Manitoba Hansard — 2 May 1975 (Sitting 71, 30th Legislature, 2nd Session)

30-2-71

Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Speaker The Honourable Peter Fox Vol. XXll No. 71 2:30 p.m., Friday, May 2nd, 1975. Second Session, 30th Legislature. Printed by R. S. Evans -Queen's Printer for Province of Manitoba

Electoral Division Name Political Address Postal Affi I iation Code ARTHUR J. Douglas Watt P.C. Reston, Man. ROM 1XO ASSINIBOIA Steve Patrick Lib. 10 Red Roblin Pl., Winnipeg R3J 3La BIRTLE-RUSSELL Harry E. Graham P.C. Binscarth, Man. ROJ OGO BRANDON EAST Hon. Leonard S. Evans NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C OVB BRANDON WEST Edward McGill P.C. 222a Princess Ave., Brandon R7B OH9 BURROWS Hon. Ben Hanuschak NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova CHAR LESWOOD Arthur Moug P.C. 29 Willow Ridge Rd., Winnipeg R3R 1 L5 CHURCHILL Les Osland NOP 66 Radisson Blvd., Churchill ROB OEO CRESCENTWOOD Vacant DAUPHIN Hon.

Peter Burtniak NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova ELMWOOD Hon. Russell J. Doern NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova EMERSON Steve Derewianchuk NOP Vita, Manitoba ROA 2KO FLIN FLON Thomas Barrow NOP Cranberry Portage, Man. ROB OHO FORT GARRY L.R. (Bud) Sherman P.C. a6 Niagara St., Winnipeg R3N OT9 FORT ROUGE Lloyd Axworthy Lib. 132 Osborne St. S., Winnipeg R3L 1Y5 GIMLI John C. Gottfried NOP 44 - 3rd Ave., Gimli, Man. ROC 1BO GLADSTONE James R. Ferguson P.C. Gladstone, Man. ROJ OTO INKSTER Hon. Sidney Green, 0.C. NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova KILDONAN Hon.

Peter Fox NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova LAC DU BONNET Hon. Sam Uskiw NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova LAKESIDE Harry J. Enns P.C. Woodlands, Man. ROC 3HO LA VERENDRYE Bob Banman P.C. Steinbach, Man. ROA 2AO LOGAN William Jenkins NOP 1294 Erin St., Winnipeg R3E 2S6 MINNEDOSA David Blake P.C. Minnedosa, Man. ROJ 1EO MORRIS Warner H. Jorgenson P.C. Morris, Man. ROG lKO OSBORNE Hon. Ian Turnbull NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova PEMBINA George Henderson P.C. Manitou, Man. ROG 1GO POINT DOUGLAS Donald Malinowski NOP 23 Coralberry Ave., Winnipeg R2V 2P2 PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE Gordon E.

Johnston Lib. 26-120 - 6th St., S.E ., Portage la Prairie, Man. R1N 1Ea RADISSON Harry Shafransky NOP 4 Maplehurst Rd., Winnipeg R2J 1Wa RHINELAND Arnold Brown P.C. Winkler, Man. ROG 2XO RIEL Donald W. Craik P.C. 3 River Lane, Winnipeg R2M 3Ya RIVER HEIGHTS Sidney Spivak, O.C. P.C. Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova ROBLIN J. Wally McKenzie P.C. Inglis, Man. ROJ OXO ROCK LAKE Henry J. Einarson P.C. Glenboro, Man. ROK OXO ROSSMERE Hon. Ed. Schreyer NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova RUPERTSLAND Hon. Harvey Bostrom NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova ST. BONIFACE Hon. L.L.

Desjardins NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova ST. GEORGE Hon. Bill Uruski NOP 10th fir., 330 Portage Ave., Wpg. R3C OC4 ST. JAMES George Minaker P.C. 31a Ronald St., Winnipeg R3J 3Ja ST. JOHNS Saul Cherniack, Q.C. NOP 333 St. Johns Ave., Winnipeg R2W 1H2 ST. MATIHEWS Wally Johannsen NOP 41a Home St., Winnipeg R3G 1X4 ST. VITAL D.J. Walding NOP 26 Hemlock Place, Winnipeg R2H 1L7 STE. ROSE A.R. (Pete) Adam NOP Ste. Rose du Lac, Man. ROL 1SO SELKIRK Hon. Howard Pawley NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova SEVEN OAKS Hon. Saul A.

Miller NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova SOUR IS KILLARNEY Earl McKellar P.C. Nesbitt, Man. ROK lPO SPRINGFIELD Hon. Rene E. Toupin NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C OVa STURGEON CREEK J. Frank Johnston P.C. 310 Overdale St., Winnipeg R3J 2G3 SWAN RIVER James H. Bilton P.C. Swan River, Man. ROL 1ZO THE PAS Hon. Ron McBryde NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C OVa THOMPSON Ken Dillen NOP 84 Pintail Cres., Thompson RaN 1A6 TRANSCONA Hon. Russell Paulley NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C OVa VIRDEN Morris McGregor P.C. Kenton, Man. ROM OZO WELLINGTON Philip M.

Petursson NOP 681 Banning St., Winnipeg R3G 2G3 WINNIPEG CENTRE Hon. J.R. (Bud) Boyce NOP Legislative Bldg., Winnipeg R3C ova WOLSELEY Vacant

THE LEGISLATIVE ASSE MBLY OF MANITOBA 2:30 o ' clock, Friday, May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBATE --------- MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Lakeside. 2031 MR. ENNS: Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to resume where I left off shortly before the adjourn ment hour. Perhaps, sir, I can improve on what I intended to say by having had the opportunity of watching the Minister in charge of Labour handle himself in front of an enthusiastic audience in front of the building during the lunch hour break.

I always find that it tends to encourage a fellow public speaker when he sees another one of his colleagues performing "under stress, " you might say, as we watched the Acting Minister of Lab0ur. I don ' t know if that's correct, but I think we would have to refer to the Honourable Mr. Minister of Urban Affairs as the Mr. Fix-it of this government, because he was d•)ing his best to fix things that were obviously going somewhat awry during the lunch hour as far as the public service was concerned. Mr.

Speaker, for the record ' s sake and only for a moment I take a diversionary route to make one or two comments to the Honourable Member for Gimli, who with a repetition that is becoming boring, keeps reminding members of this Chamber of the great benefits now accruing to my home region, namely the Interlake area, as a result of the development plans that this government has undertaken. Mr.

Speaker, the record is there for all to see, it's been ac knowledged by none other than people such as the First Minister or the present Minister of Agriculture, that one of the projects that they have always been prepared to accept and ac knowledge the worthiness of was the development aspects of the FRED and ARDA programs in that region that was undertaken by the previous admbistration, and I've always been prepared to acknowledge with some thanks that the present administration has had the good fortune in carrying out that project to its soon completion, although development of course never is fully completed, but in the sense that it has a time frame of ten years on it, the agreement was signed in '67 so we have another three or four years running on that agreement.

The other thing that, of course, really has to be said, and again it's to my colleagues to the left of me to remind the House every once in awhile of this and perhapa not me, but nonethe less I don ' t mind doing that at all, that we're talking about a tremendous federal input on the part of that overall program averaging perhaps on a 60-40 basis in some instances, some less, some more, but certainly a very prominent presence of the Federal Government involved in that particular development program encompassing the Interlake Region which at least in the interests of honesty, my friend, the Honourable Member from Gimli, shouid perhaps mention, should perhaps mention occasionally. --(In terjection)-- Yes, the Honourable Member from Assiniboia says I was a reasonably good negotiator when I signed the $ 85 million agreement, I would like to think I was, because it was one of those first instances and only one of three projects across all of Canada that actually got off the ground in such a massive way.

The Honourable Member from Gimli of course while he tries to equate the fact that we were in a depressed and poor region with low incomes that somehow that was all the result of previous Liberal or Conservative administrations. He chooses to ignore the fact, if he would have just moved his eyes a little further west to the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan which reaped the benefits of 20 or 20-odd years of socialist government, that the same statistics could be found in that province.

The only difference is that they had misplaced their priorities - not saying misplaced them, they had placed them in other areas and were not prepared to, and did not fund the kind of development program for a region very similar to the Interlake in Saskatchewan at that time, where in fact the per capita incomes were even lower, where the problems of the native people were even worse under 20 years of socialist government that saw little or no abatement to the problems faced there. So, you know, I would like to retire that argument sooner or later.

It does to me point out a bankruptcy of ideas on honourable members opposite when all they can do is reach out into the distant past. The Honourable Member from Wellington reading to us about the debates of 1931 in the British House of Commons. The hon ourable members opposite always trying to reach back to 7, 8, 10 years past. Let's talk about the present, Mr. Speaker, and the present budget that we have placed before us. Mr. S9eaker, the Budget did not surprise me. It is a budget that certainly shouldn't have surprised anybody.

After all we're aware that this is not an election year; we're aware that this government is not prepared to concern itself immediately with the mou__riting high municipal taxation costs faced by people, despite the pleas by municipal people, well organized, orches trated pleas, I might add, by municipal people, that unless substantial help, substantial help

2032 May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) .... was forthcoming in this budget, that many of the benefits that all members opposite like reminding this Chamber that they bestow upon the people of Manitoba in their quest as they redistribute wealth, they are quite prepared if the politics of the day doesn't suit them to close their eyes to the unfair or regressive nature of taxation that they impose when they know that householders look, property owners look, at 100, 110, 90, 140 dollar flat increase on their taxation rates this year.

Despite the benefit programs, despite the return programs, despite the promises of some sharing of future revenues in the income tax and corporate tax structure which is at best 18 months away, the government of the d'ly was not prepared, it was not in their timing to present a Santa Claus budget to the people of Manitoba on this occasion, and for that reason, sir, I really expected very much of the kind of budget that we in fact received. What, Mr.

Speaker, I would like to speak about for some period of time in my address to the Budget is the awe that I now begin to behold members opposite, the credit that I now am prepared to bestow upon this government opposite, on the expertise that they have developed and show with each ensuing year the further refinements of it, in what I chose to call the capacity of posturing for the benefit of the public, for the benefit of the voters. They haven't come by this overnight, Mr. Speaker. This is something that they have picked up along the road and they have gotten progressively better at it.

And I have to, at least to put a little bit of back ground to it, indicate to the honourable members opposite how, to what kind and to what talents they have directed at developing this particular, very worthwhile, from an electioneering point of view, expertise, the expertise to posture in front of the public. You know, Mr.

Speaker, I can recall speaking in that heated Autopac debate the very first session we faced this government and I can recall even making remarks to the extent that I for one never faulted this government for introducing Autopac, that I can recall I think reading from their campaign literature and waving it in this House where it was clearly stated that if the people of Manitoba elected a New Democratic Party administration, Autopac, Comprehen sive Auto insurance would in fact be part of a major program to be carried out. Well now, Mr.

Speaker, what happened though after they became elected and they wanted to introduce this program, they then had some second thought about it - not second thoughts about the program but in the manner and the way that they could present this to the people of Manitoba. Because after all they were in a minority position, their position as government was not all that strong the whole question of the acceptability of Autopac, even just based on the, if you want a simpli fication on the basis of the votes cast in that election, was open to question as to its general acceptability.

So, one of the first initial tries of posturing by this government was entered into. The Pawley Commission was set up, here, just down the road here , which was going to look into the whole question of comprehensive automobile insurance, as though their minds weren't made up, as though their minds weren't made up, as though they didn't believe their own campaign literature.

Then in November of that same year, none other than the First Minister - whom a lot of people believed at that time, less people believe today but still many do - stood up in front of two or three hundred independent automobile insurance agents and assured them that he had no interest in nationalizing an industry or taking an industry over simply for the sake of taking it over. In fact he received a standing ovation at that particular meeting.

It seemed to be encouraging to the agents, the people involved in the business, that it was not an automatic thing that was going to happen, that they were going to carry out their campaign promises, that the Pawley Commission after all was studying the matter as to considering the advisability of moving into .that program. Well, then, Mr. Speaker, of course, then, Mr. Speaker, they went one step further in this refinement of posturing. They wanted to ensure themselves of the support of the broader general public. Because we had if you recall some pretty good demonstrations in those days too.

So they set up the Committee of 100 headed by Cabinet Ministers. They met at the Playhouse and they were instructed to fan out into the city, to knock on doors, to distribute literature and to solicit support for the idea of comprehensive government run automobile insurance. But they were instructed very carefully, "Do not identify yourself as New Demo crats". That kind of spoils the posture position.

They were just supposed to be a committee of 100 innocent citizens in the Province of Manitoba who all of a sudden took upon themselves the role of recognizing the greatness of this program and the need for selling it. Well, Mr. Speaker, from those early efforts of posturing in the public to pursue a

May 2, 1975 2033 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) .. .. particular course of action, the government of course has proceeded into developing that stance into a much more visible, higher visible way. We move to another year when the question of aid to private and parochial schools was a fairly divisive question in this province. It was a question that was well advertised it was going to be debated in this province. It was a question on which people had rather strong feelings about, that crossed party lines.

But you see the government of the day knew that there were a lot of people that felt very strongly in support of aid to private and parochial schools but they also knew that there were a lot of people that were violently opposed to that. So it was necessary to develop a technique of posturing for the public, in order to be on both sides of the fence, so that loyal New Democratic party member supporters could say, "But my man, Mr. Green, is in there fighting for us. In fact he resigned his Cabinet job, and he will not let this pass.

" And <>f course the people who were hopeful that some aid to private and parochial schools would in fact occur had none other than the First Minister walking down the other side of the fence, and lecturing and speaking to church basement groups, including my own, and assuring them that within a matter of months some meaningful aid to private and parochial schools would be on its way. Well now, Mr. Speaker ... MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Minister of Mines. HON. SIDNEY GREEN, Q. C. (Minister of Mines, Resources and Environmental Manage ment)(Inkster): Mr.

Speaker, on a matter of privilege, which I'm sure the Member for Lake side knew very well that I would take, I have absolutely no objection to what he interprets as to the effects of what was d:me because that is a legitimate political observation which he can make, but to suggest that I concocted my resignation on that basis is untrue, and I tell him so. MR. ENNS: Mr. Speaker, I question whether that is a matter of privilege. I'm using the word posture for . . . MR. GREEN: Mr.

Speaker, I'm not talking about the word posture because you know one could feel that he is doing something legitimately and another person could describe it as a posture, and I accept that. He said that this was a concocted scheme and I say to him that my action with respect to private schools was not concocted with anybody, with any New Democrats, it was an individual decision which I made on the basis of my feeling on the subject. MR. ENNS: Mr. Speaker, I hasten to withdraw the word ·Joncocted scheme. Scheming comes natural to them they don't have to concoct them.

They don't have to conspire to scheme, it's within their nature. Now, Mr. Speaker, we have that further example of being able to in any way leave a posture in front of the public that seems to satisfy everybody at all times. Mr. Speaker, we come of course to more recent events and I will not allow the difficultiec: that the present Minister of Labour has to prevent me from saying those things that I wish to say in this Chamber with this regard.

I say that, not with the degree of insensitiveness to his problems, I think he has been wished well and -I need help with the word, --(Interjection)-- eulogized, yes, eulo gized particularly well by none other than myself when I thought he was being sincere for a brief moment in a speech not so long ago in this Chambe1'. However, Mr. Speaker, again the infinite capacity of posturing that this government has, which has now become a science with them really has developed to its fore in these last few weeks. The:-:e has to be, there has to be come recognition of the genius that's being employed here.

On the one hand the government had obviously arrived at an agreement with a particular group of employees, namely the doctors currently under discussion; on the other hand they also knew that they were going to be faced with difficult and severe negotiations by their own public servants no doubt - I don't think they necessarily expected to be facing them in precisely the manner in which they faced them at noon today, but nonetheless they knew that that was happen ing - so it was important, Mr.

Speaker, to somehow, to somehow bridge that gap of havbg given the doctors wha'; they deemed they deserved, what they deemed t;hey deserved - and I care not to comment, I care not to comment on whether that was fair or more than fair, or whether that stretched the guidelines for restraint, inflationary restraint that the First Minister speaks of, or whatever it was, but it obviously seemed highly unfair to the Minister of Labour.

The Minister of Labour had to posture for the boys and girls, as he referred to them so af-· fectionately, the little boys and girls that we saw out in front of the Legislative Assembly carrying the little signs, and that are working at the bottom scale of our labour force. After

2034 May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) •... all it's well known that there is so little job security in the Civil Service that they are the highest paid workers in the general work force, and so for them he had to posture, Mr.

Speaker, because he knew that by the guidelines set by his own First Minister, by the general hard line that the government is prepared to take - which quite frankly I suspect I will have to support - the kind of positions that to some extent were stated by the Acting Minister of Labour on the steps of the Parliament Buildings this afternoon, that in any event - and I don't want to prejudge or preclude those negotiations - but in any event he knew that they would not be as good, they would not be as rich, they would not be as generous as the deal that was made to pacify the doctors. And so it was necessary, Mr.

Speaker, to posture, and posture he did, to the point that he fooled many of us. Well, Mr. Speaker, we come to the person that of course --(Interjection) -- Mr. Speaker, if the Honourable Minister of Health and Social Development chooses now to once again cross the floor and join us on this side where he once sat, I would gladly interrupt my speech from time to time to acknowledge him, and to listen to him and accept advice from him, but if on the other hand . . • MR. GREEN: I think the honourable member is misjudging what is being said. He is making an inaccurate statement, which I know he doesn't want to make.

It is the Minister of Urban Affairs who appeared on the st eps not the Acting Minister of Labour. For the honour able members information I am the Acting Minister of Labour. MR. ENNS: Mr. Speaker, that just underlines again the kind of an instant posturing, instant posturing expertise that this government just again comes by so naturally. If the Hon ourable Minister of Mines and Natural Resources is in fact the Acting Minister of Labour, why was he not speaking, why was he not speaking to the group that was calling for the Minister of Labour. Now you and I know why not.

The Honourable Minister has a way of being somewhat abrasive from time to time. He might have even thrown some of those picketers' signs back at some of them. I've sat in Land Comission hearings with the honourable member and I'm not so sure whether he would have been as generous and as easygoing with the demonstrators up front as in fact what I up to now assumed was the Acting Minister of Labour. So again, Mr. Sueaker, I thank the honourable member for the correction because it enabled me to add one more list to the list of posturing that the Honourable Minister is capable of. But, Mr.

Speaker, we of course come to the prime mover, the .. . Oh well the Honour able Minister of Agriculture,his capacity for posturing of course is such that I don't even want to confuse the remarks that I want to make by getting into his posturing capabilities. They are infinite, they are infinite, Mr. Speaker. I mean the idea that we need$ 9 million milk plants in this province because, why ? Because the consumers are having problems ? Because they are being exploited by the private sector? No. He told us that the consumers of Manitoba are being best served. Is it because the producers are having problems ?

No, he told us in the same speech that they are getting top dollars for their products. But we need a $ 9 million whey plant, the why and "whey" for I really don't understand. But, Mr. Speaker, I was being diverted, I was coming up to the prime mover of all this posturing that's going on, and of course nobody succeeds better in that than the First Minister himself. And the kind of posturing that he has been taking throughout his tenure of office, and particularly in this last little while on the question of restraint, on this question of wage and price controls. Mr.

Speaker, he recognizes, he has an understanding of the pulse, the mood of the people or else he wouldn't be where he is. He recognizes full well, he recognizes full well that what my national leader was attempting to sell and state to the people of Manitoba but was incapable of doing so, but he recognizes that nonetheless that there is an unease, there is a concern, there is a deep feeling within the broad general public that something has to stop runaway inflation.

But when he talks, when the First Minister talks about this lunacy has to end he is tapping that depth of understanding in the general public, and so he knows that when he talks about the necessity for wage and price controls that even though it may give him some difficulties within his own political group, but he is by and large home free with the broad general public who do not understand how it can be applied, who do not understand the full ramifications of it, and who perhaps, and if perhaps they were applied, they would find them very unacceptable.

But nonetheless there is this feeling, this kind of sickening feeling in the bottom of the stomachs of most Canadians, most working men, that just after they go out and

May 2, 1975 2035 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) ..•.. secure for themselves a substantial rise in wages that that is eaten up in the first eight or nine months by runaway inflation. So that is what the Premier is aware of when he talks about the necessity of wage and price controls. But then of course sir, he is the posturer supreme of all, he then sneaks down to the - well I shouldn't say sneak because it'll be a point of privilege.

He then meets with the organ ized labour leaders at the Labour Temple and assures them now that, I was just posturing for the general public; I don't mean, I don't mean what I'm saying, and you have to give me that kind of elbow room. As he told the convention, a long time ago, of the New Democrats, that you have to be able to bend your principles a little bit if you want to stay in power and if you want to win office. So don't believe that I mean what I say when I talk about wage and price controls. And, Mr.

Speaker, if that isn't posturing, if that isn't irresponsible posturing of the worst order, if that isn't sheer hypocrisy, then I don't know how better to describe it, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy of it all is that while all this is going on, and while this pos turing is going on, both within our own Province of Manitoba, he carries that on to the National Conferences of First Ministers. I think, Mr.

Speaker, it had to come to disappointment of most Manitobans, of whatever political persuasion, to have noted now on several occasions the kind of wishy washy, lack-luster performance on the part of our First Minister at these conferences. Where is there any identification with real western ne eds of western Canada? Where is there any attempt on the part of the First Minister to seek alliances under these circumstances where we can redress some of the wrongs of confederation for western Canada? Why does he, Mr. Speaker, for instance satisfy himself with taking cheap little shots at Mr.

Lougheed in Alberta, the Saudi Arabia of Alberta, when in fact, when in fact, Mr. Speaker, he should be concentrating himself, and he should be aligning himself, he should be aligning himself with Alberta and recognizing that for once we have the kind of economic muscle that only comes to us, it only comes to us from time to time, to redress some of our problems, some of our problems. And, Mr. Speaker, they're manifold, they're manifold. MR. GREEN: Mr. Speaker, will the honourable member permit a question? MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Minister of Mines. MR. GREEN: Mr.

Speaker, in view of his suggestion that the First Minister took cheap shots at the Premier of Alberta, which I can't recall where they are substantiated, but could he explain why the Leader of the Conservative Party in the Province of Manitoba said that the Premier of the province wasn't tough enough in insisting that oil prices not go up, which were being sold by Alberta? MR. ENNS: Mr. Speaker, the remarks obviously are .. . or the interjection was obviously made to attempt to bring about some kind of a divisiveness betwePn the position that I am now stating and that of my leader. I was going to suggest ... MR.

SPEAKER: Order please. MR. ENNS: I was going to suggest that that comes very naturally on this side of the House, and that hardly counts for call to interject or to reply. Mr. Speaker, the problems that the First Minister could be addressing himself to, and could be aligning himself with at this time, are those that have been bedeviling the west for so many years.

Why don't we, and why doesn't the Minister of Agriculture, choose this time to hold down for Manitoba that position that we seem to be all too quickly frittering away, and that is our natural position, our natural geographic-favoured position of being primary food producers and food processors in this country? Why do we put up ... and these are some of the things that of course Mr. Lougheed is aware of and is trying to redress - why does it cost more for a shipper in Alberta to buy Alberta barley than it does, than it does for a per son in Ontario to buy Alberta barley?

Why does it cost more for us to process our cattle here in the west than it does to ship our cattle to the east, send the grain after them, and then have the processing industry carried on in the west? Why don't we call for a complete recall of the Eastern Feed Freight Assistance Pro gram. A program that had some sense as an emergency measure during the wartime when the manpower situation was such that because of the lack of it in the west, it was important to build up the meat and the processing industry in the east. Mr.

Speaker, we have been warned that under the present freight weight structures that our entire meat industry will be transferred to the east; packing plants are closing up now in western Alberta. We cannot

2036 May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) ..... survive this kind of economic squeeze that is being exerted on us by the inequitable freight rates. Now, Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity of handling these matters with some clout, instead we decide to defuse our efforts in western Canada at the First Ministers' Conferences. There once was a certain amount of unity in approach with the super powers of the east, and with the Federal Government, when you had a semblance of a Prairie Economic Council operating. And we've replaced that now with the First Minister of B.

C. apparently satisfying himself with - if he's not driving his province to ruin - then to playing the clown role at the First Ministers' Conferences, leaving the Minister of Alberta, the First Minister of Alberta, very much alone in terms of pursuing his arguments on behalf of western Canada with the somewhat hesitant support of his colleague the First Minister of Saskatchewan, and with the --(Interjection) -- Well, out of necessity that support seems to be there. But, Mr.

Speaker, that extra voice, that extra voice that could add a considerable amount of weight to the posi tions made by western Canada is postured and frittered away because for reasons, I know not what: Is it that the First Minister, who has at some time, or will in the future still con tinue to have national ambitions? Is it that he's concerned for not taking a tougher line, or for not supporting Alberta in its position, because he doesn't want to alienate Ontario and eastern borders at some future date? Is it because, Mr.

Speaker, he is posturing for the national public at this particular time, that prevents him from taking the kind of leadership role that he could, and indeed it's his responsibility that he should at First Ministers' Con ferences? Mr. Speaker, there are so many particular matters that we should be taking advantage of at this particular time under the umbrella of the economic clout that has now been given to Western Canada - and it shouldn't bother you because it happens to be in the hands of one particular province and one particular First Minister at this particular time.

We have grievances that we should be redressing right now. Many of . . . lie in the agricultural field. The kind of abandonment of our traditional agricultural markets that's happening under this Minister of Agriculture, is unforgivable. But he's sold his soul to a concept, to a doc trine of supply and management that means doom for the kind of expansion that could and should take place in agriculture here in Manitoba. Now let me just read you a few comments from the current Poultryman's Magazine. Editorial of the proposed chicken agency.

"Self-sufficiency may be a dirty word today, just as marketing board was ten or twelve years ago. But it does make sense. The actual cost of raising broilers hardly varies from one province to another, and far better be it for the growers to service their own markets. " Well that is a bunch of garbage, nonsense, and outright lies. The cost of production varies tremendously. It doesn't vary a great deal when we send our grain to Ontario and Quebec, and subsidize it up to $1 5. 00 a ton out of our taxpayers' dollars. That's the only way they can grow chickens and the only way they can lay eggs in eastern Canada.

Further on in the same article, just to give you some idea of the kind of discussions that take place by the marketing board people, and I'm referring to a question period at which the director of the S . . . Marketing period was speaking to the people in British Columbia. He spoke of elasticity of demand as economists see it - and this is more of these economists• good, hard-nosed, well researched advice. "The more you lower the price, the more you lose; the higher you raise the price the more you gain. " Now that seems to make eminent sense to me. MR. SPEAKER: Five minutes. MR.

ENNS: But the point that I want to make is one producer observed we've got to cut back Manitoba or it's good-bye to egg farming in British Columbia. Well my point, Mr. Speaker, is, there is very little economic reason for any eggs to be arranged in British Columbia. The only reason . . . or laid, laid in British Columbia.

The only reason why they're being raised in British Columbia, the only reason why we carry on this woolly con cept of a national marketing board where every province becomes self-sufficient, is because of the inequities built into our freight rates and the outright subsidization that's been taking place since the war years. Now nobody's going to give that up easily . The Ontario farm body's lobby is a strong one, so is the Quebec one, but they'd better start making choices. And some of the choices involve the kind of hard-nosed economics that Mr. Lougheed is ask ing them to make with respect to his oil. Mr.

Chairman, the tragedy of the matter is that

May 2, 1975 2037 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. ENNS cont'd) ....• while the government is so preoccupied with the posturing for their own political reasons, for trying to touch base and be everything to all people at all times, so many important economic decisions are not even being looked at by this government. I've said it before, Mr. Speaker, and I'll say it again that one of my concerns about my socialist friends opposite is that they dedicate all their time to equal distribution of the pie, and so little, if any time, to the enlargement of that pie. We are, Mr.

Speaker, faced with some very serious problems that only, only hard nosed bargaining, only bargaining with clout, with muscle, can solve. Mr. Speaker, I make not ... you know these aren't easy ones to solve. You know, a Conservative ad.ministration in Manitoba and a Conservative administration in Ottawa couldn't solve the problems, couldn't redress, couldn't pull back that long out-dated Eastern Feed Freight Program subsidy pro gram that I referred, for the simple reason that when Mr. Diefenbaker had his 200 members in Ottawa, you know 180 of them came from eastern Canada. But, Mr.

Speaker, we have an occasion, and we have the time, to attach ourselves to the Honourable Mr. Lougheed, First Minister of Alberta, and not just worry about his province but attach our list of grievances in the confederate structure of this country along with his, and get some of them straightened out. This government has shown no indication, no willingness to consider them, and I suggest, Mr.

Speaker, that they're being done primarily because of the preoccupation that they have with posturing for the benefit of the voters, both in this province, and in the case of the First Minister for the benefit of the voters that he may wish to some time in the future appeal to in the country at large. Mr. Speaker, we are the losers as a result of that. We are not getting the attention to the serious problems that our province faces, maybe not as dramatic, maybe lacking the high profile that that the oil question has for Alberta, but nonetheless just as important.

You know, you don't fall in love, or you don't get overly excited about mundane things like freight rates, and where eggs should be produced, and where chickens should be grown, where beef should be slaughtered, but let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, we're talking about jobs, thousands of jobs. We're talking about the continuance of places like Swifts, Canada Packers, the whole packing industry, not only in Manitoba but in western Canada. Good economists have esti mated that within five years the bulk of the packing industry in Canada, Western Canada, will close down 1L11less these grievances are altered or changed.

If my Minister of Industry and Commerce would worry less about decorating hotels in Cuba, if my Minister of Agriculture would worry less about his grand design of supply and management, and worry about doing the things that Manitoba and western farmers can do best - that is grow food - then, Mr. Speaker, there would be some hope that some of these problems could at least be attended to, some progress on their solutions could at least be arrived at. I see very little of it, Mr. Speaker, I see very little in this whole budget that addresses itself to any of these problems.

For that reason, it's not difficult at all for me to support the motions of non-confidence that have been moved against this budget. . . . . . continued on next page

2038 May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBATE MR, SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Thompson. MR, KEN DILLEN (Thompson): Mr. Speaker, I could hardly resist the temptation to add my posturing to that of the Member for Lakeside. I want to deal specifically this afternoon, sir, with some of the comments that were made by the self-imposed Messiah to the labour movement, the Member for Fort Garry. You know, it's an incredible situation when we have, for years in this province, laboured under some of the most regressive legislation that ever existed in any province in the world.

And, you know, in my involvement in the labour movement in the North over the past few years, that in accept ing a position within the labour leadership of that community back about 1968 or 169, I went through all of the resolutions that were presented to the Manitoba Fede ration of Labour conventions from Thompson, Local 61 66, and all of the locals that were operating at that time throughout the North.

It goes back five or six years, and the resolutions that were constantly coming up and the annual presentation of the Manitoba Federation of Labour to the Conservative Government of this province, I reviewed all of those resolutions as well, and their presentation. But, you know, the interesting part of this whole exercise was that after 1969, after this government came into office, I was throwing out resolution after resolution that, very shortly after the government coming into office, had become government policy. And the list goes on and on.

It was a resolution from the Manitoba Federation of Labour requesting the imple mentation of a Landlord and Tenants Act for the Pr ovince of Manitoba to update the existing one, one that was antiquated beyond belief, had absolutely no benefit at all to the tenant. There was, in the same vein, with regard to tenants of the City of Th ompson, for example, where a person moving into the community had to pay three months' rent as a security deposit in addition to one month's rent in advance, for a total of three or four months rent before he could move into a building.

You know, that sort of thing now has been eliminated because of constant requests, and it was not something that was new. These same requests have been repeatedly put forward to the previous Conservative administration and they got absolutely nothing, no response what soever. And is it any reason that the labour movement in this province has completely reject ed the Conservative Party? Completely. You know, it's not surprising.

And now to stand before this Assembly and say that the Member for Fort Garry is going to lead the labour move ment out of the wilderness, so to speak, I can't for the life of me consider why anybody within the labour movement would get sucked in to that kind of request. --(Interjection)-- Well I'm going to repeat some of the things that you said. According to the press reports, Mr. Sherman said that "there is more labour unrest in Manitoba than ever before, and the government's failure to deal with it is the great tragedy of this administration." MR . SHERMAN: That's a fact. That's a fact. MR.

DILLEN: Well how would you respond, then, if it could be said that labour unrest prevails throughout Canada and the United States today? MR . SHERMAN: That's also a fact. MR. DILLEN: So Manitoba is not in isolation to those problems. Well, okay, we'll accept for the moment that there is general labour unrest. And why shouldn't there be labour unrest at a time when corporate profits are the highest in the history of Canada?

And to suggest that the working people of this country should not at least have a larger portion of that part, it's hypocrisy. --( Interjection)-- Well, you know, the Member for Fort Garry continues to attempt to distract me from his seat. But I'm telling you that the situation in Manitoba is no worse today than it was at any other time in the history of Manitoba. There has always been, at one time or another, one segment of the labour community that have been attempting to get a greater share of the economic pie. MR . SHERMAN: That's right. MR . DILLEN: It always has been that way. And it will never change.

I think that there was a time when labour leaders, our senior labour leaders from some of the major organiza tions in the United States were brought together at the Pr esident of the United States' request, and the Pr esident asked one labour leader, "W hat does labour warit?" He responded by saying, "More and more and more," And it's never been any different. But it is the ability of some segments of the industrial community to resist the legitimate demands of labour that gives rise to the type of unrest that exists.

May 2, 1975 2039 BUDGET DEBAT E (MR. DILLEN cont'

d) But, you know, I'm really amazed that press reports will come out, a front page, "Labour Unrest in the Prov ince at its Greatest Pe ak" and headlines to that effect. But on the other hand, you would think that it -- I'm sorry. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Arthur. MR. J. DOUGLAS WATT (Arthur) : Th e member said a few moments ago that labour unrest is no worse now than it ever was before? Does he not ag ree that just in the past week we have had five strikes ? In the last few weeks we've had ten strikes ?

We've got impending strikes now of the plumbers, the Dominion Stores, the Safeway Stores, and the carpenters ? Everybody's on strike now, For why ? MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Thom pson. MR. DILLEN: Th at comes about, sir, as a result of the labour agreements ending on roughly the same date, and I'll deal with that. But I want to get back to, you know, the press' position. I think that they are trying to create a sense of despair in the pro vince, with the support of the business community, so there is justi fication for putting the squeez e on the labour community.

You would think that if there was so much labour unrest in the province that it ju stifies headlines, that if a collective agreement is signed through the normal course of collective bargaining, that the press would also say, "(

A) Company Agrees With (

B) Union and Settles Their Collective Agreement," and go on and say that this is what is happening in the province, And it's still the case, that approximately 95 pe rcent of the collective agree ments that are in force we don't hear anything about, because they are settled throug h the normal course of collective bargaining. And it is only the odd one where there is so wide a gap between what has been demanded and what has been offered as a counter proposal. And when you have that wide a disparity, you're bou nd to have conflict unti l ther e is a movement towards settlement.

But where a gap continues to exist, you know, the services of the Depart ment of Labour are provided to bring about some form of conciliation between the two parties; and where there is a settlement under those terms, where the conciliation officer has been involved in the settlement of a dispute, the press in the province doesn't say, "Conciliation Of ficer Brings About a Settlement. " Nothing, absolutely nothing is printed except on Page 75 or 80 of the local paper. MR. SHERMAN: . • • MR.

DILLEN: Because they were made .• , Th ey made great headlines at the time when --(Interj ection)-- But what about the hundreds of coll ective agreements in small shops with 30 or 40 employees, or maybe less, that are also settled in the same manner and are not given the slightest amount of pu blicity ? You know, the labour relations in this province, I believe to be, although a little intensive at times, but not to the point where it's going to cause any undue hardship to anybody. And reference is made to, you know, the West Coa st strikes.

Well, what I can't seem to fathom is that there are two peopl e who sit in this House very close to one another. One accuses labour, for example, labour pa rticularly in Can ada, Ca nadian ports have started to gouge, gouge, gouge - and that was the words of the Member for Gladstone. MR. JAMES R, FERGU SON (Gladstone): Wasn't that right ? MR.

DILLEN: But on the other hand, when there was a Pr ivate Members' Resolution prese nted in the House by the Liberal Party that would provide a 15 perc ent increase in the minimum wage, that was rejected as being inflationary. --(Interj ection)-- You know, it appears that we can't possibly get the stories straight from that side of the House because when some body describes "posturing" to me and the Member for Fort Garry can get up in front of the univ ersity students and say: "I agree that you should get more money; because you are being paid almost the minimum wage or near the minimum wage, that you should get more.

Th e governm ent should give it to you." MR. SHERMAN: I never said that about the university. MR . DILLEN: Oh , I'm sorry. I'll withdraw that and say that you did say it to the support staff workers at the univ ersity. Well, those were union members. Th ey're union members. But when it comes time to provi ding or supporting a resolution that would give an additional 15 cents in the minimum wage to the northern sector of the province, he says no. And what I'm saying is that in one hand he would say no to my constituency, and because the University support staff is in his constituency,

2040 May 2, 1975 BUDGET DEBAT E (MR. DILL EN cont'd) ..... they're entitled to it. --(Interjection) -- Well, the Member for Fort Garry says that I spoke against the Resolution. If you will read my amendment, what I am saying in that Resolution is that if there is just ification for increasing the minimum wage in any part of this provinc e because the economic conditions there should warrant an increase in the minimum wage, that that is the minimum wage that should determine the minimum wage for the entire province. MR. SHERMAN: Right on. MR . DILLEN: I want to say there was some reference here, Mr.

Sherman asks what has happened to propos als for new initiatives such as first agreement arbitration. And, you know , as a labour person, there is nothing that I would fear more than having the government, regardless of who is in power, impose upon me a first agreement. I think that that is one of the most backward steps that labour themselves could ever accept, to have a government with the power to impose upon the labour movement, without the process of free collective bargain ing , a first collective agreement.

I know that the Member for Morris has made reference on several occasions to the economic conditions of Germany, for example, prior to the Second World War, and he seem s to support some of the contentions that things were great ther e, and I want to just draw a couple of references from the History of Western Civiliza tion as to what happened in Ge rmany during that period, and particularly as it applies to labour.

And although nobody on that side of this House has said it, it would appear that if you attempt to read between the lines as to what they are proposing for labour now, it's similar to this set of rules here. "The Nationalist Party" - which is the Nazi Party - "were absorbed by the Nazis, while all other parties were abolished. Labour unions were dissolved. 11 What a way to eliminate a problem. "But they were replaced by a German labour front completely dominated by Nazi officials. The Marxian books were burned and strikes were forbidden.

The new regime, like the Russian or Italian, was thoroughly totalitarian in that it denied individual rights and regu lated all domestic activiti es, social, politic al, economic and cultural. The dictatorship ended unemployment by a program of public works, and especially of the armament which had begun secretly in 19 33, and openly not long afterwards." I make reference to that in case the re's any objections to it.

You know, it almost appears that the problems of the leadership of the Co nservative Party at the pres ent time seems to be somew hat anti-Se metic , and there's constant reference made to the situation in Germany, which indeed was a program of anti-Semitism as well. And, you know, it's hard to figure out where the orchestration is coming from in the Conser vative Party, but I think from my ob servation it would appear that the Member of Morris remains relatively silent but is the person who is orch estrating almost a return to a type of arian policies that existed in Ger many.

I want to deal with, you know , the . . . Manitoba sent back, if my memory is correct, nine Con servative members of Parliament during the last election. Nine Co nservatives who 4 went on the campaign trail based on income and price control. They went throughout this country preachin g wage restraints , wage controls.

Hardly had they got settled in their seats in Otta wa when they, along with the Liberals, supported an increase of 50 pe rcent in their salaries. --(Interjecti on)-- There are some people in the NDP that supported it, but the majority of --(Interjection )-- No, but check the votes, check the votes of the members for this provin ce, and almost to a man supp orted the increase in the salaries for Members of Pa rliament from that Co nservative Party. The one person who did not vote in favour of it wasn't in the Hous e.

He didn't want the record to show that he voted in favour of the increase, so that he could go back up to the Ch urchill constituency and tell the pe ople that he was not in favour of that most recent increase. Yo u know that I've heard it said that - oh , Labour was irresponsible, its demands are excessive, and that this Party has failed the Labour movement - and I've given a couple of examples of how changes have come about sinc e 1969 that have been in the books and in printed resolution form for ten years of the previous administration.

The Labour movement as far as I am concerned have more faith in this government than they have in even the slightest possi bility of a return to the type of administration that existed before, because whatever they have gained now I am convinced that they would lose under any oth er administration. Th ere are many areas that - and I suppose I should mention that Labour was under no illusions; I was under no illusion that this government would create Utopia. It was simply an

May 2, 1975 2041 BUDGET DEBATE (MR. DILL EN cont'd) ..•.• indication that labour reforms were necessa ry in this province, that the labour reforms were more likely to be implemented under thi s government than any other . I want to deal with the accusations of irresponsibility in the Labour movement. The reco mmendations that I'm going to deal with are from the Canadian Labour Congress to the Fe deral Gove rnment.

They have made recommendations over the past years, starting at about March 23 rd when they make their annual presentation to government, calling for such thing s as proposals to stimulate the housing industry and curb escalating housing prices. And that is not an irresponsible request that is a legitimate request that labour sees as a crying need, a cry ing social need in this country, and they have made propo sals to that effect. On e of the fir st items called for was a change in the calculation of the Consumer Price Index to reflect the cost of hous ing more accu rately. Th at' s not irresponsible.

Noting that shelter costs become even more prohibitive when based on mortgage rates of 10. 5 perce nt, and upwa rds, the Co ngress urged that programs to subsidize mortgage rates at an effective rate of 6 perc ent be expanded to include families earning up to 18, OOO; the increasi ng of mort gage funds and greater assistance to co-operative housing projects. I just want to close, Mr.

Speaker, by making some comment on the inflationary spiral that we're experiencing, and to close by saying that I would want to be the first in this House to give congratul ations to the Provisional Gove rnment of South Vietnam, and to give thanks that at least one aspect of the tremendous inflationary spiral that we've been experiencing in the last couple of years has now been eliminated. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Fort Garry. MR. SHERMAN: Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the honourable member would pe rmit a question. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Th e honourable member referred to a first agreement arbitration, and I think he suggested that I had indicated that I was abdicating it, which is not corr ect. I have never abdicated it , I asked whether this gover nment was abdicating it, and I would like to ask the Member for Th ompson who has jus t spoken, whether it is not a fact that at the Annual Convention of Manitoba Fe deration of Labour in Thompson last fall that union delegates res olved and urged and voted for the first ag ree ment arbitration concept. MR. DILLEN: Yes, that is true, sir.

Th ere was, I felt, insufficient discuss ion on the ramifications of implementing that type of legislation and putting that into the hands of govern ment in imposing that kind of legislation on organized labour. And subsequen t to that , there has been a change in the attitude of organized labour towa rds a first agreement arbitration. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Morris. MR. JORGENSON : ..• again would like to beg leave to move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Gladstone , that debate be adjourned. MOTION pres ented and carried. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Minister of Agriculture. HON.

SAMUEL USKIW (Minister of Agriculture) (Lac du Bonnet) : Mr. Speaker , I beg to move , seconded by the Honourable Minister of Urban Affairs, that Mr. Speaker do now leave the Ch air and the House resolve itself into a committee to consider the supply to be granted to Her :Majesty. MOTION presented and carried, and the House resolved itself into a Co mmittee of Supply, with the Honourable Member for Logan in the Chair. CO MMITTEE OF SUPPLY - DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY AND COMME RCE MR . CHAIRMAN: I refer honourable members to Page 30, Re solution 66(b)(l ) . Th e Honourable Member for Souris-Killarney. MR.

EARL McKELLAR (Souris-Killarney): Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ju st say a word on this, on the Minister's Salary and Executive. And ther e's one thing, I was jus t wondering if the, because of the large mill rate that's being expressed, and I had a piece of paper here - well, I know what it is anyway. And I picked up in the paper yesterday in the To wn of Carman, where the mill rate is going to around 138 mills in Ca rman on the businessmen this year , all the busines ses. And I was wondering if the department have made any study on what effect this will have on the particular busin esse s.

As mentioned by other member s here, these are all small busines ses operated by, most of them by families. And this is getting pretty serious, Mr. Chairman, it's getting pretty serious in our province today. Th e mill rate in Carman went up 22 mills, and I'm just usi ng this as one example of one town in the Province of

2042 May 2, 1975 SUPPLY - INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (MR. McKELLAR cont'd) ..... Manitoba, and I guess I could use Killarney or Souris, they're all in the same category. I was won dering because of the interest that the Minister of Industry and Commerce expressed towards small businesses and his concern for their welfare, I was wondering if he had made any study on this particular aspect of their operations.

One other thing that concerns me as one of the industries in my constituency, and I've al ways watched the Minister when he got up to vote on when the government brought in auto mobile insurance, his concern for a monopoly in the Province of Manitoba in the insurance industry, and I was wondering what his thoughts are now because of the fact that his govern ment is bringing in general insurance, it's coming on the lst of July in the Province of Manitoba, what effect this is going to have on Wawanesa Mutual, the Village of Wawanesa, on the Portage Mutual in the City of Portage la Prairie, and also the Red River Mutual in the Town of Altona.

These are three important businesses in the Province of Manitoba, and I want to know from the Minister, is he concerned about the welfare of these particular businesses, the people who are employed in these particular businesses, or is he all in favour of the government going into general insurance business in competition? Can he assure us that by the government go- ing into the general insuranc e business, will this have the effect that it might drive these companies out of the Province of Manitoba, and other companies who have already left because of the government entering into the insurance business?

Is he concerned to the point where he could tell the Minister of Autopac that the government should stay out of the general insurance busines s? What are his thoughts on this particular problem? MR. CHAIRMAN: Th e Honourable Minister of Industry and Commerce. MR. EVANS: Yes. On a point of order, I' m wondering exactly what our procedures are. I thought the agreement was that we don't discuss the Minister's salary until the end of the Estimates of the department.

It seems that the honourable member is asking some sort of general philoso phic questions, and I don't know if he's concerned about the productivity of businesses - there is an item on management and productivity and manpower, and many things that affect productivity. This is the area that we deal a lot with small businesses, and so on. So on that, I'm just asking for clarification. I have philosophical views as the member . but I've been asked that I should spare you with those ... MR. CHAIRMAN: Re solution 66 ... MR. McKELLAR: What item can I bring this up on ?

I'm not really worried what item, but I just want to hear from the Minister. I'll bring this up again if you would tell me what particular resolution to bring it up under. MR. EVANS: Mr. Chairman .. . MR. CHAIRMAN: I imagine it would come under Re solution 68(a)(l). Am I correct ? MR. EVANS: Well yes, it could be there, but some of the questions asked were of a very general nature - what I thought of monopolies, and what effect government entering into fire insurance and general insurance may have on the existing insurance businesses in Manitoba.

Those are matters of opinion and I think that really they're more properly debated under the Minister' s Salary. If he has some specific questions about existing programs where we're spending our money in one way or another, then I think it's appropriate to ask that type of question under a specific resolution. But those questions, Mr. Chairman, I submit are of a general nature and could be answered under the Minister's Salary. MR . McKELLAR: Well, I'm not really worried, as long as I can bring it up under some particular resolution.

I just want to have a debate with the Minister on his philosophy, and what he thinks about the Minister of Autopac and your government and the rest of the - your decision to go into the general insurance business in competition with the other private in surance. It has some effect, a great effect on Wawane sa and Portage la Prairie and Altona. I always though t that the governmen t of the day were anxious to look after the small com munities in the Province of Manitoba, and I know what' s going to happen.

It'll reduce the business, bound to reduce it, have some effect, and the fact that the government is going to put all their employees into Brandon and Winnipeg, which is really hurting rural Manitoba, and I'm interested in rural Manitoba, and that' s the argument that I'm putting up here. Is the Minister in favour of driving Wawanesa Mutual, Portage Mutual and the Red River Mutual and Altona out of business ? Well, that's what I want to know.

He can answer me now, and so .• MR, CHAIRMAN: The item would perhaps be better discussed under the Minister's Salary which is the last item that we will discuss when we complete the department. We' re

May 2, 1975 2043 SUPPLY - INDUSTRY AND COMME RCE (MR. CHAIRMAN cont'd) •. on Resolution 66(b)(l ), Salaries, $1 00, 800, The Honourable Member for Riel. MR. CRAIK: Well, Mr. Chairman, at the out set hGJre it is a little awkward to discover in reading the Estimates here ju st where these items should be raised , but I have a couple I want to raise, . and one of them I'll leave until later. We were last nigh t distributed with the small brochur es put out by the Department of Industry and Co mmerce, and they deal with assistance to small business to a very large extent.

But one of the thing s that you can't help but remark on, on these brochures alone, is that while the Minister's professed interest is in assisting small busine ss in every way po ssible, which I would think would include the promotional efforts of that small business.

If you look at these brochur es, the one here made in Manitoba has a union logo on the back of it, "GAW", and no company logo, and the other one made in Manitoba has a "Printed in Manitoba Canada only" - the re's neither a company logo or a union logo on it, or a name, a company name or a union logo, Th en I take the third one, whic h is the brochure of the Northern Tr ansportation Company and it's printed in Alberta, and in that case you've got both the union logo and the company logo on it.

Now I understand that the govern ment prohibits a company from putti ng its name on a brochur e, and I don't know if this has come to the attention of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, but I wonder why the gov ernment, which wasn't always the case - doesn't allow the same sort, not necessa rily patterned after the Province of Alberta, but you can read something into that. The Province of Alberta here, you've got both the name of the printer - Edmonton Pr inter s - and then the union logo immediately next to it , in other words, the partnership of the business and the union, in advertising their product.

Why, in Manitoba, do you prohibit on those items which the govern ment purchases, proh ibit a printer from putting his name on it ? You obviously don't prohibit the union logo going on because it's on one of the brochures. I don't know why it's not on the other one. Pe rhaps it wasn't pr inted in a union shop. But my understanding is that most of your printing is pretty well directed towards the union shop. Th ere's been concerns raised by small non-union shops that they can't get government busi ness either , because they're too small and don't consider themselves in the category of having a union.

Bu t the main point is, if you are in fact anxious and interested in the well-being of Manitoba companies promoting themse lves, why you wouldn't see to it that those companies could stick their name on the back of their brochure the same way as the union is allowed to put its name on. You mentioned last night that one of the banks in the city here has asked you for a hundred copies of your brochure. It may well be that that brochure gets distributed outside of Manitoba. Well, why wouldn't you allow that printer the opportunity then to advertise himself.

In other words, why are you spending all these government dollars to suppose dly create a climate for small busin ess, and then turn around , and as a matter of governm ent policy, prohibit a print ing company from putting its name on the brochure. It's contradictory, and I don't know whether the Minister is even aware of the fact that the governm ent disallows this practice, which is a new practice in the last few years.

But if he is not aware of it, would he not see fit to take steps to allow Manitoba companies, that are putting these out, and presu mably are proud enough of their pro duct to stick their name on it, to allow them to pro mote themselves. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Minister of Industry and Com merce. MR. EVANS: Well, Mr. Chair man, first of all these were di stributed as part of my general introdu ction last night, and specifically small business comes under another item, under the programs of productivity group. But I could just very briefly answer the question about a union label, and so on, and a union shop.

Th e procedure is that any jobs, any printing orders over $5 00, 00, in excess of $5 00, 00 , is handled by the Queen' s Printer which follows a time-honoured and well respected principle of putting jobs out for tender, and the job goes to the lowest bidder . In this case, this particu lar pamphlet that does not have a union label on it, the lowest bidder was not a union shop, but I'm informed it pays union wages. But this is the procedure that we follow in accordance with the regulations of our Pu rcha sing Bur eau.

With respect to the name of the company, I don't believe that this is a new practice that this gov ernment implemented, that is, leaving the name of the printing company, the printing firm off the brochure. As you pointed out , it was on the Northern Tr ansportation Comp any

2044 May 2, 1975 SUPPLY - INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (MR. EVANS cont'd) ...•• brochure. It' s something I had not paid much attention to, and perhaps it's something the member might like to raise. I might discuss it with my colleague, the Minister of Public Works, who is responsible for the Queen' s Pr inter, and perhaps the Honourable Member might wish to raise it during the Estimates of Public Works as well. MR. CRAIK: Mr.

Chairman, it's my understanding it is a fairly recent decision, to disallow in Manitoba the printers to put for the Manitoba Government, their name on it, and that point I think is very important to straighten out. But I think that apart from the - the point I' m trying to make is, that the Minister' s respon sibility is to assist companies, and particularly with these brochures, small Manitoba companies, and most of our printing companies are all small companies or would fall in that category.

I think it's incumb ent on him that being the case, and if they have a legitimate grievanc e, which they have raised from time to time about the government not allowing them to say who made the brochure - you know, it's like telling General Motors and Ford and Chrysler that they can no longer tell the public who's making the car. And I don't really see the difference in printing than in any other product. If a person is going to put out a quality product and is proud enough to put his name on it, then that's fine.

If he's going to put out a lousy product he should perhaps still be required to put his name on it, so that the quality of the product and where it originated is always known. I certainly think that you'd find that if you asked the printers of Manitoba, they would say that they would gladly put their name on everything, except they're not allowed by this government to advertise their company. The only thing that's allowed to go on it is the union logo, and I think they should both be on, the company and the union. MR . EVANS: Well, Mr.

Chairman, I am advised that the Department of Industry and Commerce, for many a year , many years before I came on the scene, did not as a matter of policy or procedure put the name of the printing company on the document. And I have one example here, a booklet that was published, I believe, while the Honourable, the now Leader of the Opposition, was Minister of Industry. It's called "This is Manitoba.

" The fact, this was a very big printing job - I don't know how many thousands were printed, there were many many tens of thousands printed - it was a very big printing job and it went all over the world, and I can indicate, and you can look at it if you wish, there is no union label , there is no name of a printing company on the document. And it has not been customary in this department, at least - I can't speak for all the other departments - to have the name of the printer on the document. And if the Honourable Member wishes I can send this over for him to inspect, but I think he'll take my word for it. MR .

CRAIK: Mr. Chairman, it's always been general practice, though, to prohibit it and I understand that it's a government policy on all printed materials now, whether it's dis tributed in Manitoba or outside the province or anywhere else. I understand that it's a pro hibition that's universal now except on a one by one basis.

Now, I simply raised the point because I think that the Minister if he' s going to demon strate this particular interest in assi sting small business, might indicate to the House whether he would not think that it would be of assistance to those small busines ses to be able to ad vertise by saying, "We made this brochure. " MR . EVANS: Yes, Mr. Speaker, it may be of some help to those co mpanies. I'll dis cuss the matter with my colleague, who is the Minister responsible. I'd also urge the Member to bring it up during the Estimates of the Department of Public Works. MR .

CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Member for Rock Lake. MR. HENRY J. EINARSON (Rock Lake): Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister a question in regards to his office in Brandon, and he can corr ect me if I'm wrong, but it seemed to me I heard him state that he has an executive assistant and a secretary working out of that office, and some of the duties of the executive assi stant, and one of them in particular, was doing survey work. Could the Minister elaborate on that. I think I heard it correctly as to survey work, and I wondered what this entailed. MR.

CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Industry and Commerce. MR . EVANS: Mr. Speaker, I don't know ... I don't think I indicated that he did survey work. I don't know what the Honourable Member is thinking of. I'm trying to think of another word that sounds like "s urveying" , but I have an executive assistant in the Br andon Office -- (Interjection)-- Oh, yes. I said , yes, that he served that general area of the Westman Region of southwestern Manitoba.

We have people coming to see us with regard to many depart ments of government from many many towns and rural municipalities in that general area of the province. And I have found that it's been very very useful to the residents of south-western Manitoba,

May 2, 1975 2045 SUPPLY - INDUSTRY AND COMM ERC E (MR. EVAN S cont'd) . . . • .and I think that it helps to bring govern ment a little closer to the people . And I think it's well appreciated in that area. I migh t say that we have one member of the Department of Industry and Com merce's Regional Dev elopment Branch there as well, and the secretary serves both individuals. MR. EINARSON: Ye s. Well, I thank the Minister for his explanation now. I guess there was a difference, and I thoug h t I heard him say survey, and I guess it was serving. Now we have that cleared up. I'm wondering then, Mr.

Chair man, to expand this a little further, in dealing with the forage program that the Minister of Agricultur e had announced over a year ago, whereby the ag reps in the areas would be working through McKenzie Seeds to provide farmers with forage seeds such as alfalfa and broom grass. The Minister of Industry and Com merce's executive assi stant, has he been working in contact with the ag reps in that particular part, and in con junction with, when he talks about the industries which, and I now relate to McKenzie Seeds. MR . EVANS: I don't believe my executi ve assistant was involved in that area. MR .

EINARSON: Well then, Mr. Chairman, that will be a subj ect that we can deal with later on in the Estimates under Tra de, Mr. Ch airman, would that be in order ? MR . CHAIRMAN: Either there or under the Minister's salary. MR . EVANS: Mr. Chairman, as a matter of clarification, does the member wish to dis cuss and debate McKenzie Seeds ? Is this the point, or is it the Forage Program as it relates to this Dep artment of Industry and Com merce? MR.

EINARSON: It's the Forage Program as the Minister of Agriculture announced through McKenzie Seeds, so that I would think that it relates to the Minister of Industry and Co mmerce. Then I ask him, would it be under Tr ade and Industry that we'd debate that subj ect ? MR . EVANS: Well, the department as such was not involved in this particular program. It would be something that would be debated under agriculture.

But if the member wishes to discuss McKenzie Seeds in general, I suppo se it would be under the Mini ster's salary, but the company of cour se is not the department, and of course we do provide, as of last year that we began the pra ctic e of bringing the Ch airman of the Board of McKenzie Seeds, plus his staff, to appear before the Economic Development Co mmittee of the Legislatur e, and at that time you can ask all kinds of detailed questions of the chairman, who will be assisted by the management of the company.

And I think they can do a better job of answering than myself, plus the staff of the Department of Industry and Commerce. MR . EINARSON: Well, then, Mr. Chairm an, I'm still in doubt as to where we're going on this then.

If we have the Economic Deve lopment Committee before us and the chairman will be there, can we then pursue and ask the chairman of the committee questions relating to the annou ncement of the program that the Minister of Agriculture announced over a year ago, whereby farmers could go to their ag reps, make applications to purchase alfalfa seed, which in turn would be purchased from McKenzie Seed Co mpany, and I'm wondering now, have we got a conflict of inter est here or have we lost the opportunity , Mr. Chairman, of debating and asking questions on this particular po int.

Should we have done it when we were dealing with the Minister of Agric ulture, or have we the opportunity to deal with the Minister of Industry and Co mmerce in this matter ? I think , Mr. Chairman, this is a very important matter. MR. EVANS: Yes, Mr. Ch airman, that should have been debated under the Department of Agriculture Estimates, because it involved the staff of the Department of Agriculture. It does not involve the staff of the Department of Industry and Commerce.

However , if the honour able member is concerned about how the program is looked at from the point of view of the company, he would have an opport unity to ask detailed questions of the company officials when they appear before the Econ omic Development Co mmittee in the Legislature. But the program as such, or the activiti es of ag reps as such, of course, fall under the Estimates of the Department of Agricu lture. MR. EINARSON: Well then, ifl maypo se one question as an example, to explain my point, Mr.

Ch airman, so that the Minister - I don't know whether this would assist him in determining whether or not the Ch airman of the Economic Development could really answer - can we then ask when we go be fore that committee, of the chairman, how much did the McKenzie Seedpay forthe alfalfa seed when they purchased it from the farmers, and what did they retail it out to through the ag reps to the farmers ? MR. EVANS: Yes, Mr. Ch airman. Iw ould hopet hatt he Ch airmanof McKenzie Seeds' Board of Director s, assisted by his staff, could answer such detailed questions.

I'm glad the honourable member has raised it now, so that it will be on the record and perhaps they can have some of the data available when this matter comes up before the committee.

2046 May 2, 1975 SUPPLY - INDU STRY AN D COMME RCE MR. CHAIRMAN: (Resolution 66(b) (1 ) to (c) (2) was read and passed) (d) (1) -- passed ; (2) -- pass. The Honourable Member for Sturgeon Cr eek. MR. J. FRANK JOHNSTON (Sturgeon Creek): Mr. Ch airman, I hope that I'm under the right area here regarding promotion services . Is this the service the department has for promoting business in Manitoba ? Is this what promotion services is, Mr. Ch airman ? MR . CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Indus try and Commerce. MR. EVANS: This is Item l(d), as in David - Promotion Services.

Yes, this is an area that we concentrate our promotion on. I must say that in other areas, of course , some promotion is involved. For example, under the Trade and Industry group a person that is, let us say, trying to attract a new manufacturer to the provinc e, whatever it may be, and there may be a bit of promotion involved in that, but, general speaking, the promotional services of the department are under this item. I would give you one example - these are the general iz ed promotional services - one example is, Operation Access, which took place here in the Convention Centre about two months ago.

This was a co-operative venture between the Federal Department of Supply and Services and my department . The object was to make Manitoba businessmen aware of the opportunities of selling to the Federal Government as well as to our own Department of Public Works, that is the Purchasing Bureau.

Now this was a very large effort, we had I think close to 1, OOO businessmen registered, it took many many months of work and preparation, and this was the very first time that such a show was conducted, and such a program conducted in Canada, between the Federal Governmen t's Supply and Ser vices Departm ent and a provincial government. And there were various seminars, lectures, delivered, etc. , on how to do business with the Federal Government and the Provincial Govern ment, as well as a display of various products that various governments purchased.

Well, that• s ju st an example of the type of promotional services that would be of a general nature that would be handled by this particular group. MR . F. JOHNSTON: Well, Mr. Ch airman, I think that I'm very close to the subject that I want to bring up then. Mr. Ch airman, there are many small businesses in Manitoba, and manufacturers, distributors - well, even agents, Mr.

Ch airman - and in Manitoba at the present time we find a situation that when we call on accounts with large corporations in Manitoba that we get told to call on Toronto; and in many cases we find that the corporation would buy in Toronto and warehouse in Toronto, which is only giving Toronto people jo bs, and also the profit or the ware housing profit to that company is going in Ontario. Now I'm finding very much in my travels among busi nessmen that this is becom ing something that is - that Manitoba seems to be losing in this area. In fact right now, Mr.

Minister, we are getting people saying, go to Alberta, becau se we're finding the buying offices being done in Alberta. It is a discouragement to a person starting up small distribution - and Winnipeg has been known as a distribu tion centre - to start up or be in business here and have to go to the travelling expenses of travelling all the way down there . Is there anything being done in your department to encourage these large companies to give more authority to this area, or the people in this area ?

All that happens is if you've got to travel to others areas to do busin ess, you will automatically want to start up in that area, and we will be losing small business people if this trend keeps up. And I would ask the Minister - if he hasn't already done it - has his department made a survey of this, because it's becoming a very serious thing to try to operate in Manitoba and be continually told to go to Toronto or go elsewhere to db your selling. It's costly and it disco urages you from working here. MR . EVANS: Yes. Well, I'm as concerned as the honourable member is with this particular matter.

On a procedural point this tiem isn't covered under Promotion Services, it's covered under Transportation and Distribution. But I might just answer quickly that we have been doing surveys . We are going to be doing another survey, I believe this summer, on physical distribution, which involves wholesaling, and we have been working with one or two very specific companies on this whole matter of wholesaling. It's a serious problem. We're doing whatever we can and I think we've made some gains, but is is a very difficult problem. MR. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Member for Lakeside. MR . ENNS: Thank you, Mr. Ch airman.

Mr. Chairman, I wonder if I couldn't enli st the support of this Honourable Minister, who has indicated through his printed material that comes from his department, through his advertisements, through the media, TV, radio, or otherwise,

May 2, 1975 2047 SUPPLY - INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE (MRo ENNS cont'd) . o o .. his continuing support for particularly these small and medium sized businesses in Manitoba, and I would assume that that would certainly extend to those businesses located in rural Manitoba, and I' m making specifi:n references to the processin g, the dairy cheese industries that are locat ed in numerous smaller ce ntres throughout Manitoba.

What specific consu ltations has he had with his colleague the Minis ter of Ag riculture, who has to date refused to at least to be - well, let me be fair to the Honourable Minister of Ag riculture - he has at least been less than candid in telling this House his specifi c, you know, plans that cou ld have, I'm sure the Minis ter must realize, could have pretty serious impact on some of these smaller plants, some of them operating on pretty small margins that separate the difference between a profitable opera tion and an on going operation. MR o CHAIRMAN: The Hono urable Minis ter of Industry and Comme rce. MR.

EVANS: The Member for Lakesi de alluded to the fact, in his opinion that is, that I was less than candid and therefore to some degree misled the House on futu re plans of this government. And that is unfair, Mr. Chairman, in that he knows, he knows that a policy decision is not a policy decision until it is announced, and therefore, and therefore since there has been no announcement, one has to assume there has been no decision, and that a co mmitment has been made that if a decision is made an announce ment will be forthc oming. So he should not suggest that I' ve been less than candid. MR.

CHAIRMAN: Order please. I would refe r the hono urable member to Page 17, Rule 31, of ou r House Rules: "No member shall revive a debate already concl uded during the sessi on, or anticipat e • • . " MRo ENNS: I don' t want to revive the debate with the Hono urable Minist er of Ag riculture, because we got nowhere with him when we were debating that. MR . CHAIRMAN: No on e revives the debate •..

MRo ENNS: I'm appealing myself to a Minist er for whom I have consid erable honour and respect for, and who has at least up to now indicated, you know, some willingness to answer questions, rea son able questions put to him, you !mow, in a reason able way with at least the information that he has at hand and with the help of his staff that he has available to him. My question to the Minister, my concern is, to what extent has he con cerned himself, and has the department co ncerned them selves, about the con tinued viability of these business operations which are so vital to some of these smaller rural centre s.

Now I know very little, as the Minister of Ag riculture rose to correct me , about what his plans are, because he has stead fastly refused, Mro Chairman, to divulge them. Indeed, Mr. Chairman, we have debated for a whole week a simple Order for Return placed by the Honourable Member for Port age la Prairie, asking him to di vulge some of this information, which fin ally the government with the use of their majority rejected the simple quest for information, on which we might be able to assist the Honourable Minister arriving at that policy decision. Howe ver, Mr. Minist er, we do know something.

We know for instance that the Ho nour able Minis ter of Ag riculture has direct ed the Manitoba Marketing Board, the Milk Marketing Board to set aside upwards to 10 or 12 percent of the milk supply for the proposed plant in Selkirk. Now 12 percent of the proposed milk supply taken out of the current pro cessin g indus try o . . Have you asked you rself, Mr. Minister, have you asked you rself, Mr. Minis ter o .• ? MR . USKIW: o .. surely the Member for Lakeside would not want to leave that state ment on the rec ord, because nothing of that nature has ever occ urred and I'm sure he wouldn' t want to suggest it.

MR. EVANS: Mr. Chairman, on a point of order, I don' t believe we're debating Item (l )(d), which is Promotion Service s. There is an item on Food Industries later if you're con cerned about food indus trie s, and so on, but I don' t think we'r e debating Promotion Serv ices, we're debating an item that, you know, might come under the Minister's Salary or under this Trade and Industry group, Food Industries. MR. ENNS: Well, Mr.

Chairman, as I indicat ed just a little while ago, we're dealing with a rea son able Minister and he gives us reason able re sponses, and we're certainly prepared to be rea son able with him, and I think that the Ho nourable Minister's suggest ion is correct, and I'll wait for the proper occasion to raise my concerns. I would assume that having served so me notice on the Minister that he will have some information as to precisely the amount of liaison between the two departments, government departme nts, that has taken place in this

2048 May 2, 1975 SUPPLY - INDU STRY AND COMMERCE (MR. ENNS cont'd) ••••• particular area, that he will have some of that informationfor us when we arrive at the proper moment at our estimates. I'll desist from further ques tioning at this particular time, Mr. Chairman. MR . CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Member for Assi niboia. MR. PATRICK: Mr. Chairman, I have a que stion for the Honourable Minister. I hope that I'm under the right item, it's Promo tion Services .

Can the Minister indicate to the House if he has any offices, or trade development offices es tablished, say, in Ottawa, or in any other country, or if there is not such . . . And I hope I can be right to raise it on the Promotion Service s, I would like to ask him some other ques tions in connection with the food proces sing industry, and maybe that comes a little later in Programs and Produc tivity maybe.

But I'm concerned, what has he in the kind of trade development offices about people wanting to come to this province_, need to get information and may travel as far as, say Ottawa, and not be prepared to come all the way to Manitoba ; or even if they come here, what kind of information can he provide them ? I hope the Minister can give me some information on that question; MR . CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Industry and Co mmerce . MR . EVANS: Mr.

Ch airman, I know the honourable member is maybe at a disadvantage because they're not as familiar with this as I am, but that item on Trade Development is under Re solution 68, No. 3(f), Trade Development, that• s the specific item. MR . PATRICK: Well, let me ask another question then. What does the Promotion Services do? Is it all just a cou ple of pamphlets that we got, or what does it really do ? There is in the Estimates $17 4, OOO, which is considerable, and you know can the Minister tell us . We got two pamphlets. MR. EVANS: Yes, Mr.

Ch airman, I tried to answer that question a while ago, but perhaps the Honourable Member for Ass iniboia wasn't in his chair at that time, or wasn't in the Ch amber. Of the amount stated, the 174, OOO, that's the Other Expenditures under Pro motion, I indicated one of the venture s as a specific example, and that was Operation Acce ss, which was a joint promotional enterprise between the Federal Department of Supply and Service s, our Provincial Department of Public Works, which is in charge of purchasi ng, and oursel ve s. That• s just one example, but I can give you a breakdown of that money.

Most of it is in advertisin g, this is where our advertising comes in largely, and various exhibitions' exhibits . Of the $174, OOO in that item, (1 ) (d) (2), of the 174, 93, OOO is advertising and exhibits . As a matter of interest we do have some money in there for a new promotional film on the Province of Manitoba which we hope to be producing later this year. There 's some printing money in there, $10, OOO; there• s a little bit for misce llaneous things, pos tage, telephone, tr avel, freight, and various expenditures that are related to promotion . The biggest item is advertising and exhibits, displays.

MR . PA TRICK: Can the Minister tell me, on the Operation Access, how much of that was paid by his department, and how much was ... because all the questions we've asked so far, and I heard the Mini ster give it last night, indicate that, you know, about the Operation Acc ess, and can the Minister tell us how much of that was paid, what was the total expense and how much was paid by the province and how much by the Federal Government ? MR . EVANS: We don't have the precise documents in front of us, but we es timate the cost was around $90 , OOO, and the Federal Government paid two-thirds of that cost, $60, OOO.

MR. CHAIR MAN: The Honourable Member for St. James. MR . GEORGE MINA KER (S t. James): Thank you, Mr . Ch airman. I wonder if the Honourable Minister could advise us with regard to promotion by his department with various industries; if you recall last year, Mr. Ch airman, there was a situation with the garment industry of a request to have Filipinos come into the garment industry and provide the services that were being re.:iuired, and it was more or less denied.

And at that time I believe the First Minister indicated that it would be better if the work was done by Manitoba women in need of work, and a training program of this type, and I wonder what kind of promotion has the Honour able Minis ter's department done with the garment industry to encourage the training of Manitoba women and native people in this particular indus try that the First Minister indicated would be a good ide a. Also, how many have to his knowledge been trained in this particular area? MR. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Industry and Commerce . MR.

EVANS: Well, again I'm trying to confine myself to the item under debate, namely Promotion Services, so therefore I won' t debate the, talk about the entire question of the

May 2, 1975 2049 SUPPLY - INDU STRY AND COMMERCE (MR. EVANS cont'd) ..••. clothing industry. But on promotion of the job availability in this industry, we paid $5, OOO for a film on the garment industry in Manitoba, the clothing industry, which the - I do n't think that was the total cost but that was our contribution towards it, it was a substantial contribution, and it was utilized to indicate the opportunities for the people in the province in that particular industry.

There have been other types of promotion that we've engaged in in the past with this partic ular industry, including fashion shows, leaflets and pamphlets on Manitoba made gar ments, and this sort of thing; promotion through the trading corporation and so on. This is over the past, you know, th ere's a long list of items actually, but this is on promotion. But the most recent one is the $5, OOO grant to the industry - I think it was through to the Fashion Institute, which incidentally we helped to organize in the first place. MR. MlNAKER: Well, Mr. Ch airman, that's very fine.

I wonder if the Minister could answer my question. I asked him what promotion and encoura gement did his department do with the garment industry to have Manitoba women and native people trained here for these jobs . Did they do any encoura ging or promotion with the industry itself to try and encourage that industry to train the Manitoba women and also the native people ? MR. EVANS: Yes, some of these, the matter of training, and so on, is dealt with in the, I believe the Department of College s and Universities. I think the Manpower grants, etc. come under th ere.

But the most specific payout as I said was with the film industry, with this film grant per se, and this was utilized to illustrate to people around the province. Now, the film is being used by the Fashion Institute, I believe, that is the industry associ ation, and not by oursel ve s. Possi bly when we get to the Trade and Industry group we could discuss this in more detail. I might have some more information on this. But that is the limit of the general promot ion that has been engaged in in the past twelve months. MR. MlNAKER: Then, Mr.

Ch airman, if I understand the Minister correctly, his department has not encourag ed the garment industry to get into some training program for native people or Manitoba women. Even though they are looking for these people, has his department not enco uraged this, or not promoted it? MR. EVANS: I didn't say that, Mr. Chairman. I said we have the one specific recent example I could think of is this film, but we certainly have done so, and that's our stated policy.

And, you know, we have made many efforts through the years to involve native people as well in this partic ular indus try, in places outsid e of Manitoba - I mean outside of Winnipeg. But the answer is yes, we have certainly encouraged people that might be interested in this type of industrial endeavour, or this type of occu pation, to consider. MR. MlNAK ER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thro ugh you to the Honourable Minister. Has your department encouraged the owner and employer in garment industries to employ Manitoba women and to train them, and also to employ native people of our province ?

Has your department approached the employer and the owners of these factories, encourag ing them to train local people, and also to hire local women and native people ? MR. EVANS: Mr. Ch airman, we do that with all industrie s. MR. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Member for Fort Rouge . MR. AXWOR THY: Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to enquire on this area of promotion . The Minister indicated that he was spending a su bstantial sum of money for advertising and film purposes, and so on.

I'm just wondering if he could tell us how he goes about acquiring these kinds of services when it comes to the matter of an advertising contract for the depart ment ? Is that advertising contract open for some form of competi tive bidding, or open tendering, or is it assigned to a specific advertising firm with which the Minister may have a special relationship or interest ? Could he describe for us exactly how he would go about determining which group would be doing the advertising work or film work for him ? MR. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Industry and Commerce . MR. EVANS: Well, Mr.

Ch airman, there is a committee, a governmental committee on advertising, and I think the attempt has been in the past, well, it has been in the past, to spread such work among many agencies in Manitoba. And we have dealt with '11'1.i1J ri rrn ,; onrselves since I've been Min ister . We have changed around a bit. Baker Lovick, I believe, is the name of the agency we're dealing with at the present time, and all the work would be assigned pretty well through that agency. But I don't know what the honourable member was

20 50 May 2, 1975 SUPPLY - INDU STRY AND COMMERCE (MR. EVANS cont'd) •..•. inferring that I might have a special interest in, I have no - I'm sorry, I have no interests directly or indirectly in any advertising agency in this province or anywhere in the world. MR. AXWORTHY: Mr.

Ch airman, I find the Minister's answer even more intriguing than the original ques tion, when he says that there is now a group inside the government which assigns advertising contract work - I believe that that was the intention of his remarks - so that there is now an essential group of Cabinet Ministers, I take it, who are able then to decide which groups acquire advertising contracts . I'd like that particular position confirmed. And secondly, I'd like to follow through if I may, Mr.

Ch airman, with the description that the Minister offered in terms of how the work is spread around, yet he seemed to indicate that there is one firm which has been doing all the work recently. I wonder if the Minister could supply us, for example, with a more precise definition of how much spreading around is ac tually done. In other words, which firms have had which contracts, say, over the past two or three years work of his department, so that we would know exactly who is doing the advertising, and how much is actually distributed amongst the different firms in this city, and perhaps even in the cou ntry.

So perhaps he cou ld provide a little bit more elaboration on those two points . MR. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Minister of Consumer and Co rporate Affairs. HON. IAN TURNBULL (Minister of Cons umer imd Corporate Affairs) (Osborn e): Mr. Chairman, if I could, ju st on the point mentioned by the Member for Fort Rouge, to clear whether he is talking about advertising agencies that are doing the creative work, or whether he is talking about the placing of ads that are so composed by the agencies in the media.

Because if it's the placement of advertisements in the various media, then that particular func tion of advertising is, of course, undertaken by the Advertising Au dit Offi ce within the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. I don't know if that• s the agency that the Member for Fort Rouge is referring to or not, but he should be aware that there is a dis tinction between the creative art work that's done and the placement of the ads. MR. AXWOR THY: Well, Mr. Ch airman, I take the Minister of Consumers Affairs' remarks with some redress.

I would suggest the kind of advertising work I'm interested in is that which is the product of such promotional activities that the Depar tment of Industry and Commerce would undertake, such as the, you know, you see very leggy young ladies chewing carrots, or some thing, promoting the agricultural industry, or the multiple number of smiling pictures of the Minister that we see adorning various brochures, pamphlets, and other kinds of artifacts produced by the department. I suppose you might call that creative work. I suspect that there is a fair degree of creativity in that kind of promotion.

But I am sort of interested in that sort of --(Interjection)-- That• s right. That multi-colour litho graphed fairly expensive kind of advertising sheet, page advertising that we see, and again I'm interested that that kind of work, while I realize the placing of ads, of these ordinary ads are done by the Au dit Bureau, it would be useful to know, first, who is doing it. I suppose the second que stions would also be, Mr.

Ch airman, as to what degree the allocation of where those ads are placed, and the promotional work, is given, and whe ther in fact .•• we have noticed, for example, that on some occasions the government has insisted that if cer tain people don't tow the line they don't get the gravy. I'm wondering, in terms of how this intriguing body of advertising moguls that now operates in the government, exactly how they work and how they go about doing their business in terms of this promotional material. MR. CHAIRMAN: Order please .

The hour being 4:30 , the last hour on Friday being Private Members' Hour, committee ris3 and report. Call in the Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the committee has considered certain resolutions, reports progress and ask leave to sit again. IN SESSION MR. SPEAKER: Order please. The Honourable Member for Logan. MR . JENKINS: Mr. Speaker, I beg to move, seconded by the Honourable Member for St. Vital, that the Report of the Committee be received. MOTION presented and carried . MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable House Leader.

May 2, 1975 20 51 IN SESSION MR . GREEN: Yes, Mr . Speaker. I ex pect that next week we will be concluding the Budget Speech Debate, moving into the Estimates of the Minister of Industry, followed hope fully by the Minister of Health, although I'm not cer tain, and concurre ntly the Minister of Highways . It may be that Health will not be available, but if not it'll be the next one in line. With those observations if there are no questions. MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable Member for Morris. MR. JORGENSON: Mr .

Speaker, with out having checked the legislation - maybe I should do that -if the Department of Health is not available I do believe that the next one on the list is Labour, and I wonder if we 're going to proceed with the examination of the Estimates of the Department of Labour without the Minister, if he is not able to be back in the House . MR. SPEAKER: The Honourable House Leader. MR. GREEN: No. When I indicate a general method of following through, I also have to indicate that it might not be done in that way. For instance, I would be prepared, but the Deputy Minister is not available next week.

So if the Minister of Labour is not here and if I'm not prepared, it would be followed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Now, Mr. Speaker, I gather that there will be no dissenting vote if I move, seconded by the Honourable Members for Morris and As siniboia, that the House do now adjourn. MOTION presented and carried. MR . SPEAKER: So ordered. The House is accordingly adjourned and stands adjourned until Monday, 2:30.

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	30-2-71
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	30th 2nd hansardpdf 71.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	24e255e561cc7dea2f6dd4aa599ca16e299cb579

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).