LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
Wednesday,
November 2, 2005
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
Coverage of Insulin Pumps
Mr.
Ralph Eichler (
These are the reasons for this petition:
Insulin pumps cost over $6,500.
The
cost of diabetes to the
Good blood sugar control reduces or eliminates kidney failure by 50 percent, blindness by 76 percent, nerve damage by 60 percent, cardiac disease by 35 percent and even amputations.
Diabetes is an epidemic in our province and will become an unprecedented drain on our struggling health care system if we do not take action now.
The benefit of having an insulin pump is it allows the person living with this life-altering disease to obtain good sugar control and become a much healthier, complication-free individual.
We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows:
To
request the Premier (Mr. Doer) of
Submitted on behalf of Terry Hartle, Andy Krul, Reuben Nero, Ian Soroka and many, many others.
Mr. Speaker: In accordance with our Rule 132(6), when petitions are read they are deemed to be received by the House.
Amending
of The Architects Act
Mr. Ron Schuler (
These
are the reasons for this petition:
On September
16, 2005, the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench revealed a significant conflict
between The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act and The Architects
Act.
Currently
architects are exempt from The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act,
but engineers are not exempt from The Architects Act.
This
decision will have a negative effect on the province's building and
construction industries, increase costs to municipalities and other levels of
government, lead to a brain drain, increase red tape and delay projects.
Previous
to the ruling, a choice existed between engaging architects or engineers to
perform specific work according to their disciplines while protecting the
safety of the public as guided by the Manitoba Building Code.
Over
the last seven years, the Manitoba Association of Architects (MAA) has rejected
the two negotiated solutions. Therefore, legislative change is the only
reasonable and sustainable solution.
Given
that the ruling's implementation date is immediate, we call on the government
to take appropriate steps in changing the legislation during the current
session.
We
petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows:
To
request the Premier (Mr. Doer) to consider amending The Architects Act to
provide engineers an exemption similar to that enjoyed by the architects under
The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act.
Signed
by Doug Small, Greg Lavallee, Chunhe Liu and many, many, many others.
Provincial Road 340
Mrs. Leanne Rowat (Minnedosa): I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
These are the reasons for this petition:
The hard surfacing of the unpaved portion of PR 340, south of Canadian Forces Base Shilo towards Wawanesa, would address the last few neglected kilometres of this road and increase the safety of motorists who travel on it.
Heavy traffic has increased on PR 340 due
to the many large farms involved in potato and hog production,
agricultural-related businesses, Hutterite colonies and the Maple Leaf plant in
Annual average traffic volumes on PR 340 are increasing with commuter traffic from Wawanesa, Stockton, Nesbitt and surrounding farms to Shilo and Brandon.
The arrival of the Princess Patricia's
Canadian Light Infantry in 2004 and increased employment at the Maple Leaf
plant in
Access to the
PR 340 is an alternate route for many
motorists travelling to
All Manitobans deserve a safe and well-maintained rural highway infrastructure.
We petition the Manitoba Legislative Assembly as follows:
To request the Minister of Transportation and Government Services (Mr. Lemieux) to consider hard surfacing of the unpaved portion of PR 340, south of Canadian Forces Base Shilo, towards Wawanesa.
Signed by Sandra Blackmore, Muffty Keith, Robert Alolega and many, many others.
* (13:35)
Crocus Investment Fund
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (
The background to this petition is as follows:
The Manitoba Government was made aware of serious problems involving the Crocus Fund back in 2001.
As a direct result of the government ignoring the red flags back in 2001, over 33 000 Crocus investors lost over $60 million.
The relationship between some union leaders, the Premier (Mr. Doer) and the NDP seems to be the primary reason as for why the government ignored the red flags.
We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows:
To request the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba to consider the need to seek clarification on why the government did not act on fixing the Crocus Fund back in 2001.
Signed by Patricia Powell, D. Trochim and Janet Nikke and many, many others.
Bill 8–The Official Time Amendment Act
Hon. Scott Smith (Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Trade): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Selinger), that Bill 8, The Official Time Amendment Act, be now read a first time.
Motion presented.
Mr. Smith: Mr. Speaker, this bill provides, starting in 2007 daylight savings time will run from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, and I can inform the House this act does not have a sunset clause.
Mr. Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
Introduction of Guests
Mr. Speaker: I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the Speaker's Gallery where we have with us today Braydon Cullen, the son of the honourable Member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Cullen), Stephanie Remple of Westgate Collegiate, the guest of the honourable Member for River East (Mrs. Mitchelson), and Cindy Lamoureux, the daughter of the honourable Member for Inkster (Mr. Lamoureux).
Also in the Speaker's Gallery is Marisa Thompson, Shanelle Grenier and Carleigh Wegner, the daughters of Michelle Thompson of the Clerk's Office, Monique Grenier of the Committees' Branch, and Judy Wegner of Members' Services, and Christopher Calesso, the son of Gina Calesso of the Members' Services.
Also visiting with us today in the public
gallery are Kierin Kocourek, Yasmin Dunkley and Sumaya Ibrahimi of
Also seated in the public gallery are Amber Teres and Kathleen Tyndall of Transcona Collegiate Institute. These visitors are the guests of the honourable Member for Transcona (Mr. Reid).
On behalf of all honourable members, I welcome you here today.
* (13:40)
Government's
Priority
Mr. Stuart Murray (Leader of the Official Opposition): Mr. Speaker, Manitobans are fed up with the potholes and the run down infrastructure in our province. That is a direct result of neglect by this Doer government. That neglect was made apparent again last week under this Doer government's Throne Speech because they failed to make any mention of transportation or infrastructure a priority.
After Canada's premiers had unanimously agreed to make this a top priority, Mr. Speaker, why, after that agreement, has Manitoba now started to drift away from this commitment made by this very Premier just a few months ago?
Hon. Gary Doer (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I believe the
amount of money in the infrastructure budget is up $20 million over the last couple
of years from where we were. You would probably note that the twinning of the
Mr. Murray: While this Premier was quick to stand on the national stage in August, Mr. Speaker, and claim that transportation and infrastructure was a top priority, he completely ignored that situation now that he is back at home. We hear all of these announcements, but he claimed and all the premiers agreed unanimously that it would be a top priority.
Now consider that
Mr. Doer: Well, Mr. Speaker, Mondays and Wednesdays are spend days and Tuesdays and Thursdays are spending-reduction days perhaps. No coherence from the members opposite–
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order.
* (13:45)
Mr. Doer: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker, and you will note that one of the fundamental principles in the
communiqué agreed to by all First Ministers, save the federal First Minister,
is a commitment to be accountable to invest every cent in gasoline tax into
infrastructure, transit and transportation, both in terms of the capital
construction and the maintenance of those programs. We were the first province
in
Mr. Speaker, further, the provinces have recommended to the national government that both in form of the municipal tax transfer, which is in negotiations and hopefully completed to the cities and municipalities, and the other gas tax that is not allocated and going to Ottawa be reinvested in highways, roads, transportation such as the Port of Churchill, or transportation not only to the Port of Vancouver but for inland ports in places like Winnipeg to stop the containment.
We think inland ports, for example, are a
wonderful idea because of the congestion on the West Coast. It is cheaper for a
transportation system and safer to have some of our transportation eggs in an
inland port basket for the effectiveness of movement of goods and services here
in
2020 –
Implementation
Mr. Stuart Murray (Leader
of the Official Opposition): Mr. Speaker, that is a very
interesting speech, but it is interesting that the Premier did not mention that
The other thing that is interesting that we hear from this Premier is that they talk about the fact that they brought in gas tax accountability. It is unusual that a province and a government have to regulate themselves to spend. Rather than just doing the right thing, they have to make it legislation. I say shame on them for not just doing the right thing. Mr. Speaker, we know that improving transportation and infrastructure is about improving the economy. It is about reducing deaths and accidents. It is about creating a cleaner environment.
Mr. Speaker the Doer government recently received recommendations of the 2020 Transport Vision report this July. In that Web site it says, and I quote, "a major theme of the report drawn from the public consultation process includes the need for increased funding to maintain and expand existing infrastructure." That is what it says in that report. What action will this Premier take to start implementing that report?
Hon. Gary Doer (Premier): Mr. Speaker, the gas tax agreement between the federal government and municipalities is in very close negotiations to be completed. I would point out–
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Mr. Doer: I would point out
that, in areas of allocation of gas tax or other revenue to municipalities here
in Manitoba, the new Building Manitoba Fund allocated a 15 percent increase to
transit funding which in the budget is equivalent to 2 cents a litre on
fuel tax and 2 cents and 1 cent on fuel and on gasoline tax. The municipal tax
transfer in
Mr. Speaker, we have recommendations to build and expand the floodway. We have recommendations to build and expand universities. We have recommendations to build and expand health care. For example, we announced expansion to hip and knees. Again today we have recommendations–
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Mr. Doer: Yes, and we will proceed with the plan that is outlined subject to balanced budget legislation and budgets that will be brought in every session of the Legislature.
Transportation Infrastructure Renewal
Government's Priority
Mr. Larry Maguire (Arthur-Virden): Mr. Speaker, on the Transportation and Government Services Web site, the minister's message states, and I quote, "As you view these online pages, you will understand why I believe this department is truly at the heart of government." If transportation and infrastructure are truly at the heart of government, why was there only one word in last week's Throne Speech where infrastructure was mentioned?
Hon. Ron Lemieux (Minister of Transportation and
Government Services): I thank the member for the question. I would
just ask him one day to take a ride in his constituency, and he would notice a
new highway running right by his backyard to
Mr. Speaker, this government takes
highways, highway safety and highway infrastructure very, very seriously. In
fact, we know that highways and transportation is an economic generator and
very important to our economy. We meet on an ongoing basis with the Heavy
Construction Association, the transportation providers of the province. They
know and they tell us all the time that we made a great difference compared to
the dark days of the 1990s.
Mr. Maguire: Mr. Speaker, this minister is showing his utter incompetence. The
roads are crumbling around
If the 2020 report was so important to this minister and to this government, why was there no reference made to that report in last week's Throne Speech?
Mr. Lemieux: The 2020 vision consultation process was very, very important to
us. We listened to the public. We consulted many, many communities. I might
mention we consulted communities in northern
* (13:50)
Mr. Maguire: After nearly three years and half a million dollars later before he
came up with the 2020 vision, I want to remind the minister that there is
a section on commitment and accountability in that report. His own steering
committee stated that transportation must be a higher public priority in
When will this minister realize the importance of our roads and the meaningful commitment to their improvement for the safety of Manitobans?
Mr. Lemieux: I am very pleased to see that the members opposite are showing some interest in transportation since they ran down not only hospitals and schools in the 1990s, they also let bridges and roads fall apart and run down in the 1990s.
I would like to tell you, Mr. Speaker, with the Gas Accountability bill, we put every cent of motive fuel tax into transportation. We spend 38 percent more, actually, on transportation than we collect in motive fuel tax. In a perfect world, yes, there would not be any potholes or bridges needing to be replaced. We are working very, very diligently in improving our transportation system. We will continue to work with the public and the stakeholder to ensure that we improve our highways in the future.
Natural Gas
Rate-Shock Protection
Mrs. Bonnie Mitchelson (River East): I would just like to indicate before my question that I will join hands with the Premier (Mr. Doer) if he would announce the extension of the Chief Peguis Trail in northeast Winnipeg.
Mr. Speaker, on the same
day the government delivered the Throne Speech, the Public Utilities Board
approved natural gas rate increases of 6.1 percent to 18 percent. The
Minister responsible for Hydro offered rate shock protection to residents but
failed to offer the same protection to businesses in
My question for the
Minister responsible for Hydro is will he provide the same protection from rate
shock for businesses in
Hon. Dave Chomiak
(Minister of Energy, Science and Technology): I find it curious that a
party that wanted to privatize Hydro and wanted to go to market rates for
electricity now, when the market price for electricity goes up, says the
government should subsidize for those prices. I find it very curious and
strange that the members opposite could have exactly conflicting positions in
regard to that. Very curious that members all of a sudden discovered the
advantage of perhaps having a Crown corporation like Manitoba Hydro keeping
hydro rates the lowest in
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Mrs. Mitchelson: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker, but I believe the Minister responsible for Hydro was losing it because he obviously did not hear the question. Either he did not hear it or he chose not to answer it.
