LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Mr. Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom, know it with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen.
House Business
Mr. Speaker: The honourable member for Lac du Bonnet, on House business?
Mr. Gerald Hawranik (Official Opposition House Leader): On House business, Mr. Speaker, and I would seek leave to move directly to Bill 203.
Mr. Speaker: Is there agreement to move directly to 203? [Agreed]
Bill 203–The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act
(Provincial Soil Designated)
Mr. Cliff Cullen (Turtle Mountain): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the member from Emerson, that Bill 203, The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act (Provincial Soil Designated), be now read a second time and referred to a committee of this House.
Mr. Speaker: It's been moved by the honourable member for Turtle Mountain, seconded by the honourable member for Emerson (Mr. Graydon), that Bill 203, The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act, be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Mr. Cullen: Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to rise today to talk about Bill 203.
And you know this particular bill has been brought forward to the House in the past and I look forward to the government supporting this particular bill. I think it's a very important–and the reason I think it's important is that in Manitoba we should recognize the important role that agriculture plays to the province of Manitoba.
You know, historically, when the province was first settled, certainly, the first–one of the initial business that occurred here in Manitoba was agriculture. And agriculture has played an important role for many years, here in the province of Manitoba. It's very important to the economy of Manitoba, and will continue to be an important driver in terms of the economy here in Manitoba. And I would hope that the government of the day would recognize the importance of agriculture and that particular industry here in the province of Manitoba.
And when we look at–just strictly looking at the numbers, it's a tremendous amount of value that agriculture adds to the economy here in Manitoba. You know, we're talking of hundreds of millions of dollars that the industry adds to the economy in Manitoba. And, in terms of the workforce, you know, we're talking at least one in nine jobs throughout the province of Manitoba tied to agriculture.
And then the principle of the bill talks about recognizing a particular soil. And in this case, it's Newdale soil, which I will refer to letters of support I have from various organizations that indicate why Newdale soil should be the representative soil here in the province of Manitoba.
But the point of the legislation here, and in the bill, is that agriculture does play an important role here in the province of Manitoba. And we talk about a particular soil being representative here in the province of Manitoba. You know, initially our thoughts go to grain production, in terms of, you know, wheat, barley, Canola, those types of things that we grow here in the province of Manitoba.
But soil is also very important in terms of forage production, which, in turn, feeds livestock. And, as we know, Manitoba has been, historically, a pretty good provider of livestock for food consumption as well. So when we talk about a particular soil, you know, we're talking about recognizing agriculture in broad terms, in terms of the production and the capability to produce food for Manitobans and, in fact, all Canadians. And, as we know, our food that's produced here in Manitoba is exported around the world, and I think we, as a society, should recognize the important role that agriculture plays here in the province of Manitoba.
Mr. Speaker, it's–I think it's noteworthy that we talk about this particular legislation today. This week is actually National Soil Conservation Week. So there's been a tremendous effort across Canada to recognize the important role that soils play in our society. And this particular week, April 18th to the 24th, is National Soil Conservation Week, and, obviously, there is a national soil conservation society that tries to address conservation of our soils across Canada.
You know, we also have a Manitoba chapter, Manitoba Soil Science Society, and certainly they are interested in preserving soil here in Manitoba. And it was actually–it was their initiative coming forward to myself, Mr. Speaker, that said, you know, we should have a look at designating a provincial soil here in the province of Manitoba.
Other jurisdictions have done similar–have taken similar initiatives in terms of proclaiming provincial soils. You know, we have Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta, Québec, Nova Scotia–have each designated a particular soil in their province, and recognize it as a provincial soil. And I think it's time that the government recognize a provincial soil here in the province of Manitoba.
I think it's also important to note that every state in the United States has designated a soil, in terms of a state soil. So it's time that we, here in Manitoba, take the opportunity to catch up to what other jurisdictions are doing, recognizing a certain soil and the particular role that it plays in–here in Manitoba.
You know, in Manitoba, we have an official flag. We have the official flower, bird and tree. But none of these particular emblems adequately recognize the important role that agriculture has and does play in the province of Manitoba. And I firmly believe that the designation of a provincial soil would help fill that gap, and I certainly hope that the members of the government will support this particular legislation.
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I know and I recognize at this particular time that the–I know the provincial budget itself has gone up by over 5 percent. Unfortunately, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, that particular budget is down by 4 percent. I would hope that the government of the day would take this opportunity to recognize the important role that agriculture plays here in the province of Manitoba.
In terms of the actual soil designation itself, Mr. Speaker, I have a letter from the Manitoba Soil Science Society who are making the recommendation that the Newdale soil be implemented as the provincial soil. And some of the comments in this particular letter indicate that a group of soil experts from Manitoba have considered the options and determined that a Newdale soil is the most representative soil of the black-soil zone in Manitoba, and hence that's the reason for the Newdale soil. And it goes on to say that the Newdale is a good representation of these productive soils, both in terms of the area it occupies as well as the range of crops and agriculture it supports in rural Manitoba, and I think that really signifies why the Newdale soil is being put forward in terms of this legislation. This particular letter is–was signed by Elaine Gauer on behalf of the Manitoba Soil Science Society and executive. This letter is dated back in November 2008 and it was shortly after that time that I introduced this particular legislation for the first time, and I'm happy to have the opportunity today to have a debate on this particular legislation.
I do also want to point out I have a letter here from the–Brian Amiro, who is the head of the Soil Science department at the University of Manitoba, at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science. And in his letter–and I'm going to quote from the letter that: The department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba supports the designation of the Newdale soil as the provincial soil of Manitoba. A group of soil experts from Manitoba have considered the options and determined that a Newdale soil is the most representative soil of the black-soil zone in Manitoba. The selection of this soil type is based on the relatively high productivity of this soil and because the province of Manitoba contains most of the black-soil zone of Canada. Hence, this distinguishes our province and confirms that we have an important resource that supports agriculture. We thank you for your efforts to introduce a provincial soil for Manitoba as an acknowledgement of a key resource in our province. And I think, Mr. Speaker, that's really the essence of why this particular legislation is brought forward, to recognize the important role of soil and agriculture in our province of Manitoba.
And I also have a letter from the Keystone Agricultural Producers, who also support this initiative in designating the Newdale soil as the provincial soil of Manitoba. So we certainly have a wide range of support for this particular designation here in the province of Manitoba.
Another reason–one final comment I want to make on this particular legislation–piece of legislation is the fact that, you know, we here in the province of Manitoba, largely in the city of Winnipeg, have become disconnected from what happens in agriculture, and I think this particular bill will be a good way to recognize our ties to rural Manitoba, the food that's produced here in Manitoba, and hopefully it will help to instil the values of food production here in Manitoba for generations to come.
And I hope the government of the day will look favourably on this particular legislation and hopefully we can move it forward. With those few words, I thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): First of all, I would like to make a correction to Hansard from last week's debate in private members' hour. On page 817 the sentence at the bottom of the first column that starts with, "their very real fears of Israelis," should have been written as, "the very real fears of Israelis." The word that follows, "unbiding," was "abiding." And in the second column, the second last paragraph, "imply," should be "apply." I have raised this with Hansard but I did want to formally correct that on the record.
And I do want to speak on this private members' bill today because I could say that it's kind of a change from when members are throwing mud at each other. We're now talking about–well, not mud but soil in this province. And, you know, what struck me is the first question I actually asked when I saw this bill and when I considered what I was going to speak on is: what do we have in the way of official provincial emblems in this province and how do we compare to other provinces?
Now, we do have a provincial flower, the prairie crocus. We do have a provincial bird, the great grey owl. We certainly know, in terms of an animal, we have the bison. I think at times–by the way, the polar bear has become sort of a, you know, an unofficial symbol, in a good part of the province as well.
We have an official tree, the white spruce. We have a motto, Gloriosus et Liber, glorious and free. But you know what? Whereas other jurisdictions across the country have–yes, provincial soils in some cases–other provincial governments, other provinces have provincial fish, provincial minerals, provincial grasses.
They have officially recognized provincial tartans. We do have a Manitoba tartan. I remember when the UMM used to have jackets made of tartan. I understand the member for Brandon East (Mr. Caldwell) still has two tartan jackets, but it–and the member for Ste. Rose (Mr. Briese), that's right. I notice he doesn't wear it on a regular basis.
I want to challenge, actually, the member for Ste. Rose and the member for Brandon East to wear their tartan jackets on Manitoba Day in the Manitoba Legislature. I suggest everybody else wear sunglasses because it's quite the sight.
So I started thinking about a Manitoba history. Well, here we are. This is going to be the 140th anniversary of this great province of ours. In two years, by the way, it's going to be the 100th anniversary of northern Manitoba. Northern Manitoba became part of the province in 1912. And I said to myself–I appreciate the member opposite bringing forward a bill on the provincial soil, but shouldn't we also perhaps be considering other provincial symbols as well?
And I understand he put forward the concept that this was to recognize the important role of agriculture. Well, I was thinking–well, let's start with talking about the need to recognize our provincial fish. Now, if there's any province that should have an officially recognized provincial fish, it's this province with our 100,000 lakes.
I took a quick poll in my office, by the way, as I came in. It was three to nothing with one abstention to recognize the pickerel as Manitoba's fish. Now, there may be some that might want to argue the northern pike. And by the way, what's interesting is pickerel–I notice in Saskatchewan they had a debate there over recognizing a provincial fish. There was a great debate over whether it should be the pickerel or the walleye, which is the same thing. You know, outside of our American visitors, I think, generally speaking, across Manitoba, you mention pickerel, people understand what a pickerel is.
Now, I mentioned northern pike. You know, there's the great sturgeon. There's a lot of efforts to, you know, to save that historic fish. You might even–you might want to include the other candidates as potentially being the goldeye, perhaps catfish. I look to the member for Selkirk (Mr. Dewar), I'm sure–I better move quickly on getting a bill on this because I think the member for Selkirk will be trying to recognize the catfish. But, you know, I think perhaps we should take this debate as an opportunity to start a discussion about recognizing a provincial fish in this province which recognizes, I think, Mr. Speaker, that we could mention the Arctic char. The Speaker is reminding me as I look at him. I know the Speaker cannot formally take a role in these discussions.
But, you know, with the great diversity of ecosystems, with the importance of fishing, of commercial fishing, the importance of tourism, I want to put on the record in this debate that I want to suggest that members of this House consider also recognizing a provincial fish.
Now, did I say provincial fish? Well let's move to a provincial mineral. Guess which mineral I'm going to suggest be recognized as the provincial mineral–
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An Honourable Member: Nickel.
Mr. Ashton: Nickel. Thank you very much, the member for Brandon East (Mr. Caldwell).
Now, I know the member for Flin Flon (Mr. Jennissen) might want to mention copper or zinc. I think, with some of the explorations taking place right now, we might now have some recognition of diamonds. Other provinces, by the way, do have officially recognized minerals–surprise, surprise, in Saskatchewan, it's potash. They–in Ontario, it's the amethyst. You know, there are various provinces that have recognized provincial minerals.
So I think we should have that debate as well. What a way to recognize the importance of the mining industry in this province, because if you include mining–if you take the petroleum industry, by the way. And I want to put on the record again that the petroleum industry in this province is booming. They could quote me in question period. They could quote anyone in this government. And I know the member for Arthur-Virden (Mr. Maguire) recognizes that, Mr. Speaker.
And we've worked with that industry. So you could make arguments about the recognition of it. But if we want to recognize different sectors of the economy, let's recognize a provincial mineral. And I want to put forward, on the record, I will be proposing that we have nickel. The great nickel mine in Thompson, which is one of the largest in the country, produces significant economic spinoff for us.
Now, you know what, other provinces have a provincial song. Well, I mean, with our musical talent in this great province of ours. I know, we end up this year–I know I am very pleased to see that "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" has been adopted as the theme song for Homecoming Manitoba. You know, again, a great Manitoban, Randy Bachman, wrote that. We all know about B.T.O., you know, in terms of Burton Cummings. We know about–you know, I mean you could run through the list here. This is a musical province. We have–and I think you can go back decade after decade, Manitobans have put Manitoba on the map. And, today, if you look at many of the tremendous musical talents come out of this province.
So why wouldn't we put forward, as part of our celebration of this great province, a contest to have a Manitoba song? And, perhaps, I could suggest to my colleague, the Minister of Culture (Ms. Marcelino) that we could go to a contest to have a Manitoba song. I mean, other provinces have songs. There is a song–well, Newfoundland and Labrador has an anthem, "Ode to Newfoundland." "Farewell to Nova Scotia" in Nova Scotia. I mean, you know, very memorable songs.
So, I mean, if they can do it, we can do it, too. I'm telling you that, maybe after 140 years of history, we can have a Manitoba song, a Manitoba mineral and a Manitoba fish. Now–[interjection] Don't stop me while I'm on a roll here, because we–I suppose you could go one step further. I don't know if we want to recognize a provincial insect. I see less than enthusiasm there. I could mention, by the way, that I did canvass people–
Some Honourable Members: Mosquitoes.
Mr. Ashton: Well, they were saying the mosquito, and northern Manitoba could be black fly, or mosquito. So I'm not suggesting we go quite that far. But I–[interjection] The wood tick. Well, yes.
An Honourable Member: The wood tick.
Mr. Ashton: Southeast Manitoba, yes, the wood tick. But, you know, if you wanted to look at the important symbols we've had, what does strike me about this resolution coming forward is the degree to which we actually have not proceeded beyond a very limited recognition of symbols. In fact, we have no–you know, outside of flower, bird, animal, tree, we have no other symbols. Well, the member opposite says, let's start today. Let's start today, indeed. I want to suggest that what we look at doing on any and all of these things, is learning from sort of the interactive age that we're living in.
I want to suggest, and I want to put this on the record, let's have a provincial contest to pick–we can look at the provincial soil, although I think, you know, we could debate whether we do that. But let's have a provincial contest for provincial fish, okay? And the winner to be brought back in–perhaps the Minister of Water Stewardship (Ms. Melnick) could do that, in charge of fisheries, and could steer that through. Let's ask our kids in our schools to start with that. Let's have an open public contest.
Provincial mineral. Let's start, you know, the same way. Let's start a song contest that will bring together the great features of this province. Because, you know what, I really believe, by the way, that we have a lot to be proud of in this province. And one of the things that we don't do, I think we're the ultimate Canadians, you know we're–in Canada, we're, like, modest, right? You know, let's be a little less modest, more proud of Manitoba, and let's bring in those additional symbols. Let's take this debate and carry it on. Thank you very much.
Mr. Cliff Graydon (Emerson): Mr. Speaker, and that was a wonderful, wonderful speech made by the member from Thompson. He certainly brought a lot of different ideas forward, and probably never got to the Bill 203 until the last sentence in his 'repar.'
But at any rate, Mr. Speaker, I believe that because we have, today, the National Soil Conservation Week, and we also have the Earth week, this is–or Earth Day–this is an opportune time that this bill is being presented to the House today.
And, as we know, the agriculture has been the backbone of the province and–from the beginning, 140 years as pointed out by the member from Thompson. And it's true that there were people that did do the fishing at that time, but, basically, it was agriculture, and it was to grow food to survive here, the pioneers when they came here.
And when we suggested Newdale soil be the soil to get the designation for the provincial soil, there's a specific reason for that. The Newdale soil covers the largest part of the province and is the most productive soil over a biggest–the bigger area. It's also–it retains moisture, and yet it does allow drainage. And so, if one was considering that in politics you would be throwing mud, you couldn't make a mud ball out of the Newdale soil. You would be just throwing dust, and I think that's what we got from the member from Thompson–was a lot of air and a lot of dust. We didn't get a lot of substance on the particular bill that's been put forward.
But when we talk about the designations and soil designations, what we need to keep in mind, that this isn't unique, that Manitoba is not going to be the first province to designate soil. And, in fact, we should say that Prince Edward Island has designated the Charlottetown soil–that's the official soil–in November of 1998. New Brunswick proclaimed a Holmesville soil in 1997. Alberta designated the Breton soil. Québec has designated the Ste. Rosalie soil. Nova Scotia has designated the Pugwash soil. So–and every state in the United States has designated a soil. In addition to–13 state legislatures have officially proclaimed and recognized the official soil.
So, Mr. Speaker, this isn't something new. It's something that we should be doing here. Because of the Homecoming this year, and because of the week that we're in, the National Soil Conservation Week, and because it is Earth week, it's terribly important that the members opposite would support such a bill that's been put forward today, this Bill 203.
The goal of national conservation week is to increase awareness of the importance of soil and the need for its conservation. And I would suggest that the members of this House today, and that many, many people today in our large cities don't understand the importance of soil as do our rural residents, the people that actually make a living there, the farmers in our province and in other provinces that have protected the soil to the best of their ability and used the new technologies that are available today that weren't available when they first came with a plough and an oxen and turned that soil over. Today they are preserving the soil for a future generation. And to have a day designated as Soil Day would only raise the awareness of the importance of protecting this very, very important resource that we have.
There's a number of things that our diverse soils do, and some of them–we grow trees that we protect our soils against climate change and against erosion, and so forth. There's the other–earth's terrestrial carbon–and represents large carbon sinks. This comes from the forest, Mr. Speaker.
But, first and foremost, is food production, and so this is where the agricultural people today have actually preserved and are protecting the soils to bring this to the forefront and to be something that's recognized by our city cousins that have been three and four times removed from the agricultural world. This is terribly, terribly important going forward, and indeed it needs to be pointed out that the soil is a living medium that is essential to the food production. The agricultural people that have supported this–the agricultural communities that have supported this designation, I think is significant.
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The member from Thompson wants to have–he wants to have contests, and contests for certain things are probably all right. But if you're going to have the contest for the designation of which soil is the best and should be designated in the province is the wrong way to go about it. You take it–
An Honourable Member: Listen to the experts.
Mr. Graydon: –you listen to the people that–as my colleague from Glenboro has pointed out–
Some Honourable Members: Turtle Mountain.
Mr. Graydon: –from Turtle Mountain has pointed out, that you listen to the experts, the people that have been involved, and rather than have people that know nothing about the soil, you listen to the experts. And some of these experts, I might point out, Mr. Speaker, some of these are–the letter of support from the Keystone Agricultural Producers. This is a very significant support as they represent everyone in the province. So when we look at that, this is actually the member from Thompson's contest.
