting to get off welfare and upgrade their
education through the Student Social Allowances Program; and
WHEREAS
WHEREAS the
provincial government has already changed social assistance rules resulting in
increased welfare costs for the City of
WHEREAS the provincial
government is now proposing to eliminate the Student Social Allowances Program;
and
WHEREAS
eliminating the Student Social Allowances Program will result in more than a
thousand young people being forced onto city welfare with no means of getting further
full‑time education, resulting in more long‑term costs for city
taxpayers.
WHEREFORE your
petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of
* * *
Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the
honourable member (Ms. Wowchuk). It
complies with the privileges and the practices of the House and complies with
the rules. Is it the will of the House
to have the petition read? [agreed]
Mr. Clerk: The petition of the undersigned citizens of
the
WHEREAS the
Canadian Wheat Board has played a vital role in the orderly marketing of
Canadian wheat, barley and other grain products since its inception in 1935;
and
WHEREAS the
federal Minister of Agriculture is considering removing barley from the
jurisdiction of the Wheat Board; and
WHEREAS this is
another step towards dismantling the board; and
WHEREAS, as in the
case with the removal of oats from the Wheat Board in 1989, there has been no
consultation with the board of directors of the Wheat Board, with the 11‑member
advisory committee to the board or the producers themselves; and
WHEREAS the
federal minister has said that there will be no plebiscite of farmers before
the announcement is made.
WHEREFORE your
petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of
* (1335)
PRESENTING REPORTS BY STANDING AND
SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Mrs. Louise Dacquay (Chairperson of Committees):
Mr. Speaker, the Committee of Supply has adopted certain resolutions,
directs me to report the same and asks leave to sit again.
I move, seconded
by the honourable member for La Verendrye (Mr. Sveinson), that the report of
the committee be received.
Motion
agreed to.
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 25 visitors. There are 16 students from the Towa
On behalf of all
honourable members, I would like to welcome you here this afternoon.
ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
No-Fault Auto Insurance
Advertising Campaign
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): My question is to the Premier.
Mr. Speaker,
Manitobans have received material across the province dealing with no‑fault
insurance which is co‑sponsored by the
Mr. Speaker, last
week when we asked even the most minimal of questions in the House, the
minister told us to wait and he would produce information. The bill was not even tabled in this
House. So we found it very strange, if
not antiparliamentary, that the government would be proceeding to advertise on
a program that is not even introduced in legislation in this Chamber for
purposes of debate and passage by this House.
Does the Premier
feel it is appropriate that a Crown corporation will spend close to $100,000
advertising a program that requires legislation in this House which has not
even been introduced in this Chamber?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I find it very, very difficult
to accept the position of the member for Concordia (Mr. Doer) who, when he was
part of a government, spent millions of dollars of public money on advertising
on anything and everything going, all sorts of apple‑polishing ads to try
and improve the image of a failed government.
Indeed, they used Crown corporations like MPIC to try and fund their
public relations gimmicks.
This is not public
relations. This is a matter of having
the public understand what is the largest change that has taken place in over
20 years in the operations of the Public Insurance Corporation, an issue that
Manitobans‑‑and particularly
The corporation
and the minister, obviously, felt that it was important to spend, as I heard
him say, something under $100,000 to ensure that the public understood the
principles of what is going to be a sea change in the way in which they will be
covered for their automobile insurance.
Surely, he cannot
take issue with having the public well informed about an issue of this
magnitude that will affect every motorist in
Mr. Doer: The Premier did not
answer the question. I asked the Premier
whether it was appropriate to advertise prior to the bill even being tabled in
this House.
I would quote, Mr.
Speaker, from Speaker Fraser when the same contemptuous Conservatives in
This is what
Speaker Fraser says about GST advertising before the GST bill was passed.
Does the Premier
now believe that it is appropriate for him to run this government and the
spending of his Crown corporations in an executive management function and
negate the parliamentary traditions that are so important to the Chamber and
the people of
* (1340)
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I
remember the government of Howard Pawley of which that member was a minister
running full‑page ads about the constitutional amendment to make the
French language an official language of this province, to constitutionalize it
well before it was ever passed. In fact,
the member knows it was never passed.
They ran full‑page ads advertising their position on this with a
picture of Howard A. Pawley, it said.
Mr. Speaker, I
remember that happening throughout this province and he has the audacity‑‑and
that was hundreds of thousands of dollars of pure government propaganda to try
and persuade the public, who were 85 percent opposed to that, to approve that.