My question was very
specific, Mr. Speaker. The private sector and business growth in
Will the Minister
responsible for Hydro, a very simple question: Will he offer the same
rate-shock protection to businesses in
Mr. Chomiak: I will outline the facts to the member. Manitoba Hydro applied for the primary gas rate increase of 10 percent prior to the PUB decision, and they applied for an overall increase of 10 percent which would have amounted to a rate increase about 6.3 percent on residential and somewhere in the range of 9 percent to 10 percent on commercial. The PUB, an independent body that used to be supported as an independent body by members opposite, recommended, in fact instructed, that an increase be given of 6.3 percent on residential and small commercial, Mr. Speaker, an increase in the range of 12 percent to 18 percent be given to protect from a 44–
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Mrs. Mitchelson: Well, Mr. Speaker, now I have heard everything. When the minister for Hydro stands up and says that the Public Utilities Board has not been manipulated by his department, that it is not run by the socialists and the union friends of this government–
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order. I would remind all honourable members that the clock is ticking. We are trying to get as many questions and answers in as possible. I ask the co-operation of all honourable members.
* (13:55)
Mrs. Mitchelson: Well, this government has failed to protect businesses from rate shock, Mr. Speaker. I also understand that non-profit organizations, places like Winnipeg Harvest, women's shelters, child care centres and others who deal with some of the most vulnerable in our society will not be protected from rate shock.
Can the minister confirm that or can he stand up today and say that all non-profit organizations that deliver services to some of the most disadvantaged in our community will be protected with the same rate shock protection as residential customers?
Mr. Chomiak: Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the fact that the member totally contradicted herself in her third question from her second question, notwithstanding the fact that socialists are hiding in every single desk all around the province, we have committed to protect Manitobans from rate shock of 44 percent.
In
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Livestock Industry
Slaughter Capacity
Mr. Ralph Eichler (
The BSE crisis started two and half years ago. We are still waiting for construction to begin on a Rancher's Choice plant in Dauphin. How can farmers believe anything this government has to say when they have received nothing but broken promises from this government?
Hon. Rosann Wowchuk
(Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives): Mr. Speaker, this government
is committed to economic development in rural
I cannot believe that the members opposite
are speaking against economic development in rural
* (14:00)
Mr. Eichler: Mr. Speaker,
this minister is long in announcement and press releases, but short in action
and follow-through. In May of this year, the minister announced a $3-million
plan designed to increase slaughter capacity in
Why does this government refuse to move
ahead aggressively in establishing processing facilities in
Ms. Wowchuk: I remember the day when a representative of the party opposite said that we did not need any more slaughter capacity in this province and that what we had was adequate. Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the industry, we have been working with the group at Rancher's Choice and we are working to see slaughter capacity increased in this province. It will increase because there is a commitment from producers, the commitment from this government that the slaughter capacity will increase and I ask the member to stay tuned. I ask him also to show his support for Rancher's Choice rather than always being so critical and saying that it will not happen.
Mr. Eichler: Mr. Speaker,
this government has had a golden opportunity to provide a leadership role in
establishing processing plants in
When will the Minister of Agriculture wake up and see what is going on around her and take action and build processing facilities now, Mr. Speaker?
Ms. Wowchuk: The members opposite have said and I could find articles where they have said that government should not be building slaughter capacity. The industry has told us, Mr. Speaker, that government should not be building slaughter capacity. That was very clear. In other provinces, government is not building slaughter capacity.
We have put in place programs, Mr. Speaker. We are working with the industry, and I would encourage the member opposite to call some of the people who are involved with Rancher's Choice and find out what this government is doing because, indeed, our government is working with the group that is proposing the plant at Dauphin. Our government has made a commitment to infrastructure–
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Substance Abuse and Addictions
Government-funded Injection Kits
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): Mr. Speaker, each and every
day the drug problem in
Today I asked the Minister of Justice (Mr. Mackintosh) if he will accept another one of our recommendations and ensure that taxpayer dollars are no longer being used to hand out free drug kits for the use of cocaine and methamphetamine. Will he guarantee us this government will not sponsor injection sites in the province, Mr. Speaker?
Hon. Tim Sale (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, over the last
number of years it has become very clear to anyone who studies the issue that
harm reduction is the most important thing we can do in public health issues
such as the transmission of diseases from one person to another. Whether it is
on the street or in an institution, harm reduction works. Abstinence does not
work when you are dealing with a street population, and there are all kinds of
evidence that harm reduction reduces the transmission of HIV, of hepatitis B
and C and other sexually transmitted and transmissible diseases. Get with the
program. All across
Mr. Goertzen: Mr. Speaker, this minister does not realize we are one of only a couple of cities that allow this to go on with taxpayers' money. There is nothing, nothing, nothing safe about using crack cocaine or methamphetamine.
Mr. Speaker, a Freedom of Information request today revealed that 750 drug kits a month are going out to young people in this province to facilitate them using cocaine and methamphetamine. On the same day that the government was handing out press releases trying to say they are tough on drugs, they were handing out drug kits that were being used to destroy the lives of young people in our province. Will the Minister of Justice today ensure that all the resources being used to fight drugs are being used in that way and not to feed the addictions for young people in the province?
Mr. Sale: Mr. Speaker, the member is flatly wrong and should not be making such scurrilous accusations in a public forum where there are children in the gallery. There are no kits going out for any injection of crystal meth. Every Health minister across this country, whether they are Conservative, Liberal or New Democrat, has taken the view unanimously that harm reduction is critical if we are to deal with sexually transmitted diseases and with other diseases that are spread through dirty needles or other public practices which endanger the lives of everybody.
So the harm reduction strategy is across
North America, it is in
Mr. Goertzen: Mr. Speaker, he knows that the crack pipes and the drug needles are being handed out and it is feeding the addiction of young people in the province.
Mr. Speaker, according to an internal
Department of Justice presentation a 24-year-old drug dealer in
Will this Minister of Justice put an end to this practice, guarantee there will not be government-sanctioned injection sites and make sure that all the resources are used to help kids get off of drugs and not used to help kids get on drugs?
Mr. Sale: Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear for the member. We have put in
place a methamphetamine strategy in concert with B.C.,
Queer Closet
Government Funding
Mr. Gerald Hawranik (Lac du Bonnet): Mr. Speaker, I refer to page 138 of Volume 2 of the 2004-2005 Public Accounts wherein the Department of Industry provided what appears to be a loan or a grant or some sort of financing to a business called Queer Closet for $10,076. Can the Minister of Industry explain the nature of that transaction?
Hon. Jim Rondeau (Minister of Industry, Economic Development and Mines): Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to let all the members of the House know that we have a young investor, entrepreneur program which loans or gives a loan guarantee for young entrepreneurs who are starting up businesses. This program provides small loan guarantees from $5,000 to $10,000 to young entrepreneurs. The program has had a success rate almost of 80 percent which is about double what is normal in economics.
What we tried to do is we worked with young entrepreneurs. We do not censor which businesses are done. The banks, credit unions and financial institutions work with the young entrepreneur. The young entrepreneur sets up the business plan. We do not censor what goes on, what is approved. What we do is we work with young entrepreneurs to build their skills.
Mr. Hawranik: Mr. Speaker, this retail business, it is a retail business that sells and rents a variety of merchandise including adult toys and pornographic films. I ask the Minister of Industry what due diligence did he do before providing $10,076 to this business. Was he aware that this business sells adult toys and rents pornographic films?
* (14:10)
Mr. Rondeau: Mr. Speaker, as any business plan in any retailer that is conducting any business, we do not decide what business they go in or what business they do not go in. Each entrepreneur does the following; they set up a business plan, they often work with the Canada-Manitoba small business, they come up with a business plan and they present it to a financial institution. The financial institution loans the scoop money, and what we do is we work with them to develop the business. We are not going to stop a business whether it is in any legal activity. So what we do whether it is a woman, whether it is a certain ethnic group, we are not going to censor what they do as far as a legal financial transaction. What we are going to do is work with the entrepreneurs to grow the economic pot. This is something that we are working to enhance businesses across the province.
Mr. Hawranik: Obviously,
Mr. Speaker, the next step for this minister is to provide a loan to the next
crack dealer. This business sold and rented pornographic material such as adult
toys and pornographic films, and in providing funds to this kind of business
what message is this NDP government sending to Manitobans? What was the
Minister of Industry thinking to provide money to such a business dealing in
adult toys and pornographic films? How does this make
Mr. Rondeau: Mr. Speaker, as per normal, the member opposite is wrong, wrong, wrong. First, the government did not provide the loan, we provide a loan guarantee.
Second, the financial business plan is approved by the bank. The bank or the credit union or financial institution works with the client along with other supports. They decide the business. We do not decide the business. What we do is they work with legal businesses to develop. This program has over about an 80 percent success rate, 80 percent with young entrepreneurs who are starting businesses. We do not decide the business they start, and we are not going to censor what businesses that are legally conducted can do in this province.
Mental Health Care
Accessibility
Hon. Jon Gerrard (
Why does the NDP continue to contribute to
crime by failing to provide access to appropriate mental health care here in
Hon. Tim Sale (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, I would be the
first to agree that mental heath issues are terribly important to the
population. They are important to the medical and to the social professions. We
have many programs which try to address this issue, but no one would deny
across
Mr. Speaker, that is why we put in the EPPIS program for first psychosis. It is why we put in the PACT program. It is why we recently announced a further additional program related to Selkirk. It is why we have added staff in every RHA in regard to mental health services to support the community-based approach to mental health services. It is why there are crisis teams in every region, but the member is correct that the issue of mental health is a concern in every jurisdiction. We have done considerably better under the previous minister. We will continue to do better and we will improve these services–
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Mr. Gerrard: Mr. Speaker, in
Mr. Sale: Mr. Speaker, the member may recall that, in the wait times
announcement which we made earlier this week, one of the four
Mr. Gerrard: Mr. Speaker, for two years, day after day, week after week, month
after month, people with serious mental illnesses have been unable to accept
the appropriate PACT care treatment. The failure is a direct cause of increased
homelessness, increased hospitalization, increased crime and, add to that,
increased emergency care utilization. Why has this government failed to provide
the services, and when will this government provide four to six PACT teams
which are needed for
Mr. Sale: As I said to the member in my answer to his previous question one of
the four additional priorities in
Biodiesel Industry
Government Initiatives
Mr. Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): As a member of the Biodiesel Advisory Council,
I personally was greatly heartened yesterday to hear that the Government of
Hon. Rosann Wowchuk (Minister of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Initiatives): Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to join with
my colleague, the Minister of Energy, Science and Technology (Mr. Chomiak), at
a conference yesterday where people from across
Slaughter Plant Expansion
Mr. Glen Cummings (Ste.
Rose): Mr. Speaker,
Will this Minister of Agriculture now be prepared to sit down to sign an agreement with this company for infrastructure support?
* (14:20)
Hon. Rosann Wowchuk (Minister of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Initiatives): Mr. Speaker, I can tell this House that my
department has met with Natural Valley Beef and gone through their program.
Mr. Speaker: Time for Oral Questions has expired.
Breast Cancer Awareness
Month
Mrs. Bonnie Mitchelson
(River East): I rise today to inform the House that October
was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, almost 22 000 women in
On Sunday, October 2, I was privileged to
participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure, which is the largest single-day
breast cancer fundraising event in
The run united over 170 000 Canadians in 40 different locations with one goal in mind: to create a future without breast cancer. I would like to ask all members of the Legislature to join me in congratulating the over 7000 Manitobans who took part in the Run for the Cure and encourage all members of the Legislative Assembly to consider contributing to this worthy cause and participating in next year's run. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Bonnie Korzeniowski
(St. James): Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my
colleague, the Member for Assiniboia (Mr. Rondeau), to congratulate the members
of the St. James Rods Football Club Inc. This non-profit organization has been
a leader in the St. James community for 60 years and is the oldest
football club in
The club's commitment to excellence has gone far beyond the field and into the realm of community service. They have cleaned up garbage in the streets, taken graffiti off buildings and painted them at Bruce Park and painted hockey rink fences at community centres.