Here you have elected representatives on a farm organization making a recommendation that we're carrying forward in this House today, and we certainly hope that our members opposite–as we know there's probably only two rural or three rural members in the caucus opposite, some of them probably know very, very little about farming, about grain farming and about soil classifications, and for the most part, most of them know nothing about it. And that's not to say that they're wrong in not knowing; it just hasn't been part of their history, not part of their upbringing. But this would be a great opportunity for them to become involved and to move this forward and expand their horizons to the point that they know where their food comes from and what the agricultural producers of this province do to protect that investment and that resource for the many generations that are going to follow.
The Newdale association includes six soils, so when we talk about the Newdale soil it's not just what is found just at Minnedosa. It covers a large area, and the six soil series that are involved in this association are Newdale, Rufford, Varcoe, Angusville, Penrith and Drokan. And when we see what the Manitoba Soil Society says, and I'll echo what the member from Turtle Mountain has put on the record, that these soils tend to be very productive as they have a higher organic matter content than other agricultural soils. The Newdale is a good representative of this productive soil, both in terms of the area it occupies as well as the range of crops and agriculture it supports in this province, and because agriculture has and is the backbone of the province, it does produce 6.9 percent of the province's gross domestic product, and farmers have long recognized the need to conserve the soils.
According to Soil Conservation Council of Canada, soil degradiation costs Canada–Canadians $2 billion annually, and so if we can raise the awareness of this and what the agricultural producers are doing to protect this investment, this natural resource, I think is very important. This bill will go a long way to doing that. It will be something that's recognized throughout our school systems for years and years to come, and it'll give the teachers an opportunity–if they don't have an agricultural background–it'll give them the opportunity to expand their horizons and pass this on to the students at a very young age and get them engaged as well.
It's not just what happens in agriculture, it's what happens in a lot of our parks as well when people become aware of what our soils do and what is generated from our soils and if they become aware because it is–because of this bill, Mr. Speaker, then when they go to parks and other places, other public places, they'll have a greater respect for the soil that's there as well.
So, on them few words, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for the opportunity to address this bill today.
Mr. Drew Caldwell (Brandon East): Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure to get up and put a few words on the record with regard to the member's bill. We are both from western Manitoba, southwestern Manitoba, and in agriculture, as we know, in western Manitoba, is the very fabric of the community and is a very important part of all of our lives in that part of the province.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to discuss the fact that agriculture is, and has been, always of the utmost importance to our government. And I know that the member opposite would concur that in Manitoba, all of us in this House, place the highest importance on agriculture and its importance to our province.
Budget 2010, Mr. Speaker, maintains our government's commitment to agriculture in this province through a wide array of measures. Our government is–remains committed to providing targeted income stabilization to producers in this province through the AgriStability fund. That's a very important provision to support rural producers and the communities they serve and the province of Manitoba as a whole.
In 2009, Mr. Speaker, in fact, income stabilization payments increased in Manitoba by nearly 40 percent over the previous year. So there is a tremendous and considerable investment being made in this budget year towards agriculture and enhancing the performance of agriculture producers and assisting agriculture producers in our province.
Since the inception of the Growing Forward program in April 2008, Manitoba producers have received more than $322 million in income stabilization payments from the Province. In 2009, as I mentioned, these stabilization payments increased by nearly 40 percent over the previous year. These are very substantive numbers, Mr. Speaker. They're substantive programs, often, in times, in partnership with our federal colleagues in Ottawa.
The–with the bill that's before us, in terms of the declaring a soil as an official soil, it kind of reflects the whole panoply of symbolic gesture that we're discussing in this debate today to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of income stabilization that's been provided for–by the provincial government in this past year.
We really–and I think it does reflect, Mr. Speaker, the degree to which agriculture is important, philosophically, in this House. We're discussing, under the–in fact, under the amendment to the act, The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Amendment Act, illustrates the symbolism, deep symbolism, that the province of Manitoba places in its historical emblems. And soil, in many jurisdictions, is recognized in such a way. Philosophically, I think, in this House we all agree that we should move forward with a provision of this nature.
We have official tartans. I was chatting with my friend from Ste. Rose before speaking here earlier in the House, and, we do–we are proud owners of Manitoba tartan sport jackets, through our former association with the Union of Manitoba Municipalities. And I'm not sure that–I'm not sure if I've worn mine in this House. I'm not sure; I may have. I know I've worn them–[interjection] I did once? I'm reminded that I did wear mine in the House and I'm sure that my colleague from Ste. Rose, when he gets his dry-cleaned, as we talked about, will grace this House with a Manitoba tartan sports jacket.
So although tartan doesn't speak to the agriculture heritage specifically, as soil does, I think it does reflect–you know, on the one hand we have symbolic touchstones in our province; on the other hand, at the other range, we budget hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers–taxpayer dollars for providing stability to the–to agriculture producers in the province.
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And I'm very proud of that. Budget 2010 does, as I said, continues our–to increase our province–provincial government's support for our producers in a meaningful way, building upon a 40 percent increase in the past fiscal year for stabilization payments.
Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn't note that members opposite actually voted against every nickel of that investment in our producers but that's the way it goes in House here sometimes.
Mr. Speaker, I want to review some of the specific sectors in regard to agriculture and the importance of a resolution such as this. Last year, the $420-million worth of support in specific sectors provided targeted advanced payments for hog producers through AgriStability through the three years running '07, '08 and '09.
In the Interlake, we provided excess moisture since its programming. It is very important to my colleague from the Interlake. I know that there are a great, many challenges in that part of the province with regard to excess moisture. Those programs included assistance through the Manitoba Forage Assistance Program, Manitoba Livestock Feed Assistance Program, the Manitoba Forage Restoration Assistance Program, Disaster Financial Assistance, I'm sorry to say, in that part of the province and again through Excess Moisture Insurance programs.
Hog assistance loans were part of that figure, Mr. Speaker. Ruminant Assistance Programs offering feed for ruminants, BSE loan and income assistance, various very, very substantial investment in a wide array of producer problems or producer challenges that has been provided for through that $420 million in the last period of time.
In Budget 2009, I'd be remiss if I didn't note in terms of the rural part of the province, Mr. Speaker, we increased Farmland School Tax Rebate from 70 percent in 2008 up to 75 percent which, again, is up from 65 percent in 2007 and 33 percent in 2004, the year that we began that program. This year the Farmland School Tax Rebate program will return more than $30 million to Manitoba farmers, not an insubstantial investment in our producers and in our rural citizens.
Mr. Speaker, in January 2010, I was very pleased when our government introduced the Pasture Days Insurance Pilot Program which provides coverage for producers to relocate their animals from pasture due to drought or excess moisture. I know in–back to soils again, in terms of this discussion, in western Manitoba, we start to get into the Palliser's Triangle area of Canada, down in Pipestone, southwest of Brandon. The excess drought that can take place in dry years, I have, myself, and I expect perhaps my colleague, have also experienced blackouts–literally blackouts–from blowing dust in that region and contrasted with the very excessive moisture we had in that region a very few short years ago and the continuing excess moisture problem that the–my colleague from–the member from Interlake continues to experience on a yearly basis in his constituency.
So, Mr. Speaker, we have many–a great many agriculture programs in the province funded to a very significant extent, and I am always appreciative of being able to discuss issues agricultural in this Legislature. Thank you.
Mr. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside): Mr. Speaker, I want to put a few things on the record, as well, on Bill 203 brought forward by the member from Turtle Mountain and seconded by the member from Emerson.
Before I do that, I do want to recognize the Women's Institute people that are here today and certainly welcome each and every one of you here to this wonderful Chamber.
Most of these women are from rural Manitoba. So I think they'll find this debate quite interesting.
In fact, I found it very interesting that the member from Thompson found it humorous to talk about insects, jackets, fish, insects, those types of things that are probably very important to him, but from rural Manitoba, I find it very disturbing that he didn't take this bill seriously enough to speak about the bill itself. And this bill itself is very, very explicit about soil and the importance of soil to rural Manitoba.
And the member from Brandon talked about how great they are doing with agriculture. Well, you cut the budget. You took away some 10 percent of the budget this year, in 2010. I find that very disturbing. And we're talking about a bill that's going to recognize a soil that is so special to us here in Manitoba.
Yes, we have other symbols that we feel that are important, our forefathers have, and we have to recognize those. We have a soil here that's beyond none, the Newdale soil, black-soil zone. And in science–Manitoba soil and science society says, these soils tend to be very productive. They have a higher organic matter content than other agricultural soils. The Newdale is a good representation of these productive soils, both in terms or the area it occupies, as well as a range of crops in agriculture it supports in rural Manitoba.
So we, in rural Manitoba, take this very, very seriously. We do want the government to support this bill, and I know we only have an hour to debate it. And I think that we all, in this–everybody in this House has a very passion about this particular bill, and this soil has been brought forward once before. We didn't get the support that we needed from the government. I commend the member from Turtle Mountain for having the tenacity to be forward with this bill and make sure that it does come forward once again so that the government will have the opportunity to ensure right the wrong that they did in the last time it was brought forward.
So the province of Manitoba, with agriculture alone, contributes 6.9 percent of the domestic product here in Canada, in Manitoba. And we find that whenever it's made light of, I take exception to that. Two billion dollars in Canada, is–just comes from what farmers put back into the economy here within Manitoba.
And producers have done a great job. They do crop rotation. They do forage. They–legume production, preventative measures to ensure that they conserve the soil and protect it for the next generation. And I know that whenever we look at the manure management regulations that was brought forward by the Clean Environment Commission, who knows best than the farmers? The people that work and till that soil each and every day to ensure that soil will be there for them again. They are the best managers. They're the best scientists. They are beyond any other organization when it comes to looking after their land. Who knows best?
And I know, the members, and I talked about the Keystone ag producers supporting this bill, saying it is a designation, the Newdale soils, that rich soil, acknowledges and confirms the importance of soil in agriculture within this province, Mr. Speaker.
So I'm going to encourage the members opposite to support this bill. I know it's been said before, but I think it's important to say it again. Prince Edward Island has proclaimed the Charlottetown soil in November of 1998; New Brunswick proclaimed the Holmesville soil as its official soil in 1997; Alberta, the Breton soil has not been proclaimed, but it's on the order table; Québec designated the Ste. Rosalie as a provincial soil but has not been proclaimed; Nova Scotia, the Pugwash is a provincial soil, but has not been proclaimed.
Every state in the United States has a designated soil. In addition, 13 state legislatures have officially proclaimed and recognized an official soil.
Manitoba, as I said, has an official flag, an official emblem, tartan, flower, bird and tree. None of these emblems accurately recognize the important role that agriculture has and does play within the province of Manitoba. And I think this would help fill the gap, Mr. Speaker, and I know there's a couple of others that want to put a few things on the record.
So I'll end it at that and encourage them–the government–to support this bill.
* (10:50)
Hon. Ron Lemieux (Minister of Local Government): It's always a pleasure to put a few comments on the record, and it's an honour to be elected an MLA in this Chamber and we take that very seriously and we take issues that are presented before us very seriously.
I know the member from Lakeside was saying that the MLA for Thompson (Mr. Ashton) was making light of the issue. I would disagree totally. What he was saying was that there are some gaps with regard to some things that should be recognized in our province, possibly insects. There's other areas that are missing that–minerals for example. He talked about nickel and possibly it could be zinc from Flin Flon. But he wasn't making light of this at all. He was using a humorous approach to try to address a gap that needs to be addressed in a number of different areas.
With regard to soil and the significance of soil, I don't think there's a person in this Chamber, elected officials, or even indeed our guests that are here today, that would argue that the value of soil–I mean it's–if you take a look at what the weather is like outside, many of the farmers are on the field–certainly in my constituency and the southeast. I would presume it's throughout Manitoba. The farmers are on the field right now and you see the dust coming off the land, and it's actually a–it's great to see. It's early in the season but yet we're looking for some great weather so our farmers can have a real bumper crop this year, and soil is truly important for us.
In Manitoba there's about 19 million acres of land that has the potential for agriculture and we're very, very fortunate by that. Only one-sixteenth of the earth's surface has soil that is suitable for growing crops and we're very fortunate.
The U.S.–in the U.S. they use the terminology "is the breadbasket of the world," and indeed that could apply and possibly a different terminology used in Manitoba. But certainly we, and the products that we produce, and the crops we produce really do feed many countries of the world, and we should be very, very proud of that.
I know in Manitoba we have a number of different symbols that we're very proud of. The flower is the crocus–the prairie crocus. The bird–we have the great grey owl. The animal is the bison. The tree is the white spruce and there's others that should be seriously looked at.
Now I know that the member from Turtle Mountain certainly moved this, I understand, but I understand that–and through the comments he made–we're not taking anything away about the importance of soil. And we understand that and we agree that the importance of soil is–goes without saying.
What I should probably comment on, and I know the MLA for Brandon East (Mr. Caldwell) did a great job of that already–but some of it bears repeating. And so did the MLA for Thompson (Mr. Ashton) note some of the gaps that are missing with regard to some of our provincial symbols.
There was a debate going on whether the ladybug, the dragonfly–there's many different insects we might look at as well, and indeed the gaps that are there, I think all of us should take a look at. And the member from Lakeside–surely when the MLA from Thompson was commenting about how we could address this by having students involved, I don't think that particular comment was humorous at all. And he wasn't making light of anything when he said that students should be included in our schools to possibly have a say as to looking at soils or other symbols in Manitoba that we should recognize.
Some of the good things that we are doing for agriculture, as was noted from–by the member from Brandon East, was talking about how Manitoba producers have received more than $322 million in income stabilization payments. And in 2009 income stabilization payments have increased by nearly 40 percent. And over the last few years this government has provided 420 million in sector-specific income-relief programs for farmers. All of this is the connection and tied to soil and the importance of agriculture to our province.
The member from Brandon East, being part of rural Manitoba–it's an urban centre in rural Manitoba–but indeed he has many connections to people who are in the agribusiness in southwest Manitoba and knows of what he speaks.
As an MLA for La Verendrye in southeastern Manitoba, agriculture is indeed very, very important, not only to that area of the province but agriculture being very important to the province overall.
In January 2009, I know we made some changes providing stronger coverage for feed loss due to excessive moisture or excess moisture, increased forage restoration benefits for hay loss and so on. And I know our member from the Interlake has often commented, and the people from the Interlake have been hard hit over the last number of years with regard to the amount of moisture they've received, and that is really regrettable. There's a lot of great farmers in the Interlake, some of them beef, some of them other livestock operators, and they have been really hard hit over the last number of years. And we've been there to stand beside them, to work with them in any way we can to help them out.
And I would really want to, at this time, thank the MLA for the Interlake (Mr. Nevakshonoff) for attending so many meetings and working with the agricultural community in the Interlake to ensure that there is money for drainage and trying to attempt, in any way possible–humanly possible–to try to address some of the challenges that he's had–they had.
The member from Brandon East did mention, though, that we are in a bit of a wet cycle, and no matter what the arguments are with regard to global warming and the effects of global warming overall, the member from Brandon East did raise a good point, that there are going to be years coming into the future that there's going to be really dry, dry weather patterns hitting us, and so we really have to take a look at water retention. I mean, we take a look at water as being a problem, and water retention, I really believe in the future, we have to seriously look at retaining water.
I know there was a big movement over many years of cutting down a lot of the forests in southern Manitoba, primarily south of No. 1 Highway, but–and in many areas of the province, to get more farmland, and so the farmers would be able to have more farmland, be able to grow their crops and with the soil that we have, that the thought was a good one.
But the challenge is is that, when you take away a lot of the forests and you do away with a lot of the swamps, you're not retaining water and you're not holding a lot of water back. And so we see the experience, or, at least, what we've experienced over the last number of years, the kind of water we've had, coming from South Dakota, North Dakota and coming to our province and the kind of floods that we've had. And the water moving along so quickly, where, I would argue, 50 years ago that didn't happen because of the water retention–the natural water retention that was there.
So we really have to seriously look at not only the drainage issues to help farmers, for example, like in the Interlake or in southeast Manitoba. But we have to look at water retention in the future, because of the issues around erosion. And the member from Brandon East mentioned about how it's not only wind but certainly water eroding our soil, and it's something that we should be conscious of.
Let me just summarize by saying that we do have a number of different provincial symbols that we are indeed proud of. We should find a way on how do we address the symbols that are missing. The member from Thompson mentioned that we should look at a mineral, whether that be zinc from Flin Flon or whether that should be nickel. We should look at possibly a provincial insect.
We should look at soil and, you know, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned previously, I prefaced my comments by saying it's a real pleasure to be an MLA, elected MLA in this Chamber and having the opportunity to speak. And I know a lot of us feel very passionate. We're not joking about these matters. We take them very seriously and we understand the seriousness and the importance of soil in Manitoba.
And, Mr. Speaker, you know, we, on this side as the Government of Manitoba, have been walking hand in hand and working with agriculture in rural Manitoba, and we take all the issues related to rural Manitoba very, very seriously. And, as an MLA from rural Manitoba, I, indeed, understand and have been working with many, many agricultural rural groups to ensure that agriculture remains a priority for us. And it is. And we've restored many, many programs that were removed in days past, but our government is not about looking in a rearview mirror; we're about the future.
And, you know, Mr. Speaker, well, some of the members opposite chuckle about the comment, but the fact of the matter is all of the progressive items we've brought forward, they have voted against it. They vote against every single budget that's good for rural Manitoba, and I think that's a shame, and that is not a laughing matter at all.
* (11:00)
Mr. Speaker: Order. The honourable member's time has expired. And I see that the clock is 11–order. I see the clock is 11 a.m., so we'll move on to resolutions and when this matter is again before the House, the debate will remain open.
Res. 3–Recognizing the Manitoba Women's Institute
Mr. Speaker: We'll move on to resolutions and I'll call Resolution No. 3, Recognizing the Manitoba Women's Institute.
Mrs. Mavis Taillieu (Morris): And I move, seconded by the member for Minnedosa (Mrs. Rowat),
WHEREAS the Manitoba Women's Institute is a non-profit, non-denominational and non-partisan rural women's organization first established in the community of Morris; and
WHEREAS the Women's Institute–Manitoba Women's Institute is dedicated to personal development, family, agriculture, rural development and community action at both the local and global level; and
WHEREAS the institute has been a strong advocate for rural women's interests, a source of support for families and a catalyst for positive change in Manitoba; and
WHEREAS the many local branches of the Manitoba Women's Institute have been instrumental in improving the health, education and well-being of families and communities; and
WHEREAS this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Manitoba Women's Institute.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba acknowledge the good work the Manitoba Women's Institute over the past 100 years and thank the institute for its ongoing efforts to improve the lives of women and families throughout Manitoba.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: Is there agreement in the House to bring the resolution forward as printed? [Agreed]
WHEREAS the Manitoba Women's Institute is a non‑profit, non-denominational and non-partisan rural women's organization first established in the community of Morris; and
WHEREAS the Manitoba Women's Institute is dedicated to personal development, family, agriculture, rural development and community action at both the local and global level; and
WHEREAS the Institute has been a strong advocate for rural women's interests, a source of support for families and a catalyst for positive change in Manitoba; and
WHEREAS the many local branches of the Manitoba Women's Institute have been instrumental in improving the health, education and well-being of families and communities; and
WHEREAS this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Manitoba Women's Institute.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba acknowledge the good work of the Manitoba Women's Institute over the last one hundred years and thank the Institute for its ongoing efforts to improve the lives of women and families throughout Manitoba.
Mr. Speaker: It's been moved by the honourable member for Morris, seconded by the honourable member for Minnedosa,
WHEREAS–dispense?
Some Honourable Members: Dispense.
Mr. Speaker: Dispense.
Mrs. Taillieu: And I'm very proud to sponsor this resolution today which celebrates the centennial jubilee of the Women's Institute here in Manitoba. And, indeed, it all began in Morris which holds the No. 1 charter, Mr. Speaker. So as the member for Morris, I'm especially honoured and proud to bring this resolution before this House today.
I also want to welcome all the ladies here from across the province, from many of the institutes across the province who are in the gallery today. I think there's about 65 ladies here with us today, and I also want to congratulate those on the jubilee committee, those–and members from Morris who are hosting the 100th anniversary year celebrations, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to the support of all members of this House in supporting this resolution.
But I do want to ask for leave, Mr. Speaker, to have all the ladies' names recorded in Hansard and I'd like to submit those to Hansard by the end of the day, if I could seek leave of the House for that.
Mr. Speaker: Would the honourable member have leave?
Some Honourable Members: Leave.
Mr. Speaker: Okay, leave has been granted. So when you have the list of all their names, please give it to the recorder and we'll make sure that they're in Hansard.
Eastern Legion–6 Locals
Morris Local (14): Viola Skoglund, Genevieve Manikel, Susan Reimer, Jean Lewis, Joy Snarr, Bernice Anderson, Lorna Lewis, Helen Wiebe, Corrie Schiewe, Ina Mazinke, Kathleen Jorgenson, Myrtle Ganske, Edna Dreger, Louise Braun
Springfield Local (13): June Shoeskie, Doris Koss, Liz Chongva, Gayle Dowler, Kathy Wilkinson, Thelma Ross, Judy Gowron, Janet Tinley, Charlene Pruse, Peggy Walker, Lucille Dankewich, Diane Holland, Audrey Vaags
Dufresne Local (6): Marlene Gauthier, Linda Rosenthal, Anne Augustine, Annette Pelland, Carol Mravinec, Kathy Kaye
Domain Local (2): Carol Pasieczka, Gwen Parker
Crow Wing Local, St. Pierre (5): Dolores Carriere, Shelley Curé, Murielle Bugera, Dawn Harris, Roberta Wiebe
Woodmore Local (9): Kathy Polischuk, Liz Griffin, Debbie Melosky, Margaret Giesbrecht, Mary Ann Pow, Maren Mueller, Margaret Pott, Mary Sawatzky, Phylis McDougall
Winnipeg–Interlake Region–8 Locals
Inwood (4): Lorna Priestley, Joyce Chitz, Florence Chitz, Johanna Glass
Narcisse (1): Rlee Gilson
Individual Member (Inwood) (1): Valerie Watt, Past President
Winnipeg (3): Jocelynn Grant, Joyce Lazar, Bev Ominski
Southwest B Region
Individual Member (1): Fran Dickinson (Waskada)
Individual Member (1): Audrey Clark (Lyleton)
Individual Member (1): Donna Young (Wheat City‑Brandon)
Northwest Region
Grandview Local (1): Barb Stienwandt
Mrs. Taillieu: I'd just like to give a bit of a history on the Women's Institute here in Manitoba. I was lent a couple of the history books by Vi Skoglund from Morris, and I had enjoyed looking through the history books, seeing the last 100 years of history in the province of Manitoba. And what impressed me most, Mr. Speaker, was the breadth and the depth of the influence that these women had on Manitoba, shaping the lives of home and family, early health and social services, education, culture and politics.
Many of the things we take for granted in our everyday life today are results of initiatives undertaken by these women, members of the Manitoba Women's Institute over the last 100 years.
And as I went through the history book, there was a couple of things that I noted that I just wanted to mention. The history books were entitled The Great Human Heart. I'm sure the Women's Institute ladies know the books that I'm speaking of. But I noticed that the Domain Women's Institute earned the name, the 'goingest' institute in 1958, as declared by Maclean's magazine. And I think Gwen Parker, who was with the Domain institute, is here in the gallery today. She was the first executive secretary of the Manitoba Women's Institute, something that she held for 26 years and for that was inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame. So congratulations.
And I also–there's a quote from the book that I think was fairly funny, actually. And I'm quoting from the history book here when it says: Morris is destined to reach fame through the efforts of her women rather than any–through any of the accomplishments of her men, trumpeted the Morris Herald. Now, I want to make sure that that isn't my quote, but that was a quote of the reporter for the Morris Herald at the time, and I know there's no Morris Herald any more. So, I'm not sure when that was said, but perhaps it's true–perhaps it's true.
But this–the Women's Institute first began earlier in Ontario, Mr. Speaker. In fact, in 1897 a young woman named Adelaide Hoodless addressed a group of women, telling them how her infant son had died of impure milk and she didn't have the resources and the education that she would have needed to actually have prevented this from happening. And so, a group of women met and discussed the need for resources for women, and so began a Women's Institute in Ontario. Their creed was "A nation cannot rise above the level of its homes."
And in 1909, Mrs. Finley MacKenzie, a young woman from Morris who was visiting her mother in Ontario, had learned of the Women's Institute there and the work they were doing. And it was Mrs. MacKenzie who brought the idea back to Morris the following year, in 1910, and the Morris Women's Institute was born. Mrs. J. Lewis was elected president, Mrs. MacKenzie was vice-president and Mrs. A.H. Chisholm was secretary treasurer, and she later became the first president of the Manitoba Women's Institute. It's also interesting to note that the current treasurer of the Morris Women's Institute, Jean Lewis, is the great granddaughter-in-law of the first president, Mrs. J. Lewis.
Now, the first thing that the ladies did was to send a resolution to the Premier, Sir Rodmond Roblin, asking for the co-operation in the work they were planning. And on November 3rd of 1910, the Morris Institute received its charter under the signature of the Minister of Agriculture, George Lawrence. And in the following years 17 other associations were formed, and by 1919 the Home Economic Societies throughout the province were renamed Women's Institutes.
As the number of Institutes grew across the province because women just became involved in all of the things that they needed to do, through the war years, through the depression years, there was much to do for communities and for families, for the troops overseas, for the betterment of the culture and the societies and their communities, Mr. Speaker.
The organizations grew to about 127 and they worked on a variety of projects, from the Children's Aid Society here in Winnipeg to operating libraries, community restrooms–and I know this is a big issue because a lot of people–a lot of women in rural Manitoba, when they were coming into the small towns, bringing their children, they really didn't have a place to meet or to care for the kids or just a public restroom. You know, I'm reading, just from some notes in another historical book, too, that this was sort of the answer to the men's pubs in those days, some place for women to meet. But they also had initiatives with skating rinks, improvements to local cemeteries, hot lunch programs when children couldn't go home at noon, and health and educational needs, Mr. Speaker.
By 1930, The Women's Institute Act was legislated, and the Manitoba Women's Institute constitution and purpose was to develop more informed, responsible citizens; co-operate with the Province to improve educational, social and economic conditions; and to express its view in matters of provincial, national and international importance. Mr. Speaker, the motto became "For Home and Country."
And I just want to mention as well that there is a bronze plaque here in the Legislature dedicated to the Manitoba Women's Institute and it's–in the year 1931, and I hope that the ladies will get a chance to go and see that plaque.
* (11:10)
Mr. Speaker, during the '30s, the Depression was a time when it was increasingly difficult for funding for the institutes and they–and I know that they struggled with funding over the years. But, you know, when times get tough, tough women get going, and that's what's happened with the Manitoba Women's Institute.
And I know that my time is going to run out here, Mr. Speaker, and I know that there are many speakers beyond me that will talk about some of the issues and initiatives that the Women's Institute has been involved in.
But, Mr. Speaker, this is the centennial year of the Women's Institute here in Manitoba with celebrations May 13th to 15th in Morris, home of the first institution. Women will be celebrating 100 years of 'advocy' for their communities, strong history of resolutions put forward to government in health, education, culture, farm women and children, safety, environmental protection and a wide range of consumer interests. They will come together to celebrate personal development, their partnerships with the Provincial Council of Women and Keystone Ag Producers, and they will network and reminisce about the past and past accomplishments and future achievements. I look forward to being there with them to celebrate the last 100 years and kick off the next 100 years.
I want to thank everybody for being here, and I really hope that we have the support of this House in this very, very significant resolution, recognizing 100 years of the great work of the Manitoba Women's Institute.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Erna Braun (Rossmere): Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to congratulate the Manitoba Women's Institute for a hundred years of service to Manitoba families, and I would like to welcome all the women that are here today. And I feel somewhat of a tie to them, since I am a graduate of the Faculty of Home Economics, and I'm quite sure some of the work of the Women's Institute, way back when, was part and parcel of the development of the School of Home Economics at the Faculty of Agriculture back in 1910 as well.
The celebration of your anniversary is taking place May 13th to 15th of this year, and your centennial jubilee celebration will be quite something. I understand Rosann Wowchuk, our Minister of Finance–
Mr. Speaker: Order. When addressing members that are in the–the members in the House, it's by constituency or ministers by their titles, not by name, please.
Ms. Braun: Thank you. Our Minister of Finance (Ms. Wowchuk), I believe, is going to be speaking at the anniversary celebration, and we are very proud of the accomplishments that the Women's Institute has made.
I became aware of the Women's Institute–as I was saying–when I was studying at the Faculty of Home Economics in those days–it's now the Faculty of Human Ecology–and our attention to the Women's Institute was certainly made very apparent by one of my favourite professors, Betty Feniak, and I would like to take a moment to acknowledge her contributions as well. She is now retired, but I know for myself that she had a great influence on myself in my years at the faculty, but also as a home economics teacher later on. And Betty was a foods and nutrition instructor at the Faculty of Home Economics. She presided over the Canadian Home Economics Association from '85 to 2003; served as the chair of the Canadian Home Economics Foundation, where she is now an honorary chair and trustee emeritus; and she also served on many women's groups in Manitoba. As a result, she is a life member of the National Council of Women of Canada, Manitoba Provincial Council of Women and the Manitoba Women's Institute, and she is also a member of the Order of Canada.
So the Women's Institute certainly has a–had a very broad reach and, certainly, as a member–as a student at the Faculty of Home Economics, their presence was certainly known to us.
Initially known as the Ladies Mutual Benefit Society, Home Economics Societies and Household Sciences Association, the Manitoba Women's Institute was organized formally in Manitoba in 1910 and had close ties with the Manitoba Agricultural College and the provincial Department of Agriculture. And I know for myself there was even a point in time where I thought I might become a rural home economist.
And I suspect that it is a result of those connections that also, in 1910, the School of Home Economics was created at the Agricultural College to help provide some of the academic skills and background that were necessary for taking the message and the skills out to the communities and to the families.
The Institute's founding chapter was in Morris, as our member from Morris has indicated, where 40 women gathered in 1910 for an inaugural meeting. An advisory board was appointed in 1915 to co‑ordinate lectures, short courses and demonstrations. And the name Women's Institute was adopted in 1919. The Manitoba Department of Agriculture and the Manitoba Agricultural College provided support and assistance to expand the Manitoba Women's Institute in its early years. Provincial representatives meeting in Winnipeg in 1919 decided to organize the Federated Women's Institute of Canada. National associations, looking for overseas affiliations, formed the Associated Country Women of the World in 1933.
Currently, there are 493 members in 30 local Women's Institute organizations throughout our province, and a provincial board co-ordinates the province-wide activities of the organization and links with other organizations, such as the Federated Women's Institute of Canada.
Manitoba Women's Institute holds personal development days, which offer educational opportunities for members. They've brought forward 12 resolutions in 2010, including support for a monument to Nellie McClung at the Legislative Building, reinstating pay equity in the federal civil service, ending race-based violence against Aboriginal women and educating new immigrants on women's rights in Canada.
In looking at the history of the Women's Institute, it seems that the–those labels of home economics societies and household science certainly led to the creation of the School of Home Economics. And the School of Home Economics provided the academic background and training for women to lend their skills to the families, individuals and communities in areas of public health, nutrition and child care, as well as household management, and, to this day, it continues to be a multidisciplinary approach to the home and the health of individuals within the household. And, certainly, the faculties of human ecology, now across Canada, still continue to support the kinds of initiatives that were begun way back, in 1910, by the Women's Institute.
And so, for me, it is an absolute honour to be able to congratulate you on a hundred years, because certainly the work that you have done in the province in those early years has established what continues on through the faculties of human ecology to your work at the Women's Institute. And my congratulations to you and all the best for a second hundred years.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mrs. Leanne Rowat (Minnedosa): Mr. Speaker, and it is a pleasure to rise in the House today to support a resolution put forward by the member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu), the Women's–the Manitoba Women's Institute's 100th anniversary, a very strong movement within our province with strong roots and ties to rural communities.
I want to welcome and acknowledge all of the women that are in the gallery today for making the trip into Winnipeg today. It's greatly appreciated. It shows the support that you have for the resolution, but it gives us an opportunity to see you and personally give you thanks for all that you do, and your organization has done, for the communities in rural Manitoba. I want to thank you for that.
The Women's Institute is a non-partisan, non‑denominational and non-profit group of dedicated volunteers, who have been improving the lives of women and families in Manitoba for over a hundred years, and the mission statement of the Manitoba Women's Institute states that they are a rural women's organization dedicated to personal development, family, agriculture, rural development and community action, both locally and globally. So, in short, their values are the values of Manitobans, and that is why they are so deserving of this recognition in the House today.
From the very beginning, it was agreed that any woman might join the organization, regardless of race, religion or politics. The central purpose of the Institute is–in its early days was to raise the standard of living of individual families through education about such things as home economics, sanitation, hygiene and child care. Members believed that a nation could not rise above the level of its homes and this becoming a guiding belief for all women institutes–institute groups.
* (11:20)
Prior to this, there were a few groups that women could become involved with, and news of this new group spread to other communities and other provinces, which led to the first Women's Institute group in Manitoba in the community of Morris, 100 years ago, in 1910.
In addition to domestic pursuits and homemaking, the Women's Institute viewed itself as a group of women who could initiate on projects of importance to their community and the broader global community. So, women getting together and making sure that projects moved forward, and who better to know what was needed within a community than the women who nurtured not only their children but had the opportunity to nurture their communities as well?
During the First and Second World Wars, for example, the Women's Institute put together care packages to be sent overseas and raised thousands of dollars for the Red Cross and the Children's War Service Fund. Both of those activities obviously took away hardship and stress from many of the people that were overseas.
During the Depression, the Women's Institute offered education programs on health care, household spending, dressmaking and put together relief packages to help those in need. During this period, the institute took on special interest in high‑quality handmade goods, including knitted articles, small quilts, small rugs and simple loom along with some woven articles, embroideries characteristic of various countries. Between 1937 and 1951, the institute assembled a large loan collection of these goods to be shared among the institutes, and over the years, the collection was renewed, restored and updated. In 1984, the loan collection was donated to what was then called the Dugald Costume Museum and the items in the collection are a proud piece of Manitoba history.
The Manitoba Women's Institute has many chapters, and I am going to speak briefly to the–my constituency, the Minnedosa constituency, on a couple of local chapters and some of the work that's been done in the communities that I represent.
The community at Rivers, which is known for its service organizations, and the strength of those service organizations within that community, their WI, or Women's Institute, was formed in 1949. And I recently attended their 60th anniversary a couple years back. And that chapter, and that celebration was a great opportunity for women who have served and been involved with the WI over its 60 years, including the first president of that chapter who came to the event. And I found that it was a great gathering and a homecoming for many people coming back to the community to reminisce about the many projects that they were involved in.
The Rivers chapter supports such community initiatives as the Riverdale Harvest, the Children's Hospital Book Market, the women's shelter, Rivers Fair, the Ag at the Classroom project, and are currently organizing a tree-planting project at the Rivers cemetery. So, this group, if there's a job to be done, they get together and they get it done, and I want to congratulate that chapter.
Minnedosa's chapter was founded in 1910, and was disbanded in 1980, after 70 years. The Minnedosa Women's Institute was one of the first Women's Institutes in Manitoba, with the institute in Morris, and was called The Home Economics Society until 1919.
Some early projects of the group included building restrooms and maintenance of a country women's ward in the Minnedosa Hospital. During the 1920s, the institute held a number of baby clinics, and, during the 1930s, opened a lending library.
The Minnedosa branch disbanded, as I said, in 1980, but the Basswood Women's Institute is active in the Minnedosa area, and their president, Edith Parsons, is very active within her community and within her region. And they recently celebrated their 90th anniversary in June 2008.
I had the opportunity of speaking at the annual meeting of the Manitoba Women's Institute a few years back, in Minnedosa, and I was pleased to be able to stay and participate and enjoy a lot of the presentations and the discussions and meeting with a lot of the women who put politics aside and really, you know, want to know about how to make Manitoba a better place to live.
And I learned a lot and I appreciated the insight and the wisdom that was shared by the women at this conference.
The Souris WI was a thriving chapter until 2005 when it was disbanded. I had the opportunity to attend a few of the functions with the WI in Souris, and that's my home community, and June Kowalchuk was somebody that I found as a real, real inspiration in the community, and she involved me in a lot of the activities that took place there.
One project that I think June would have appreciated me mentioning today was the Souris day care. It's into its fourth decade in Souris, and I think in a rural community to have a day care that has been active and very, very well used, I must say, for almost 40 years, is something that is very much a project that was close to June's heart. June had nine children, so I think she, better than anybody else, realized the importance of respite and the need for a day care to help with her child-care supports.
I've got a few minutes left. But what I want to wrap with is just saying that I grew up in a rural community. I grew up with strong women in my household. My mother, my grandmothers, taught me to speak out and be strong and to get involved and not just put words out there, but actually take actions with them. And I think the Women's Institute is made up of all of these types of qualities, and these women have to be commended because I think this organization–without you–real communities would not have grown and prospered. You've helped with the challenges. There's so many more challenges. So I encourage you to continue on for another 100 years because I know that my communities and all communities deserve to have you continue with your great work. Thank you very much.
Mr. Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure and honour to rise today to speak to this resolution to speak in support of it, and I want to compliment and thank the member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu) for bringing this forward.
I, too, would like to offer greetings to members in the gallery. I don't see any members from the Fisher Branch Women's Institute here but I spoke to my auntie just yesterday, her name is Bernice Enstrom, and she told me that they were having a meeting themselves today and had to forgo attending today. But I bring greetings on their behalf.
I also want to thank the–our Deputy Premier, the Minister of Finance (Ms. Wowchuk). I know that she wanted to very much speak to this resolution, and she will be representing the province at the 100th anniversary in Morris in the days to come. But she knew that I feel very strongly about the Women's Institute, and she graciously offered me her time.
Many of you in the House here are used to me rising on issues very much different than the one today. It's usually the topics of drainage and agriculture and highways and wolves and elk and things like that, but today I'm going to show a slightly different side in addressing this issue, and it is because of how strongly I feel about this particular organization, the Women's Institute. I do because in a sense I'm a product of the Women's Institute.
Many members of my family were involved. My grandmother, Ida Barrett, her maiden name was Mabb, was a founding member of the Women's Institute in Fisher Branch. My late mother, Joyce Nevakshonoff, was a member of the Women's Institute, and I will speak about her in a moment. My mother-in-law, Simone Imlah, also is a member of the Women's Institute, as are two of my aunties who are still with me, Rosie Barrett and, of course, Bernice Enstrom. So I've been surrounded by these ladies all of my life and have been kept close watch, even, by them all of my life, and their observation has been an inspiration to me to conduct myself as honourably as I can. And all of my mother's friends who are still alive of course are friends of mine as well, I would like to say, and it's an honour to represent them here in the Legislature.
* (11:30)
My mother recently passed away and I'd just like to speak a little bit about her. I've often lauded my father in the Chamber. He also passed away over a decade ago, and he was my inspiration from a political perspective. He drove that message home and pushed me out to work, whether it was in the bush or in the oil patch and all that.
But it takes two parents to raise a child, and if I were able to say I had strength of character, I would say that I got that from my mother more than anybody else, because she was a very strong woman. One of her sayings was that a person could chew nails and spit tacks, and if ever there was a lady that could do that, that was my mother. She was very outspoken, a very strong person.
She was non-political, I have to say, which is also an attribute of the Women's Institute, and was no doubt a source of frustration to my father who was very political. But mother pretty much remained silent on that and peace in the household, I think, was her objective there, because dad felt very strongly and he'd try to provoke political debate with her, but she just looked the other way on that front.
My mother had a high emphasis on education. The realization that I was going to university was a foregone conclusion, there was no ifs, ands or buts. She taught me herself from a very early age. She taught me to read before I went to school and I've been an avid reader all of my life thanks to that.
She was a temperate woman, which is also a characteristic of the Women's Institute. That's not to say she didn't enjoy a beer every once in a while or a good glass of single malt. She did, but never in my life did I see her under the influence of alcohol, I have to say. She was a staunch member of her church as well, the Anglican Church, and she was a good judge of character as well.
She served in the Fisher Branch Collegiate institute for a number of years, first as the librarian and then as the secretary, and even years now after her death, a lot of the young people still speak to me of her guidance and how when they went into the library they behaved themselves because they did not want to incur her wrath, to say the least.
Mother was very community oriented as well, obviously with the Women's Institute, but in other aspects as well, whether it was curling or what have you.
My mother was, of course, the daughter of my grandmother, Ida Barrett. Mabb was her maiden name, and she was a strong lady also.
All of these women in my life were very strong. I have to take my hat off to them, and I also want to take my hat off to all of the women in the Chamber here as well. It's a real privilege to serve with them, not just the members of my caucus but also members of the opposition. I have the utmost respect for all of them, for their intelligence, for their determination and tenacity in the Chamber here as well.
My grandmother was a strong woman. She was a prison guard. She worked in the Vaughan Street Jail for women, and I had the pleasure of living with her for a couple of years after she retired. My parents were up in Norway House. They opened the hotel up there for my uncle Cubby, and I stayed with my grandmother, my brother and I did, for a couple of years until they came back to the south. And when I say she was a strong woman, I give you an example. Her grandchildren didn't call her Baba; behind her back, her nickname was The Whip, and she was a strong disciplinarian as well.
And I'll give you an example of her strength of character. Women, back in the earlier days, of course, in their struggle for equality, sometimes people tried to take advantage of them, and my grandmother bought a piece of property in Fisher Branch and left it vacant for a number of years until she retired and, over that course of time, all of her neighbours on three sides of her encroached into her property, and when she came back home to settle she dealt with that issue in a very determined way, I have to say. Each of them were pushed off. One person had to dismantle his garage and move it off, and the neighbour to the north of us had planted a nice row of trees which were on her property and had a fence and everything, and she immediately had that removed and built a large chain-link fence on the other side of the trees to stake her claim and make her point, and she left one post, the corner post of this fellow's fence, and every morning–I lived with her at that time–every morning she would get up and she would go out and she would grab that post and she would shake it like that and she would glare over at the neighbour's house, and about a year later one morning she finally snapped that fence post off and carried it across the road and threw it into the ditch, and a year later her neighbour passed away. I think that was the final blow. That broke his spirit and he went to the beyond.
I think of other women in my life. I think of my grandmother on my father's side, Mary Stushinoff. She was a Dukhobor immigrant lady, and I remember a picture taken in 1929 when my grandfather died suddenly. This was in rural Saskatchewan, of course, and the picture was her standing at her husband's grave, and she had my two older aunties, Aunty Anne and Aunty Nellie. My father was there; he was nine years of age. She was holding an infant, my Aunty Helen, in her hands, and she was pregnant with my Aunty Elizabeth in 1929 in Saskatchewan, at the beginning of the greatest drought this province has ever seen and the beginning of the Great Depression, and it was a telling picture, Mr. Speaker.
My time is up. Thank you very much. My hats are off to the ladies of the Women's Institute.
Mr. Cliff Graydon (Emerson): I'm very pleased to rise today to put a few words on the record in respect to this resolution that's been brought forward by my colleague from Morris. It's fitting that she brought this particular resolution forward as that's where the Women's Institute did start in our province, and we're really thankful that it did start in our province because of what it has accomplished over the hundred years.
Part of the history–and going back to the beginning of the hundred years–the area of Manitoba in Morris area was settled primarily with agriculture, as was most of Manitoba. Agriculture was the industry of the day and the farm women had possibly the least amount of communications that our province has ever had. And so when the institute was formed, it gave them an opportunity to exchange different ideas and, because we were settled by different cultures and different ethnic groups with different religion, it gave them the opportunity to learn from other people different ways of doing things, and, Mr. Speaker, they learned very early in the history of their organization that there would be no restriction at all of race, religion or politics.
Now, when we say politics, we have to keep in mind that the Women's Institute are non-partisan, but I would suggest that the influence that the Women's Institute has had on a number of issues outside of the home as well as inside of the home, that although they were non-partisan, I would suggest that any political party that dares to oppose projects that have been brought forward by the Women's Institute does that at their own peril.
* (11:40)
These projects are well thought out. They're well thought out in the districts, and they're brought to the provincial level and they're well discussed, well researched, and when they're presented to any Legislature I would suggest that they pay attention. Especially if you happen to have a spouse that's a WI and you happen to be a member of the Legislature, I would suggest you pay extra attention.
The central purpose of the Women's Institute in the early days was to raise the standard of living of individual families through education, such as home economics, sanitation, hygiene and child care. And they have done that, and they continue to do that, but they also branched out to many other things that were very, very important in our communities. And, maybe before I go into some of these very serious issues that they branched out into and projects that they branched out into, I might say that they never forgot the community. They never forgot the importance to the community, what–and how to bring the community together.
And so I would like to just share with the members here today that–the experiences in my own community, in the community of Woodmore, with the Woodmore WI. Excuse me. They, at one time, used to host these picnics, the old-fashioned picnics, and we had them in all of the communities throughout the province but, as time went on, vehicles got better and good roads make for smaller communities–as we all know–and so these things kind of fall by the wayside. But the Woodmore ladies, with an average age of probably 70, decided that we were going to have an old-fashioned picnic and, first and foremost, that they were going to put together a baseball team, and they challenged the local council to a baseball game. It didn't seem quite fair. The local council's average age is probably 50. There were only six of them, so they recruited some of their grandkids to play in this baseball game. So it wasn't really fair a lineup, but the girls, they never blinked. They hired a non-partisan umpire and they won the game.
Ms. Marilyn Brick, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair
They–but they went back to the old days where ice cream was 10 cents and hot dogs were 10 cents, and they had boot tosses, and they had a nail-driving contest as well. A lot of the local carpenters participated, and I participated as well. For the last two years, I've been able to win that nail-driving contest, and so I'd like to issue a challenge to all of the members of this House that, this year, when that contest comes up, I want you to come on down and I'll take you on. No question.
