THAT Bill (No. 20) – The Farm Machinery and Equipment Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur les machines et le matériel agricoles, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Ms. Wowchuk, Messrs. Tweed, Penner (Emerson), Maguire, Derkach, Dyck and Helwer having spoken,

And the Question being put. It was agreed to.

The Bill was accordingly read a Second Time and referred to a Committee of this House.

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Hon. Mr. Mackintosh moved:

THAT Bill (No. 8) – The Enforcement of Judgments Conventions and Consequential Amendments Act/Loi sur les conventions relatives à l'exécution des jugements et modifications corrélatives, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Mackintosh having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Praznik, adjourned.

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Hon. Ms. Barrett moved:

THAT Bill (No. 18) – The Labour Relations Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur les relations du travail, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Ms. Barrett having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Schuler, adjourned.

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Hon. Mr. Lathlin moved:

THAT Bill (No. 15) – The Water Rights Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur les droits d'utilisation de l'eau, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Lathlin having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Maguire, adjourned.

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Hon. Mr. Lathlin moved:

THAT Bill (No. 21) – The Water Resources Administration Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur l'aménagement hydraulique, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Lathlin having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Maguire, adjourned.

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The House resumed the Interrupted Debate on the Proposed Motion of Hon. Mr. Lathlin:

THAT Bill (No. 6) – The Water Resources Conservation and Protection and Consequential Amendments Act/Loi sur la conservation et la protection des ressources hydriques et modifications corrélatives, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And the debate continuing,

And Mr. Struthers having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Maguire, adjourned.

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The House resumed the Interrupted Debate on the Proposed Motion of Hon. Mr. Chomiak:

THAT Bill (No. 7) – The Protection for Persons in Care Act/Loi sur la protection des personnes recevant des soins, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And the debate continuing,

And Ms. Asper and Mr. Schellenberg having spoken,

By leave, the debate was allowed to remain in the name of Mr. Laurendeau.

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Hon. Mr. Ashton moved:

THAT Bill (No. 14) – The Provincial Railways Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur les chemins de fer provinciaux, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Ashton having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Rocan, adjourned.

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Hon. Ms. McGifford, the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism made a statement regarding CBC Regional Reductions,

Mr. Filmon and, by leave, Hon. Mr. Gerrard commented on the statement.

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The following Bills were, by leave, respectively introduced, had the purposes outlined thereof and were read a First Time:

(No. 25) – The Interpretation and Consequential Amendments Act/Loi d'interprétation et modifications corrélatives

(Hon. Mr. Mackintosh)

(No. 26) – The Court of Queen's Bench Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur la Cour du Banc de la Reine

(Hon. Mr. Mackintosh)

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Pursuant to Rule 23(1), Ms. Korzeniowski, Mrs. Dacquay, Messrs. Jennissen and Helwer and Ms. Asper made Members’ Statements.

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In accordance with Rule 24, Mrs. Mitchelson rose on a grievance.

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Hon. Mr. Lemieux moved:

THAT Bill (No. 10) – The Cooperatives Amendment Act/Loi modifiant la Loi sur les coopératives, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Lemieux having spoken,

The debate was, on motion of Mr. Penner (Steinbach), adjourned.

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Hon. Mr. Lemieux moved:

THAT Bill (No. 11) – The Winnipeg Stock Exchange Restructuring and Consequential Amendments Act/Loi sur la restructuration de la Bourse de Winnipeg et modifications corrélatives, be now read a Second Time and be referred to a Committee of this House.

And a debate arising,

And Hon. Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Penner (Steinbach) having spoken,

And the Question being put. It was agreed to.

The Bill was accordingly read a Second Time and referred to a Committee of this House.

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The House resumed the Interrupted Debate on the Proposed Motion of Hon. Ms. Wowchuk:

WHEREAS excess rainfall in the fall of 1998 and spring of 1999 resulted in over one million acres of land going unseeded, primarily in the southwest, but also in other areas of the province; and

WHEREAS the federal government has recognized the disaster situation and is compensating people for mould and other property damage under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA); and

WHEREAS farmers lost chemical and fertilizer inputs and incurred extra costs to restore their land and for weed control, at the same time as they had no 1999 crop to sell; and

WHEREAS the Manitoba Government has repeatedly requested support from the federal government, which has the lead responsibility for disaster financing, for farmers who sustained damage to their land; and

WHEREAS the Manitoba Government pursued support for compensation under Section 25 of the DFAA, which specifies loss of applied fertilizer and land restoration and was turned down by the federal government; and

WHEREAS the Manitoba Government requested a Canada/Manitoba agreement for the provision of assistance similar to the levels provided in the 1996 Saguenay River Flood, the 1997 Red River Valley Flood and the 1998 Eastern Canada Ice storm, and the federal government has refused; and

WHEREAS there has been all-party cooperation on lobbying the federal government for assistance for Manitoba farmers.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba urge the federal government to reconsider its position on funding for the 1999 flooding which occurred throughout the province, but specifically in the southwest, and include loss of applied fertilizer and land restoration as eligible costs under the DFAA; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba urge the federal government to consider programs and assistance similar to that provided for disasters such as the 1996 Saguenay River Flood, the 1997 Red River Valley Flood and the 1998 Eastern Canada ice storm.

And on the Proposed amendment of Mr. Penner (Emerson):

THAT the motion be amended by adding the following after the first "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED" clause:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the current Government of Manitoba acknowledge that, to date, the assistance it has provided to farmers affected by the 1999 flood has been insufficient, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Manitoba Government is unable to secure support for 1999 Manitoba flood victims under the DFAA, that the Manitoba Government consider negotiating a 50-50 cost-shared program with the Federal Government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should the Manitoba Government fail to come to agreement with the Federal Government on a cost-shared disaster assistance program, that the Manitoba Government ensure all Manitobans that the monies required to alleviate the disaster will be included in the 2000/2001 Budget.

And the debate continuing on the amendment,

And Mr. Struthers concluding his remarks,

And Messrs. Reimer and Rocan, Hon. Ms. Friesen, Messrs. Schellenberg, Enns and Cummings having spoken,

And Ms. Cerilli speaking at 5:00 p.m.

The debate was allowed to remain in her name.

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The House then adjourned at 5:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 8, 2000.

Hon. George Hickes,

Speaker.