LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Thursday, May 23, 2013
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, and 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.
Good morning, colleagues. Please be seated.
Mr. Speaker: Are we ready to proceed with Bill 203?
An Honourable Member: Yes.
Mr. Speaker: So we'll call Bill 203, The Participation of Manitoba in the New West Partnership Act, standing in the name of the honourable member for Flin Flon, who has six minutes remaining.
Bill 203–The Participation of Manitoba in the New West Partnership Act
Mr. Speaker: What's the will of the House? Is there leave for this matter to remain standing in the name of the honourable member for Flin Flon (Mr. Pettersen)?
An Honourable Member: No.
Mr. Speaker: Leave has been denied. Other speakers to Bill 203?
Hon. Jim Rondeau (Minister of Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer Affairs): Okay, Mr. Speaker. Although it's their turn, I don't mind speaking, because I think that it's really important to talk about what we're doing in trade.
And for those members new on the opposite side, I had the pleasure of serving as trade minister for Manitoba for a number of years as well as industry and business ministers, and it was very enjoyable. And it was enjoyable because, unlike members opposite that look only to Alberta and only to one province as the plan to grow our economy, I was able to realize that Manitoba had many partners in trade, many partners in the economy, and many factors in it.
And so although we trade 43 per cent to the west, within Canada we trade 57 per cent to the east. We trade to the north. We trade to the south. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I think that what we've done is we've moved beyond what the members opposite believe is a one-dimensional trade system to a multi‑dimensional trade system.
So I'll give the members opposite a little bit of differences between us and them. I was pleased to be in a government that actually looked at Canada as a whole, and I have to admit I'm a proud nationalist. I'm a proud Canadian. I'm not a proud–just a proud Manitoban. I'm a proud Manitoban and a proud Canadian. And I think that what we have to do is look at the country as a whole. Canada is an economic unit. It's a unit that used to have a lot of barriers, a lot of barriers to internal trade whether it was with simple things like wine, or electricity, or anything. And so I'm pleased that we were able to break down a lot of those barriers, and what we've done is we've said that Canada is an economic unit and we need to break down those barriers.
So Premier Doer, who discussed this earlier, was a leader. He was a leader on the agreement for internal trade. He was leader on breaking down the internal trade workings in Canada, and there's some–these discussions have been going on since the 1940s. Now, I know some of the members believe in the 1940s because they were around then, but to me, I think that it's important to note that things like butter, transferring of butter and the colouring of butter have been around for decades.
Well, I'm pleased to say that we're now beyond that. We have–our previous premier, Gary Doer, actually led a discussion on internal trade to break down the barriers, and the book on disputes was about a foot thick discussing in all detail about how this moved forward. [interjection] Now, the members are off chirping from the back saying, you know, it was Stephen Harper who did it. Well, actually, if you look at the history of it, successive Liberal and Conservative governments did very little on the file.
And I have to admit that I was pleased to be part of a–Minister of Trade when that file was taken by the council of federation and moved forward. So there was an Agreement on Internal Trade about trade mobility which is move forward. In fact, it's funny that one of those bills that are in front of the House today which is about the surveyors which is talking about compliance to internal trade is being held up in this House–not by the government. And what we want to do is continue to move forward on all those bills, to move forward–
An Honourable Member: Point of order.
Point of Order
Mr. Speaker: The Official Opposition House Leader, on a point of order.
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Official Opposition House Leader): The member for Assiniboia referenced that a particular bill is being held up in the Legislature by the opposition. The government can call any bill that it wants in orders of the day. They know that. They have the discretion to call any bill that it wishes to. So he may want to have discussions with the Government House Leader if he'd like to have a bill called sooner, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: On the point of–raised by the Official Opposition House Leader, I didn't hear that there was a breach of the rules anywhere in the comments that he made in his advice to the House.
So I must therefore respectfully rule that there is no point of order.
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Mr. Speaker: The honourable Healthy Living Minister, to continue the debate.
Mr. Rondeau: And I'd like to say what we continue to do in trade and trade issues. One, is I'm pleased that we continue to break down the barriers and proceed with internal trade barriers that continue to move forward. We talk about moving forward on energy and pipelines and electrical grids and all those sorts of things. And as former Minister of Industry, I think I'm–it's pleased that we actually have more connectivity to both Ontario and Saskatchewan.
I look at other external trade agreements. People might not know that Brazil, Russia, India and China are one of the largest trading blocs, a growing economic opportunity. And our trade in the last 10 years with Brazil, Russia, India and China has increased by 463 per cent. So it's not a one-trick pony.
I think we have to look at where we as a group continue to expand, and I think we look at expansions overseas and we look at new opportunities. In my own constituency, I look at Centreport which is now exporting more and more goods to China and other groups, where we have companies that are coming in looking at Manitoba's opportunities, where what we're doing is bringing things in and assembling them and exporting. And we continue to look at those opportunities.
I'm pleased that we continue to expand the range of products that we manufacture. Again, in my constituency, I look at Boeing which, you know, in 1999 there was 450, 500 people working there, and today there's 1600 and they're talking about an expansion. They're expanding on new, innovative, composite innovation parts for all their new planes: the Dreamliner, the 787, and the new ones, 737 extended range. And those planes are going to be flown around the world.
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And it's interesting to note that it's not just trade with two or three provinces. It's trade with the world, and so I'm pleased that we opened more doors–and it's not just the government. It's the government working with private sector to continue to grow it. And so, I think's it's not just–one-trick pony; it's the whole vision. And so we need to have more trade.
So I look at the members opposite, who continue to focus on one jurisdiction, saying that is the answer. I think that the quote is: Anyone who has a very simple solution to a very complex problem, it's probably not going to be a solution that's going to work.
I think what we have is–trade's very complex. It's very important to look at many things, so I look at (a) expanding trade in China, et cetera; (a) expanding–(b) expanding trade to Ontario, Québec and the rest of Canada, looking at the North. I think the North has a huge amount of opportunity, to service northern communities–Nunavut and Northwest Territories through Churchill. I look at the southern gateway and the opening of Churchill–sorry, the opening of CentrePort and the whole southern trade industry. I think that's got a huge potential as an inland port. And then I look to the West. So, I think it's very, very important to look at all things.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I think I'd put a couple of facts on the record. We were the first Province to proclaim The Labour Mobility Act in 2009. I think that's really important. We have fully implemented labour mobility for financial services. We're simplifying corporate registration and reporting requirements. We're continuing to make sure that there's transparency in procurement and making sure that tenders and opportunities, both internal and external, are there. And I think what we want to do is look at the opportunities everywhere.
So, although it's interesting to note what's happening in the New West Partnership, I think it's important to realize that it is one tiny piece and that the world is truly our oyster. And I look at almost 500 per cent increase in the countries that are growing the most in the world, and I think that's an opportunity. And so it's the question of opening all doors and truly be Canadian. It's not one where we want to pit one region, like the West, against the eastern part of Canada. We truly believe, being central Canada, we have the opportunity to grow and work both with the east, west, north and, of course, our neighbours to the south.
So this is something that we're going to continue to work on. I look forward to seeing how we continue to grow, and the members opposite just have to look at what happened prior to this. We had a very, very small, very focused trade with the States. I think we have to look at trade everywhere, all directions.
And, Mr. Speaker, it's interesting to note that the New West Partnership–there is some chinks in that where the–BC and Alberta are having troubles with pipelines and all this. So, I think that this whole discussion about a national energy strategy makes sense, because I think it's not that Manitoba's in it by itself.
I think Canada is a country I'm proud of. It's got a good tradition, it's got a good reputation, and we want to continue to embrace it and move it forward. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside): Mr. Speaker, I do want to rise in regards to Bill 210, and it's great to be able to follow the member from Assiniboia and hear what he had to say in regards to this.
And actually he was talking about Assiniboia and I know we've brought this up several times in regards to the Assiniboia Downs. And he talks about exporting, and one of the things that's going to be happening is if they continue on the path that they're going down, as we speak in this House, certainly we're going to see an export of a large number of the horse businesses in Manitoba. And I think a lot of those horses are already out of the gate, so to speak. They're certainly a big benefit for the province of Manitoba. I mean, we're talking $50 million, 500 jobs right here in the province of Manitoba.
And, you know, the minister stood up in the House and is not prepared to defend his Minister of Finance (Mr. Struthers) on his actions. So I find it quite strange.
But in regards to the New West Partnership, wonder where we're looking at being competitive. And we're almost like an island in the stream, Mr. Speaker. We're not really part of the East. We're not really part of the West. We're standing here in the middle of the stream and really don't know whether we're going to go up the stream or down the stream or where we're going to go. But anyway, we may not even have a paddle, but if we go ahead with this PST increase, there's going to be a number of people that are going to be going over to our neighbours to the south. They're going to go over to our neighbours to the east, and we're going to be able to figure out where we're at.
And one of the things when you look at partnerships–and this is critical; that's why this bill was brought forward by the member from Emerson–it's so that we'll be able to be competitive with those other provinces. Share ideas, share notes, share things that make us better. And whenever–and I know the Minister of Finance, I tried to get him involved in an organization called the state agricultural leaders association.
It's an association that's been endorsed by this House. I'm the Canadian director. I'm very proud of that fact. But I can tell you that we are hosting the convention this year in Canada for the first time, and it's called sharing ideas, sharing knowledge, working together in 'unisis.' And that's what this bill is all about, working together.
