This being the first meeting of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature for the dispatch of business pursuant to a Proclamation of His Honour Peter Liba, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Manitoba, Patricia Chaychuk, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, laid upon the Table of the House three reports submitted by the Chief Electoral Officer, pursuant to subsection 142(1) of The Elections Act, a Roll and a list, returned at the General Election held on June 3, 2003, to serve in this Legislature, and having been authorized to administer the Oath to the Members present who, after having taken the Oath and subscribed the Roll, took their seats in the House.

(Sessional Paper No. 1)

His Honour, Peter Liba having entered the House, took his seat on the Throne.

Hon. Mr. Mackintosh then said:

"I am directed by His Honour the Lieutenant Governor to inform you that he will not declare the causes of calling this Legislature until a Speaker has been elected in accordance with the Law."

His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.

Pursuant to the provision of Rule 6, the House proceeded to the Election of Speaker.

The Clerk informed the House that the following Members declared their intention to stand as candidates for the Election of Speaker:

Members then proceeded to cast their ballots.

The Clerk, being satisfied that the voting procedure had been completed, proceeded with the counting of the ballots.

The House recessed during the counting of the ballots.

The House resumed and the Clerk informed the House that Mr. George Hickes, Member for the Electoral Division of Point Douglas, had been duly elected to the Office of the Speaker.

And the Clerk having declared Mr. George Hickes, duly elected, he was conducted to the Chair by Hon. Mr. Doer and Mr. Murray, and invested with the Speaker's robes of office, when he returned his acknowledgements to the House as follows:

I wish to thank the Members for the high honour the House has conferred on me. I leave the floor of this House to take the Speaker’s Chair. I leave behind all political and partisan feelings and I intend to carry out the important duties of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly with impartiality and to the best of my ability."

And thereupon took his seat in the Speaker's Chair.

And the Mace was laid upon the Table.

His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, having re-entered the House, took his seat on the Throne.

Mr. Speaker then spoke to the following effect:

"Your Honour, the Legislative Assembly has elected me as its Speaker. On behalf of the Assembly, it is my duty to claim all the Assembly’s traditional rights and privileges, especially the privilege of freedom of speech in debate and access to your Honour when required. I ask you to give the most favourable consideration to the Assembly’s proceedings."

Hon. Mr. Mackintosh then said:

His Honour is confident that the Assembly’s proceedings will be conducted with wisdom and prudence. In addition, His Honour grants the Assembly’s claim to its traditional rights and privileges. His Honour will now declare the causes of calling of this Legislative Assembly.

His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, was pleased to open the session with the following gracious speech:

MISTER SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE MANITOBA LEGISLATURE:

I welcome you to the First session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba.

Congratulations and good wishes are very much in order for all new Members of this Assembly and for those who are returning to this House. The people of our province have entrusted you with heavy responsibilities — at all times to advance the public interest, and to provide leadership and vision in making decisions which will help shape the future of Manitoba.

Due recognition should also be given to all the candidates who allowed their names to stand in the general election. All have made the highest possible commitment to public service.

Your government feels honoured to have been given a strong and clear mandate by the citizens of this province. Your government will honour that mandate by proceeding to implement the commitments they have made to the people of Manitoba:

Some of the actions necessary to achieve these commitments were summarized in the last Speech from the Throne on November 27, 2002. Those actions were debated and received the approval of Members at that time.

Members also debated and passed the 2003/04 Budget, which was presented to the Assembly on April 22, 2003 — shortly before the adjournment of the last Legislature.

With the agreement of all parties, the new Assembly will be asked to adopt the agenda for action presented in the most recent Speech from the Throne and the budgetary policies that were approved two months ago. Review of the Estimates flowing from the 2003 Budget, and consideration of new legislation, will proceed when the House reconvenes in September.

Your government is proud to have received a strong mandate from all parts of Manitoba, and will endeavour to uphold the principles of inclusion and fairness which should guide all the deliberations of this Assembly.

In each region of our province, new challenges as well as new opportunities have arisen in recent months. In the North, we are confronted with renewed concerns over shipping volumes through the Port of Churchill. At the same time, we stand on the brink of a major opportunity to develop untapped hydro resources, through agreements with Manitoba First Nations and aboriginal citizens, and a clean energy partnership with the province of Ontario.

In rural Manitoba, cattle farmers are feeling the impact from the single case of BSE found in Alberta, which has resulted in a prolonged and potentially devastating halt to Canadian beef exports. At their recent meeting in Kelowna, the Western Premiers were united in calling for a strong national response, focused on reopening the border as soon as possible and addressing the losses to producers.

Exporters in all sectors of our economy are carefully monitoring the impacts of a rising Canadian dollar, spurred by the spread in short-term interest rates between the U.S. and Canada. Manitobans have enjoyed the benefits of a dynamic and resilient economy in recent years, but now more than ever it is important that we build on our strategic partnerships and lay the foundations for strong growth into the future.

To do so, it is critical that our provincial strategies are supported by federal leadership in such key areas as transportation, energy, agriculture and disease control. In the months ahead, Members of this Assembly will be asked to stand together to defend Manitoba's interests and to work for national policies that will benefit all our citizens.

I want to thank our guests, and in particular the families of our newly elected Members, for joining us today for the first session of this new Legislature. I also wish to thank our Speaker and all Members of the Legislature for the hard work that lies ahead.