This is a
situation in which there will be a major, major change in the way in which
every motorist in this province will have their coverage for automobiles, and I
believe that it is incumbent on the government to make sure the public
understands what that change will do to affect them.
Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, this is
the second example where this Premier and his government runs roughshod over
the traditions of parliamentary democracy in this Chamber.
On the one hand,
they instruct the police not to lay charges on Sunday shopping even though
there is no bill passed in this Chamber, and on the other hand, they have
$100,000 worth of advertising going on in this House after Speaker Fraser made
a ruling in
I would ask this
Premier: Is he going to continue to
proceed on the basis of executive management, or are we going to go back to the
traditions of parliamentary democracy which all members of this House should
participate in, unlike the dictatorship that is going on from the Premier
opposite?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, the
member opposite had nothing but contempt for those so‑called traditions
of parliamentary democracy when he was in government and participated in and
defended the expenditure of millions of dollars on advertising, including
hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to promote a wrong‑headed
constitutional amendment.
I say to him that
what he is doing is absolutely hypocritical, and I think the issue deserves the
lack of attention it is getting.
Gasoline Stations
Log Book Inspections
Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
Yesterday,
approximately 200 homes and two schools in the Elmwood constituency were
evacuated for several hours after a gas leak into the sewer at the Domo Gas bar
at
Mr. Speaker, under
the law of
My question to the
minister is: How often are the station
log books inspected by his department?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, recognizing that this falls
within the responsibility of the Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings) who is
at a meeting with his environmental minister counterpart in
I can confirm, Mr.
Speaker, that there has been regular examination of those log books as recently
as even within the last 10 days. The
department did not detect any leakage by virtue of the measurements in the log
book, and that has occurred even within the last 10 days.
Whether or not the
evidence leads directly to the conclusion that the member has reached or has
jumped to, Mr. Speaker, the Environment department, at the moment, cannot
substantiate that conclusion.
* (1345)
Gasoline Leaks
Environment Department Directive
Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Mr. Speaker, perhaps the First Minister should
check with the Environment people in the field who will tell you, if you want
to check, that there were shortages of gasoline noted in the log books as early
as the week before the 1st of May. So
that would be at least 20 days now that there have been substantial shortages‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Question, please.
Mr. Maloway: My question to the
First Minister is: Would he endeavour to
find out whether the Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings) issued a directive
to all stations after the last major spill last month?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): I will take that question as notice and have
it responded to when the minister returns.
Contaminated Sites
Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): My final supplementary to the same minister is
this. Last month, I asked the minister
to release the list of 375 contaminated sites his department has files on.
Can the minister
confirm that the Domo site at
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): No, Mr. Speaker, I cannot confirm that. I will take that question as notice on behalf
of the minister.
No-Fault Auto Insurance
Income Replacement‑Seniors
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): Mr. Speaker,
I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Doer) raised the problem
which the government has created by beginning the debate about no‑fault
insurance without the substantive information being before the House.
I would like to
ask the Premier a very simple question since that information is not now
available to us. The minister has stated
that the plan is based on the
We would like to
ask the Premier: Is that the intention
of their model?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as
notice on behalf of the minister responsible.
Pension Benefits
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): It is passing
strange that the Premier would have supported a policy without knowing the
answer to a question‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Question, please.
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, let us
ask him another one.
Point of Order
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I did not
say I did not know the answer to that question.
I said I would take it as notice on behalf of the minister responsible
for MPIC (Mr. Cummings).
Mr. Speaker: The honourable First
Minister does not have a point of order.
It is a dispute over the facts.
* * *
Mr. Alcock: Mr. Speaker, if the
Premier will check, he will note that I asked him the question, not the
minister, so perhaps he will now be able to answer a second question.
To the
Premier: Will pension benefits be
deducted from payments on the no‑fault insurance plan?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I will
take that question as notice on behalf of the minister responsible for MPIC
(Mr. Cummings).
Introduction
Mr. Reg Alcock (Osborne): You see, Mr.
Speaker, the problem we have. The
government is sending out very limited information extolling the virtues of
this plan and refusing to answer any questions about it here in the House.
So I have to ask
the Premier a very simple question. Why
are you afraid to reveal the details of the plan?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that this
question may well be out of order because it was not presented to the Chair, I
will take that as notice on behalf of the minister responsible for MPIC (Mr.
Cummings).
Government Departments
Service Co-ordination
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin Flon):
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
Almost two years
ago, the Pedlar report talked about the need for working together to deal with
domestic violence. In that report, Ms.
Pedlar noted that there is a tremendous need to provide commitment, consistency
and communication within and between government departments and agencies in
order to prevent family violence from occurring.