In fact, last year, our organization, which Manitoba is a very proud partner now, we passed a resolution in regards to COOL, country of origin labelling, and that motion carried unanimously by the United States senators and state legislatures. Fantastic resolution. Unfortunately, the federal US government decided to go against that ruling, and I can tell you, this side of the House, and I believe on the other side of the House as well, that's one thing we have in common, is the country of origin labelling.
And this is why, when we look at all partnerships, be it New West Partnership, whether it's partnerships with Ontario or working with our neighbours to the south or with other countries, it's imperative that we have strength. And whenever we go together in numbers, that speaks volume. In fact, I know the trade that the member from Assiniboia was talking about within China. A lot of that came in result of working with the federal government. We should be very proud.
In fact, I met with HyLife Foods yesterday, and I can tell you, the trade they're doing in China is phenomenal–phenomenal. Now, they're also working with their Canadian partners. It's called partnerships. We work together. And that's what we're trying to do. They are part of–HyLife is part of a 12-thousand hog operation with those folks in China. They're exporting almost a hundred thousand pounds of meat a month over to China. It's huge.
And whenever we look, when we partner with other provinces like Saskatchewan, like Alberta, like Ontario, why would we not want to be part of those? We're still the island in the stream. We're still out there, trying to say we can get there. We can get there. We're going to chug along. We'll be a little slow, but we'll get there. But why not–why not grasp the opportunity?
Why not reach out and say we want to partner with somebody? We want to be part of a organization, three provinces. We would be the fourth in the west, and we'd be able to say, hey, we want to be able to make our province grow and prosper, just a little bit faster rate, so we would become a have-province–a have-province–not a province that's a have-not province. We want to be able to stand up and say, we're going to give some of that back. We're going to be a province we're going to be so proud of. We're going to be able to stand up and say we are now part of a bigger picture.
So whenever we go to the table, we have a voice, a larger voice that's going to be stronger. It's going to be as a result of harmonization with those other provinces that have key things working for them. Some of those things are–and we have seen some changes. I'll give the government credit; I normally don't do that.
One of them is the trucking industry. There's three bills in the House now that's been brought forward and endorsed by the Manitoba trucking industry to bring us in compliance, and all these things, all these things that, whenever we're talking about interprovincial trade, or trade to the south or whatever that may be, it's imperative–all on the same song sheet. Because the last thing we need is more roadblocks to make our country grow and prosper.
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We are a very small province in population, very large province in size, but whenever we look at regulations and changes in–and if we're not at the table, and whenever we're not at the table, we're left out. So we're playing catch-up. So when the New West Partnership came in–it wasn't that long ago, I believe, five years, six years, something like that. I can tell you, we weren't at the table. So now we're playing this catch-up.
So what I would do, if I was the government, I would get a hold of the leaders in Saskatchewan, the leaders in Alberta, the leaders in British Columbia, and say, what can we do to become part of that? What can we do to become a part of that New West Partnership so we can continue to grow and prosper and become a province that we're going to be able to see grow and prosper at a rate that's going to be faster than what it is? Sure, we're growing, if you're happy with status quo–I'm certainly not. I don't think that's the place we want to be; I think we need to be leaders.
We need to be challenging each and every business, each individual company, each individual that's working every day that we talk about in this House that's out there raising money, providing for their families, providing income and paying taxes in the province of Manitoba.
That's how we're going to see it grow and prosper as a result of the New West Partnership, and whenever we have the opportunity to take advantage–and I brought this up in the House when we had a debate not long ago on something else, I had a lady that was up in Ashern, she was a registered nurse, and because–that was last year, I believe it was–yes, in 2000–losing track of my days here–but actually, it was 2011–2011–and because we weren't part of the New West Partnership–because her nursing degrees didn't transfer from province to province, but if we were part of the New West Partnership, it would have been an automatic transfer.
So we have skilled people, skilled tradespeople that we need–we're shortage of nurses, we're short of welders, we're short of a lot of folks, and we have a lot of talent that maybe wants to go west and maybe some will be forced to go west because we're not being competitive anymore. We have the highest taxes and now we talk about a 1 per cent increase in our sales tax–we'll lose some of those tradespeople. So they may have to get recertified whereby if–whereby if we were part of the New West Partnership, we'd be able to have the relationship with these other provinces that would make them that more capable of being able to transfer into another province and be part of that workforce of which I know they're looking for people as well. In fact, when you look at our exports from Manitoba, one of our biggest exports is our higher paid jobs, our tradespeople that are leaving. We don't have that many coming into Manitoba as a result of not being competitive.
And I know–I know the member from Gimli is saying, no, that's not true. He's very proud of the fact that he's a part of a government that exports some of those jobs, and I can tell you, he needs to look at his numbers again. Yes, we have some increase in the numbers but they're lower paying jobs, lower paying positions that not–that's not going to bring in more revenue for us. We want to retain those jobs; we want to attract them here to Manitoba.
In fact, a very good friend of mine runs a hydraulic business in the city here and I can tell you that he loses all his trained people and he's part of this apprentice program that the government's brought in. And he's to the point now where he don't know whether he's going to be wanting to do that anymore because he trains them and they leave–trains them and they leave. Which is–anybody that's been in business, I can tell you, I know from the hardships and I've had employees that–where we never had the work, but you know what? We had to dig deep down in our back pocket, make sure we retained those staff because we can't afford to lose them. They make us what we are in business–to be successful. So we sometimes have to dig in our back pocket to retain them, and whenever we lose those tradespeople they're very difficult to get back, and whenever you start that training process over–
Mr. Speaker: Order. Order, please. The honourable member's time has expired.
Mr. Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): Thank you. It is my pleasure to rise this morning to speak to Bill 203, The Participation of Manitoba in the New West Partnership Act, and I'd like to think that I could speak with some authority on this act given the many, many years that I have spent travelling across western Canada, in particular, prior to becoming a member of the Legislature in 1999, for the almost 20 years prior to that.
As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I worked in the oil fields in Alberta and Saskatchewan and also northeastern British Columbia. So I've had a pretty good exposure to all of the West in that regard, having travelled probably hundreds of thousands of miles working on dozens of different oil rigs and locations. I think I calculated one day that I've been on drilling rigs where I've drilled in excess of over a hundred miles of well into the ground. So I've had a good look at the west and underneath all of western Canada as well. And something that I have come to appreciate about the activities of our government is its work on the Agreement on Internal Trade which, I think, is a very important initiative in contrast or comparison to the New West Partnership. In particular, the labour mobility components of that Agreement on Internal Trade is what greatly appeals to me personally, having experienced working, as I said, across all of western Canada for the two decades prior to becoming a member of this Legislature.
Also in comparison to that, I've spent my time in eastern Canada. When I decided to return to university, I looked across our country and thought that–came to the decision that I would like to go to university in our nation's capital, which I did. I enrolled at Carlton University in Ottawa and subsequently got my degree from there in 1987, having spent, I believe, about five years in Ottawa in the process. So I've have a good look at both east and west from a Manitoban's perspective. And I think Manitoban's perspective is unique in that sense, and I think the fact that we are referred to as the keystone province is an important point to make. Manitoba is, indeed, a keystone in terms of Canada from an east‑west perspective. We are the geographic centre of this country, and we do look east and west equally in terms of agreements across our provinces and from an employment and business and trade perspective as well.
So as much as I support the concept of a New West Partnership–and I do, and it's my understanding that our government does as well–that we are actively negotiating with our western partners, and that's commendable. But I would never like to lose focus on the fact that we should be even more concentrating our efforts on a national perspective.
We are Canadians first and then Manitobans second and Interlakers third and Poplarfielders fourth–I guess we can go down the ladder, but we should always remember that first and foremost we are Canadians. So we should not lose perspective and start looking just one direction or the other.
When I was an oil rigger out in Alberta in my early days, I remember there was a concept out there, the republic of western Canada. In fact, there were even stickers printed up that we would put on our hard hats–an oil rig tradition to wear our hard hats decorated like that–and that concept stuck in my mind. The republic of western Canada which, you know, may appeal to some of those hard-core Albertan types, but I think really detracts from, as I said earlier, what our overall objective should be, which is focusing on the fact that we are Canadians first.
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And I think Manitoba is leading in that regard. I think I made reference to The Labour Mobility Act or component of that Agreement on Internal Trade which is very important, but I also looked to other entities as well. The Council of the Federation is a good example, which is a group where all premiers across the country meet, gather to discuss provincial issues as they relate to the government of Canada. I think that's a very important venue that we should not lose sight of.
And I would like to recognize the role that our Premier (Mr. Selinger), the member for St. Boniface, plays in this particular entity. It's my understanding that he is the co-chair of the energy committee of this Council of the Federation, which is a very important role.
Energy, of course, drives our economy; it's very important globally. But without good energy supplies and a good strategy to utilize our energy supplies, then we are potentially adrift. I know that Alberta is having issues trying to move their oil to the international market. But Manitoba, as well, plays a very important role, in terms of our hydroelectric capacity.
You know, given–or despite the fact that Alberta, Saskatchewan are so rich in energy reserves, it is ironic that the majority of their electrical power is generated by the burning of coal–which is the dirtiest of fuels, quite frankly. You know, there's a lot of talk about clean coal but that's a bit of an oxymoron, I think the word is. There is no such thing really as clean coal. If we can use other forms of energy to power our economy, then I think–from an environmental perspective–that is the way we should go.
And there's nothing cleaner and more renewable than hydroelectric power–of which Manitoba is a major producer. And this whole debate that we've been having in this province for a number of years now about the bipole east or west–you know, I'm very much in support of the bipole going down the west side of our province because the potential to export hydroelectric power into western Canada is astronomical, to say the very least. And I'm sure that leaders in Alberta and Saskatchewan are looking to hydroelectric generation in Manitoba as a potential replacement for all of that dirty coal that they're currently burning.