As you proceed to carry out the responsibilities the people of Manitoba have entrusted to you, I trust that Divine Providence will guide your deliberations in the best interests of all our citizens.

His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.

Immediately following Prayer, Hon. Mr. Gerrard rose on a matter of privilege and moved:

THAT the House recess to allow for representatives from MLAs in all three seating blocks to get together with the Speaker to see if the concerns in relation to seating in the Legislature can be resolved.

And Hon. Mr. Mackintosh and Messrs. Derkach and Lamoureux having spoken.

WHEREUPON Mr. Speaker informed the House he would take the matter under advisement.

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On motion of Hon. Mr. Doer:

ORDERED that Conrad Santos, Member for the Electoral Division of Wellington, be Chairperson of the Committees of the Whole House and Deputy Speaker.

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On motion of Hon. Mr. Doer:

ORDERED that Harry Schellenberg, Member for the Electoral Division of Rossmere, be Deputy Chairperson of the Committees of the Whole House.

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On motion of Hon. Mr. Doer:

ORDERED that Bonnie Korzeniowski, Member for the Electoral Division of St. James, be Deputy Chairperson of the Committees of the Whole House.

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On Motion of Hon. Mr. Doer, Bill (No. 1) – An Act Respecting the Administration of Oaths of Office; Loi sur la prestation des serments d’entrée en fonction, was read a First Time.

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On motion of Hon. Mr. Doer:

THAT a Special Committee consisting Hon. Mr. Ashton, Ms. Allan, Messrs. Dewar, Tweed, Dyck and Reimer and Hon. Mr. Mackintosh be appointed to prepare lists of members to compose the Standing Committees provided under sub-rule 83(1).

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On motion of Hon. Mr. Doer:

ORDERED that the Speech of His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor be taken into consideration today.

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By unanimous consent, it was agreed that the length of speaking time allotted for each Member would be set at 5 minutes for the debate on the Address in reply to the Throne Speech.

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Mr. Bjornson moved, seconded by Ms. Brick:

THAT the following address be presented to His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor:

We, the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba thank your Honour for the gracious speech addressed to us at this First Session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature of Manitoba.

And a debate arising,

And Mr. Bjornson, Ms. Brick, Mr. Murray and Hon. Mr. Gerrard having spoken,

And the question being put. It was agreed to, on division.

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By leave, Hon. Mr. Mackintosh moved:

THAT notwithstanding any rule or practice of this House the steps or segments of the financial process introduced and concluded during the Fourth Session of the Thirty-Seventh Legislature be forthwith reinstated in this First Session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature as follows:

The introduction, debate and adoption of the Budget Motion and the tabling of the Messages of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor and the Estimates attached thereto shall be deemed to have been introduced, considered and concluded during the First Session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature and that the ensuing steps of the financial process be continued at this or any subsequent sitting of this House in the current session.

And the question being put. It was agreed to.

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By leave, it was agreed to waive Rule 36(2) regarding the explanation of motion for the Matter of Urgent Public Importance and that the debate proceed immediately.

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Mr. Penner moved:

THAT under Rule 36 the ordinary business of the House be set aside to discuss a Matter of Urgent Public Importance; namely:

"the need to debate the impact on the Manitoba economy of the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephelopathy (BSE) in Alberta and the subsequent closure of the border to exports of Canadian cattle, bison, sheep and lambs, including the impact on producers and the numerous businesses and industries that provide supplies and services to our multi-million dollar livestock sector; as well as the need to debate ways to ensure the border is re-opened quickly and that federal and provincial compensation flows in a timely and equitable fashion."

And a debate arising,

And Mr. Penner, Hon. Mr. Doer, Mr. Murray, Hon. Ms. Wowchuk, Messrs. Derkach, Nevakshonoff, Eichler, Struthers, Hawranik, Bjornson, Rocan, Goertzen and Tweed, Hon. Mr. Lemieux, Messrs. Cummings and Faurschou, Hon. Mr. Caldwell, Mrs. Taillieu, Mr. Maguire, Hon. Mr. Ashton, Messrs. Dyck, Reimer and Schuler, Hon. Mr. Smith and Mr. Lamoureux having spoken.

The debate was terminated in accordance with Rule 36(6).

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By leave, it was agreed to waive rule 36(4) regarding the two hour time limit for debate on a Matter of Urgent Public Importance.

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By leave, Hon. Mr. Mackintosh presented its First Report of the Special Committee of Seven Persons, which was read as follows:

Your Committee prepared the following list of Members to compose the Standing Committees ordered by the House:

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD (11)

On motion of Hon. Mr. Mackintosh, the Report of the Committee was received.

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Hon. Mr. Mackintosh presented:

Sequence for consideration of the Estimates by the Committee of Supply, both in the Chamber and outside the Chamber.

(Sessional Paper No. 2)

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By leave, it was agreed to waive Rules 31(2) and 31(3) regarding the timing for submission and prioritizing of Private Members' Resolutions with the understanding that the time frames for submission and prioritization will be determined by the House Leaders.

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Hon. Mr. Mackintosh moved:

THAT this House do now adjourn.

And the Question being put. It was agreed to.

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The House then adjourned at 6:59 p.m.

Hon. George Hickes,

Speaker.