With support from my constituency office, the club was recipient to a Community Places grant for 2005-2006. This provincial grant program provides funding support for the acquisition, construction or upgrading of buildings and facilities. The money will go towards the construction of a new clubhouse for this growing organization. The sustainability of the club's facilities is dependent on such grants and I plan on continuing to support their efforts.
I would also like to
highlight, Mr. Speaker, their attitude of action and creativity is exemplified
by the club's decision to welcome two hearing-impaired players into their
midget football team, receiver/placekicker Justin Butkans and defensive lineman
Jonathan Anderson. With patience and persistence of head coach Rob Baillie and
assistant coach Jeff Chappel, who took it upon himself to learn sign language,
team members took on the challenge of playing through communication barriers.
That shows dedication to youth and to the Rods motto: Respect,
Mr. Speaker, youth can stray into gangs, drugs and crime, especially if they lack options for recreation. Sports clubs like the Rods offer our youth a crucial link to a sense of belonging, pride and community. I congratulate the St. James Rods for their efforts and accomplishments. Their ongoing commitment to quality youth sports programming and their unprecedented contributions–
Mr. Speaker: Order. Does the honourable member have leave? [Agreed]
Ms. Korzeniowski: –to the community are truly commendable. Thank you.
Transportation
Infrastructure Renewal
Mr. Cliff Cullen (
The province was quick to stand on the national stage, and the Premier (Mr. Doer) was quick to stand on the national stage in August and claim that transportation infrastructure was a top priority. However, now that he is home, he has dropped the ball. Infrastructure was not mentioned in the Speech from the Throne. Where is this government's commitment to infrastructure?
The deteriorating infrastructure in
Our transportation infrastructure is an
embarrassment. For example, Mr. Speaker, Highway No. 6 was rated in the top 10
worst highways in
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker,
this government has not made progress with the federal government in regard to
the federal gas tax issue, and this government has not made any commitments on
an investment over and above the gas tax collected in
Mr. Speaker, this government is also collecting approximately a million dollars in driver licence fees and vehicle registration fees annually, and this money is not being used on–
Mr. Speaker: Order. Is there leave? [Agreed]
Mr. Cullen: And this money is not being used on transportation infrastructure as many Manitobans believe it is. We simply ask where is this government's priority on infrastructure. Thank you.
Seven
Mr. Cris Aglugub (The Maples): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the House's attention to Seven Oaks General Hospital, an important institution in my constituency of The Maples, which has won the Canadian Association of Retired Persons' 50 Plus Award for Best Employer in Canada. This prestigious award recognizes workplaces that develop policies that actively support older workers, accommodating them with job-sharing programs, flexible hours and various retirement options.
Mr. Speaker, this announcement is very timely as this past October was Seniors' and Elders' month. All throughout this month we celebrated seniors in our communities who act as vital links between the past and future. Their vast wealth of experience is an asset to our communities and the wisdom with which they pass it on deserves recognition. For it is through their contributions that the living heritage of this province is passed on for future generations to enjoy.
Recognizing the
contribution seniors make to our communities,
Mr. Speaker, I would like
to congratulate
Diabetes Strategy
Hon. Jon Gerrard (
This month is diabetes month. The theme
for this month is Get Serious. The message is directed straight at the failure
of
The present minister when questioned earlier this year in Estimates could only provide three-year-old statistics. Time and again this government has not taken the diabetes epidemic with the seriousness it deserves, and they have done too little to prevent the epidemic from continuing. It is time to get serious and implement a plan which arrests the epidemic of diabetes and dramatically reduces the number of new cases occurring in our province.
Mr. Speaker: That is five members' statements?
An Honourable Member: Yes.
House Business
Hon. Gord Mackintosh (Government House Leader): Mr. Speaker, I would like to make two motions for some rule changes by leave. I understand there has been agreement to deal with the issue of First Readings and Petitions.
Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable member have leave? [Agreed]
Mr. Mackintosh: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Russell (Mr. Derkach),
THAT effective tomorrow and for the duration of the 2005 sittings until the House rises on December 8, the order of Routine Proceedings as set out in Rule 23(1) be changed so that the Introduction of Bills is called as the first item in the Daily Routine and that the distribution of Bills take place in the Chamber as soon as possible after Introduction of Bills, and after distribution in the Chamber, copies of bills will then be distributed to the media.
Mr. Speaker: It has been moved by the honourable Attorney General, seconded by the honourable Member for Russell,
THAT effective tomorrow and for the duration of the 2005 sittings until the House rises on December 8, the order of Routine Proceedings as set out in Rule 23(1) be changed so that the Introduction of Bills is called as the first item in the Daily Routine, and that distribution of Bills take place in the Chamber as soon as possible after Introduction of Bills, and after distribution in the Chamber, copies of bills will then be provided to the media.
Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
* * *
Mr. Mackintosh: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Member for
THAT the current Rule 132(2) be repealed
and replaced with the following, to go into effect immediately and to apply
permanently:
Form of Petition
132(2) A petition must be in the form set out in Appendix A and must be signed by at least 15 petitioners. The names and addresses of 15 petitioners must be legible. If more than one page is required for the signature of petitions, the subject matter of the petition must be indicated on each page. The reverse side of petitions can be used for signatures, provided that the action of the Legislative Assembly is being asked to take or not take appears on the top of the reverse side of the page. The signature of the Member must also appear at the top of the original petition. Check marks, ditto marks or similar wording are acceptable for address designations.
Mr. Speaker: It has been
moved by the honourable Attorney General, seconded by the honourable Member for
THAT the current rule 132(2) be repealed and replaced with the following, to go into effect immediately and to apply permanently:
Form of Petition
132(2)–
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Mr. Speaker: I have to read the motion in order to move it.
A petition must be in the form set out in Appendix A and must be signed by at least 15 petitioners. The names and addresses of 15 petitioners must be legible. If more than one page is required for the signature of petitions, the subject matter of the petition must be indicated on each page. The reverse side of petitions can be used for signatures, provided that the action the Legislative Assembly is being asked to take or not take appears on the top of the reverse side of the page. The signature of the Member must also appear at the top of the original petition. Check marks, ditto marks, or similar wording are acceptable for address designations.
Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
Mr. Speaker: Resume debate on the proposed motion of the honourable Member for
The Maples (Mr. Aglugub), that the following address be presented to His Honour
the Lieutenant-Governor, and the proposed motion of the honourable Leader of
the Official Opposition (Mr. Murray) in amendment thereto, and the proposed
motion of the honourable Member for
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): Mr. Speaker, I thank you for that warm reception that I received from all members of the House as I continue on with just a few minutes more of comments regarding this government's Throne Speech and vision or lack thereof. You know, we saw again, I know this is a sensitive issue for the members opposite. The Member for Selkirk (Mr. Dewar) always gets very concerned that we stand up, because we might talk about the lack of resources for police in his area or the lack of resources for police in other areas, so I know he is always very concerned.
An Honourable Member: I am okay.
Mr. Goertzen: Well, he says he is okay, so that is helpful for me. I can go then into the area of Selkirk, and certainly tell all the residents and the RCMP of his area that their member of the Legislature does not feel that they need any more resources, that they are okay. They do not need any more police officers. Everything is okay, and if there is anything more that they need in terms of security, they should go somewhere else. I will bring that message forward to Selkirk. I will bring that message forward to all of his residents so that they know that their member of the Legislature said, "We are okay here. Do not give us any more."
But I know when you go around to other areas of the province, Mr. Speaker, that certainly is not what other representatives would say. Other representatives who care more about the safety and concern of their constituents than the Member for Selkirk does would say we need more RCMP officers. We need more RCMP officers on the streets and in our areas and to ensure that they are there. Not these fake or pseudo kind of officers that the government announces here and there and says that they are going to be there, but they are unfilled positions, but real police, because we believe that men and women in uniform and the RCMP and the municipal forces are some of the best that we have, really, in the world and we want them out there doing their job.
And what a job they have to do. You know,
we heard today, again, more of the problems that we have with drugs in the
community, not only in
An Honourable Member: We shut down all those grow ops.
Mr. Goertzen: Well, you
know, the Member for Interlake (Mr. Nevakshonoff) says that there are no more
grow ops out there, that they are all shut down, so I will wait certainly for a
week or two to go by and then there will be another grow op. Then I will go
back to the member and say to him, "Where did that grow op come from,
because you told me just a couple of weeks ago that there were no more grow ops
in the
You know, I had the opportunity to visit the constituency of Rossmere not too long ago, and I have another opportunity coming up in a few weeks to go and speak to the good people of Rossmere who are very concerned about crime, about drugs in their community. I went there and–
An Honourable Member: Who is going to Steinbach?
Mr. Goertzen: I hear that the Member for Rossmere (Mr. Schellenberg) is coming to Steinbach, and I welcome him. I would welcome him to come to Steinbach. You know, he should have been in Steinbach a week and a half ago, when we had a meth information meeting on October 24. He should have been there that day when there were 350 people come out to hear about the problem that we have with methamphetamine and drugs in the area.
I doubt that there will be 350 people out, maybe, in Rossmere. I think they have been kind of lulled to sleep by the Member for Rossmere, that there is not really an issue, that there really is not a problem of drugs and crime in their area, but I am going to go there and tell them what can really be done, and that there are solutions, and that it is not good enough to simply go and blame the federal government and blame some other area of jurisdiction, that there truly are things that the provincial government can do to rid the streets of gangs, to rid the streets of drugs, and those solutions must come from here, from the Legislature. It is not good enough for the members opposite to stand and point to other areas of jurisdiction, to the City, to the federal government. We know that there are roles that those other levels of government have to play, but there are real powers that the Province has that they can implement and they can do, whether it is more law enforcement for, well, for every area of the province except for Selkirk, obviously, now because their member says that they have enough. But law enforcement really everywhere else in the province truly is suffering. They are truly suffering, and they need more resources, Mr. Speaker.
* (14:40)
So, when I go to Rossmere in a couple of
weeks, and I speak to the residents of Rossmere, I will certainly be clear and
let them know that in fact–[interjection]
Well, you know, the member from Rossmere says, "I will be speaking to the
old Tory gang." That gang is growing every day. There are many gangs that
are growing in the
So I look forward, Mr. Speaker, to go and speak to those members in Rossmere about the issues of crime and about the issues of justice that need to come to their particular area and how we can truly address these. We will not get rid of drugs off the street by handing out drug kits and handing out paraphernalia on how drugs should be used. That is certainly not going to do it. We do not believe that we should be using taxpayers' money to fund an addiction, to fund an activity that is not only destructive but is also illegal. The taxpayers' money is going to that.
We heard earlier on about different places that taxpayers' money is going that certainly is questionable, and it would be concerning I think to many Manitobans when they read about it in tomorrow's newspapers. They will be asking about it and saying, "How is it that my money that I go out and work for can be funnelled into areas of drug addiction and to other questionable spending practices? How can this government allow that to happen when I am out there working every day hard for the dollars that I earn? How can they allow such a thing to happen?"
That is a question that is going to come, and I do not know what the answer is going to be from the members opposite. You know, I feel sorry for those members who are not in Cabinet on the other side because they are going to have to try to come up with some sort of an answer and a make-believe solution because their government, their members in Cabinet have failed them on these and other issues that are not representative of what Manitobans are expecting from a real government, they are expecting from a government that is going to do things responsibly.
So I know that it is going to be a difficult issue. I wonder how the member from Minto is going to justify some of these issues. You know, a newly elected member, he will have to go out to his constituents and talk about how he supports this questionable spending, these questionable practices and how money is going to feed the addiction of young people in our province, going to support gang activity, going to support gang activity.