Subsequent to that
time and prior to that time, the Minister of Justice (Mr. McCrae) had been
promising this Legislature and the people of
My question to the
First Minister is: Will he now undertake
and commit the government to implement a public inquiry of the incidents in
Flin Flon so that we can understand why once again the government of
* (1350)
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I want to be able to provide a
reasonable response to the member for Flin Flon. I know that all members in this House do not
wish to have had happen what happened in Flin Flon. I also know that all members in this House do
not want to interfere with court actions that will ensue from the apparent
murders that took place in Flin Flon.
I think the member
opposite understands that in the case of a court action, the psychological and
behavioural conditions of the accused may well be a question in point, that
files and information available from a variety of government departments and
individuals who may have been in contact with the family and the individual‑‑all
of that may well be material to the legal action that is ensuing.
So I just say to
the member opposite that I would hope that we would just put aside the
opportunity for political gain and let the matter rest until the justice system
deals with it. Then we will examine
thoroughly, as the Minister of Justice (Mr. McCrae) has said, all of the
processes that have taken place.
I can tell him
that in response to the recommendations that followed the Reid tragedy, certain
things were put in place which were and have been in place with respect to
interdepartmental co‑ordination and communication on this particular
issue, but I believe that by going at the questions the way, apparently, the
member wants to do, we are not going to necessarily do the right thing vis‑a‑vis
the legal actions that will ensue.
James Philip Bridson Case
Public Inquiry
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin Flon):
Mr. Speaker, to say the least, I resent the implication that somehow
this is a political issue.
Mr. Speaker, the
people of Flin Flon, including the mayor, including the crisis centre board,
including service agencies and departments of this government, have identified
the lack of a crisis centre as an implicating factor.
My question
is: Will the First Minister, given that
he has the authority under The Evidence Act, appoint a commission to study the
role of the government itself and its agencies in dealing with events leading
up to this tragedy?
It does not have
to be a criminal investigation or touch on the criminal investigation. My question is to the minister: Given that
these kinds of inquiries have been done before, will he now launch a public
inquiry into the role of government and its agencies‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has put his question.
* (1355)
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, the member opposite says he
resents being accused of trying to make political hay on this case and then
proceeds to do exactly that.
Mr. Speaker, the
fact of the matter is, he has made the suggestion, as has the wife of his
member for Thompson (Mr. Ashton), made the suggestion that there is a direct
connection with the‑‑
Point of Order
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): I believe, Mr. Speaker, that individuals in
their various roles and spokespersons across the province are treated as
individuals, not as spouses of somebody else.
I would ask the
Premier to be sensitive to that in this Chamber.
Mr. Speaker: The honourable
member does not have a point of order.
It is a dispute over the facts.
* * *
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I am very
sensitive to it, because I have learned from my colleagues opposite and their
cheap shots over the years.
Mr. Speaker, the
member opposite has made a suggestion about the role of a crisis centre. The principal resource that was represented
by the crisis centre that was no longer available was the ability to have
members of the family taken out of their home and housed in the shelter.
Mr. Speaker, there
continues to be in Flin Flon the Northern Women's Resource Centre that provides
both counselling and education, and there continues to be a 24‑hour
crisis line, and there is no evidence that either of those was attempted to be
accessed. So I think that the member is
drawing a long bow on this one, but we will be happy to have that investigated
at an appropriate time.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, as the
crisis centre board tried to explain to this government, the sick situation in
Flin Flon, the economic circumstances and the pressure the community is under,
require a quicker response. We cannot
wait for six months or a year or two years for the government to make these
decisions, to determine whether in fact this‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Question, please.
Mr. Storie: Mr. Speaker, the
First Minister has the power under The Evidence Act to begin an inquiry.
My question
is: Will the minister now admit that the
political decision to cut funding to the crisis centre was wrong? Will he now agree to reinstate funding and to
assess the role of the government agencies‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has put his question.
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I
repeat, there continues to be in Flin Flon the Northern Women's Resource Centre
with funding of $123,800 from the
That centre
provides both counselling and education for women with an emphasis on family
violence as well as other issues to do with that matter. There also continues to be available a 24‑hour
crisis line. There is no evidence to
suggest that either of those was attempted to be accessed in the case.
ACCESS Programs
Future Status
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Mr. Speaker, when the ACCESS programs were
created, they were meant to be a long‑term strategy to support programs
for people in
As we all know,
these have been extremely successful programs.
They are internationally renowned.