But besides having the fun and keeping that community together, which these type of events really did, they were a place for people to gather, to visit, to relax, and they were important in the early days of the Women's Institute and they're just as important today. They're just as important because our fast-paced life, we kind of forget about family. We forget about important things in our community because we have to be someplace at 5 o'clock, and we have to be someplace at 7 o'clock, and we have to be someplace at 11 o'clock, and then we're going to see the evening news and we're going to go to bed. What happens is, our communities start to shrink and we become individuals instead of a community, and then we start to lose our entities in our communities, like our small halls, the importance of our recreation grounds, and these type of things. So the WI play a very, very important role in that.
But they also promoted a number of very, very important projects over a period of time, and some of those were the drama festivals in rural communities. Some of them have these dinner theatres, they promote these dinner theatres. I know that my sister‑in-law has put on a number of dramas in these dinner theatres. I can't particularly say I enjoyed the drama, but the meal was perfect–and as you can see, I wear it well.
They also understood the importance of libraries and education in rural Manitoba, and libraries were a very important part of that. The personal care homes that we have today, they lobbied long and hard for these. They supported them and they continued to do that in different communities. Even though there may not be a chapter of the WI in that particular community, they see a need and they will promote that need to the people that make the decisions.
Mr. Speaker in the Chair
They promoted a project of reflectors on freight rail cars, and to many members of the House that may not seem like a big issue. But in rural Manitoba we probably have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of uncontrolled rail crossings, and you have to understand that at different times of the year, such as spring and as fall and harvest time or in seeding time, there's a lot of stress on farm families. Everyone works and everyone is pushing to get the crop in, to do the hay, to get the crop harvested and hauled in and a lot of times you're not paying attention to your surroundings.
You cross that railroad track five, 10 times a day in those peak periods. Other times you cross them tracks once, twice a day, or once or twice a week, but it becomes a habit. It becomes a habit that you're racing some place because you know you have to get back to the air seeder, or you have to get back to the combine. And so you look to the right, but you don't look to the left.
And so they promoted these–and you do a lot of this at night. And so they promoted the reflectors on the rail cars, so, at night, as you're coming up there, these reflectors give you the indication or give you the notice that there is a train on that track at that particular crossing. And it has saved the lives of many, many people.
They were vocal advocates for electricity. Now there's maybe a lot of people in this House that grew up when electricity was in their house when they were born or as far back as their memories go. But being one of the older people in here–not the oldest, by any stretch, but one of the older people in this House–I remember when we got electricity.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I see that my time is up. I had it covered up and I–but, in conclusion, I just want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the Manitoba Women's Institute for their 100th anniversary. I know they will be celebrating it next month in Morris, and we're very, very pleased today to support this resolution.
Hon. Jennifer Howard (Minister of Labour and Immigration): Mr. Speaker, I just want to add a few words to those of my colleagues today congratulating the Manitoba Women's Institute on their 100th anniversary.
In my capacity as Minister responsible for the Status of Women, I want to acknowledge the strength of your organization, the history of your organization and the legacy of your organization for all of us. And I think the member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu) reminded us well of the beginnings of the institute, that the beginnings of the Women's Institute were really by a woman who had lost a child because of contaminated milk. And I can't imagine the grief of losing a child, but that woman took that grief and worked with other women and brought to light the need for a system of public health throughout Canada.
And, really, we don't always, perhaps, credit organizations like the Women's Institute, but were it–those organizations of women in rural Manitoba, of women who were living in the slums in cities that came together to really advocate and start the first modern public health system in Canada, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
They worked on issues that we take for granted. The member for Emerson (Mr. Graydon) is talking about electricity–having electricity in homes. They worked on issues like having the availability of clean water, which is still a struggle in many communities today. So they began, really, on the–working and advocating for the fundamentals of health and the fundamentals of life, because that's where they were rooted.
They were the women that were responsible for raising kids, for holding communities together, for working with their partners on the farm and in those communities. And I think whenever you talk to rural women, you know that when they speak, they speak not only from the heart but they speak from the real grass roots because they have that lived experience.
* (11:50)
I think the other thing that the Women's Institute has done a phenomenal job of is reducing the isolation that lots of rural women have felt and continue to feel. Having a place for women to come together, and one of the members said, you know when the Women's Institute started, there were very few organizations where women were permitted, let alone welcomed. And the Women's Institute was one of those places where women were welcomed. They have annual education days and conferences.
And I was lucky enough, actually, to attend their last annual convention in Selkirk. And it was a marvellous meal and I had great discussions but the best part of the evening, I have to say, was the entertainment after the dinner. And I don't know if there are women in the gallery who were there last year but we had–I can't remember which branch of the WI put it on–but we had this great skit and in, you know, complete rural fashion, poking fun at the stereotypes of rural folks.
We had this great skit of these two women chatting over coffee, mostly chatting about their husbands, in a way that women's gatherings do. I hate to break it to my male colleagues, but if you enter a group of women laughing, odds are, we are laughing at you. I just want you to–I don't want to pretend otherwise, all in good fun and good humour.
But I tremendously enjoyed that evening and it brought to mind not only the importance of the Women's Institute and the seriousness of their work, but also the solidarity that they create amongst themselves, the reaching out to each other and to their sisters and the ability to poke fun at themselves and their husbands and to create that kind of humour and that kind of levity, sometimes in the face of tremendous struggle.
So I would just add my voice today and thank you for all of your work. I left that Women's Institute dinner, of course, with a recipe book that I turn to often when I need a quick recipe that I know is going to be tasty and healthy and not cost very much money. I know where to look for those kinds of recipes.
But you have done tremendous work in this province and we should all reflect on it today and congratulate you. We're a better province because the Women's Institute has existed, and we hope and pray that you will continue to exist long into the future. Thank you very much.
Mrs. Bonnie Mitchelson (River East): Mr. Speaker, I just want to, at the outset, say welcome to all of the women from the Women's Institute that are in the gallery today celebrating with all of us in the Legislature a very significant milestone in the history of the Women's Institute.
And I just want to say at the outset, thank you to my colleague, the member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu) and to my colleague, the member for Minnedosa (Mrs. Rowat) for both moving and seconding this resolution to honour you and those that came before you in ensuring that the Women's Institute had a beginning and continues to flourish in our province of Manitoba.
And I just–I know that there are many others, many have made, from both sides of the House, have put excellent comments on the record in tribute to all of you. And I just want to add a few comments and say I remember the days fondly when we were in government and had the opportunity to meet with you on a regular basis. And I had the opportunity to represent Manitobans as the Minister of Family Services, and certainly, there were significant issues that came forward on a regular basis.
Never ceased to amaze me, the common sense that came forward in the discussion around some of the issues of child care where, you know, sometimes we that are elected in the Legislature believe that government has all the answers. Well, I would beg to differ.
And when I listened to some of the issues that surrounded farm families and farm women that were trying to hold that family together and ensure that there was safety for their children and practical supports in place when many of you may have had to be in many of your other families within your communities, you know, had to be out on the fields, had to work non-traditional hours, and certainly, the traditional child care that government has developed didn't necessarily meet the needs in rural communities and for rural farm families.
And you know, the common-sense practical suggestions that came forward, I think, were taken seriously. And you know, we still need to continue today to ensure that we don't try as governments or as legislators to make a one-size-fits-all program. There are issues in rural communities that need to be looked at. We want to see you continue to bring those issues forward, to stand up for the kinds of services and supports that need to be put in place and ensure that legislators listen.
So I just want to say congratulations to you on a hundred years of bringing issues forward, on the successes that you've had and the achievements that you've made. And as you celebrate this hundred years and the hundred years of history that you have, I want to ask you to continue to commit your time and your energy and your effort to speaking out and ensuring that Manitoba becomes a better place because your voices are heard and that you bring the common sense issues and solutions forward to those of us that have to make decisions on behalf of all Manitobans.
Congratulations to you. Celebrate this year and continue to do the work that you do on behalf of your communities. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker: The honourable member for–[interjection] No, we rotate back and forth here.
The honourable Minister for Innovation, Energy and Mines.
Hon. Dave Chomiak (Minister of Innovation, Energy and Mines): Mr. Speaker, I just rise to briefly put on the record the fact that this is one of those many occasions–one of these many occasions in this House, when all members, all 57 members of the House, come together to congratulate and to support something that is very significant to our province.
Just on that note, quite often there's discussion about how much we differ, but it's quite clear from this resolution and from the statements of members and from the leadership that's been reflected in the Women's Institute, that on many, many more things, we agree. In that vein, this resolution, I think, properly brought forward by the member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu) and seconded by the member for Minnedosa (Mrs. Rowat), is being supported by all members of this House and all political parties.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I'm suggesting that, with leave of the House, we can perhaps vote and then call it 12 o'clock.
Mr. Speaker: Is it the will of the House for the Speaker to put the question, and once the question is completed, we'll call it 12 o'clock? Is it agreeable? [Agreed]
Okay, the question before the House is the resolution brought forward by the honourable Member for Morris (Mrs. Taillieu), Recognizing the Manitoba Women’s Institute.
Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the resolution? [Agreed]
Mr. Gerald Hawranik (Official Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, let the record show that it was unanimous.
Mr. Speaker: Okay, we'll let the record show that it was unanimous by the House.
So now the hour being–as previously agreed, the hour now being 12 noon, we will recess and we will reconvene at 1:30 p.m.