Now, we learned about a
presentation that was done, and there was a dealer in
I think it is embarrassing for them not to talk about it. I think that they are doing a great disservice to all Manitobans by not saying, "Okay, there is a problem out there. Yes, we have been part of the problem by not addressing the issues clearly. Now, how are we going to go and address the issues?" You know, it is not just simply sometimes the members opposite might think, well, it is an inner city issue, so let us not worry about it. It is kind of just a core area issue, and we do not have to worry about that. We have all those supporters and those voters. But it is real. It is a person issue. It is not a political issue, Mr. Speaker, and it has to be dealt with on that level and not looked at as votes.
I know that if I go, and I have and I will
in the future, Mr. Speaker, go to places like
Perhaps the Member for
I think quite the opposite, by not talking about the issue, by not saying there is a problem and young people throughout the province are getting drawn into this culture of drugs, that we could fear that we could lose a generation of young people to drugs like crystal meth and to cocaine. By not really putting forward that effort and saying, "You know what, we are not going to worry about what the reputation of the government is going to be. What we are going to worry about, about the lives of young people in our province who are really, really suffering and get the information out there."
So, if the Member for
You know there was lots of discussion about certain things that the government thought were all roses, but there were a lot of other issues that are important to Manitobans that will hurt young people that were not addressed. I would challenge this government to bring forward a Throne Speech that would address the issues. They may not all reflect positively upon the government, but I believe in the long run if they address those issues, it will reflect positively on all of us as legislators. Mr. Speaker, not just New Democrats or Conservatives or Liberals, but we would all look better if we would take on those serious issues that are here in Manitoba. Thank you very much.
Mr. Bidhu Jha (Radisson): I rise today to speak on the
Throne Speech, 2005, with great pride to support this. This is perhaps a repeat
of my previous statements in this House on our values as New Democrats. It is
just over two years that I have been elected as a member from Radisson, and it
is some of the hardest work I have done in my life, but, Mr. Speaker, I
enjoy it so much that the hard work really pays. I enjoy working with this
government. I enjoy talking to my constituents because they are all very, very
pleased with the history of this government's six-year governance and future
that we are building. I must say I see the rise in the quality of life for
seniors, adults, children, women minorities, Aboriginal brothers and sisters
from northern
Let me again express my
views as a father, grandfather and a citizen of this great nation,
Going to schools, increasing the number of students in our medical schools and hiring nurses and doctors. It will take 10 years to catch up to what was done by this swallowing of this poison pill that they are recommending to do for us.
Mr. Conrad Santos, Deputy
Speaker, in the Chair
Once again, a great consultant supporter, Dr. Linda West, campaigned during my last election on the Tory platform to fix health care. No, Mr. Speaker. "No," said the people of Radisson to Dr. Linda West and to the Tory ideology to build our societies on a two- or, perhaps, three-tier system.
* (14:50)
Mr. Speaker, our Premier (Mr. Doer) and the ministers of Health, Honourable Dave Chomiak in the past and now Minister Sale, are not only visionary for Manitoba's future health care, they are really compassionate persons who have done, worked hard and are still working hard to make health care work in this province. In my constituency, there is Transcona health access facilities, which will provide much-needed help to residents on health care access and other services available to them right in the constituency.
Today at noon, Mr.
Speaker, Minister Sale made an announcement at
Mr. Speaker, I have heard many times the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Murray) asking about, talking about the future of our children and grandchildren. Yes, that is one of the reasons why I chose to enter politics. Yes, I am concerned about the future of our children and grandchildren. The difference is what is the approach. The difference is how we are going to save our children and grandchildren's future, by doing what?
I must say that ideology separates us from the Tories in terms of how we want to do this. Do we want a society where we build boundaries of people living in luxury and others to die in hunger? Do we want to build a society that will have a two-tier or three-tier level of quality of life? Do we want to go back to old, dark days when those who cannot afford should be thrown in the gutter? Do we want to go back and save money by destroying what we have built? No, Mr. Speaker, no. The answer is no. In God's eyes we are all made equal. This may sound socialist, but if you really follow God's disciples, if you are God's children, we are all the same. If that ideology is called socialism, so be it. We are proud to be socialist.
I think we are also addressing us as our brothers and sisters. That makes the difference. When we are brothers and sisters, we are part of the family, and if we are part of the family, we have to really share and make sure that nobody suffers. That difference is the ideology between both them and us.
The Leader of the Opposition has called these socially responsible projects wastes of money. They should rather give their money to their corporate friends, give a break by selling MTS and taking money from the pockets of all of us, as we are now paying. That is what is called the privatization of Crown jewels that the Tories have done in the past and they would love to do in the future.
We have debated this so many times. Now,
they would love to risk the future of our children and our grandchildren by
their lean-and-mean agenda, if we let them govern. If they were given a choice
to govern, yes, Mr. Speaker, they would sell our Crown jewel, our Hydro. We
enjoy the best Hydro rates in
Now, that is what is called saving the
future of our children and grandchildren? No. If they would be allowed to
govern, they would sell Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation, which gives us
the best auto insurance rates in
If they would be allowed to govern, they would take sports, music and art out of schools so that the children of rich families can send their kids to learn in private schools, and those who cannot afford will be put to suffer and create two class systems among the youngest of our society. Now, that is destroying our children and grandchildren's future.
If they are left to govern, they would
follow their ideology, rule like Mr. Harper in
So it is okay to let them die? No. No, we will not let a society be built on such ideologies which give breaks to corporations and promote corruption at the cost of our future and our children's future and our grandchildren's future. No, Mr. Speaker, we will not allow them to destroy what we have built.
Mr. Speaker, $3 billion in clean
energy development over the next 10 years is called vision. A commitment to
1000 megawatt wind energy created by using free-flowing wind in nature is
called vision. To cut 135 000 tonnes of vehicle emissions by new
ethanol production facilities in
Mr. Speaker, I can keep on going for
hours, but I would rather let the members opposite open their eyes and, more
so, open their closed minds and just see ahead. Let them see the vibrant
downtown. Let them see the futuristic
Let them open their narrow vision and
realize
We had 7427 immigrants last year, a 14
percent increase over the previous year, a continued commitment to the
provincial target of 10 000 immigrants per year in Manitoba, who will be
absorbed into our economy is truly the vision. Let them realize that we have
more doctors moving to
Mr. Speaker, I invite some of my friends
in the opposition to visit the new state-of-the-art Hindu temple which has been
built on St. Anne's Road to see the excitement in that community of this new
temple. Let them also come and see the sod-turning ceremony we had. My
colleague from Transcona and myself, we witnessed that recreation park in
Transcona that is going to be built, which will be, literally, one of the best
things from the healthy living for the people throughout the city of
* (15:00)
I am excited about reporting the roof on the Prendergast community senior centre, which was again the vision and the hard work of the government and compassionate work to make sure that the roof is built onto that school system that houses our seniors and a lot of children.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are really proud to speak of the difference between this government, this party's ideology, and others. I would like to quote from a report, a federal government report. The heading says: New Democrats Most Fiscally Responsible, Federal Government Report, February 23, 2005, and I quote: "New Democratic Party governments have the best fiscal track record among all parties, balancing the books more than twice as often as Liberal governments," according to a federal government report released yesterday. The NDP has shown that it is possible to invest in things Canadians say they value–that they value, I repeatedly say–while demonstrating fiscal discipline. NDP Leader Jack Layton said, "Our approach to the budget this spring delivered important investments in housing, the environment, foreign aid, education and training while keeping the books balanced."
So, when we are accused of saying that we have a spending habit, yes, we have a spending habit to build. We invest to build. We do not give away money to corporations that take it and eventually develop a two-tier society, a two-tier system.
The report also shows
that the NDP government has balanced the books 46 percent of the time. The
Manitoba NDP government has caused surpluses every year it has been in office,
and
So I would say in closing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that we are builders and doers. Let the members from the opposite benches come, join us and say, yes, to the great Throne Speech that was presented to be passed.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Larry Maguire
(Arthur-Virden): It is my pleasure to rise to put some comments
on the record in regard to the Throne Speech, the Throne Speech of '05 brought
forward by the government of the day, and I want to outline a number of reasons
why I will not be voting in favour of this Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I
think that this will become very evident as we move forward, certainly evident
from the list of amendments that our leader, the Member for
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I
have had the opportunity of being all over my constituency and around
I want to talk about
three areas of crisis that I see in
First of all, though, I would like to say that I look forward to working with the administration of the House and the interns who are working with the various parties and, certainly, the three who are working with our side of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I look forward to working with them as well, and, certainly, the pages of the House, it is a great experience to have them here as well.
I have to say that I am very upset with the circumstances around the government's lack of priority in the area of how they have given lip service, I guess, to the infrastructure situation in rural Manitoba and the devastation that was caused by the heavy rainfall, some 22 inches, that took place from the first of June till the middle of July, around much of Manitoba.
It started off on June 1 in the area that I represent and the area of the member from Russell as well as the member from Minnedosa. It seemed to be where the height of the rain hit on June 1, but it went on through the rest of Manitoba after that and certainly in southern Manitoba, Mr. Deputy Speaker. This government has given lip service to disaster financial assistance for those particular residents that were certainly impacted, and I am not speaking so much of the farm community but the homes that were devastated by overland flooding.
Now I know there were
many communities around
I know that the farmers and the community's citizens, and particularly Mayor Brian Franklin and his council and their administration, did everything they possibly could to try and save their whole community from flooding and are to be commended for their efforts. These people worked night and day literally to make sure that the community was kept as dry as it possibly could, even though the basements in the southern three blocks of the community at least, many of them were completely filled with water right to the floor joists, Mr. Deputy Speaker. In some cases, the basements have had to be completely rebuilt in these homes, the home moved off, the new basement built, and moved back in. That is certainly the situation with the Williams family, and we know of others as well.
Mr. Speaker, I reiterated a concern that I will reiterate now, but I raised it first when the elected members, the Premier (Mr. Doer) and Minister Alcock, the national Treasury Board president, were out in Arthur-Virden, in Deloraine, in July after the flooding. Of course, the Emergency Measures operation was set up at that time to deal with some of these issues, to take claims and that sort of thing in which residents responded very quickly to getting their claims filled out. The circumstance at that time and I remember the Premier's words specifically were, "We will be there for you." To many of the citizens, he said, "We know you need help on this issue."
Well, I believe the last time that I spoke
was only a few short weeks ago with the Emergency Measures people in Manitoba,
that there were only 30 of the claims that had been settled, and there had been
some 158 applications for disaster financial assistance due to that flooding in
the town of Deloraine alone. I know there were some 4000 across the
Mr. Speaker, funds have moved very slowly. People are waiting to get funds so that they can go ahead with the rebuilding of their homes, and as winter approaches, there are many who have indicated to me that they will not be able to move forward with that work unless they see some kind of a payment in the very near future.
This is exacerbated I think in the rural areas by this government's reliance on, and I want to talk about agriculture for a moment. This has been exacerbated in the rural area and the farming community by the fact that upwards of 25 for sure and, in some local circumstances, 40 percent of the farmland was washed out in those areas. Now I know there were other areas that never got any crop seeded, but our area had one of the better springs that it had up until the first of June, and was able to actually seed all the crop, and, in many circumstances, corner to corner in that rural area, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and so all of the inputs, fertilizer, chemical and fuel that were going to be required to get a crop off to an excellent start, were in the ground and the crop was growing when, on June 1, upwards of 40 percent of it in some areas was completely washed away. Farmers banded together to try to calculate what the losses would be in their own farming operations. Many of them, and I know in particular, the Griffith family in the Waskada area went to work and put forth a municipal-wide call to have everyone come in and point out what their losses were in fertilizer and chemical, and I know that the Keystone Ag Producers accumulated some of that information and has presented it to the government as well.