They have produced many teachers, doctors, dentists and social workers.
Last year, Metis
nonstatus students had their allowances reduced by $3,000. This year, the minister has cut a further 16
percent from ACCESS programs.
I would like to
ask the Minister of Education: Will she
tell the House today, what is her long‑term plan for those ACCESS
programs?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Education and Training):
Mr. Speaker, as I have explained to the member before, the ACCESS
programs have received some funding from the federal government and also our
provincial funding. This province has
maintained its commitment to ACCESS programs while the federal funding has
changed. The federal funding now flows
directly to bands.
Last year, as the
member may remember, there were then some students currently in their program
who were left unfunded. It was this
government that came forward with the supplementary funding to assist those
students to make sure that they could continue their program. I think that action speaks for itself.
Ms. Friesen: And so does the
Estimates page with the $1.2 million reduction.
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Will the minister confirm that her
departmental delays and apparent absence of long‑term policy have meant
that the Winnipeg Education Centre has been unable to admit its regular first take
intake this year, something which should have happened on May 3 and which is
extremely disruptive for prospective students and their families?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Education and Training):
Mr. Speaker, we have been making every effort to get information out to
all of the institutions regarding student financial assistance regarding ACCESS
programming. My department has now been
in touch with all of the institutions.
Ms. Friesen: Mr. Speaker, that
still leaves 20 families in limbo.
Enrollment Statistics
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Will the minister tell us how many fewer
funded students will be in ACCESS programs this year?
Would she care to
reflect upon her comments of October 16, 1992, quote, that our commitment to
ACCESS programs underlines the province's commitments to educational
opportunities?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Education and Training):
Mr. Speaker, again, we are in the process of intake in the ACCESS
programs.
As I explained to
the member before, when we look at the funding, we know that approximately 40
percent of the funding goes for living allowance and rent subsidies, and we are
aware that approximately 60 percent of it goes for administrative costs.
We have been
meeting with the institutions involved to look at how their administrative
costs may be reduced, so the greatest amount of money will then be there as a
benefit to students.
* (1400)
Government Departments
Protocols‑Information Sharing
Mrs. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Second Opposition):
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
Mr. Speaker, in
reviewing the Reid report, one of the comments that was made by the individual
who conducted The Fatality Inquiries Act on this case was that, and let me
quote: However, Mrs. Reid, in her own fashion, appears to have been reaching
out for help with no positive results.
We have a similar
situation with respect to the case in Flin Flon.
Will the Premier
table today the protocol that had been put into place by his government to
ensure that information, sensitive information, travels from one department to
the next department so, in fact, it can be acted upon in unity together?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I might say that in drawing the
parallel to the Reid case, there were, throughout that period of time, crisis
shelters in
I am not sure if
she is drawing the parallel, but it obviously is not a parallel whatsoever.
Mrs. Carstairs: Mr. Speaker, I can
only assume the Premier simply did not understand my question.
My question is,
very clearly: What protocols are in
place by this government to ensure that sensitive information about families
which is learned by the Department of Education is shared with the Department
of Child and Family Services, is shared with the Department of Justice, if
applicable, and vice versa? There must
be protocols in place between government departments. Will he table those protocols?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I will
attempt to get a fuller response to that, but I do know that there are
limitations to which we can go in terms of having so‑called sensitive
personal information about people and their behavioural or psychological
problems. It is not the sort of thing
that would necessarily be freely transmitted among departments and people
within government.
In fact, I would
be very concerned if it was so easy to obtain that kind of information that it
just got passed along, file to file, people to people, and was in everybody's files
in government. I would have to know a
great deal more about the kind of thing she is talking about.
I do know that
since the report on the Reid inquiry, a critical‑incident team approach
was established by government which is an interdepartmental action between the
Departments of Health and Family Services instituted over a year ago and which
prepared for situations such as the Bridson situation in reacting to a crisis,
a tragedy, of this nature and that, in fact, it has of course been engaged in this
particular circumstance.
Mrs. Carstairs: Well, Mr. Speaker,
the Reid report states very clearly, and let me quote again from that
report: That a proper exchange of
information between agencies and police, assisted by legislation, if necessary,
would have shown where it was heading.
We know that the
Department of Education had information given to them in September of 1991 that
an individual was suicidal.
Can the Premier
tell us what the protocol was for the Department of Education to then share
that information with the Department of Health, so a mental health worker could
be called in to evaluate this particular situation?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, I know
the member is familiar with the circumstance because I have a copy of her
correspondence on file. I have a copy of
correspondence with members from the New Democratic Party. I also have seen copies of correspondence in
the files with respect to other communication that went on amongst the school
board, the family, the Department of Education, psychologists and so on.
Mr. Speaker, there
is a great deal more to the circumstance as to the role of other people,
including the family in this circumstance, and what was offered and what was
accepted and what was not accepted. The
member knows because she was, in fact, urging a certain resolution at the time
of the correspondence.
I just say that I
do not think this is the place to be airing those private pieces of
correspondence between the family and‑‑[interjection] I answered the question of protocols before, and I
said that I would look into it and report back, Mr. Speaker.
But if we are now
trying to find out who said what and did what and who may have been offered
certain supports and services, and what their response might have been, I do
not think that it is appropriate for us to get into this. That is why we will have to have, at an
appropriate time, a full and complete review of this matter.
Children's Dental Health Program
Funding Reduction Justification
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
I am going to
table a letter from the Dental Auxiliaries Association of
My question to the
Minister of Health is: How can he
justify his shortsighted move which will place the future of the dental health
of our rural children at risk?
Hon. Donald Orchard (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, this issue has been raised ever
since the announcement of the budget, that we were rtailing the treatment
portion of the Children's Dental Health Program, and I simply indicate to my
honourable friend that the founding principles of health care reform are on
preventative services and education around the appropriate personal activities
to maintain one's health status, and that includes dental health.
Mr. Speaker, I
simply reinforce to my honourable friend that this component of prevention and
education is to be maintained in the Children's Dental Health Program. I said, as I have repeated in the past, it
was with regret that we made the decision to curtail the treatment aspect of
that program, but we maintain, Sir, the very essence of health care reform in
terms of prevention and education services that my honourable friend thinks so
appropriate. We agree. That is why they are still there.
Study
Tabling Request
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
Will the Minister
of Health table any information or any studies he has which led him to choose
this program as a target for budget cuts?
Is there any information which shows that the Children's Dental Health
Program was not effective?
Hon. Donald Orchard (Minister of Health):
Well, you know, Mr. Speaker, again, I have to say that no one on this
side of the House took any particular joy in making the decision to curtail the
treatment side of the program, nor did her confreres who govern in the
I do not even
suspect her confreres in
Ms. Wowchuk: Mr. Speaker, the
minister should remember he is in
* (1410)
Consultations
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member has put her question.
Hon. Donald Orchard (Minister of Health):
I realize that my honourable friend gets rather excited.
Mr. Speaker, I
attempt not to use the budgetary decisions of other provinces and how
consistent they are with decisions we have made in the
What I attempt to
do, in bringing examples like
It is only
irresponsible opposition parties that say they can be all things to all
people. They can lower deficits, lower
taxes, increase services and mislead the public, Sir.
Simplot Plant
Future Status
Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East):
I have a question for the Premier or the Acting Minister of Industry.
Given the fact
that the Conservative government of Grant Devine financed the construction of a
new Cargill fertilizer plant in
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I have not had a recent briefing
from the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism (Mr. Stefanson), but as I
understand it, Simplot intends to carry on its operations at the level they
currently are in
Mr. Leonard Evans: My supplementary
question: Can the Premier be truly
confident that Simplot will be able to survive?‑‑because initially
it was reported that the company had to either expand or it would perish.
So the question
is: Is that situation now changed, and
is the company no longer seeking provincial financial assistance?
Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker,
according to Simplot, it is business as usual.
If the member has better information, I would be pleased to have him
share it.
Manufacturing Industry
Employment Decline
Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East):
Mr. Speaker, my questions are based on previous statements made by the
Industry minister where he says‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Brandon East, with
his question, please.
Mr. Leonard Evans: Mr. Speaker, I would
like to ask an auxiliary question to the Premier: Can he explain to the House why jobs in the
manufacturing industry in
Why are we going
against the national trend?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, during that same period of time,
of course, the member opposite will know that the total number of jobs in
The member will
probably know that we have a new plant in Morden from Monsanto that has been
announced and is beginning its construction, that Carte Electric yesterday announced
72 additional jobs in a manufacturing facility in Morden, that Ayerst in
That is our goal,
to continue the kind of trend that we are seeing of more people making investments,
of more jobs, new jobs being announced and more new opportunities for
Manitobans. That may be a great
disappointment to the member for Brandon East, but it is a great boon to the
people of
On-Site Inspection
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
The Premier made
reference to the law. My question to the
Premier is: Can he tell this Chamber
when, in fact, there was the last on‑site check of that particular gas
station?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice on behalf of the Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings).