Immediately following Prayers, Mr. Enns rose on a matter of privilege and moved:

THAT this House censure the Minister of Finance and the Premier for their disregard for the traditions and practices of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and their contempt for the people of Manitoba.

And Hon. Mr. Mackintosh, Mr. Murray, Hon. Messrs. Doer, Gerrard and Selinger, Messrs. Loewen and Laurendeau having spoken,

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

Hon. Mr. Selinger presented:

Provincial Auditor's Report – A Review of the Policy Development Capacity Within Government Departments dated November, 2001.

(Sessional Paper No. 115)

Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, Quarterly Report, Nine Months, April 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001.

(Sessional Paper No. 116)

Provincial Auditor's Report – Value-for-Money-Audits dated February, 2002.

(Sessional Paper No. 117)

Annual Report of the Provincial Auditor – Audit of the Public Accounts for the year ending March 31, 2001

(Sessional Paper No. 118)

Provincial Auditor's Report – An Examination of School Board Governance in Manitoba dated October, 2000.

(Sessional Paper No. 119)

Provincial Auditor's Report – Investigation of an Adult Learning Centre ("The Program") in Morris–Macdonald School Division #19 dated September, 2001.

(Sessional Paper No. 120)

Public Accounts of the Province of Manitoba for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000 (Volumes 1, 2 and 3).

(Sessional Paper No. 121)

Annual Report of the Operations of the Office of the Provincial Auditor's for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2000.

(Sessional Paper No. 122)

Annual Report of the Operations of the Office of the Provincial Auditor's for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2001.

(Sessional Paper No. 123)

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. 124)

Immediately following Oral Questions, Mr. Rocan rose on a matter of privilege and moved:

THAT the Speaker examine this matter and consider all the facts, including the fact that the rule does not comply with our constitution and with the constitutional language rights set out therein and which were won with such difficulty by our ancestors; and

THAT the Committee on the Rules of the House be called to deal with this matter and while awaiting the calling of the Rules Committee, I request that the Members be notified that Sub-rule 120(1)(b) is unconstitutional and consequently should be considered void and of no effect.

And Hon. Mr. Mackintosh, Mr. Laurendeau, Hon. Messrs. Selinger and Gerrard having spoken,

By unanimous consent, it was agreed to set aside the usual Manitoba practices concerning a Matter of Privilege and to proceed with a motion to be moved by Mr. Laurendeau:

By leave, Mr. Laurendeau moved:

THAT effective immediately, the Rules, Orders and Forms of Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba be amended by deleting Sub-rule 120(1) and substituting the following:

And the Question being put. It was agreed to.

WHEREUPON Mr. Speaker ruled that this concludes the Matter of Privilege.

Pursuant to Rule 23(1), Mr. Penner (Emerson), Ms. Allan, Messrs. Derkach, Jennissen and Mr. Penner (Emerson) made Members’ Statements.

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

THAT this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government.

And on the Proposed Amendment of Mr. Murray

THAT the motion be amended by deleting all the words after "House" and substituting the following:

therefore regrets this budget ignores the present and future needs of Manitobans by:

(a) failing to offer Manitobans any vision for an innovative, successful and sustainable future;

 

(b) failing to provide a long-term personal income tax reduction strategy that addresses the fact that middle-income Manitobans are the highest taxed west of Quebec;

 

(c) failing to provide a sustainable provincial spending plan;

 

(d) failing to provide Manitobans with timely disclosure of the $150 million retroactive tax imposed on Manitoba Hydro in order to avoid a deficit in the 2001/02 budget year;

 

(e) failing to provide an economic development plan to provide sustainable economic growth for Manitoba;

 

(f) failing to provide any incentive for young people to remain in Manitoba despite recent information showing that Manitoba suffered a net inter-provincial migration loss of 4,549 people in 2001, up 47 percent from the previous year; and

 

(g) failing to provide adequate supports to Manitoba’s agricultural sector.

 

As a consequence, the Government has thereby lost the confidence of this House and the people of Manitoba.

And the debate continuing on the amendment,

And Mr. Aglugub, Mrs. Stefanson, Ms. Cerilli, Mr. Maguire, Ms. Allan, Messrs. Schuler, Dewar and Rocan and Hon. Mr. Robinson having spoken,

And Mr. Faurschou speaking at 6:00 p.m. The debate was allowed to remain in his name.

The House then adjourned at 6:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, 2002.

Hon. George Hickes,

Speaker.