So, you know, I take my hat off to our Premier in that regard who is driving this file very successfully. I look to our former premier–I don't have much time here, but Premier Gary Doer, who is now the ambassador to the United States, I think truly epitomizes how fundamental a role Manitoba has played over the years, over our four terms in government. You know, he was truly a master at negotiating, not just from an east-west perspective but also into the United States as well. His leadership on the trade file–his record is second to none, I would say. And his appointment as ambassador to the United States was a due reward for the good work that he did.
And I look to other initiatives–I'd love to speak more about the BRIC countries, about our CentrePort initiative–this will truly be a legacy of this government when people look back in history decades from now.
So all of these things combined, Mr. Speaker, Manitoba has done a fine job and will continue to do so from a trade perspective in our country. Thank you.
Introduction of Guests
Mr. Speaker: Prior to recognizing the next member to speak to the matter under consideration, I want to draw the attention of honourable members to the public gallery where we have with us today from École Churchill High School 19 grade 9 students under the direction of Evan Comstock. And this group is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Fort Garry-Riverview (Mr. Allum).
On behalf of honourable members, we welcome you here this morning.
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Hon. Dave Chomiak (Minister of Innovation, Energy and Mines): You know, Mr. Speaker, in talking about the New West Partnership, I want to ask members opposite, how's it going lately?
You know, I think there's a little bit of discord between provinces, and I–it's one of the examples of how members opposite try to find some way of programming. They have these very narrow ideas and they focus entirely on these very narrow wee little openings. And every time they look for economic development they go, oh, New West Partnership, New West Partnership, you know. What about grain trade? Oh, New West Partnership. What about the fertilizer trade? Oh, New West Partnership. What about energy? Oh, New West Partnership. You know, it's–they get a little bit of an idea and it becomes–it co-opts all of their brain cells, Mr. Speaker, and we end up with the New West Partnership being the panacea, the–this–the silver bullet for everything. You know, like, New West Partnership, it's so simple–it's so simple–for the members opposite, and, you know, keep it simple, I understand that. There's a famous saying about that.
But the New West Partnership is one aspect of Canadian life. And, you know, I've–we've–I've had the occasion to meet with–in Cabinet with another Province–something that never happened during the mean, lean years of the Tory regime, when the lean, mean years that they're trying to forget. I've had the opportunity to talk to Saskatchewan ministers. The minister of–in Alberta, the Minister of Energy is a great friend of Manitoba; Kenny Hughes talks–he talks more about exporting hydro to Alberta than I do, Mr. Speaker. There's been more reports in Edmonton and Calgary newspapers and on national reports about Manitoba hydro going to Alberta from Alberta than I have said. That's certainly a possibility and a very good possibility. We want to be national players. People have said in Ontario, people have said in the federal government, people have said in Saskatchewan, people have said in Alberta, people have said in Québec, why don't you use some of your natural resources, your glee–your clean, green energy, use it to offset some of the negative aspects of the Canadian experience of our total energy policy, and why can't we be Canadian and do that. And that makes sense. That forms part of our energy policy. I was in Ontario with the Premier (Mr. Selinger) and the Premier of Ontario and the Premier of Newfoundland and the Premier of Alberta–my good friend Premier Redford–who the member for Steinbach (Mr. Goertzen) complimented me on when we–when me and her–went to the Senate and were almost thrown into Senate jail. [interjection] And the member for Steinbach defended me–that's true. Me and Premier Redford were held in contempt for holding–for being critical of–
An Honourable Member: Mike Duffy was coming to get you.
Mr. Chomiak: Well, the member says–I don't know if Mike Duffy was coming to get me, Mr. Speaker, but I know that Mike Duffy's been got.
But, Mr. Speaker, to return to my point, the fact is that Manitoba is seen as a national player on all fronts. And we've always been a national player. We've always been a mediator. We've always been a mechanism the Canadian federation to make things move together. And on the energy policy that certainly is what we are doing. We are known as not only being in the centre of the country, but being the centre of the energy mix and the ability to do things across this country.
I've had the occasion to, you know, recently–a seminar hosted by the oil producers in Alberta in Banff, where we were invited to meet and talk about the Canadian energy policy. That was by the oilmen–I wish they'd change the name, but the oilmen of Alberta in Banff. I've had occasion to meet and talk with the president of the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, with the Minister Responsible for Energy in Saskatchewan. We're negotiating. Everyone knows we're negotiating with Saskatchewan with respect to power. Everyone knows we've been talking to Ontario with respect to power. Everyone knows that Alberta wants Manitoba power in order to offset some–to mitigate against some of the effects that they're having, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of talk about transportation, transmission lines, transmission by rail, transmission by pipeline, transmission by smart grid technology that we're working on.
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It's part of the national plan. You know, Mr. Speaker, we want to be part of the national solution. We are part of it. You know, the members think they invented talking to other provinces–you know, like, again, this narrow idea. When I was Health Minister, and Alberta agreed not to have a gamma knife–Alberta agreed not to have a gamma knife–and would send their neurological patients to Manitoba to use the gamma knife, because we in Manitoba were sending our pediatric heart patients to Edmonton, That's what you call co-operation and partnership. We didn't need a New West Partnership to do that. We had a quid pro quo that helped the entire country. Alberta didn't have to buy a gamma knife. They didn't have to train their specialists and we, quite rightly, sent our pediatric child patients to Edmonton–and still do–to have heart surgery because we didn't have the volume in Manitoba in order to do precise and accurate surgeries. And that came out of the tragedy of the baby deaths that members opposite were responsible for when they were in power during the lean, mean Tory years.
So, Mr. Speaker, this concept of the New West Partnership is something we've been working with other provinces for a long time. I recently had occasion to meet with Minister Coleman from British Columbia to talk about working together in mining and energy issues. That's the Liberal minister in BC who invited me to talk with some of their interests in terms of how we could work together to collaborate.
We don't necessarily have to have that structure. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I think we could and should, at this point, probably consider participation in the New West Partnership, if it still exists–if it still exists. I don't know if it still exists, but the point is not so much the structure. The point is is Manitoba in a position that it's historically always been? I don't know what it was like when the Conservatives were in power, but certainly when we've been in power it's been our intention to try to build the federation, to try to work with other provinces, to try to use our existing strengths together.
Mr. Speaker, for example, Manitoba has a–has the best record of doing business with Israel, for example, of any province in the country, bar none. Everyone will say that unanimously. We've cultivated that for some time. We have some amazing projects going on in Manitoba. For example, the–right now, we have the project that's going on with respect to–
An Honourable Member: FASD.
Mr. Chomiak:–FASD, fetal alcohol syndrome, Mr. Speaker, where we've put in together with the Hebrew university, we're doing world research in conjunction. France is now interested. We're–we've engaged Australia and New Zealand in the prevention of FASD, a monumental project that could change the course of the treatment and the prevention of that disease around the world. We're doing that with Israel. We're doing, obviously, work in terms of water purification. Just this morning, of course, we're–we were in discussions with the aerospace industry with respect to projects here.
So–and other jurisdictions have come to us and said, can we use your connections and some of the constructs that you have in Israel to move some of our projects forward? Saskatchewan's come to us on that basis. Alberta's come to us on that basis, Mr. Speaker. So in terms of working collaboratively, we have done that. We have not only done that, we've not only demonstrated that, we're, frankly, a leader in that and we will continue to be.
And I can advise members, just wait, just watch and wait to see some of the projects that are going to be coming out in the next year or two with respect to other jurisdictions and other provinces to demonstrate a real co-operation, a real working together within the federation. And what I really want to stress to this, Mr. Speaker, is that notwithstanding political and partisan differences between who's in power, we also have a relationship with the federal government in very many of these activities where we work collaboratively.
The federal government recently put in funding on our electric bus project that we've done with Mitsubishi of Japan, something members opposite voted against, Mr. Speaker. The federal government has put in money. Even though members opposite voted against that budget, they've put in money to build another four electric buses here in Manitoba.
So New Flyer is the world leader in electric buses. The first commercial electric bus in the world comes out of Winnipeg, and we've done it despite members opposite with Japan. And when you go to other provinces and they see what we're able to do they want to collaborate with us, and that's why the federal government has put in funding. And I stood beside the federal minister to put in federal funding into the expansion of that project, notwithstanding members opposite voted against it and spoke against that kind of co-operation.
And that's the problem when you get such a narrow confine of saying, belong to an organization. It's one thing to belong to an organization, Mr. Speaker, but it's another thing to actually participate, to work with, to move forward and to carry on programs. So I urge members opposite to work with this government as we work with other governments in partnership right across this country, and I wish members opposite would support us in that regard.
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member's time has expired.
Mr. Larry Maguire (Arthur-Virden): It's a pleasure to be able to speak to Bill 210 brought in by my colleague, the partnership of Manitoba in the New West Partnership act.
Mr. Speaker: I'm sorry. It's my understanding that the honourable member for Arthur-Virden has already spoken to this bill, and since we only permit one opportunity to speak to a bill, I would require another member–the honourable member for Midland. Give us a moment [inaudible]
Mr. Blaine Pedersen (Midland): I know my colleague from Arthur-Virden's an eager fellow, so it's a–we–to speak to this Bill 203, the New West Partnership, brought by the good–my good colleague from Emerson. And really what is at stake here is about trade for Manitoba. And with the re-election of the Liberal government in British Columbia, that will certainly put even more emphasis on trade in western Canada and the relationship of the New West Partnership in western Canada. We know how the NDP loves to destroy trade relationships, so the great thing was that the NDP were defeated in British Columbia, and so that–it's even more imperative today that Manitoba really does join this New West Partnership with Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
We have many issues in common with western Canada, and it–this would allow them to be discussed at the table. We're not at the table right now, and when those three provinces sit down, even issues like water–we should be at the table discussing water issues with, certainly, Saskatchewan and Alberta because we are at the bottom of the–where the water is coming from. [interjection] And, oh, I notice the member from Riel wants to speak on this, and I'm sure she will. Wasn't she the one who opened up the Fishing Lake reservoir into Manitoba and the Shellmouth? So I know she's got a long record in water management.
I noticed the member for Interlake (Mr. Nevakshonoff)–or–yes, for Interlake, talking about the Bipole III and of–as well, the Energy Minister also. And so, I guess, if they're going to hive off of Bipole III, they're going to spend an–a couple more billion dollars to build a converter station along the west side there, too, and the power is just getting more expensive every day on that line. So, it's certainly interesting to see how they would–although I think in a previous discussion, I think the member for Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak) was suggesting that we go around by Kenora, Ontario, in order to get to Alberta and Saskatchewan, so we'll see how that one works.
But we really do need to be part of this. Others have mentioned about us being an island here in Manitoba. Ontario and Québec have a trade alliance now with Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, aggressively promoting their areas of–to trade in around the world. And here we are; we're left behind.
And we see this happening over and over. We are not able to move tradespeople back and forth. We're not able to have common procurement, and research and development co-operation. And it's the innovation in those three provinces that's happening that we're being left out of. So, that's very unfortunate that Manitoba is, and we just–we're a trading province. We need to trade with other areas and not only within Canada but around the world. And when you form a partnership with, like, provinces as ours, you make it even a stronger partnership in that.
So, Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to see this Province join the New West Partnership. I noticed the member from Interlake said that he actually supports the New West Partnership, so maybe he can talk within his caucus and bring on some of the–some of his colleagues onto that idea. And we know that there are not–they seem to have this idea that they can do everything on their own.
We see–we've seen what's happened in CentrePort, how the potential for CentrePort has just been totally missed from not having it developed and, therefore, not being part of the–CentrePort could have so much more potential if we were in–part of the New West Partnership, because it would allow us to capitalize on that trade that those other provinces, right now, are looking for without us.
* (10:50)
And in Saskatchewan, Regina's centre is building fast. Calgary is building fast, and yet here in Manitoba, this is not happening. And it's this ideological decision by this government just to oppose free trade, and I guess that's always been that way, and perhaps it'll–they'll reconfirm that this weekend at their convention, that they're just opposed to trade, free trade around both with other provinces and around the world.
So with that, Mr. Speaker, I would just really like to see the government finally take the initiative, join the New West Partnership, jump off the island and join the rest of the country here with this. Thank you.
Mr. Dave Gaudreau (St. Norbert): It's interesting, Mr. Speaker, that the member talks about jumping off the island. You know, since–in the last 10 years, since we've been in government on this side of the House, we've actually increased our trade by 463 per cent.
I would say–I would argue any day of the week, Mr. Speaker, that on our side of the House, that's progress. I know that 463 per cent to them might not be anything in numbers because they don't try to deal with real numbers. I mean, $1,600 of the–more at every month in the PST to everybody because we're all going to spend $160,000. That's right. Every Manitoban has $160,000 more to spend every year.
Because you know what? Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, most of us don't make that kind of money. He talks about how, oh, those poor people making four or six, a four-figure income or a six‑figure income. I would ask the member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, when's the last time he made a six-figure income, Mr. Speaker? I'm pretty–guessing that he's way out of the stratosphere with what the average Manitoban has. So it's pretty rich for them to talk about how, that we haven't made progress, with 463 per cent more trade since we've been in office.
And you know, I listened to the member opposite earlier speaking about how, you know, we got to retrain and retain tradespeople in this province, and we got to keep people here. You know, Mr. Speaker, I actually, when I got–came out of trade school, I actually had a article in the Free Press that talked about that. It's pretty simple math, and I know that, once again, math isn't their strong suit, but you have to pay the people. And the member opposite said, you know, they got to dig into their pockets, and they got to pay, you know, to dig into their pockets to pay these tradespeople to stay. That's exactly what companies need to do in order to retrain tradespeople.
And you know what? We support them. We support them with big grants and tax credits for having apprentices and for having tradespeople here. We support them with that. But in the end, it's up to the company to decide whether they want to pay somebody the wage that they deserve or, yes, Mr. Speaker, they will look for another job at a different company or maybe even a different–in a different area. But that is hardly the fault of our government. That is up to the businesses to decide to pay people their fair wage.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we had the–I have an interesting quote from the member from Emerson. And his quote was: When I hear him talking about the '90s, I guess that when he was on–that was when he was on his training wheels, a three-wheeler. End quote.
I'd like to correct the member for Emerson (Mr. Graydon), put this on the record, Mr. Speaker. During the '90s, I was actually old enough to work. I was in my mid-20s and I was on unemployment because the Conservatives were in power. It wasn't that I was on my training wheels or that I was young. And I know the member from Emerson–I mean, everybody under 60 looks like a pup to him–but the member for Emerson has to realize that I was unemployed at the time because the Conservatives were in power. And you know who else was unemployed at that time? Nurses. Nurses were unemployed at that time because they laid them off. I find it very interesting that they talk about this.
And you look at the member for Midland (Mr. Pedersen), talking about the midwest partnership. He actually just spoke about having water included in the midwest partnership. I'm curious, Mr. Speaker, if that's where the Conservatives are going on this. They're talking about water. Are they now talking about selling off, privatizing water, our greatest asset in this province?
Is that what the–they're talking about when they talk about water, Mr. Speaker? I think that that's a disastrous way to go, that water is our gold here, with our hydro system, our clean and green hydro system. You know the members opposite talking that we should mothball hydro, that we should cancel all building in Hydro, which would, in the effect, lay off 20–I think with the two dams coming up, we're looking at 22,000 man-years of labour, of people employed in this province. It would actually equivalate to 1 per cent of our GDP being just destroyed, Mr. Speaker, laying off thousands of people across the province. So when they want to talk about partnerships, they should talk about getting on board and partnering with us and agreeing to build hydro, a clean power source.
In less than nine years we're going to be looking at importing power from other jurisdictions. And I know they like to talk about clean coal because, you know, that's the–the coal industry's lobby is clean coal. Well, there's nothing clean about coal. There's something clean about our power. Hydro is a clean power, Mr. Speaker, and you know what? We're going to build that power line. We're going to build Bipole III and we're going to work on partnerships with Saskatchewan. We're going to work on partnerships with Ontario because that's what we do in our province. We work on partnerships that work for us. We're not going to just sign on to a deal that they claim will save 14 million magical dollars a year. But, once again, math isn't in their strong suit. It's easy to make up a number and say that, oh, you know, it's going to save us $14 million a year, but we don't know how. We just think it's going to.
So, you know, I would argue that, maybe they–if they came forward and talked to our Trade Minister and talked to our Finance Minister with real numbers and actually brought in real facts and figures, maybe there's something that our ministers on this side of the House could look at. But to just boldly say, you know what? It's going to save us $14 million. No idea how, but it will. I think that that doesn't lead to credibility, Mr. Speaker. And then the–our ministers on our side say, well, where are the numbers? Where are the facts? Where are the figures? Because on our side we actually believe in researched facts and figures, as opposed to their side that think that researched facts and figures are pixie dust, right? I mean, they talk about environmental, being environmental. You know, how many questions have they asked of the Conservation Minister this year? They don't care about the environment. They would strip the environment if it was up to them just to sell it off so we could make money for this province.
We want to build a clean Manitoba Hydro so we keep this province green, and we work with our partners. We work with Minnesota and North Dakota and South Dakota on selling our clean, green power to them at market rates, at good contracts, locked-in contracts that end up paying for our hydro dams, Mr. Speaker. And in 10 years our hydro dams have paid for themselves and then they generate power for another 90 years, and that's why Manitobans enjoy the lowest rates in North America.
So they talk about having, you know, partnerships with people. Well, we do partner with people–463 per cent more partnerships around the world in trade. We partner with provinces and we partner with states below us to sell our clean, green power to them, Mr. Speaker. I think it's just–I think it's kind of one of those things where they're just saying something because they believe in it. Kind of like the Minister for Energy and Mines was talking about, that, you know, they just lock on to one little idea and that's going to be the fix to all.
You know what? The New West Partnership will save the province. We won't have to have a PST anymore. According to them, there wouldn't have to be any new taxes because the New West Partnership will save everything. It will totally make this province sail. Oh, and, you know, Mr. Speaker? Right now it's interesting that they're all clapping, because I actually truly think that they believe that. I believe that in their minds they think that the New West Partnership is the way to paving the road for Manitoba, unlike their cuts that they're suggesting, which would have no roads paved. I mean, they're talking about, oh, let's cut a half a billion dollars, but in our eight ridings spend $266 million on bridges and roads. Well, that's interesting because that money that they're suggesting that we spend is equivalent to 1 per cent of the PST, and that's money that we've committed to spend in many of their ridings. We're going to pave Brandon West; we're going to pave the street there, right? We're going to build personal care homes in Morden and Winkler. See, we take care of all Manitobans on this side of the House.