* (15:10)
But, Mr. Speaker, the government has not provided the kinds of support that this region certainly needs, and I know from experience that from Portage la Prairie east in Manitoba and up through the Interlake, there is virtually no crop to harvest in many of these areas. The area that I represent has had patches of crop to harvest, but nothing that will bring most of that area over crop insurance levels, and so I expect to see one of the largest payments in Manitoba Crop Insurance's history on top of last year's, which was the biggest on record, in the $190-million range.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture
(Ms. Wowchuk) continues to say that the CAIS program, Canadian Ag Income
Stabilization program, and crop insurance are going to be the only two
mechanisms used to help save these individuals. Of course, there have been
promises of slaughter plants for the BSE issue that have not come about. There
have been promises of funds for feasibility studies that have not come about or
they are being told they are not eligible for. There were promises for
feasibility studies for ethanol plants around the province and now we find out
that the government all along really only planned on having one ethanol plant
in
Mr. Speaker, the circumstance around the flooded acreage is one that many farmers will not recover from this year. I have had phone calls from young farmers in their twenties who are walking away from pretty well-established farms. I have seen circumstances where farmers in their sixties and fifties, and some in their late forties, have basically said, "We are going to put it up for sale." In normal circumstances, a neighbour or someone would purchase this land, but I find that they are telling me that they are not able to sell this as quickly as they feel they should have otherwise been able to because nobody wants to risk the equity that they have any further in Manitoba, particularly because of the fact that they are the highest taxed, but they are also facing some of the highest fuel increases in Canada. With the high cost of fuel and fertilizer and other input costs, this has been a huge concern to the farming community.
Mr. Speaker, this on top of a drought in '03, a frost in August of '04 and, of course, the flooding in '05, on top of the closure of the U.S. border to live cattle going south for two years as a result of the BSE issue and, of course, the closure, which affected most of our region, of the PMU industry, the horse industry and the closure of many of those barns in southwest Manitoba as well, as well as across the province, and so these have been devastating impacts on local businesses and small communities. That is why our government, and I was proud to be there with our leader when we moved across Manitoba in July and made press conferences, held them in many communities, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Deloraine particularly, to indicate that we had a five-point plan to help the struggling agricultural industry. I think chief among those was a movement to an increased dollar level on the unseeded acreage, and this government has offloaded the premiums of that program that was so implemented by Harry Enns in 1999, when I was still farming. I remember receiving the cheques before the election that fall, and there were no premiums to be applied to that. This government has chosen to do that and then offload any secondary year hurt and double that premium to farmers, and that is, in this kind of a circumstance, completely unacceptable, and they were not even willing to waive that for a year.
The other program that we talked about, I
will not go into them all, but the Jobs Economic Recovery Initiative that was
put forward in 1997 worked so well in the
I want to move into the area of health
care. As I said earlier, the circumstances around health services in rural
Now we are being faced as well, and I
believe they are still short some 11 doctors as we speak today in this House,
Mr. Speaker, and I know that the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority, the
last number I heard was they were 17 short for a total of 28 doctors short in
southwest
I mean, Mr. Speaker, the
Conservative government started out building a $13-million power plant so the
hospital could actually be built. We have heard a lot about the
$58 million that this government has indicated they built a hospital in
But let me back up even one more, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I want to say what it is like if you are living in Lyleton or Waskada or Tilston, and put on the record again, as I have done before, that this government does not mind that two-hour trip from Brandon to Winnipeg. Put them in an ambulance and send them in here and send them back. But if you are in Lyleton or Tilston or Waskada or Melita and you have to take an hour-and-a-half to two-hour ride, to get to Brandon, you are looking at an all-day trip in an ambulance just for the circumstances that you may not be able to get in your local area, or you cannot get in your local area.
I would raise again the question that I
raised in the House here about a young–I cannot remember his first name right
now, I believe it was Justin Roper, a young fellow, 14 years old that broke his
leg just above the ankle, both bones, in the Director's Cup hockey tournament that was held in Hartney and
Souris this spring. He had to wait five days before he could even see a doctor
to get that ankle looked at. This is a situation where he could not even be
guaranteed that the specialist would be in
* (15:20)
Mr. Speaker, I know my time is moving on. There are so many issues to deal with in this area, but I have to say that we have lost emergency services in both Deloraine and Boissevain hospitals this fall as well. This from a government that has been committing all along to having a cancer care centre in the community of Deloraine. This is on top of the fact that the community is raising funds themselves to try and do everything they can to get that cancer care centre kept there and the services that they need locally. The community is doing everything it possibly can. The government is doing nothing in regard to making sure that there is a priority to have doctors in our rural area, or else they would take some of the students who are trying to apply to medicine in Manitoba and allow them to be trained and come back to practise in rural Manitoba, and there is very, very little of that, in spite of the fact that there has been some increase now that the budget will allow the opportunity to have more facilities there.
Mr. Speaker, I have to say that the debt of Manitoba is staggering: $20.5 billion for the first time ever, increased debt of over $3.274 billion since this government came in and, because I am involved in transportation, this government has got $3.4 billion, as pointed out by our leader in the opening of Question Period today and myself, this $7-billion shortfall in infrastructure overall, $3.4 billion of it in transportation alone and roads. This government has no imagination in regards to how to find and secure funding for the kinds of infrastructure that we are needing. People are dying on our roads every day. Our streets are crumbling, and yet this government has no way of, other than to say that they will spend a few more dollars each year, which they have lapsed, and they have no new ideas.
They have listened to the 2020 report that came out but have done nothing with it, as I have pointed out today as well, Mr. Speaker. There are so many areas of shortfall in the government priorities in regard to the budgeting of the budget in Manitoba that it will be extremely interesting to see what they say in the budget in the spring, as they try to put a positive spin on the fact that we have one of the lowest gross domestic products and job creation programs in all of Canada. The Chartered Accountants of Manitoba have indicated that they have only created 10 000 private-sector jobs versus some 26 000 public jobs in this province.
There are so many issues, and I am going
to end my comments today there, Mr. Speaker, by just saying that this
government has not dealt with the crisis in agriculture, they have not dealt
with the crisis in health care and they have not dealt with the crisis of debt
as they continue to offload the future debt of this province, I would say not
only the $3.274 billion in budget, but also the $3.4 billion in road
infrastructure and sewer and water. That $7 billion does not even show up
in the budget and this government is offloading that on the future Manitobans,
the youth of this province and, because we are the highest taxed in
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.
Hon.
Rosann Wowchuk (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want to
say that I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this Throne
Speech and what I believe is an excellent Throne Speech, although the members
opposite keep talking about how terrible and how much doom and gloom there is
in this Throne Speech. This budget builds on our record and takes steps toward
improving the quality of life of Manitobans. It improves on health care. It
builds on
But I want to just talk about a few of the
comments that the member opposite made. The member opposite talked about our
commitment to
I want to also talk about the member opposite talking about ambulances. I am surprised. He seems to be against rural Manitobans having better ambulance service. Mr. Speaker, 160 new ambulances that members opposite do not seem to support. The member opposite is also critical of the policy of people having to pay for movement from the rural area to urban centres when they need treatment. Well, I wonder where the members opposite were when Darren Praznik brought that policy in. Darren Praznik brought in the policy that rural people would pay for the inter-hospital transportation. We kept that policy. We put better ambulances on the road. You know, it is very easy to tell the members, the government, what we should do, but I tell the members opposite they should look at their record, they should look at their record because they did put the policy in place.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also mention briefly the member opposite talks about debt. Well, you know, the members opposite, the auditor recommended that we go to a summary budget. Members opposite would not go to a summary budget, but when we came into office, they said, "Oh, you should move to summary budget." So we moved to summary budget which, it is required under summary budget that you report Hydro debt, hospital debt, school debt. It is all in there as summary budget requires. But all of a sudden, there is a new debt. Even though they bought Centra Gas, kept it off the books, we brought it into the books–
An Honourable Member: It was there.
Ms. Wowchuk: No, it was not in the books. They hid that debt and when we came in–you know what, Mr. Acting Speaker, this is about honest reporting, and that is what we are doing. The auditor said report by summary budget, and we are reporting more honestly than the members opposite would ever know about reporting. I can tell you that even a predecessor, of the Conservatives, Mr. Duff Roblin, said that Hydro debt should be reported as it is, and members opposite do not seem to agree with him either.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to, just before I get into a few more comments, I do want to recognize the staff that serves us in this Chamber, recognize the pages who are here to help us through the day, and the interns that are with each of the caucuses and to all of the people who are here, particularly in the short term for this session, for this season. I hope that this is a rewarding experience for you and that sometimes some of the bantering that goes back and forth across the way, I hope you do not take all of that too seriously, but you go away from this Chamber with a very rewarding experience.
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about some of
the comments that the members opposite just made, that my critic, the member
from the Interlake made, in their comments about the doom and gloom that they
have painted for rural
* (15:30)
I heard the member opposite criticize us
because we have put in place 10 economic development officers to work with
rural Manitobans in the area of value added, and he does not support that. He
says in his speech that they have hired and put these officers in place but
they are not available. I would encourage the member opposite, who thinks these
positions are not available, to go to our GO offices. There are people who are
there. They are working with Manitobans. The member opposite should get in
touch with reality and see what is really happening out in rural
An Honourable Member: The sky is falling.
Ms. Wowchuk: That is right. The members opposite would like to paint a picture that the sky is falling.
Mr. Speaker, the members opposite have also–I want to talk a couple of programs. They talk about our crop insurance, and he says, "Wow, they have record payout in crop insurance." Indeed we do, but he says, "It is their own money." Well, the member opposite obviously does not understand insurance.
Insurance is a partnership, and in this case it is a partnership between the producer, the federal government and the provincial government. I have not heard producers say that they want free insurance. Producers have always said they wanted a partnership and they wanted protection. Just as it is a partnership when you purchase your house insurance between you and the insurance company to give yourself protection, our producers are the most supportive of crop insurance of any producers across Canada. They recognize it as a good program, and they appreciate the changes that we have made, particularly to excess moisture insurance. I know the members opposite would like to try to take credit for excess moisture insurance.
The members opposite did have, could have had, a chance to make excess moisture insurance a permanent program. In fact, the farm organizations went to the previous government and said, "Give us excess moisture insurance." They chose to go ad hoc. It was this government that put in place excess moisture insurance as a permanent program that the producers could count on–[interjection] I hear the member opposite nattering away about the amount of money in the program. Mr. Speaker, our program fits in with the national program and, in fact, we have more changes and more programs than are offered in many, many other provinces.
The members opposite were calling for ad hoc programs and certainly we talked to the federal government, whether they could put additional money in, and we are still raising this issue of support for farmers through this difficult year. We have not been able to get the federal government to recognize that the low commodity prices are as a result of high subsidies in other countries. It is a trade issue and the federal government should be much more supportive to our producers than they are. We will continue to work in that area.
I heard criticism of members opposite of CAIS. Well, I want to tell members opposite to remember that in this Chamber it was my critic who continued to say, "Why do you not sign CAIS? Why do you not sign CAIS so farmers have a program that they need?" Mr. Speaker, there are challenges with CAIS. There have been changes that have been made. There are changes that will have to be made. There are reviews going on on the program to see how it can be improved to meet the needs of the producers.
So, Mr. Speaker, when I look at the comments that the members opposite are making with regard to the programs that we have, certainly there are times when you have to make changes. People were asking us, members opposite were asking us, to make changes to excess moisture insurance during the middle of a crop year. Well, I am sorry, that is not how you run programs. You work with the industry, you consult with the industry and then you come up with changes. You do not, in the middle of a program, say, "Oh, we are making changes because we are in a difficult situation." It is a matter of planning and having the finances in place. As we have consulted with the industry on previous programs, we will continue to consult with them.
With regard to taxes, I did not hear the member opposite complaining about the decrease in education taxes at all. Now we have taken off 60 percent. All of a sudden they are saying, "Oh, you should be taking it all off." Well, I want to talk a little bit about history here as well. Mr. Speaker, 11 years, 11 years of Tory government, what did the farmers get? Farmers got an increase in their portioning on farmland. All of a sudden, in opposition, when we are reducing the education tax on farmland, what do the members opposite do? "Oh, take it all off, take it all off." My goodness, where were you when you were in government in reducing those taxes on farmland?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talked
about drainage, and what did he say? "Oh, the drainage has to be addressed
in this province. We need substantial dollars." But I remember, again,
when they were in government what did they do to the drainage budget? The
member from
Our government has been making steps. We have increased the amount of money going to drainage, and we will continue to make the improvements to drainage because–
An Honourable Member: The air in here has changed.