What about the school in Steinbach that the member for Steinbach (Mr. Goertzen) didn't show up for the opening for? Where does he think that money comes from? Oh, I guess the New West Partnership would pay for that. If they signed up to the New West Partnership, Mr. Speaker, schools in Steinbach would be paid for, roads in Brandon would be paved with gold, because that's exactly what they're talking about. They seem to think that these kind of trade deals are magical and that they're going to make everything in the province paved smooth and fine.
You know what, Mr. Speaker? That's not how the Province is run, and that's why I'm so glad that the ministers on our side of the House are in, and that they're the ones who are running the Province, because they actually listen to the people and they listen to facts and figures. And they do things that are real and real for Manitobans, not just pull numbers out of the air, saying $14 million here is going to happen and, you know, if we cut this we can still pave all these roads. The numbers and the facts and the figures don't work from the other side, and that's why I think that we should take no advice on this side of the House on which partnerships we should join. Our ministers actually look at the facts and the figures when we're looking at joining a partnership and when we're looking at joining into things in this province, and we will do things that are good for this province. We're not going to jump into partnerships that aren't good for us, and if they are good for us I'm sure that our–
* (11:00)
Mr. Speaker: Order. When this matter is again before the House, the honourable member for St. Norbert will have one minute remaining.
The hour being 11 a.m., it's time for private members' resolutions, and the resolution under consideration this morning is sponsored by the honourable member for Midland, entitled "4-H".
Res. 10–4-H
Mr. Blaine Pedersen (Midland): Mr. Speaker, I move, second by the member for Lakeside (Mr. Eichler),
WHEREAS the 4-H movement began in Canada in 1913 in Roland, Manitoba, which is home to only 4-H museum; and
WHEREAS 4-H clubs operate across Canada with 35,000 members and 10,000 volunteer leaders, as well as 7 million members in 80 countries around the world; and
WHEREAS the 4-H movement is renowned for fostering personal development and building leaders in our communities; and
WHEREAS 4-H clubs have evolved from an agricultural base to a wide variety of skill sets for both rural and urban young people.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Manitoba Legislative Assembly recognize Roland, Manitoba, as truly being the home of the 4-H program on its 100th anniversary; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Manitoba Legislative Assembly recognize the tremendous contribution 4-H has made for young people, volunteer leaders and the communities it serves; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provincial government, through Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, be urged to continue to support the 4-H program to ensure its continued success.
Mr. Speaker: It's been moved by the honourable member for Midland, second by the honourable member for Lakeside,
WHEREAS the 4-H movement began in Canada in 1913 in Roland, Manitoba–dispense?
Some Honourable Members: Dispense.
Mr. Speaker: Dispense.
Mr. Pedersen: Mr. Speaker, and Roland truly is the home of 4-H and Roland is significant in a couple other ways; for myself, in that Roland is located in the constituency of Midland, and for those in–within my family, Roland is also the home of my mother. Some 93 years ago, she was born between the great towns of Roland and Myrtle. So there's–and I remember spending a great deal of my youth in Roland in days gone by. And as our relatives have aged, there are not as many of them around there now but it certainly holds a near and dear place for me, in Roland.
And as far as my 4-H experience, I started out in the Barnsley 4-H club, which is–Barnsley no longer exists in terms–except there's an elevator situated north of Carman, between Carman and Elm Creek. But I was in the Barnsley 4-H Beef Club. I was a leader in the Elm Creek 4-H Beef Club for many years. Our kids were–went through the 4-H program. I was looking in my closet and I found some of my 4-H leader shirts, but I decided that maybe I wouldn't try wear them on–put them on, as they were from a couple of years ago. So–but I still have them and in various colours and styles.
And I always remember it was Carman fair where we showed our calves and our kids showed our calves–and it was always a hundred above, guaranteed, and difficult for both animals and kids and parents. But we have fond memories of that.
Just this past weekend, two of our three kids were home and we got visiting again, talking about our 4-H experiences. And our daughter really remembers the time the steer decided to stand on her foot and not move for a few minutes, and that's a vivid memory for her. Our son remembers being dragged down the road because his cousin spooked a steer and–but, you know, those are good memories. And we have a lot of laughs when we talk about that. Our other son, who's in Edmonton, was truly the cow man of the three kids and he's got lots of memories too. And so, as a family, 4-H is very near and dear to us, and it's been a great experience for us.
As a 4-H leader, it was always interesting to watch the kids, the 4-H kids grow and mature each year. You compare them from when they first started as–in that time it was 9 years old when they started, until they were 18. And we had kids that moved through the entire years and it was just great to watch them mature and become more confident and develop as–through the 4-H program.
And we also found is–and my wife and I were 4‑H leaders, we always found the most successful kids in 4-H, the kids who got the most out of 4-H were the ones where the parents and/or grandparents were involved. We always found that was the case and it really made it a family organization from there.
Now, 4-H has evolved from its early days starting in Roland, and it's evolved from that ag and home-economics base into a wide variety of skills. Nowadays, there's computers to fashion to even create-a-project. If you have a project in mind that will–that you can develop over the 4-H year and show it at the end of the year, that's what it's all about; it's about expanding kids' creativity.
Even in spite of these new programs though, it's interesting to see that there are some traditions continuing within 4-H–gardening; the 4-H gardening has now become a very popular project in urban areas. And we feel this is very important in that it's growing nutritious food and learning responsibility, and that's what 4-H is all about. And it's giving that rural-urban connection of where your food comes from, and so, this is–the 4-H organization sees that as one of the real, true potential growth areas for the 4‑H clubs.
And, of course, 4-H clubs would not be complete without talking about public speaking. Public speaking is just a key part of any 4-H experience. It's that ability for kids to stand up in front of their club and compete in a public speaking competition and it–for the ones who excelled, they went on to district and provincials in public speaking. And we know that that's a–just a great trait for those kids to learn and it's obviously an issue that's near and dear to myself too.
And, as well, the 4-H meetings are a tremendous learning opportunity for the 4-H'ers. They learn how to manage a meeting; they learn how to participate in an efficient meeting, whether it's holding the various positions within the club of president, secretary, and so on, or just participating in the organization of the meeting. And it's such a great life skill that far too often–and we all–have all been to meetings that have been poorly run and you cringe and you think, boy, could these people have learned something if they had been in 4-H. And that is just one of the real gems of the 4-H program.
Of course, a week from tonight, this Thursday, May 30th, is the national 4-H gala dinner at the Fairmont Hotel. It's the national convention of the 4‑H and we certainly invite all members of this assembly to be there and to enjoy the festivities there. And the following day, on Friday, May 31st, is 4-H night at the museum in downtown Roland, Manitoba, and we certainly want to invite everyone to come. I have the programs if anybody is available; it's Friday evening, in Roland–there's going to be lots of great events.
And I should note–I just have to note, Mr. Speaker, that the Premier (Mr. Selinger) will be in Roland on next Friday night. And I hope he comes prepared, because there is a 10-year-old young lady, a 4-H'er–she's going to practise her public speaking skills on the Premier. She's going to give him a rather severe tongue-lashing about Bipole III. She has very strong feelings about that; however, she's also diplomatic. She also wants to have the Premier pose with her 4-H project, her steer, and get her picture taken with the Premier. So while she's strong-willed, she's also diplomatic, and that's a true 4-H'er there. So we certainly look forward to that event next week.
* (11:10)
And–now, this resolution calls on the Province and MAFRI, in particular, to continue support for 4‑H, and that has been the case over the years. MAFRI's been a very strong supporter. We want to see MAFRI continue on that. We're concerned about some of the office closings across the province, but we don't want to deter from this resolution in that–and that we just want MAFRI to continue their support. And as I said, the rural-urban divide, we know, continues to grow, but 4-H Manitoba and 4-H Canada sees the largest growth potential in urban members right now. So we need to develop those working relationships with the urban kids and the urban parents so that 4-H can continue. And, of course, I want to mention also some corporate sponsors. MacDon Industries and John Deere have been very supportive of the 4-H movement. And it's just–I want to once again just reiterate how important MAFRI's support is of 4-H.
I want to invite everyone to the gala next Thursday night and Friday in Roland. I will give you personal tours of Roland, Manitoba. It doesn't take too long, so it won't take too much time.
And on a final note, I just want to look forward to support from all members of this Assembly for this resolution, and I certainly look forward to the debate continuing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Ron Kostyshyn (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives): It's a great privilege to speak in support of the resolution that's been brought forward. I'm very proud to acknowledge that my wife and two daughters were very active in the 4-H movement in no less but Ethelbert, Manitoba, which is–basely, I refer to as God's country in the province of Manitoba.
But I do want to recognize the importance of the 4-H organization and, without further ado, the young individuals that are involved in 4-H. But the reality is is the volunteers, the parents, the grandparents and the guardians that were involved in 4-H need to also be recognized, Mr. Speaker, because, really, to have an organization that's been in existence for 100‑some-odd years, or 100 years, is truly a testament of the involvement of the volunteers, the students that have been involved in it–in the 4-H movement. And I'd like to acknowledge Roland, Manitoba being recognized is probably a true honour for the MLA for Midland, and I echo his pride and definitely I would definitely be proud to also host an event as being proposed this year.
But I want to assure members present today is that Manitoba Agriculture and Food, Rural Initiatives have been very supportive of the 4-H movement for a number of years, and I want to ensure the audience that we are definitely going to continue to support 4‑H movement in the province of Manitoba.
We do value the communication link that as we discuss about food safety, and we realize the importance of the 4-H individuals that come from the rural landscape. We need to have further dialogue with the urban audience of the importance of food safety, where the food comes from, and I see 4-H as being one of the greatest organizations to echo those comments, which is in partnership with Manitoba Food and Rural Initiatives. And I also want to make mention of the various things that as we are looking forward to as far as Manitoba Agriculture, Food and–initiatives are going to be providing.
I do want to make some commentaries about the present numbers, and it's truly amazing what the statistic information indicates right now. There is now over 2,100 rural students or 4-H'ers from the ages of seven to 21 that are involved in the organization. There's also 930 volunteer leaders that are involved in 2,500 projects. And there's a total of 154 4-H clubs in Manitoba and more than 26,000 members and 9,000 volunteers across Canada. And the beauty of this is it's amazing how this has really grown and continues to grow, but now to a testament of the 4-H organization they've truly been recognized as an international organization. 4-H is also part of the international organization that reaches out to about 7 million young people, and it's found in more than 70 countries. Many successful young people with rural roots got their start in 4-H, and I truly believe in that. And we can refer to a number of individuals in the Midland, Dauphin, Ethelbert, St. Vital, Burrows areas. These are the great areas that we need to recognize the importance of the 4-H in Manitoba.
Going back to the agriculture college in the Department of Education, the 4-H program was designed by the extension services to encourage improvement of agriculture practice, to carry agriculture education to the farmer's very door. In its first year, 472 youngsters raised poultry, grew potatoes and fonder corn.
The program soon moved over to what is now classified as Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. In 1952, it became known as 4-H and Roland is still the home of the 4-H Museum which displays 4-H artifacts, memorabilia and visitors come to Roland from all across Canada and all over the world to visit the museum.
But I also want to make mention of the major sponsors that are going to be involved in the 4-H organization. And I want to, for the record, acknowledge MacDon Industries, who has been really a great inspiration to the 4-H movement and to really take one of their special edition self-propelled windrow which was on display last year in front of the Legislative Building. It's a true testament to the corporate industry in Manitoba and their involvement as well.
But I also want to acknowledge, when I was in Ag Days in Brandon this year, to see the busloads of young students or young individuals come and have a tour of Ag Days and being–taking part in the photos and discussions with the young students. And one of the beauty things that I, you know, you realize being involved in 4-H is the young individuals are–it's a character builder. It's a self-social development of their own personal skills. And that's the beauty of the 4-H; it brings out the mentors. The leaders bring those things out of the young students that are involved in 4-H, to build some self-confidence and be able to speak and address and enforce what they believe in, in moving forward.
But more so, I'm very proud that the rural component is really being enforced by the 4-H organization. And I want to be known on record, our government annually provides $185,000, annually, to the 4-H program for programming, council operations and projects and resource developments. And we will continue to provide that support because we measure–we know the importance of the 4-H organization.
Manitoba is once again blazing a trail for 4-H movement in the piloting the concept of campus clubs as post-secondary institutes in the province of Manitoba. And let me show you some examples. Assiniboine Community College is partnering with the 4-H Manitoba council and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives are working together to form a Future Leaders 4-H Club at the college in Brandon. Members of the Future Leaders club will work towards receiving a recognition of achievement to be included on their resumé and their 4-H records.
What we were able to have discussions with the 4-H organizations through MAFRI is that the previous 4-H members were off to college and they needed to have still involvement, so we felt there was a need to recognize–extend the age limit of these students that are attending university, so they'll still be used as a mentor in the 4-H movement, but also bring forward in the education component as a merit of the importance of 4-H. So that is why we've moved forward. So the great program will allow 4-H members to continue to participate with young adults through campus clubs.
And I want to assure you again, MAFRI is very proud to support the foundation and success of the leadership that they develop today and in future.
I was also very privileged to have met individuals from the Japanese or Chinese organization, the Benimaru Foundation, which is really very significant as an organization where we have exchange students that come from Japan, 25, and then we in turn return 25 of our Manitoba 4‑H'ers to go live and experience the life in the different countries. And that is a true testament to the 4-H organizations, because the world is a very interesting place to be, and the 4-H definitely broadens the horizons of the education and the travel and the partnerships we have with international countries.
* (11:20)
So, in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I truly, as Agriculture Minister–and fool–Food–of Rural Initiatives, I echo the importance of 4-H and I look forward to attending Roland, Manitoba. And I am very interested in talking to the–as Mr. MLA from Midland is already starting to tutor, I understand, a 10-year-old individual for their political party who's going to be speaking to the Premier (Mr. Selinger). So kudos to the MLA from Midland. Start them young, start them young, because they'll–a wealth of knowledge.
But in all honesty, it's a great honour to show my support in the resolution towards the great organizations of 4-H Manitoba. Thank you so much.
Mr. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside): And thank the minister for those comments and, of course, the member from Midland for bringing this resolution before the House.
And I'm a very proud grandfather of a 4-H daughter that's been involved in 4-H. My daughter was involved in 4-H; I was involved in 4-H. In fact, my father and I did the auction sales for the beef club in our area for 32 years, and I can tell you we had a lot of fun. We had a lot of expenses to go with it to show our support. I think probably every 4-H member that was involved one way or another.
I remember very clearly when my daughter sold her first steer, the tears were rolling down her eyes and rolling down her eyes, and then when she got the cheque, the tears were gone. You know, the steer that she worked so hard to groom and bring forward and worked so hard with to get in good shape.
And I can tell you that watching the kids over the years as they mentor each other and 'camaradetie' and working with each other just goes beyond. And I know both members have talked about the ability to be able to share ideas and speak and–but there's much, much more than that. It's about building individual self-worth and self-respect.
And whenever we look at those young folks that are involved in 4-H–and many of them carry on yet to this day–I know the minister had an awards day of which I had two people from my area, Charlie Amy was one and–I'm having a senior moment. I can't think of the other lady. I do have those two. Maybe that's one of the next achievement things that we'll have for us older folks that.
But I can tell you very clearly, Mr. Speaker, I'm very proud of the fact that a hundred years is going to be marked while I'm still here. I know I won't be here for the next hundred years, but–when that celebration comes–but I know that with 4-H being as strong as it is, that it will carry on and I know there's initiatives out there that's going to make sure that it does. And the corporate sponsors and the role of government in this is important as well and–but the end of the day, the No. 1 thing we have to remember is that that is a relationship that everybody should have. And that relationship that goes without saying is that we're there for one another and we learn from each other, and we just grow and we prosper from each other.
And looking forward to next Thursday night and, of course, the event on Saturday. I know there's going to be a fantastic crowd there and, of course, lots to go and see and do and be part of. So we're looking forward to the next hundred years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Melanie Wight (Burrows): Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure to get up to put a few words on with regard to 4-H. I think I started at 7 in the peewee club–I think it was 7–I might've been 6. My dad was one of the leaders, and we met at the Napinka School.
And it's funny, the opposition leader and a few other people have mentioned speeches, of course, and I remember my first speech. My first speech never got out. I never was–I wasn't able to do it. I wrote the speech; I'm pretty sure I still have it. And I remember my turn and standing at the front of that room and just being absolutely frozen. It's maybe hard for people to imagine now since I speak freely–thanks to the 4-H–now, but I was absolutely terrified and I can remember the other leader–it was Clive Lewis–and he said, you know, maybe if you turned around and looked at, you know, the other way–look to the board–and just said what you were going to say, you could get it out. And I thought in my head, well, that's really stupid. I'm not going to talk to the board. But I couldn't do it. So he did everything he could to get it through, and I can remember how embarrassed my dad was.
My mom and dad were quite different. Mom is never embarrassed, doesn't matter what you do; you know, she's pretty chill. And dad was often embarrassed by things like that. But I did redeem myself in grade 8 by winning the–there's public speaking at that point. Thanks to all those speeches that came through 4-H over the years that I was able to get out.
My sister won the championship for best steer. I never did. I won in showmanship in the peewee club and later as well and one of the members was mentioning the steer on your feet. Was that you, member from Midland? I remember those steers standing on my feet over and over, and I remember my mom trying to make me get out the door on those cold winter days, going out to, you know, comb that animal, and I had no tears when I sold it at the auction mart. And I feel lacking in empathy, but I was–goodbye, give me that cheque. So I admit that, you know, my greed overcame any feelings for that guy who had stood on my feet so many times and who I'd dragged around the ring.
But I do have fabulous memories of the 4-H and of all the things that we did and learned in that program and the public speaking and doing demonstrations, and it was just–it's such an excellent organization. And I'm so pleased that, you know, that we support it in every way that we can and I–and that we're, hopefully, with you on this one, member from Midland. Thank you so much.
Mr. Stuart Briese (Agassiz): I, too, was a member of a 4-H club and–[interjection] Okay. I, too, was a member of a 4-H club. It goes back quite a number of years. I grew up on a farm. I farmed all my life, as a matter of fact, but the experiences I learned in 4-H have certainly been useful since the time I was in the club to this very day. And I find it amusing when they talk about the experiences with public speaking.
I still remember those experiences very well, and we would meet in country schools at that time, our 4‑H clubs, and they would have the public speaking night, and spent a week preparing where in here sometimes we prepare in 30 seconds. But at that time you probably went into the Reader's Digest, found a good article and built a speech around whatever that article was. I remember doing one on Franklin's seagulls one time. So you look forward with terror to that night, and you had great relief when you were finished your contribution.
I grew up on a–interesting background–I grew up on a dairy farm, and in 1949 there was a milk plant built in my hometown of Neepawa where it was the first pasteurized milk for that community. And my dad was one of the five dairy farmers in the area that supplied all the milk to that plant. So we–my dad was always fairly progressive, and we developed a pretty good herd of Holstein-Friesian milk cows, built a new barn in 1949, and we were in the dairy business, and it was through those purebred Holstein-Friesian cattle that I got my exposure to, first of all, a dairy club and all the skills that go around being part of 4-H club and working with farm animals.
And we learned to judge animals, and that judging was quite an experience really, because every judge was different, and we were taught–they'd put four animals in a row and we were supposed to place them one to four and give reasons for those placements. Well, every judge had a different eye for those animals, and you might have done very, very well in one competition; the next one, simply because the judge had a different approach, you did not do so well. And everyone was looking for something else.
The other highlight, I think, I remember very well, out of 4-H, was once I was in the 4-H club, we got to go for a day to the Brandon winter fair. That was something that was quite an experience to a young country boy that hardly even got to town at that time.
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So we'd get over to the fair, spend a day there, all that excitement, that big old barn on Rosser Avenue in Brandon and we'd meet other kids our age. And as we got a little older some members of the opposite sex that created some interest for us for that one day at the fair, and then we didn't see them 'til the next year at the fair, and probably somebody else was interested then. But the odd time, too, back in the early days of 4-H, some of the very fortunate kids that won showmanship awards or judging, especially judging awards, got a chance to go to the royal winter fair in Toronto, a tremendous outing for those young people.
Still to this day, you know, I attend our local 4-H club's achievements and the judging competitions. We have a annual fat-stock show in Neepawa where there's four or five different clubs from the region compete, and then in the evening they have their calf sale, and usually there's about 80 to 90 animals in that sale. All the business show up–they bid very well for these calves. Top calves go out of there at $3 a pound or three or four times the market price. Everybody goes home fairly happy.
Through 4-H, it allowed me to develop some skills on showing cattle, and for a number of years after, actually, I was–well, during and after I was in 4-H, I won some showmanship awards. And we used to always take cattle to the Neepawa fair for showing; we'd take them in the night before. You were in there at 5:30, 6 o'clock in the morning washing these animals and getting them ready to show, and I remember one year, I think, with our total prizes–and the prize money in those competitions was maybe $2 to $10. But I think we actually won about a hundred dollars in total, and this was at a time when our total farm income–our total farm income, not the family income, the operate the farm, run the family, everything–was probably somewhere between 20 and 25 thousand–gross income. Hundred-dollar day was quite a day for our operation. We never thought about the work we put in. Probably we were getting paid about 30 cents an hour, but it was certainly very worthwhile.
My–just to hark back to my own 4-H experience, my dad was the leader of the dairy club, and later I was in a farm club–beef club, and–with other leaders in it. But my dad was always involved as a leader in 4-H and later yet, my mother became the leader of a sewing club in Neepawa and did that for quite a number of years. And, you know, many of the young people that she worked with in that sewing club carried those skills forward to these day–this day. I know several of them that are now in their 50s and 60s that are ardent quilters, and that probably came from my mom's teaching in those days back then.
So I know there's a bunch of others that–other members in here that wish to speak, so I'll just say one last thing. The other thing I really recall out of 4‑H, it looked awful darn good on your resume. If you could say you were a rural kid, when I was going out into the workforce and you had a 4-H background, they were waiting to lap you up.
So with those few words, I'll thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Kerri Irvin-Ross (Minister of Housing and Community Development): It is a delight to go down memory lane and recall all of my 4-H memories. I think that I have a unique 4-H experience, and I'm probably the only one in this House that did 4-H in Saskatchewan, I–in Crane Valley, Saskatchewan; in Viceroy, Saskatchewan.
So as I look over and I see the MLA for Midland and his little badge there–I have one of those too, and my mother has it framed in the farmhouse–very proud of that work.
4-H was something that you had to do where I was raised; you had to be a part of it. We–very small farming community and if you weren't a part of 4-H, you had nothing to do. So I had the privilege of meeting with my sewing group, because I did sewing. I'm grateful I was not forced into the steer stream and had to have steers stand on my feet. I'm not sure about the purpose of that. But I was proud.
On Saturdays I would go with my 4-H leader and she would patiently work with me to sew. I have many stories, most of them are of patience and trust, friendship and loss of friendship with the 4-H leader after a frustration set in.
There's a progression that happens in the sewing club. You start with a pin cushion. It's a lovely pin cushion. I'm sure my mother still uses it. And then there was the pyjama buddy, and you made–[interjection] Yes, the pyjama buddy, and it has ears. It looked like a cat, and you put it on your bed. It was lovely. I think that's still on my bed at the farm.
And something happened after that; I was asked to go to equestrian stream. I understand the Minister of Education (Ms. Allan) said that she was involved in 4-H and she got to do the skirt and blouse. Well, I did not have that privilege.
They thought that it was better that I went out and groomed the horses. So that's what I chose to do, and it was quite exciting to be a part of the equestrian side of 4-H. It was new to our community. So we were, sort of, pioneers, and we would meet every week. And my father was involved, so that was exciting, that he was able to haul those horses and we'd groom them. We'd go on trail rides and then we would go and participate in shows.
I heard other members speak of all the ribbons that they received, and that's lovely. Congratulations to all of you. I will admit, I never got any ribbons. I got participation ribbons, which sometimes, you know–I showed up and I did participate.
An Honourable Member: Everybody got a ribbon.
Ms. Irvin-Ross: But everybody got a ribbon in 4-H, yes.
I'd like to think that 4-H helped me become the person I am. However, I don't sew anymore, I have no more horses in my life. However, the ability that it showed us about coming together as a community, being to laugh at each other, to be able to celebrate other people's successes, because people in my club did get ribbons. Not everybody from Viceroy just got participation ribbons.
And it also showed me about the value of working together and fighting through some of those frustrations. I obviously, sort of, have repressed many of those memories–[interjection] Well, I don't really want to give [inaudible]
No, it was–I wish my parents were here to watch this speech. My dad has often talked about wanting to come and to see me, you know, provide a speech in this magnificent House, and this might have been the speech he should have watched.
But 4-H continues to provide that sense of belonging, that sharing of information, that building of community that is so valuable no matter where you live. And I think it's pretty special that in rural Canadian communities, that 4-H is something that we cherish and we celebrate, and we have lots to be very happy about. I'm sure that there's a child somewhere trying to sew that pin cushion, getting prepared for that contest, that evening where she will be judged or he will be judged, and hopefully they get the blue ribbon.
But as we go forward–and I'm sure that 4-H has been here in Manitoba for a hundred years, and it will continue to thrive because of the volunteers that ensure that people like me had those 4-H leaders that shared their passion of sewing and, also, you know, steers standing on their feet and equestrian.
So today we need to acknowledge what 4-H has done for the rural area: bringing people together, how it has developed the leadership skills and how many of us can share in that common experience no matter where our life has taken us now.
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I'm going to have to resume therapy soon because of all of these repressed memories coming to the surface, but it's good to remember. I must send a note to my 4-H leader and thank her for her commitment of making sure that we were having these opportunities in a very small town. That there wasn't a lot of things to do, but we always knew that there was a project to work on in 4-H and the prize for some was at that end. Some of us only got participation awards, but that is okay. I'm going to stop now, Mr. Speaker.
An Honourable Member: Leave.
Ms. Irvin-Ross: No, I think I've done well there, member for Steinbach (Mr. Goertzen). I've shared more than I've wanted to. Let's hear it for 4-H.
Mr. Cliff Graydon (Emerson): That's going to be a tough act to follow, let me tell you.
I did have the opportunity to have many, many participating ribbons, but I also did win the odd time. And I–when you talk about 4-H and the participation and the participation ribbons, I recall when I first showed–I showed the first Charolais-cross calf in Manitoba in a Charolais in 19–or in the calf club in 1961. Charolais at that time was just a big white animal, but I fell in love with these white animals. So I showed this calf, and, to be quite honest, every show that I went to I placed dead last. So it got to the point where when we went into the ring I knew exactly where to go. I just went there and let the judge work with the Angus and Hereford that were upfront. And of course I got teased a lot from some of my fellow 4-H'ers and also the ones that we were competing against, but we went to rally.
Rally day was the last day of the year, and all the clubs competed. And of course I went out and I placed myself for the judge, I placed myself right at the end, and that's the way the judge saw it too. Then afterwards we get to sell our calves and they sold the grand champion first and then the reserve grand champion, and both of them sold very well. And then they dragged mine up. They said, bring it up–I was surprised–so I brought it out. Swift's, Manitoba packers here in town, paid 60 cents a pound more for my calf than they did for the rest. So I didn't need the ribbon; the cheque made up for everything, let me tell you.
I was in 4-H long before a lot of you in here were born, and this particular piece that I'm wearing is dated 1958 and that was the year that I bought my first animal. I bought my own animal for 4-H that year. It happened to be a female that I ended up using to build a herd later, but in 1958 I showed that animal and actually won with it, as well, Mr. Speaker.
But enough about me and what I did in 4-H. What I want to say is that 4-H is a volunteer organization, so we have people that spend many, many hours teaching people–teaching young people in different options that they have to compete in. My mother was a 4-H leader, my wife was a 4-H leader, my son was a 4-H leader, my two kids were in 4-H, my grandkids are in 4-H, and it's taught them all a lot of different things. One of the things that it has taught them is responsibility. So with this responsibility and the volunteerism, when they leave 4-H and they go out into the world what you find is all of those 4-H members as they've got older end up being volunteers in the communities that they go to. And that's why I believe that Manitoba is one of the volunteer capitals of Canada; that's the particular reason for that.
I've been very fortunate this year–or two of my constituents were very fortunate. They did a dual presentation; it was Barbara Calder and Robyn Budey did a dual presentation and went to provincials and won. And their topic was baba's recipes, and apparently it was very humorous as well as very informative, Mr. Speaker.
The other thing that 4-H has done, it has allowed many people to network. And the networking between today's world is between urban and rural and also some of them in the city, downtown, as you talked about–as my colleague talked about the gardening projects that are there now. That network that's built there is a network that lasts for a lifetime and just keeps on growing.
I also just want to put out–or point out that I had the opportunity, and all 4-H members do have that opportunity from time to time, to go to camps in the province and sometimes outside of the province. I had that opportunity twice in my lifetime and really appreciated it. My first trip to Gimli was to a Gimli 4-H camp. It was a great experience, and the networking there–I made lifetime friends there.
But there's other people that would like to speak, Mr. Speaker, and so thank you very much for the opportunity to put a few words on the record.
Mr. Larry Maguire (Arthur-Virden): It's my privilege to be able to speak to this resolution as well, Mr. Speaker, in regards to 4-H in Manitoba.
Of course, we will be celebrating the hundredth anniversary of 4-H this year in Roland and in regards to Roland being the hometown of 4-H in Manitoba. And I would like to acknowledge a constituency–or a town in my constituency as well, the McConnell 4-H beef club, that, I believe, it's 82 consecutive years that they will have been–82 or 90, I believe it's 82, that they have continuously had 4-H, the beef club there as well.
Many other 4-H clubs in my constituency that I'm quite proud of, and, of course, I would start off with the fact that I was in 4-H myself, in a Elgin 4-H seed club, Mr. Speaker–Elgin-Fairfax 4-H seed club, I believe they call it. And Mr. Tom Dobson was the leader of our 4-H club in that community. I went on to do the public speaking that my son later got into in a small engine and woodworking 4-H club that they had in those same communities with a lot of his friends. And I remember taking in the public speaking myself and also listening to him and his public speaking endeavours, not knowing, as has been said in this House, where that public speaking would take us and end up bringing us to the Legislature of Manitoba, as well as many other valuable opportunities in our lives. It was a great opportunity to learn discipline, to learn how to look after not animals in this case but crops, and I remember roguing the crops, the plots that we had to grow of wheat, and as well the borders, maintaining the borders around those particular fields and small plots in our fields on the farms in our area.
I'd also like to acknowledge many of the other 4‑H events that I've had the opportunity to be at. One of the largest 4-H rallies in Manitoba on a continuous basis takes place in Boissevain every year, Mr. Speaker. The Killarney, Deloraine, Boissevain areas, Dand, Goodlands has been at that as well in the past, and there are many, many other 4-H clubs. I've had the opportunity of attending the Grande-Clairière club, 4-H beef club, a number of times. And, of course, there's been a good group of clubs in the Hamiota, Virden, Oak Lake particularly. I've been at their fair each summer, and they have a tremendous group of 4-H members there in the beef club in the Oak Lake area.
And I just want to say that I'm very, very, proud of these clubs. I'm proud of the young members that are in each of these clubs. I want to thank the leaders for their effort that they put forth in those clubs as well, not now, not just now, but through the decades that we've had 4-H in this region. Some of the best beef showmen in Manitoba have come out of this corner of Manitoba in the southwest, and most of them have had the experience of going through the rigours of a 4-H beef club, looking after those calves, as many of my colleagues have described, and showing them at events–major events, not just at 4-H rallies, but at other events like the winter fair and, in previous years, the summer fair in Manitoba, as well, in Brandon.
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Mr. Speaker, there's another group there, and that is the parents that weren't leaders in this group. And the parents, I want to thank them for their perseverance and determination in bringing their youth into the 4-H movement in Manitoba. Many of them, of course, had the experience themselves and know how valuable it is, and–but it takes dedication to make sure that you continue to bring your son or daughter, or sons and daughters, out to these events. And it wouldn't be possible, at least, certainly, wouldn't be as viable a program today without the sponsors that help support our 4-H clubs through the purchasing of calves. And the judges, Mr. Speaker, that make sure that they give of their time and many efforts, as well, to judge these shows across the province of Manitoba, because they're a very important component of the discipline of 4-H in our province as well.
So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that it's a pleasure to be a part of the Legislature today to honour the 100th anniversary of 4-H. I commend my colleague for–the member for Midland (Mr. Pedersen) for bringing this forward today, and I just wanted to add those comments, that it's been a most valuable learning experience for myself, for my family and for many other families in southwest Manitoba. Thank you.
Mr. Drew Caldwell (Brandon East): It's a pleasure to say a few words, and I will be brief because I think members in this House want to have this resolution pass, and I commend the member for bringing it forward and thank him for that.
I just want to say that I'm impressed at the non-partisan behaviour in the House this morning. I think that's very, very positive in this Legislature. It's not something that we see a lot of, and I think that maybe we should see more of it, and I want to commend members on all sides of the House for taking that sort of approach to this resolution. And I know there are other resolutions that we're debating currently, and I hope that same spirit transfers to resolutions such the one that I proposed a week or so ago on commending those folks that are involved in the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and the redevelopment of the historic Dome Building in Brandon, which is a National Historic Site, and we do want to support all of our agricultural friends in this province.
So, again, I commend members in the House, and thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Dennis Smook (La Verendrye): I would like to thank the member from Midland for bringing this resolution forward on the 100th anniversary of 4-H in Canada. It gives me an opportunity to share some of my 4-H experiences with the members here.
Competition is the driving force in 4-H. Youth learn that the more you put into a project, the more you get out of it. 4-H teaches responsibility, working with others and skills that you will have for the rest of your life. My first encounter with 4-H was as a garden club member. My older brother and I joined the 4-H garden club. It was something new in town and mom said, well, we've got to join, and it taught me a lot.
One of the first things I learned as a 4-H member was dispute resolution–and I'll get back to it in a little bit–but my brother and I were extremely excited when we received our packages of seeds. We spent many evenings deciding how we're going to do this, how we're going to help each other out and work together to make our gardens the nicest in town.
You know, as spring came along, you know, the gardens got tilled and we decided, well, now's the time; mom says you should go start planting your gardens. So we go out to the garden and what–lo and behold, we've got a problem. We both wanted the same piece of garden. Therefore, we had to put dispute resolution into force. Like, we talked about it; we couldn't come across with an idea. So what did we do? We called mom, and she, of course, settled the argument and everything was fixed.
But 4-H is an important part of life for a lot of people in the rural areas, and I–as we see by the statistics, it's moving more and more into the urban areas as well. 4-H teaches kids responsibility; it gives them a lot to work with for future life. It also gives the adult volunteers some places to practise their leadership skills and to work and put something back into the community.
I feel that 4-H is a very important part of life, and with more and more urban people joining–to me that's important because they will learn what agriculture is all about.
And I see we don't have a lot of time left. There's a couple more members that'd like to speak. I just wanted to get a couple words on record. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Ian Wishart (Portage la Prairie): Mr. Speaker, and I'd like–I appreciate the chance to put a few words on record in support of this resolution brought forward by the honourable member for Midland (Mr. Pedersen).
I, too, have a history in 4-H, and growing up on a dairy farm and being in the beef club, I was one of those members like the member for Fort Richmond (Ms. Irvin-Ross) who got a lot of participation ribbons but not a lot of first places. But it certainly was a very useful experience, humbling and–to some degree frequently. But it did teach me a lot of skills, certainly the public speaking aspect and the meeting-management aspect were very important and very stressed in the club that I belonged to, the Portage Beef Club, which actually still exists today. I'm not–certainly not a hundred years old. The club isn't, but it's certainly very aged. It was one of the very early clubs. I couldn't put an exact date on it. I suspect it's in the '60 and'70 range and that. But it's always been a large part of the–our family, not only myself, but my kids were part of 4-H. They went for the equestrian side of things, which my wife ended up being a leader in that side of things for a number of years as well and they still participate to some degree.
But then, when I did first go to work, and I worked for the Province of Manitoba for Manitoba Agriculture as an ag rep at Morden, Manitoba. And part of the job there, of course, was working with 4‑H which was a very strong organization down there, and I really enjoyed working with all of the great volunteers and the great kids as part of that. And a number of them, actually, I still stay in contact with and see fairly frequently in terms of events, because many of them did end up in agriculture or related fields and so we still see them.
So I certainly appreciate the chance to put a few words on record to show how important this organization is and recognize them for their 100 years of service.
Mr. Speaker: Is there any further debate on the resolution?
Some Honourable Members: Question.
Mr. Speaker: Question having been called, is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the resolution? [Agreed]
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Official Opposition House Leader): I'd ask, Mr. Speaker, that it'd be deemed to be unanimous of the House.
Mr. Speaker: Is there leave of the House to consider the resolution as passed unanimously? [Agreed]
House Business
Mr. Goertzen: On House business.
Mr. Speaker: On House business.
Mr. Goertzen: Mr. Speaker, in accordance with rule 31(9), I'd like to announce the private member's resolution that will be considered next Thursday is the resolution on declining emergency health care in Manitoba, brought forward by the honourable member for Morden-Winkler (Mr. Friesen).
Mr. Speaker: It has been announced that in accordance with rule 31(9), that the resolution–private member's resolution that will be considered next Thursday is the resolution on declining emergency health care in Manitoba, brought forward by the honourable member for Morden-Winkler.
Mr. Swan (Acting Government House Leader): Is there agreement of the House to call it 12 o'clock, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. Speaker: Is there leave of the House to call it 12 o'clock–12 noon? [Agreed]
The hour being 12 noon, this House is recessed and stands recessed until 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.