Ms. Wowchuk: Mr. Speaker, if you look at the drainages and the places that we have done improvements, there has been a lot of work that has been done in drainage. Is there need for more work? Of course, there is always a need for more. But, as a government, we will continue to increase our budget on drainage. We will continue to increase our budget on highways. We will continue to commit the funds that come from gasoline taxes. We will continue to go into all of those areas.
But, Mr. Speaker, you know the members opposite continue to talk about that this budget has nothing good for farmers. Well, I just want to remind the members opposite that they should read the response from Keystone Agricultural Producers. "The provincial government announced some key agriculture initiatives in its Throne Speech today," said KAP. "While it is not the final solution to the education financing question, KAP is pleased that the Province has announced an additional 10 percent rebate on the education tax that is paid on farmland in 2006, bringing the total rebate to 60 percent."
Mr. Speaker, KAP also
said that they are "extremely pleased that
As well, they go on to say, Mr. Speaker: "The 'farm it in Manitoba; finish it in Manitoba' mandate of the provincial government is certainly one that is appreciated by Manitoba farmers who see an urgent need to keep more agriculture value within the province, in rural communities and inside the farmgate." So the members opposite who stand up and say that there is nothing in this Throne Speech for farmers, there is no recognition of the farmers, should talk to KAP. I know some of the members opposite are very familiar with KAP, a few of them might even have membership cards to KAP in their pockets. So I would encourage them to talk to their executive and listen to some of the comments that the farm organization is saying about this Throne Speech.
* (15:40)
Mr. Acting Speaker, I want to speak a bit about the announcement that we made yesterday. My colleague the Minister of Energy, Science and Technology (Mr. Chomiak) and myself had the opportunity to speak to a group of people about biodiesel. It is quite exciting to have the announcement of the Minnedosa Husky plant expanding. I heard the member opposite say this government had no part of that. Well, the expansion would not have happened without this government's mandate to increase ethanol use in this province.
Mr. Speaker, the
Mr. Speaker in the Chair
But, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak briefly about the biodiesel announcement. We were at a conference yesterday where producers, farmers, economic development people from across the province were at a meeting and were talking about production of biodiesel, and we are extremely pleased with the announcement that this government made with regard to the expansion of biodiesel production, the tax incentive that was there.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say that, with just those few comments, I am very supportive, I am very proud of the steps that our government has taken as we prepare for emergencies. We all hope that we do not have serious emergencies with regard to avian flu and other such issues, but we will continue to work in those. I am very proud that we have now hired a Chief Veterinarian officer who will be working along with the Chief Medical Officer to co-ordinate and put in place plans for Manitobans should we have to address serious pandemic concerns. I am very pleased with the work that they are doing.
I am very proud of what we are doing with energy, Mr. Speaker, and I am so pleased that we are able to deliver better health care service. We are able to reduce wait lists. When you look at the wait lists that we have for cancer treatment, if you look at the wait lists that we have for hip and knee replacements, if you look at the wait lists, we announced more money today to shorten those lists.
I am very proud of the work that our
government is doing, and I am proud to be part of a government that we will
continue to see work towards economic development in rural
An Honourable Member: More, more.
Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): I have not started yet. Certainly, I am pleased that I, too, can respond to the Throne Speech. I do want to take this opportunity to thank the pages for the work that they are doing and will do, but also for the interns for the work that they do for us. I know that, coming out of university, it certainly is a learning experience for them, and, as some of them have indicated, it is a rather steep learning curve. So, yes, and by the way, one of the interns, this is a few years ago, who helped me and actually wrote my first speech, is sitting right beside me here, who is an MLA today. So you never know what could happen–[interjection]
No, no. He does not write my speeches for me today; that was many years ago. So, anyway, it is good to have those people within the building here assisting us and we do wish them well.
Mr. Speaker, I need to refer back to the seconder, I think it was, on the Throne Speech, the member from Minto. At the end of it he said that, and he gave a quotation here I thought was very fitting. He said he was quoting from Timothy. He said, "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race and I have kept the faith." Good comment. I do not want to tell him just a little further, as legislators on both sides of the House, that with that also comes integrity and truthfulness. We need to put that to practice as well as we continue to debate and as we continue to deal with the issues that face us as a province.
Starting off with that and the member–[interjection] I will not go back to the comment that was made there, but, anyway, what I do want to, though, indicate is that this government since they have taken office have the increase in revenues where we now have an $8.5-billion revenue base within the province of Manitoba. It is exponential growth that we have experienced within the last few years and that is good. I applaud that.
Being a businessman
myself, I believe it is important that we continue to grow and to expand. The
problem that I have as we have unprecedented growth is that the expenditures
have been going beyond the growth that we have, and that is a problem which I
know the members opposite do not agree with. But the point is there that as a
province we have an all-time record of debt. That is now being given to our
children and to our grandchildren. So that is something that when you run a
business, and face it, the
We are to be good stewards of the dollars that are being expended out here. So some of the comments that I am going to be making are and I know that the members opposite will indicate and say, "Yes, so you want us to cut back on expenditures, but you want to spend money." That is very interesting that the minister of highways would say that, but there is such a thing that, as you create a budget and as you deal with the budget, you have priority spending. We all need to do that, and that is where the problem is as far as the government is concerned today.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I do
need to move on, but I certainly would like to indicate that the Throne Speech,
that Manitobans need to have a clear vision of where this government is going,
and I must indicate to you that I did not see a clear direction. A lot of the things
that were said in the Throne Speech were said last year, were said the year
before. The Minister of Agriculture (Ms. Wowchuk) just gave her speech about
all of the things that they have announced, but I think the scepticism that is
out here is that we have announced, and we have re-announced, and we have
re-announced that we are going to get a processing plant within the
Oh, you mention the hospital. Well, we made the announcement and we built it. Yes, Boundary Trails was built by the Conservative government. Yes, but back to the Minister of Agriculture. I want to clearly indicate that she has announcements and re-announcements on the same project. That is why with the biodiesel that was just announced now, I think it is a wonderful idea, but I am a little bit sceptical as to whether I will ever see it in my lifetime because we will have one announcement today. We will have another announcement tomorrow. So will this actually happen? So that is little comfort for those out there who are involved in the agri-business and in fact do need to make a living and do need to make a profit so that they can stay in business.
Now I know that the Minister of
Agriculture always talked about the fact that as soon as you start talking
about agriculture, then right away: Oh, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
Well, the reality of the situation is is that we are in dire straits as an
agricultural community. There is no doubt about it, and if the minister, if the
members opposite, do not believe that, they should go to rural
* (15:50)
She indicates that you can survive off of crop insurance and you can survive off the CAIS program. I submit to you that that cannot take place under those programs. You cannot farm government programs. This year what you see is unprecedented problems. You have got, first of all, the weather you need to contend with. Then you have commodity-input prices at the extent you have never seen before. They have gone up and up and up. And then, couple that together with low commodity prices, and so the three parts do not work out. [interjection]
The Minister for Energy and Science (Mr. Chomiak) indicates that, well, do they control the weather, and I will tell you that in talking to those involved in agribusiness, their biggest frustration is not the weather because they realize that we do not control the weather. But there are some things that are controllable and that need to be worked on. I want to indicate to the Minister of Agriculture (Ms. Wowchuk) that the CAIS program, although it is designed to help, does have many flaws in it. [interjection]
The minister of highways asked, "Is it not being revamped?" The comment on that one, it is not a predictable program. There needs to be something that those who are using it can go to the bank and make it bankable, if that is what they are supposed to use.
Now, the other comment that I have made,
and this, again, is not a reflection on the government of the day, but the
federal government, they did a survey across
Okay, so we pride ourselves on the fact that those out there who are producing the product are doing this at the cheapest rate. Now, on the other hand, though, with the input costs that are out there, and, I mean, again, these are costs that the farmer has to bear and cannot pass onto the end user. Consequently, if that is what we are wanting to do, is to have the cheapest food policy in the country, somehow we are going to have to backfill that unless we have a different plan for those involved in agriculture.
Now, I have to tell you, just following on that, I met with a businessman on Saturday who lives in one of the communities that I represent. He has a store that he has been in business with for the last 30 years, and he is having a close-out sale. His comment was, "It is because of agriculture that I am shutting down." He said, "I was hoping that I would be able to retire, but I will be selling out. By the end of December, I will have sold out, and I need to go find another job." And he is in his mid-sixties.
So I am not only decrying the problems that agriculture is facing, but I am simply indicating that this has a ripple effect in the communities, and eventually this will hit the urban areas such as the city of Winnipeg, because agriculture still is the mainstay of the province.
Now, I know comments have been made that maybe we should redesign this whole thing called agriculture. Maybe we need to let it go back to its natural state. If that is the decision, then so be it, but I think that we should give our producers the opportunity to also help make some of those decisions.
I must move on, Mr.
Speaker. There are a number of things that I need to talk about. I need to talk
a little bit about priorities, as I said before. We have dollars coming into
the province, and I represent an area, the constituency of Pembina, that is one
of the fastest growing areas in rural
It is not only growth in education, it is growth in industry, so, consequently, there are tax dollars that are flowing to general revenue. My issue is we need to have dollars coming back to the area as well, not disproportionate to other areas, but what I am saying is we need a fair share so that, in fact, we can continue to build the schools that we need.
We have an area where many people are retiring and moving into the area. Consequently, there are needs for personal care homes and there are long, long waiting lists. I know that I have talked to the Minister of Health (Mr. Sale) about this, but Tabor Home is a home that needs to be replaced. Now, I know that those are capital dollars. All I am saying is that priority spending does have to take place.
Take the city of
An Honourable Member: Fine gentlemen.
Mr. Dyck: They are fine
gentlemen, but they came back very, very disappointed because they had been
given the year of 2012 where they might be looked at. For an area that is
growing, that has unprecedented growth within the
Again, three years ago
they did a survey, and there are between 16 000 and 18 000 vehicles going down a
single-lane highway every day. Just the other day, I came through there and
there were accidents there. [interjection]
Oh, the minister of highways is indicating that they did something on
An Honourable Member: No.
Mr. Dyck: Yes, we did. It was in the books, and we put it in place, and then the minister–
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Dyck: Yes, yes, oh yes. Oh yes. The designs and everything were done when we–
An Honourable Member: Was it in the capital program?
Mr. Dyck: The designs were completed under our administration.
An Honourable Member: You designed it. We built it.
Mr. Dyck: Okay, okay, all right.
So, anyway, what I want to indicate is that we are not looking for a disproportionate amount of infrastructure dollars within the area, but a growth area does need to have some recognition by the provincial government on the things taking place. I know that the minister of highways is aware of that, but, again, there was little comfort to know that maybe in the year 2012 it might, might be looked at. Again, the growth is taking place, so we need to address that issue.
In the area of justice, just a few comments that I need to make, and I want to recognize the MLA for Steinbach, who came out to my area and talked about crystal meth. He has been on that bandwagon for quite a while, but I believe that the government of the day needs to heed the information that he has and take the advice that he is giving because, again, when you give examples of young children, of young adults who are being hooked on this chemical and what it does to them, that we need to be proactive rather than reactive.
What I sense, again is there is always another press release coming out indicating, "Well, this is what we are going to do" or "This is what we are planning to do," but are you actually doing it? So that is a real concern for the area that I represent. Yet the Member for Steinbach (Mr. Goertzen) did an excellent job of explaining to the audience the impact that these chemicals have on our youth, what ultimately happens as they are involved within the communities. So very important that we continue to address that. I am hoping that the government, although they have press releases, will actually do something about it.
The other area that I omitted to address under agriculture is the whole area of the JERI program, and I think the Minister of Agriculture alluded to the fact that the opposition here, that the critic for Agriculture, was very negative about the fact that there was not enough drainage taking place and so on. I would submit to the Minister of Agriculture that here was an opportunity that was lost. We could have used the JERI program, and under that you can access 90 percent of the funds from the federal government and 10 percent of the funds would have come from the Province. It would have done wonders within our area, I know, not only our area, north, wherever, any agricultural area. Any municipality that, in fact, declared themselves a disaster would have been able to access those funds.
So this was an opportunity that was lost. It would have done several things: Obviously, it would have given good drainage to the land that is being farmed. Secondarily, it would have also employed, and you would have had, again, the ripple effect of the dollars within the community. So I believe this was a missed opportunity. I know that, in the news release that we put out and the press conference that we had, this was a part of the information that we gave out. So I really feel badly about the fact that we missed on that opportunity to be able to give this to those involved in agriculture and, again, we would have seen the ripple effect taking place within the community.
* (16:00)
Now, I need to make a few comments regarding the job creation that the government has been talking about. They claim that they have had exceptional growth within that sector and yet, though, I like the one news release that came out. It said, "It is the NDP job creation strategy to hire everyone." Then it goes on to say, and this comes from the Chartered Accountants of Manitoba, while the Chartered Accountants of Manitoba study acknowledged that Manitoba experienced a 0.9 percent increase in employment rate in 2004, it noted that 25 700 of the 36 000 jobs created in the province since 1999 were public-sector positions. I have nothing against public-sector positions, but if that is how we are pretending to grow an economy, then I would suggest to the government of the day that, definitely, they are on the wrong track. That is not the right direction to take. So, again, while they go out there and indicate that this is the way to go, I would disagree with that.
Then there was another comment in one of
the daily papers that said, "A truly dismal record for private-sector job
gains." Again, this is not something that we should be proud of. And it is
the same, again, on the same area, indicators. In the last five years,
36 000 net jobs have been created in
Mr. Dyck: The Minister of Agriculture (Ms. Wowchuk) is mocking this analogy. Well, okay, she says she is citing a number of examples here, press release upon press release. What actually has taken place?
An Honourable Member: Nothing.
Mr. Dyck: Nothing. We were going to have a processing plant two and a half years ago. What is out there? Where is it? Where is it? You know, we are great on press releases, but actually what is taking place?
Mr. Speaker, I see that my light is flashing here, so I want to indicate that I will not be able to support the Throne Speech for the reasons that I have given, and just to end off, the bottom line is that we are the highest taxed province in all of Canada and so, in order to be able to keep the people in Manitoba, to keep them within the province, we need to create an environment where they do want to stay.
So, Mr. Speaker, with those few comments, I want to thank you for this opportunity.
Mr. Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, it is, indeed, an honour to once again rise to speak on the Speech from the Throne. First and foremost, I would like to begin my remarks by thanking the people of my constituency for, not once but twice now, having the faith in me and electing me and sending me to speak on their behalf in this Chamber. It is truly an honour, and I humbly thank them for bestowing that upon me.
I would also like to, as have other speakers, welcome the new pages and also our interns. These are young people who have excelled in school and have worked very hard to achieve the honour of being with us. So I would like to extend my congratulations to them as well.
Mr. Speaker, it has been
a long, hard summer for people in rural
I notice the Member for
Steinbach (Mr. Goertzen) saying, "Did I shoot them all?" Well, there
were some bears shot this year. I really do not think it was a laughing matter
because there was a fatality in the Lac du Bonnet area as a result of this
catastrophe. So members opposite may laugh, but it certainly was not an amusing
scenario, not for the bears, not for the farmers and the people of rural
Our government has
addressed this, has recognized this. Certainly, high water levels have been the
number one issue. I happen to represent the constituency that has all of
I know a lot of people said, "Well,
this is not necessary. We have lived around the lake for a hundred years, and
this has never been a problem to any great extent." But I would remind
them that that is what George Bush was saying in relation to the city of
That is part of our mentality, as well, in expanding the floodway, Mr. Speaker. It is something that, I guess, members opposite look enviously upon given that the decade or so that they were in office this was just one of a number of things that never came across their agenda.
Going into my own riding, we are also
addressing water problems. I look at the
* (16:10)
I would segue into our water strategy on that note, Mr. Speaker. It is something that was neglected by previous governments. The Deputy Premier (Ms. Wowchuk) made reference to the Member for Emerson (Mr. Penner) acknowledging in this House that drastic cuts were made to the drainage budget, and I will give them some credit in that they did put in place the water policies early on in their mandate. It is just unfortunate that they never really focussed on them and never really carried through on them in the decade that they had the opportunity to do so.
As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, when we came into office the situation was so bad already that a court in the Hildebrand case had actually ruled against the provincial government and essentially threw The Water Rights Act out of the window. So that was the situation when we came into office. The Province no longer even had jurisdiction over water rights of this province due to their negligence and ignorance over the needs. So that is where we started from and we have made considerable progress since then.
The vehicle that we have chosen to do it, in large part, is the Conservation Districts program, something put in place, again, by that visionary, the Right Honourable Ed Schreyer, back in the early 1970s. Up until the time we came into office, there were nine conservation districts, Mr. Speaker. There are now twice as many in the six years that we have been in office. We have doubled the number of conservation districts, and I am proud to say that the 18th one that was finally put in place is the East Interlake Conservation District that was signed into being this summer. I thank the Minister of Water Stewardship (Mr. Ashton) for coming out to Arborg for that momentous occasion.
We have done a number of other things. In addition to that, we have amended The Planning Act, Mr. Speaker. We have put in place The Water Protection Act. We have created a whole new Department of Water Stewardship in recognition of the seriousness of this problem and the challenge that our people face, a new department that deals specifically with this problem. So I think I can say with confidence that this government certainly has stepped up to the plate.
We have recognized the crisis on
We have rebuilt the Fairford control structure north of Ashern, and, hopefully, that will make managing Lake Manitoba easier as well, which is also a considerable challenge especially in terms of the Aboriginal peoples who have to live downstream of that structure, something that we are working on most diligently.
I would like to speak briefly about some
of our energy objectives, and I think truly this will be a legacy of this
government, the initiatives that we have taken in establishing clean energy. Of
course, it was NDP governments that built dams in the past, and we are going to
continue to build dams. Wuskwatim is on track, and with the half-a-billion
dollar deal with the
I am very proud of what this government has done in terms of biofuels, Mr. Speaker, just a couple of days ago an announcement of the expansion of the ethanol industry to 130 million litres a year, thanks to this government that put in place the mandate of 10 percent usage in 85 percent of the fuel that will be consumed across this province. Because of that, this has become a reality. I was quite taken aback by the remarks made by members opposite about the biodiesel industry because this is something that is a reality now.
I was a member of the
The Power Smart program saves 250 megawatts a year. We are looking at a home heating strategy. We have got the St. Leon wind farm now a reality. All of these things, Mr. Speaker, accomplished under this administration.
In terms of
infrastructure, I am happy to be a member of the Interlake in this regard. The
Premier (Mr. Doer) often makes reference to the endangered species the building
crane in the city of
As a matter of fact, there
have actually been, I think, more sightings of Bigfoot, the Sasquatch, in the
Interlake over the last five or so years than there were sightings of paving
machines in the years that the Tories were in office. I think the epitome, the
absolute epitome, of the work that we have accomplished would be Highway 68. We
are in the process of finishing off this project across from No. 8 to Highway
No. 6, and I compliment the construction company,
I would like to make reference to an
assisted-living complex that is under construction in the town of
I might make reference also to the Riverton Clinic that was constructed by this government, a primary health care facility. It will work quite nicely with our usage of advanced practice nurses, something that our government has also put in place to try and address the shortage of trained health care staff. So with the advanced practice nurses, the new complex in Riverton, that community's needs are being met at a very high level by this government.
On the justice front, I might add that for
a number of years now, we have been in negotiation with the Aboriginal
communities of Peguis and
Last but not least, on the infrastructure
front, I would make reference to the Northern Affairs communities of Pine Dock
and
* (16:20)
On the agriculture front, of course, it goes without saying that we have stepped up to the plate. Last year, $198 million paid out in crop insurance, $25 million with the excess moisture insurance program, something that members opposite continue to claim was something that they had orchestrated. But the reality is, Mr. Speaker, that that is simply not true. They responded year by year with ad hoc programs. The farming people of this province always had to come to the Conservative government with their hat in their hand, on their knees, begging for money, "Save us, help us out."
This government treats
farmers with more respect. One of the first things that we did when we came
into office was we constituted the excess moisture program so that farmers do
not have to guess every year whether or not they are going to be in crisis,
whether or not they will be coming to government on bended knee. They know this
program is in place thanks to the Member for
That program, this year,
is paying off even more in the sense that, I believe, $58 million has been
allocated to address this and close to $300 million in crop insurance
payments, with an additional $15 million taken out of the Fiscal
Stabilization Fund, to put into the CAIS pot so that it adds another tool.
There are criticisms across the board about CAIS. But it is a federal program
and, you know, we have spoken with
I give credit to the Minister of Agriculture for revamping the Department of Agriculture. It was probably close to 30 years since the department experienced a reorganization. We have since expanded the department to include rural initiatives as well, and just recently the new GO centres were put in place.
Mr. Speaker, I see my light is flashing already. I cannot believe I am out of time already. I have several other things I would like to speak about: the Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures Task Force that, again, I was a member of and all the positive feedback on the topic of health, new ambulances, new facilities, challenges that we face, I admit, in communities like Eriksdale and Arborg. But, hopefully, we can make progress on those fronts. I know we have a very capable minister that is well aware of the challenges.
So, on that note, I thank you for the opportunity of speaking this afternoon. I commend the government for a seventh consecutive, consistent and very effective Throne Speech. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mrs. Bonnie Mitchelson (River East): Mr. Speaker, I stand with pleasure to speak to the amendment to the Throne Speech–
An Honourable Member: Speaking to the subamendment.
Mrs. Mitchelson: –the subamendment to the Throne Speech. I would just like to thank my honourable friend from Burrows for the correction. I know that he and I have had a long-standing relationship in this House, and most times a productive or constructive relationship, so I thank him again for assisting me.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to indicate at the outset that it is always a pleasure to come back into a new session. I must say that it was more of a pleasure when we were in government and were bringing in our Throne Speech and our vision for the direction that we would take the province over the year. But we have had the unfortunate opportunity to be in opposition for the last six years in the province. This is now the seventh time we have listened to the articulation of the vision for the province, for the future by this socialist government. Each year, we see more and more of that socialism creeping out from this Premier (Mr. Doer) and this government.
You know, I know members opposite would say, well, and I know some of them are a little more left-leaning maybe than their Premier is, and I know that their Premier, during the 1999 election campaign, wore his Tory blue suit on a regular basis and pretended very much like he was a friend of the business community and a friend of all those that had the initiative to build this province through hard work, through commitment, through building their own small businesses and, sometimes, large businesses. He pretended very much that he was a friend of that business community, and he succeeded in fooling many people because we have seen year after year after year the kinds of activities that previous socialist governments have implemented, the philosophy that the heavy hand of government knows better than hardworking Manitobans how to spend their money.
Socialists believe in digging into people's pockets and saying, "Give me your hard-earned money. Give it to me. Give it to big government because we know what is best for you. We know best where your money should go." Manitobans, Mr. Speaker, have not been fooled. They have not been fooled at all. They know and they understand, just like all families do need to understand, that you have to live within your means. You cannot open a charge card and charge and charge and charge and never pay off the debts because you end up bankrupt. We all know that, in our own households, yes, credit is very easy to get. It is very easy to spend, but it is hard to pay back when the interest accumulates, when the debt accumulates and, all of a sudden, you have no room to move.
We have seen, over the years of this NDP
government, the debt of the
Mr. Speaker, I know, and I know many that are sitting in this Legislature know, that you have to learn to live within your means. You have to learn to live within your means and this government just does not get it. This Premier, who has tried to fool Manitobans into thinking that he is a blue-suit Conservative is finding out, and Manitobans are figuring out, that that is not the case. I want to indicate that the longer you are in government, sometimes the more arrogant you become, the lazier you become.
You know, Mr. Speaker, we were there for 11 years. I was there for 11 years of good government, and I know that there comes a point in time in the electoral cycle that people say, "Enough is enough" or "We want a change." We went through that in 1999 and I was a part of that. I started off my political career in opposition, ended up spending 11 years in government where I felt I had the ability to make an impact, a positive impact, in some areas. There was more that I would have liked to have done, but the electorate decided that it was time for a change in government and that was what we saw in 1999.
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But, Mr. Speaker, I know that that cycle will go around. What goes around comes around in politics. There is not any government that is government for life, and we are at the point in this government's mandate where they have to stand up and take responsibility for some of the decisions that they have made and for the commitments that they have made that they have not been able to follow through on.
Manitobans are now starting to look at
this government and say, "What did we get for the votes that we provided
for them?" Mr. Speaker, I know what Manitobans are getting today.
Manitobans are getting today a debt that is growing out of proportion and an
economy that is just not moving. We are not seeing the creation of
private-sector jobs. Most of the jobs that have been created in the province
are public-sector jobs, and taxpayers cannot continue to sustain a growing
bureaucracy when we do not have on the other side the private sector creating
the jobs that will make
Mr. Speaker, there are some on the other side that are heckling a little and saying we are talking about socialist services. No. I want to make it very clear that socialist services and the top-down heavy hand of government that says we know better how you should live your life is not what I am talking about. I am talking about the much needed services that people want and deserve in this province, the first, of course, being health care.
You know, Mr. Speaker, I think probably in
the city of
Mr. Speaker, we have a wonderful school division in the River East Transcona School Division, although they are struggling a little these days because of the forced amalgamation that this government placed on River East School Division. It is costing more money, not less, as a result of that forced amalgamation. Many of the taxpayers and the property-school taxpayers in River East constituency are saying enough is enough. I make sure I point out to them why they are paying more school taxes on their property taxes. It is a direct result of the heavy hand of this socialist government that forced amalgamation down their throats, and I do on a regular basis let them know why their education property taxes are going up.
Mr. Speaker, we did in
1999 make a commitment to remove education tax off property tax. Education
taxes funded on property are not a fair way of supporting our education system.
I have a daughter who is an elementary schoolteacher in the city of
So, Mr. Speaker, I would encourage this government to move expeditiously and at least articulate a plan for removal of education tax from our property tax bills. Again, when I talk about the number of seniors in my community, I have to indicate that some of them are having to sell their homes because they can no longer afford the taxes. They have worked all their lives, their houses are paid off, they have no mortgage, but the high taxes are driving them out of their houses. This government, after six years in office, has to start to take some responsibility for where we are at today. It is fine for them to go back to the past and blame everyone, but Manitobans in my constituency are getting tired of the blame game. They want a government to listen to their concerns, to deal with the issues and to move forward.
Mr. Speaker, they do not want a government to come with top-down control and tell them, tap them on the back, and say, "It is okay, dear. Just let me dig a little deeper into your pockets. I will take a bit more of your money. I will tax you a little more. I will raise your driver's licence fee. I will put all kinds of fees and taxes in place because, you know what? Give the money to me. Give the money to us as big government, and we will decide how to spend your money." Well, that does not wash for long, and people are starting to recognize and to realize what they really have in this government. They are not going to take this for much longer. They are going to realize and recognize that the time has come for a change and they will, in fact, at some point in the not-too-distant future decide that it is time for a change in this government. So that will come and we know that it is not that far away.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to close by saying that I could not support the vision in this Throne Speech. There is not a vision. There is not a direction. There is not hope for Manitobans to see a prosperous future that would see them have more money in their pockets at the end of the day because of right decisions because we are not going to see that. You know, I just go back to the time that I first ran, and I know that my colleague from Elmwood was around at the time, he will remember very well the issue of Manitoba Public Insurance and the deceit that the NDP government, under Howard Pawley at the time, sort of held over or presented Manitobans with when they, before an election, kept Autopac rates very low, and then right after they got elected, ramped them up to a point that was unconscionable. There was a public revolt. The member from Elmwood often teases me about the horses and the hay wagon that were out on the front of the Legislative grounds in those days when Manitobans came and protested and spoke and said they were not going to take it any longer, "Enough is enough."
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The member from Elmwood thinks I still have those horses and that cart in my garage waiting, and I keep saying to him, "Yes, they are waiting," because the day will come around again when Manitobans are fed up with the kind of government that they are receiving from this NDP. They will say, again, "enough is enough" and they will vote this government out. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Doug Martindale (Burrows): Just by coincidence, I am speaking after the Member for River East, and she paid me a compliment, saying I always made constructive comments. It was very interesting to be her critic for six years. In retrospect, I could say that sometimes it drove me crazy. But I think my criticism was usually constructive, so I thank her for that compliment.
I would like to welcome the new pages to the Legislative Assembly, I hope that you enjoy your stay here, and also congratulate and welcome the university students who were chosen as Legislative Internship Program students, because we have always had excellent students, and I think the Conservative caucus always has as well. Some of them have the privilege of being hired as staff afterwards. We have many of those working for government in caucus, and they do an excellent job as well.
I would also like to pay tribute to John
Loewen. I do not think anybody in the Tory caucus will pay tribute to the
former MLA for
You know, it is rather interesting that,
when you have a project at the seat of a federal Cabinet minister, they get a
lot of money. For example, the wellness centre beside
Now, I would like to
expand on my member's statement of October 28 because I know it is of
great interest to members of the Conservative caucus. So I would like to read
from the news release where I first learned of the fact that New Democrats and
New Democratic governments are the most fiscally responsible in
Despite Paul Martin's frequent pronouncements on fiscal responsibility, Liberals have the worse fiscal record overall. Liberal federal, provincial and territorial governments have posted year-over-year budget deficits an astonishing 79 percent of the time. Conservative governments have only a slightly better record than the Liberals, logging deficits 65 percent of the years in which they have been in power. The report issued on September 23 by the Liberal government's Department of Finance looks at federal, provincial and territorial accounts over the past 22 years. The reference is the Fiscal Reference Tables, September 2005.
I think the fact that we
are the most fiscally responsible party in
I am going to keep my remarks short this afternoon, but I would like to highlight some of the things in the Speech from the Throne, such as preparing for emergencies. We will be introducing legislation this session to heighten our ability to respond to disasters of whatever nature. I think this is what the public expects because people in the health field have been predicting a worldwide pandemic, and certainly we need to be ready for that. We need to have a plan and we need to have legislation in place to deal with it, and we will.
Next I would like to talk briefly about
how we are building on
For example, the recent half-a-billion
dollar agreement to sell power to
While Manitobans enjoy the lowest
electricity rates in
So we are doing a number of things. Power Smart will be introducing new programs of conservation, so that people can reduce their gas consumption which means that their gas consumption will go down and their gas bills will go down. We are also passing legislation that will affect the Public Utilities Board in order to defer gas price increases.
I think consumers will be very happy with
that because in other provinces, gas prices are going way up, and in
We continue to build on
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An Honourable Member: Can you get some more?
Mr. Martindale: Well, you will have to talk
to Manitoba Hydro. I do not know where those new wind farms are going, but I
hope that the Member for
We continue to build on
We are delivering better health care sooner. It is our government's intent to deliver new programs which will benefit all Manitobans. Like the other provinces, we are party to a national health accord, benchmarks for wait times in five treatment areas: cancer care, heart treatment, diagnostic imaging, sight restoration and joint replacement. Our government is also acting on its own Wait Times Reduction Strategy, which goes several steps further, covering wait times for children's dental services, mental health programs, pain management and treatment for sleep disorders. I am pleased to see we are adding benchmarked measurements to sleep disorders, because that is a waiting list that I am personally familiar with.
This strategy calls for
hiring more medical professionals, investing in equipment, improving primary
care and modernizing management practices. That is also going to benefit the
constituents of Burrows because Nor'West Health Centre is going to become an
access centre. It will be called the Inkster Access Centre and we are certainly
looking forward to that positive development happening in the Burrows
constituency. But it is not going to just benefit constituents in Burrows. It
will also benefit constituents in the
Since 1999, Manitobans have seen some dramatic improvements in wait times. The average wait time for radiation treatment most cancers has been reduced from six weeks to about one week, and the wait list for cardiac surgery has been cut in half.
To meet our goals, we
need more doctors. Our government has already increased the number of
physicians practising in this province by 235 since 1999. This includes the
record 96 new doctors that we secured last year, but we are intent on raising
the number further by adding 23 spaces to the University of Manitoba Medical
School, introducing special programs for foreign-trained doctors and extending
loans to medical students who will set up practice in
The demand for diagnostic tests grows as we invest more in diagnostic equipment. Since 1999, we have tripled the number of MRIs dedicated to patient care, installed 16 new CT units and purchased 20 new ultrasounds. Manitobans want not just better care sooner but also care closer to home. Our government is responding by bringing chemotherapy programs to a number of rural communities and newer expanded dialysis units to northern hospitals. We have also opened new primary health centres, which provide a range of health-related services under one roof in several rural areas.
As the Throne Speech
notes, we are also improving emergency medical services in rural and northern
Yes, the Royal Manitoba
Winter Fair, and that is where the announcement was made, That new call centre
is in
Combatting crime. Crime is certainly a concern of my constituents in Burrows, and I do get phone calls about issues like prostitution and drug dealers. But I am very pleased that our government introduced legislation called The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, which has been very effective at combatting particularly drug dealing and prostitution. I do not have the statistic in front of me, but I think we are up to about 122 houses that have been closed with the use of The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. It has been used in the Burrows constituency. It is very effective because, if a house or an address is causing a nuisance in the neighbourhood because of activities like sniffing or a booze can or prostitution or drug dealing, people can report this to the public safety unit. The police will investigate, and they have the power to shut down either a suite or an entire house. We are using it very effectively to put pressure on people to move harmful activities out of our neighbourhoods and keep them on the run, so to speak. I have certainly made use of this act and the investigative powers that it gives to report on addresses in my constituency and they have been shut down.
By the way, I was going
to tell the Member for
It is a quote that I have used in the past in sermons. I do not know how appropriate it is at the Legislative Assembly, but certainly it is a text that I have used in the past in sermons.
An Honourable Member: What is your favourite quote?
Mr. Martindale: What is my favourite quote? Probably Amos: "Let justice flow down like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." That is probably my favourite Scripture passage. However, that is not what I am here for today. I am here to reply to the Speech from the Throne, and my colleagues across the way got me sidetracked.
Combatting crime, as I was talking about. Although there is much we want to do to make our communities safer, indications are that the strategies we have developed are working. There has been, for instance, a decrease in violent crime rates over the last two years. Our strategy of involving police, community members and all levels of government in ridding neighbourhoods of fortified buildings, drug dens, sniff houses and brothels has brought results. Over 120 such places have been shut down, so there is the statistic I was looking for. That was the result of The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. We have shut down 120 places that were causing problems and being a nuisance in the neighbourhood. As a result, this approach will be extended and used to close down more gang houses.
We continue to be a
national leader in combating domestic violence. Our Domestic Violence and
Stalking Prevention, Protection and Compensation Amendment Act comes into force
this year, enabling more victims of domestic violence to become eligible for
protection orders. Our government will be proposing ground-breaking legislation
to make protection orders granted by courts in other provinces enforceable in
Another successful strategy that we will be expanding is our domestic violence front end project, which dramatically reduced the backlog of domestic violence cases before the courts. The same procedures are now going to be applied to all cases where offenders are awaiting trial in custody, not just domestic violence cases, ensuring speedier justice.
The after-school programs we have launched through our Lighthouses initiative have been bringing teens off the street, engaging them in educational, recreational activities and offering alternatives to criminal gang involvement. These programs have shown great promise, and we will be expanding them. One of them is in Burrows. It is in the King Edward constituency, and I congratulate our Attorney General for bringing in the Lighthouses Program. There is much, much more–
Mr. Speaker: Order. When this matter is again before the House, the honourable Member for Burrows (Mr. Martindale) will have 10 minutes remaining.
The hour being 5 p.m., this House is adjourned and stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday).