Manitoba Hansard — 27 November 1992 (Sitting 2, 35th Legislature, 4th Session)

35-4-2

Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

MG-8048 Fourth Session • Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS {HANSARD) 41 Elizabeth II Published under the authority of The Honourable Denis C. Rocsn Speaker VOL. XUI No. 2 ·10 a.m., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1992 Printed by the Office of the OuHns Printer. Province of Manitoba ISSN 0542-5492

MANITOBA LEGISLA TIVE ASSEMBLY Thirty-Fifth Legislature Members, Constituencies and Political Affiliatio n NAME ALCOCK, Reg ASHT ON , Steve BARRETT, Becky CARSTAIRS, Sharon CERILLI, Marianne CHEE MA, Guizar CHOMIAK, Dave CUMMINGS, Glen, Hon. DACOUAY, Louise DERKACH, Leonard, Hon. DEW AR, Gregory DOER, Gary DOWN EY, James, Hon. DRIEDGER, Albert, Hon. DUCHAR ME, Gerry, Hon. EDWAR DS, Paul ENNS, Harry, Hon. ERNST, Jim, Hon. EVANS, Ciif EVANS, Leonard S. FILMON, Gary, Hon. FINDL AY, Glen, Hon. FRIE SEN , Jean GAUDRY, Neil GILLE SHAMMER, Harold, Hon. GRAY, Avis HARPER , Elijah HELWER, Edward R.

HICKES, George LAMOUREUX, Kevin LATHLIN, Oscar LAURENDEAU, Marcel MALOWAY ,J im MANN ESS, Clayton, Hon. MARTIN DALE, Doug Mc ALPINE, Gerry McCRAE, James, Hon. MciNTOSH, Linda, Hon. MITCHEL SON , Bonnie, Hon. NEUFELD, Harold ORCHAR D, Donald, Hon. PALLISTER , Brian PENNER, Jack PLOHMAN, John PRAZNIK, Darr en, Hon. REID, Daryl REIMER, Jack RENDER, Shirley ROCAN, Denis, Hon. ROSE, Bob SAN TOS , Conrad STE FAN SON , Eric, Hon. STOR IE, Jerry SVEINSON, Ben VODREY, Rosemary, Hon. WASYL YCIA-LEIS, Judy WOWC HUK, Rosann CONSTITUEN CY Osborne Thompson Wel lington River Heig hts Radisson The Maples Kildonan Ste .

Rose Seine River Roblin- Russell Selkirk Concordia Arthur-Virden Steinbach Riel St. James Lakeside Charle swood Interlake Brandon East Tuxedo Springfield Wolseley St. Boniface Minnedosa Crescentwood Rupertsland Gimli Point Douglas Inkster The Pas St. Norbert Elmwood Morris Burrows Sturgeon Creek Brandon West Assiniboia River East Rossmere Pembina Portage Ia Prairie Emerson Dauphin Lac du Bonnet Transcona Niakwa St. Vital Gladstone Turtle Mountain Broadway Kirkfield Park Flin Flon La Verendrye Fort Garry St.

Johns Swan River PARTY Liberal NDP NDP Liberal NDP Liberal NDP PC PC PC NDP NDP PC PC PC Liberal PC PC NDP NDP PC PC NDP Liberal PC Liberal NDP PC NDP Liber al NDP PC NDP PC NDP PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC NDP PC NDP PC PC PC PC NDP PC NDP PC PC NDP NDP

9 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Friday, November 27, 1992 The House met at 10 a.m. PRAYERS INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS Mr. Speaker: I am pleased to inform the Asse mbly that the Clerk of the Legislative Asse mbly has received from the Chief Electoral Officer a notice respecting the election of Mr. Brian Palli ster and Ms. Avis Gray as memb ers for the consti tuencies of Portage Ia Prairie and Crescentwood . I hereby table the notice respecting these elections. Hon. Gary Fl lrnon (Premi er) : Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to you Mr.

Brian Palliste r, member for the Electoral Division of Portage Ia Prairie, who has taken the oath and signed the roll and now claims the right to take his seat. Mr. Speaker: On behal f of all honour able memb ers, I wish to welcome you to the Legisla tive Ass embly of Manitoba and to wish you well in your parliamentary career. Mrs. Sharo n Carst alrs (Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr. Speak er, I have the honour to present Ms. Avis Gray for the Electoral Division of Crescentwood , who has taken the oath and signed the roll and now claims the right to take her seat. Mr.

Spe aker: On behalf of all honourable members, I wish to welcome you to the Legislative Ass embly of Manitoba and to wish you well in your parliamentary career. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS PRESENTING PETITIONS Mr. Guiz ar Cheema (The Maples) : Mr. Spea ker, I beg to present the petition of Elizabeth Touchette , Karen Jonsson, Wanda Kellerman and others requesting the government of Manitoba to consider taking the nece ssa ry ste ps to reform the Pha rmacare syste m and to ma intai n its comprehensive and universal nature an d to implement the use of a health smart card.

ORAL QUESTION PERIOD Economic Growth Government Strategy Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Oppositi on): Mr. Speak er, in every coffee shop, at every farm kitch en table, at every plant, Manitoba ns are asking us about the length of this recession , the brutality of this recessi on, asking us to deal with the challenges of this recessi on, and I am talking about what this recession is meaning for themselves, for their families, for their relatives and for their friends.

Alm ost everyone we listened to knows of somebody that has been eit her laid off or knows of someb ody that is fearing a layoff in the next couple of months. Mr. Speak er, yesterday in the Speech from the Throne , the word "recession" was nota bly missing from the government's message to the people of Manitoba. This word "recession" was accurately portrayed in 1991 in the two Speeches from the Throne from this gove rnment.

I would like to ask the Premier: In light of the fact that the issue of the recession is not acknowledged in the Speech from the Throne, does the Premier believe we are still in a recession , or does the Premier believe as chair of the economic comm ittee of the cabinet that we are out of the rece ssion? * (10 05) Hon. Gary Fl lmo n (Premi er) : Mr. Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his questi on.

Indeed, as I have acknowledged in many fora on many occasions in the past while, certa inly the economy and the difficult cha llenges that we face not only as a province but as a nation and collecti vely as a world , the challenges remain. It does not matter where you go in this country and it does not matter where you go in this world, there are economies that heretofore had been riding high with year-after-yea r growth of 4 and 5 percent or greater that are now being brought down to very, very modest levels of growth , if at all.

That is true of Japan, that is true of Germany, that is true of the traditional engines of growth that have not been

10 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOB.A November 27, 1992 affected by recessions even in the past decade and beyond. Ones that have ridden through those recessions with steady growth are now being taken to their knees in an economic sense. What is happening, of course, is not just a recession that occ urred in prev ious years but a rest ruc turing that is taking place wor ldwide in which people are changing from a production economy to a different economy based on new technology, information age and all of those things.

So indeed we continue to face challenges, and that is what the throne speech is all about, how we deal with those challenges and turn them into opportunities by recognizing the real ities of the restruc turing that is taking place; that is what the agenda is. That is what we have proposed to Manitobans, and that is why we suggest that we learn from the lessons around us and we do not just simply look for the old solutions and we do not just simply deal with it in terms of the way in which we have dealt with recessions or downturns in the economy in the past. We have to recognize what else is happening out there.

Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, the Premier did not answer the question. The Premier did not answer the question of whether he still believes this province is in a recession or whether it is out of a recession. In 19 91 , he men tioned the recession and acknowledged the recession was in existence in this province in two se parate Speeches from the Throne. In 199 2, the Speech from the Throne fails to mention the recessi on.

How can you deal with the economic cha llenges that Manitoba families face , how can you deal with the economic challenges that workers face and farmers face when you are not willing to start with the basic assumptions in our economy, when you are not willing to acknowledge whether indeed we are in a recession or not in terms of the challenges of the provi nce? Mr.

Spea ker, I would li ke to ask the Premier, in light of the fact that the government is sending out letters to agencies, schools, hospita ls, all areas that deal directly with the provincial government, that state, and I quote, we are faced with budgetary decisions in 19 93 and 19 94 that make past cha llenges pale by a comparis on, would the Premier not now acknowledge that we are indeed in a rece ssion, and will his sol ution of cutbacks and more une mployment help us get out of the recession that we are in? Mr. Fll mon: Mr.

Sp:taker, the reality is that you cannot sort of tie with a ribbon and paint into a little one-word definition what is happening in the world today. I know that the LE11ader of the Opposition (Mr. Doer) cannot get by mld needs to have a quick hit slogan for the med��. and this is not a time for sloganeering. This is a timEt for trying to understand what is happening in the wc.rtd around us. There is a restru cturing taki"1;1 place in economies tha t is different from anythinu that we have experienced in the past, that is differe nt frorn the simple analysis of, it is a recess ion.

It goes beyorld that His colleagues who are in gove rnment, New De mocr atic co lleagues, recognize that Mr. R1ae is refe rring to things such as down turns, restruc:turi�r. things of this nature, because we are lookill"tg for ways in which we can describe to people th9 fundam ental changes that are taking place in the econcliTly and the need for us to look at solutions in l:l diffe,rent way. • (101 0) That is what the thro,ne speech is all about-a new way of looking at thes:e things that are happe ning and looking for solutior·�S .

Nc:rt looking for just simple one-word answers, because there are not any simple answers. If trnne were, the Leader of the Opposition would hav1!1 those answers, but we do not have them , Mr. SpEtaker, and so we have to look at it in a much bigger picture. We have to look at it in terms of how we respond t•:> the res tructuring, take advantage of the oppo1rtunities that are created and build a stronger economy by understanding what we are fa cing. Employment Creation Strategy Mr. Gary Doer {Lead�er of the Opposition): Mr.

Speak er, why do we not try an action plan to create jobs and maintain jobs 1i n this province instead of the hollow rhetoric of the Premier? In 1990 this Premier (Mr. F=ilmon) came out with a Speech from the Throne, that predicted that Manitoba would have doub led the growth in 1991 of all other provinces in Canada. We would double the growth of the Canadian average. In 199 1 when his ministers came in and hacked and slashed and laid pec>ple off and created

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 11 thousands of une mployed, why our 19 91 growth rate as coming in this fall in October, the final numbers show that Manitoba's decline in growth was more than double the next closest province of Ontario, and now we see in the letters to all agencies and the letters to all gov ernment operations that we have not learned one thing from their recessionary practices of the past. They are going to do the same thing and even more cutbacks in this year's '93 budget.

I would ask the Premier, how many layoffs and how many more people are going to be unemp loyed because of his direct action in the provincial gove rnment of Manitoba ? How many more people are going to go onto social assistance? How many more people are going to go to food banks? How many more people are going to have to go to the unemp loyment line? How many more people are going to have to leave this province because of the lack of action for jobs by this govern ment? Hon. Gary Fllmon (Premier) : Mr.

Speaker, the fact of the matter is that because of the actions of this gove rnment, the Conference Board of Canada reported just a matter of two and a half weeks ago that this province is enjoying growth in this year, 19 92, at the rate of 2.2 percent which they say is tied for the second best in the country. That is as a res ult of this government's ac tion. In addition, they report that our unemp loyment rate is the second best in the country, second lowest in the country, the unemp loyment rate.

In addition, they report that in the last two months 11 ,000 more people are working in Manitoba today as a result of the emp loyment growth in the last two months. In addition, Statistics Canada reports that capital in vestm ent in Manitoba is pri va te capi tal investment. We are having the largest increase of any province in the count ry in private capital investment '92 versus '91 . In addition to that, they are saying that total capital investm ent is expected to rise at the second highest level of all pro vinces in the country.

In addition to that, they say that manufac turing capital investment will be increasing at the highest level of any province in the country. In addition to that, they say that manufa cturing shipments for the first nine months of this year are up at the highe st level of any prov ince in the country. In addition to that, they say that manufact uring shipments for the first nine months of this year are up at the highest level of any pro vince in the country.

Those are the things that are happening as a re sult of the measures that we have taken to ke ep taxes down, to build our economy and to ensure that there are incentives for inves tment and growth and job creation in the long term, Mr. Speak er. Education System Budget Reduction Targets Mr. Dave Chomlak (KIIdonan): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Educa tion. The gove rnment has offloaded millions of dollars to school boards, which has resulted in huge property tax increases and the loss of hundreds of teac hing jobs throu ghout Manitoba.

Since the government on Nov ember 19 has told school boards to expect more of the same-in other wor ds, a freeze-how many more teaching jobs and prog rams does the minister expect will be lost to Manitoba children in the year coming up? * (1015 ) Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Education and Trai ning) : Mr. Speaker, one thing that school divisions have asked of this government is to make sure that they are continually informed about the fiscal position of this province so thatthey can make their plans very well and with enough time.

The letter was to meet the request of school boards, to provide them with the assistance so that they could do their planning in the most effective way for the children of Manitoba. Mr. Chomlak: Mr. Speaker, since the school boards must present their budgets in several weeks, will the min ister advise this House whether the $1 7-million cut will come under the edu cation funding form ula that has already been revised three or four times since the gove rnmen t introduced it last year? Mrs. Vodrey: Mr.

Speaker, the member has obviously not under stood any of the message that has been sent out to the school divisions and to Manitobans. Rrst of all, the number which has been rumour ed is not a number which is to look at the new budget.

12 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 What we have done through that letter is to advise school divisions of the fiscal position of this province to make sure that in the planning of their budget they are very well aware of the position and they have enough lead time to do the work. Mr. Chomlak: My final supplementary to the minister is: Has the minister also sent this same letter talking about the fiscal situation of the government and no increases to schools like St. John's-Ravenscourt that received millions and millions of dollars in increases in the last several years? Mrs. Vodrey: Mr.

Speaker, the letter which was sent to advise school divisions was sent to the independent schools in Manitoba. I think that answers the member's question. Economic Growth Government Strategy Mrs. Sharon Cars talrs (L eader of the Second Opposition): Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier. The Premier a few minutes ago said you cannot come up with a one-word answer. You cannot use buzzwords. He said we cannot deal with the old solutions, I think was the actual phrase that he used.

Yet, in his own Speech from the Throne, in nine separate places he uses the word "innovatew or "innovation." You know, using the word, Mr. Speaker, does not make It happen. Unfortunately, when you look it up in the dictionary, that word comes out with a definition of, introduction of something new. It says that it means that you must effect change. It says that you have to have a new method or a device. Will the Premier of this province tell the people of Manitoba what new idea-just one-that he has for getting this economy moving? Hon. Gary Fll mon (Premier): Well, Mr.

Speaker, the Ideas that we have are new when you compare them to Liberal and New Democratic ideas, because the Liberal and New Democratic ideas are, of course, to spend more and tax more. Governments across this country that have tried that have failed. Those are the new ideas that the Liberals and New Democrats want to introduce to this House. Mr.

Speaker, this gc:werrvnent continues to build a better base for e<conomic development, for innovation, for investment, the Economic Innovation and Te chnology Co un 1=il that had a very pnte�ection] The Leader of the third party obviously does not want to hear the answer. She has demonstrated to us in the past the lack of answers that she has. That is why she is in the position she is. Provincial Cornpar1sons Mrs. Sharon Carstal·rs (L eader of the Second Opposition) : We have heard about the innovation council in Speeches 1rom !he Throne in 1988, in 1989, in 1991, in 199,2.

We have not seen it do anything yet, and that 1is the tragedy. Mr. Speaker, the Premier likes to talk about our economic position. Can he' explain why his own Bureau of Statistics show�1 that Manitoba is the seventh slowest in increase in housing starts, why Manitoba lags behind Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in unemployment, particularly below them in youth unemployment, how he explains how the overa.ll total employment pattern is worse than any other province in western Canada? That is the comparison model that he should use. How does he explain �ll8t? •

(1020) Hon. Gary Fl lmon 1(Premler) : You know, the Economic Innovation e,nd Technology Council held a major one4y forum earner this year, about four weeks ago, and this Le�ider cJf the third party refused to attend. She was toc11 busy, cid not attend, did not find it interesting or important enough to attend. That is the kind of inte1rest v.•e get for real initiative, for real innovative ideas. She wiD not even listen to the people out there, the people of labour, the people of management pnterjection) The members of the opposition do no·t want to hear answ ers, they want to sit there and shout.

I repeat for the edification c)f the member for River Heights that all she has to de� is look at the statistics that are being provided by Statistics Canada and the Conference Board: 1992 growth, accorcfmg to the Conference Board, for Manitoba at 22 percent, tied for second best in the c::ountry; unemployment rate, the most recent figures, secc>nd best in the country, Mr. Speaker; total capital investment in Manitoba

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 13 expected to be this year the second best in the country in total capital investment; the best in the country in private capital investment increase; the best in the country in manufacturing capital investment increase; and the best in the country in manufacturing shipments increase, all of those areas. Now, she can go and dig through the figures and look for something negative, because that is her wont, but the reality is that the figures speak for themselves, that in the key areas of economic growth Manitoba is performing very well in 19 92.

Government Strategy Mrs. Sharon Cars tal rs (Leader of the Second OpposHion): Mr. Speaker, if the council's forum had not been so filled with cronyism and they had not accepted some of the suggestions made by opposition parties as to the people who should have been there, then maybe he would have gotten more representation. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy is that there are 1 1, 000 Manitobans unemployed in October of 19 92 who had jobs in October of 19 91-1 1 ,000 of them. Our participation rate in the work force has dropped. We have a lower percentage today than we had a year ago.

People are leaving this province because they see no hope; they see no innovation. What is this First Minister (Mr. Filmon) prepared to do to give a sense of hope to the people of this province? Hon. Gary Fl lmon (Premier): I repeat, that in the course of just the last two months of figures, according to Statistics Canada, 11 ,000 more Manitobans are working than were two months earlier. More so than that, with respect to the people who were at that Economic Innovation and Techn ology Council Forum, we had a former Labour government Minister of Finance from New Zealand. We had people like Dian Cohen.

I do not know what her politics are, Mr. Speaker, but I do know that she is acknowledged worldwide as somebody who is an innovator, as somebody who is an economic thinker of the highest level. Th ere were almost 400 people at that forum. We had 40 people who were from organized labour at that forum. We had people from the academic and the research community. We had people from the agriculture community. I do not know what she is talking about, Mr. Speaker. Alii know is that she had the opportunity to be there and participate and contribute, and she chose not to.

We know what her priorities are. * (1 025) Health Care System Budget Reduction Targets Ms. Judy Wasylycla-Lels (St. Johns) : Mr. Speaker, yesterday, while this government was presenting a shallow Speech from the Throne, particularly on health care, pink slips were being handed out to dedicated health care professions, and professionals and patients were bracing for the Tory bed shuffle. What is so worrisome is that the 261 beds being cut, as announced recently by the minister, is just the tip of the iceberg and that the two teaching hospitals have been handed much harsher cutback targets.

I would like to ask the Minister of Health (Mr. Orchard) today if he will now give us the whole plan, the exact budget reduction targets, the total layoff figures, the number of beds being cut in total, and the impact on services and quality patient care. Hon. Donald Orchard (Minister of Health): Mr.

Speaker, I genuinely welcome my honourable friend's question and furthermore, hopefully this session, creative suggestions from my honourable friend as to how governments across Canada, in co-operation even with opposition members, can assure Canadians that the system of medicare is preserved for their use, their needs. That means in this province, as it means in every other province and territory in Canada, significant shifts in the way we deliver health care to preserve medicare for the future. Mr.

Speaker, the uniqueness of the process in Manitoba is that starting with May 14 of this year, we laid out a two-year agenda of that kind of change with goals and targets which would preserve medicare for the people of Manitoba. Mr. Speaker, the second implementation phase of that was announced some 10 days ago in which we set targets, on May 15 , of 240 beds which we believed the services of which could be reallocated more economically, without compromising patient care, to other locations of service delivery in the

14 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBI·\ November 27, 1992 system. That undertook significant investigation by the two teachin g hospitals, resulting in the announcement 10 days ago of the types of beds, 264 in total, between two hospitals and where alternative services will be relocated. That resulted, Sir, according to labour law of the Province of Manitoba , in the kind of layoff notices that went out just this week. Now, Mr. Speaker, there would be no issue if we were not so open with the process of how we intend to work towards protecting and preservi ng medicare for the people of Manitoba.

My honourable friend would have no issue. Ms. Wasylycl a-Lels: Since the minister will not be forthco ming and answer that question, I would like to table for the benefit of mem bers in this House and the public information from his deputy ministe r showing cut-back targets three to four times highe r than the announced cuts of 264 beds at our teaching hospitals.

I would like to ask the Minister of Health how these two te aching hospi tals can achieve budge t reduction targets of $1 9.7 million without cutting more beds, without laying off hundreds of more staff-w hich in the words of Rod Thorfinnson on Wednesday of this week, he said this would be absolutely devastating. Could the minister now tell us the whole picture, the impact of these kinds of cutbacks on our hospitals? Mr. Orchard: Mr.

Speaker, again I welcome my honourable friend's question because part of the difficulty at our two teaching hospitals is that through varying circumstances, shall we say, they have been unable to adhere to the no-deficit policy that has existed since my honourable frie nd approved that policy at the cabinet table she sat in, in the previous gov ernment of the Province of Manitoba .

So that part of the difficulty at our two teaching hospitals is a carried-forward deficit because they were unable to achieve their management targets of budget in the last couple of years, not the least of which, Sir, are circumstances which have impacted on them , for instance, from information technology, a subject my honou rable friend may wish to discuss and debate at a future date. * (1 030) Part of the direction that we have given to our two teaching hospitals Ito be emul ated across the system is to no longer use the standard reduction of services of closing bEKis and lay off nurses, but to look at their managemen t lmtJctures, an issue that has come forward evE;,ry single time to flatten those, to adjust those.

We E11xpec1t to see some significant savings in reduction of management at our hospitals, a topic brought to our attention by the nurses union and oth11Jr- Mr. Speaker: Orde r, plea.c;e. EmploytHt Redeployment Ms. Judy Wasylycl'lt-L.els (St. Johns): Rather than handing out pink :slips, would this minister hand out a gove rnmen t-sponsored plan for redeploym ent, retraining and re-orientation for nurses and other health care profession als SC) that nurses and others can work in this new rf1s tructured communi ty-based health care system that hJ minis ter is so wont to tout? Wo uld he tell us exactly, Mr.

Speaker, what are the details of his Health Services Provider Comm itment Plan outllined c:>n page 47 of his plan of ac tion? Hon. Donald Orchard (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, again that �11itiati"e is well in process in collaboration with the management, with the union representation of v1;aryin�t disciplines who are affected in these shlf'ts of services from teaching hospitals to commu nity hospitals and community. Those initiatives of re 11raining for rede ployment are in process.

I have to say-and Vl''e knew this when we started the proce ss-one of th!l complexities in achievi ng a shift from hospital to hospitail, for instance of nursing personnel, is the exis:tence of incividual contracts facility byfacilitywhicl1 trigge'rs the bumping process which causes some angst within the faci lity.

But we have asked for CO-<I)peration from the union, leadership from the union, and we expect to receive same to assure an o·rderl�· transfer of personnel institution to instltutlc1n de:spite the exist ence of individual contracts, because that is in the best interests of their mem bership in the health care system, Sir.

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 15 Mining Industry Employment Decline Mr. Jerry Storie (FIIn Flon) : Mr. Speaker, my question is to the First Minister. If any group in Manitoba has a reason to feel certain despair over the throne speech and the lack of direction, the drift that is apparent in this gov ernment, if there is any group that would have to be concerned about their future in Manitoba because of the degree to which this First Minister is out of touch with Manitobans and with the problems they face, it is northerners.

Since this First Minister took office in 19 88 three communities have been closed, in effect, by mine closures, and layoff notices have been handed out in the hundreds. My specific question to the First Minister is: Can the First Minister tell this House and the people of Manitoba how many layoff notices have been issued in the last week? Hon. James Downey (Minis ter of Energy and Mines): Mr. Speaker, unlike the administration of which that member sat as a gov ernmen t member, this gove rnment has been very proactive as it relates to the mining industry in Manitoba.

I can name several of them, if the memb ers would take the opportunity to listen: a $55-million loan commitment for a $1 87 -million upgrade of the smelter in his backyard, right in his cons tituency; major mining tax incen tives for a new mine to be established in any commun ity in the North without paying any tax until the capital is paid for; prospectors' assistance . The members well should know, if they have any experience at all in the commu nities which they repres ent, that you have to find new orebodies to have mines, Mr. Speaker, something that is quite often strange to those memb ers opposit e. Mr.

Stori e: Mr. Speaker, that is how out of touch this gov ernment is. Six hundred and fifteen people received lay-off notices last week, 615 working people. My question to the Fir st Minister (Mr. Film on), who obvi ously is out of touch, does not know the answe r, what does the throne speech offer the people of Snow Lake who are lo sing their homes, their jobs and their com munity? Mr. Downey: Mr. Speak er, the day that any min e opens is the first day that it starts to close, because there is a limited amount of ore that is available to be taken out. New mines have to be found.

We have put in place, like we did tor Lynn Lake with the Department of Labour, from the Mining Reserve Fund, a program to support those people to retrain them and help them during times such as they are facing at this particular time. Mining Reserve Fund Education/Retraining Programs Mr. Jerry Storie (FIIn Flon): The Minister of Energy and Mines should get in touch with the people of Lynn Lake, who find the amount of assistance offered by the gove rnment disgracefu l. Mr.

Speaker, my question to the First Minister, who seems not to care about 61 5 people losing their jobs or their communities, is: The Snow Lake Community Adjustment Comm ittee has presented a proposal to government for a training and ret raining education packa ge. Will the First Minister today, given the extreme difficulty that commun ity faces, accept that propos al, agree to fund that proposal out of the Mining Reserve Fund so that at least the miners and their families may have some other opport unities perhaps in other pro vinces? Hon. James Downey (Ministe r of Energy and Mines): Mr.

Speaker, I wantthe House to know and the people of Manitoba to know that my colleague the Mi nis ter of Lab our (Mr. Praznik ) and depa rtmental people from the ministry of Mines were in the commun ity of Snow Lake last Sunday, where my colleague passed out a cheque for $1 00,000 to assist getting on with some of the work that has to be done. The program that is in place and the formula is not unlike what was in place when he was the minister, Mr. Speaker, when it was the closing down of Fox Lake . Now if it was not approp riate at that time, why did he not change it at that time?

We are in fact looking at ot her ways that we can help the commu nities, but the best way is to find new mining deposits so that we can have new jobs and new opportu nities for the people of the mining sector.

16 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA, November 27, 1992 Education System Budget Reduction Targets Ms. Avis Gray {Crescentwood): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education. I was looking forward to the throne speech yesterday and hearing some substance , particularly pertaining to education. Howe ver, since there was no substance in the throne speech on the area of education we will have to leave that document aside and look at the real issues facing the education system. Mr. Speak er, it has been reported that $1 7 million would be slashed from the Education budget.

Will the min ister tell this house: How does the cutback of $17 million fit into the reform plan, and where would those cutbacks be made? Hon. Rosemary Vodrey {Mnlster of Edu cation and Trai ning): Mr. Speaker, I too was interested in the reform in education plan that my honourable friend attempted to release about three days ago. She released in her plan for education all of the initiatives that this government presently has in place, initiatives like Workforce 2000, legislative reform , parental invo lvement. There we re absolutely no ideas from my honourable friend, Mr. Speaker.

We brought forward a number of new ideas in our throne speech, and I think it is very im portant for the member to begin to consider that we are looking for true educational reform in this province through the plan laid down in the throne speech. Parental Involvement Ms. Avis Gray {Crescentwood): Mr. Speaker, can the mi nister tell us then if she supports our parents' bill of rights and, if not, what other legislative reforms will she have in order to give parents more of a say? Hon. Rosemary Vodrey {Mnlster of Education and Trai ning): Mr.

Speaker, we are, as we said in the throne speech, very interested in making sure that parents are recognized as im por tant stakeholders, and it was in the throne speech, in answer to the questions from the other side. We have looked for the increasing role of parents partly through our legislative reform document as well, and we will be looking f,orward to sharing that with Manitobans in the ver'� near future. Department of E:ducatlon and Training Assistant Deputy Minister Ms. Avis Gray {Cr&sl:entwood): Will the minister tell this House: Howoloes the firing of Mr.

Ed Buller, Assistan t Deputy Minister for Pr ogram Development & Support Services, fit into this mi nister's plan of educ::ation ref orm? Hon. Rosemary Vodrey {Minister of Education and Training): Mr. S1pea ker, in the Department of Education we will be looking very carefully at our process of reform and we will be making very clear that we are looking for very excellent people to be moving ahead with ou1r reform program. Clvlll SerVIce Employment Reduction Mr. Steve Ashton �:Thompson): Mr.

Speak er, there is a lot of talk from this ��ernment about new , but there is a new reEiil ity o11 the hurt, the pain that people in this province are feeling, people who have lost jobs and those who are in fear of losing their jobs. That is particularly the case right now in terms of civil servants in this pmvincet. There are indications that this government is once again going to be cutting back severely 1in terms of Civil Service jobs in this province.

I would lik e to asll( Ol'lEt very straightforward question to the Premie'r so that he can give a clear indication to civil servants and their families what the situation is going to be, and that is very simple. How many more Civil Service jobs are going to be elim inated from the Province of Manitoba through the policies of this gov,1:m1 ment? • (1 040) Hon. Gary Fllrnon {Pr1·emlw): Mr. Speaker, there is nothing in the thromt speech that indicates that there is going to be a wholesale removal of positions from the Civil Service.

The 1reality is that like every admin istration in the world today, we have to cont inue to review and ,evaluate what we do with the lim ited tax dollars that we have available to us. We have to cont inue to stri1ve to be more efficient We

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 17 have to continue to strive to provide services more effect ively to the people that we serve and the peopl e who give us their money, entrust it to us, to be able to provide them with services as effect ively as pos sible. In every respect , we are going to have to continue to do what is being done worldwi de, which is to do more, because people continue to have grea ter and greater expectations of their gove rnment-we hear the demands every day from across the way-more without spending more money in order to achieve that.

It is a process of reinvent ing gove rnment. It is a process of ensuring that we can do a better job for the taxpayers of this province. In that, there is the matter of efficiency, and in that there is the matter of always evaluat ing how we do things and striving to do them better. In the course of that, from time to time, there are shifts that take place that involve what may be fewer people being able to do the same job. We have to recognize those opportu nities. We have to take advantage of those opportunities.

We have to do them to ensure that government remains efficient and remains true to the taxpayers' wishes of keeping their tax load down . Mr. Ashton: Mr. Speaker, I did not ask the Premier for a recollection of all the world's statesmen he has talked to in the last little while and what they think. I asked him very simply: What is he as Premier going to be doing in terms of Civil Service positions in this province? Is it going to be like lastyear when he said there were not going to be any cuts, and in excess of 300 positions were elimin ated? How many people are going to lose their jobs? Mr. Fl lmon: Mr.

Speaker, you see, this is the interesting thing. This member is inter ested in feat herbedding. He is interested in the old kind of mentality, which is to keep upping the numbers, to keep puffing up the numbers. There were only 39 actual layoff notices that were given last year -39. That is all he is talking about, Mr. Speak er, and he puffs that up to 300-yes, indeed. How many people, that is what we are talking about, 39 people, Mr.

Speak er, because we as a gov ernment continue to strive for more eff iciency, for more effect ive delivery of our programs, because that is what the taxpayers believe we should be doing. That is what they depend upon us for. All he wants to do is drive up the numbers, put more people on the payroll and raise the taxes of people like he did for six and a half years in gov ernment. That is not accep table, Mr. Speake r. Mr. Ashton: Mr. Speaker, ali i want is an answer. If the Tory benches think that was an answer, they have more serious problems than even I thought.

They elim inated 954 pos itions in their first majority gov ernment budget. They elim inated in excess of 300 last year. How many jobs are going to be elim inated by this gove rnment in the upcoming year-how many jobs? Mr. Fl lmon: Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat for the edifica tion of the member for Thompson, our goal, our ob jective is not to have to raise taxes in this pro vince. In order to do so, in times when we are having reductions in transfers from Ottawa, when we are having as a result of losses carried forward by corporations lesser reve nues than we would like to have , Mr.

Speaker, the only thing we can do is ensure that gove rnment operates more efficiently and more effect ively. That means that we have to rest ructure government in certain ways and make it more efficient, and that is what we are going. If he believes that we should not be doing that, then he should say so, Mr. Speak er. Mr. Speaker: Time for Oral Questions has expired. Nonpolitical Statements Mr. Paul Edwards (St. James): Mr.

Speak er, may I have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? [agreed) I simply want to acknowledge and recognize that our foot ball team in this city is on its way to the Grey Cup this week end. I want to ask and invite all mem bers to join in wishing them well In their competition in Toronto on Sunday. This is an important event not just in the sport ing community, but I think it is an event that has uni ted Canadians in the past and will again in the future. The game is in Toronto but involves two teams from western Canada.

I think we all wish them well, wish our team well in Tor onto, look forward to a highly competitive and

18 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 highly entertaining game as usual. Of course I think we would be remiss, and I would not be totally open if we did not say that we of course hope or at least I certainly hope that the Blue Bombers em erge vict orious, but we look forward to a competitive game. Now one other thing the members have been indicating in Question Period that my colleague the member for Crescentwood (Ms. Gray) has been wearing Tory blue. In fact, it is Blue Bomber blue today, Mr. Speaker, that she is weari ng. I simply wanted to clarify that. Thank you. Hon.

Gary Fllmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I certainly on behalf of all my colleagues- Mr. Speaker: Does the honourable First Minister have leave to make a nonpoli tical statement? (agreed] Mr. Fllrnon: On behalf of all my colleagues in government, I certainly want to join with the member for St. James (Mr. Edwards) in wishing the Blue Bombers well. I will not be so timid about my partisanship as I normally am, but I will tell him that I have no hesitation in saying that we are firmly 1 00 percent behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. We do not worry about people who might want to cheer for the Calgary Stampeders.

We believe that we have the best team in the Grey Cup, and they represent the best city and the best provi nce in Canada. We are going to be out there cheering for them, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Jerry Storie (FIIn Flon) : May I have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? (agreed] Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to join with my colleague from St. James and the Premier in wishing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers all the best, of course, in the upcoming game. We expect that the Blue Bombers will win and my caucus certainly, to a person, is going to be I think supp orting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

I did want to say that there is another team in Toronto working on behalf of Manitobans. I think it would be appro priate for this Legislature and certainly our party to wish Mayor Thompson well in seeking to re-est ablish Winnipeg as a home for the next Grey Cup game or the Grey Cup game in the future. The Grey Cup event here in Winnipeg had been a significant boom to tourism and to the local business, and I think that othe r team should also be encour aged. We hopE;, that Mayor Thompson will bring back good news that Winnipeg will be again the site of a Grey Cup iin the future.

MATTER OF URGENT PUBUC IMPC:IRTANCE Mrs. Sharon Carstalilrs (L•der of the Second OpposHion): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Osborne (Mr. Alcock), that under Rule 27.(1 ) that the ordinary business of the House be set aside to discuss a matter of urgent pubftc importance, namely, 1the Introduction of Sunday shopping in Manitoba. Mr. Speaker: Before dete1 rmining whether the motion meets the requitrements of our Rule 27, the honourable Leader of 1the second opposition party will have five minutes to state her case for the ur gency of deba ting thiis matter today.

A spokesperson for the !:}Oifennment and the official opposition party will also have five minu tes to address the position o,f their party respecting the urgency of debating thi:t� matter today. •

(1050) Mrs. carsta lrs: Mr. Speake1r, there are two specific rules in the House which leads to the introduction of a debate under Rule 27. One is that notice be given, and I believe that we have in fact deah adequately with that having given notice just at midnight last evening of our desir e to do thiis; secondly, there has to be no other reasonable opportunity to debate this particular motion. Now normally speaking, Mr.

Speaker, we would be in a Speech from ht Thn:>ne debate which is a wide open and public proceS!I and any matter could be debated at that particular point in time, but we are dealing with a very special day in terms of the Throne Speech DebatEtl. h has been traditional in this House that today's de bate would be given to the mover and the seconder of the Speech from the Throne. his rare that any member of the opposition gets an opportuni ty to de bate, on this particular first working day of a legit�tlve session.

If Sunday shopping was not taking effect until the following Sunday, then it could indeed be ruled, I think, that the Throne Speech De bat,e was an adequate op portunity for people to dialogue on this very

November 27, 1992 LEGISLAT IVE ASSEMBLY OF MAN ITOBA 19 critical matter, but this is not the situation. This action is taking place this Sunday. The mover of the Speech from the Throne, if the mover takes the traditional time, will in fact be speaking until about 11 :40. The seconder will then be speaking until12:2 0. We adjo urn at 12: 30. That does not give any opposition memb er in this Chamb er the oppo rtuni ty to present to this gove rnment why we believe they should hear a range of opinions with respect to Sunday shopping and not simply the narrow views of that expressed by their own cabinet.

We believe that there are even member s of their own back bench who might like to participate and express their concerns about an initiative which I think all of us would recognize is not truly a valid study. Anything which is put into place for five months generally becomes a fait accom pli. All we have to do is look at the actio ns of the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship (Mrs. Mitchels on), who changed gambling hours for the summer and then they went on fore ver. Mr. Speaker, we truly do believe that this meets the obligations under Rule 27.

There is indeed no opportunity for memb ers of the opposition. There is indeed no opportunity for memb ers other than those two who have been designated by the gov ernment to be the mover and speaker on the Speech from the Throne. In order to deal with this matter, which is of concern to Manitobans, we must deal with it today. Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader) : Indeed there are a number of tests that we apply in this House as to whether a matter of urgent public importance is in order. I think if one looks at the situation, there is some argument that can be made in both senses.

Obvio usly, we are in the Throne Speech Debate and, normally, that does allow a fair amount of leeway in terms of allowing debate on a wide range of issues but, on the other hand, there is a very specific role. This is perhaps the one day of debate, as the Leader of the Liberal Party (Mrs. Carstairs) pointed out, that is very specifical ly by tradition reserved for the speeches of the mover and seconder from the Speech from the Throne. In fact, in the years that I have been in the House I have never seen a divergence from that, Mr. Speak er. We believe that that is important.

It is a very important opportunity for the mover and seconder of the throne speech to be able to speak, and I believe that it is a tradition that we all share an interest in. That is the dilemma that faces us today, Mr. Speak er, and you in your ruling as to whether there is another opportunity. The second point indeed, Mr. Speaker, as has been pointed out, is that this issue of Sunday shopping has apparently been decided in cabinet. It is being implem ented this Sunday before we have even had a debate in this House on legislation to bring that in.

I would take from the throne speech that we are going to have retroactive legislat ion on Sunday shopping in this province, and that is absolutely reprehensible. It places us in a difficult position today in the sense that even if we have this matter of urgent public importance debated, it will be nothing more than a generalized debate and will not give us the opportunity to do what we really want, which is to deal with the issu e in a bill so that we can debate it and we can vote and have a decision made by this House. Let us not forget , this issue has traditionally been dealt with on an all-party basis.

It was dealt with by the NDP go vernmen t by all par ties. Thi s gove rnm ent sh owed its new level of highhandedness, its autocratic behavio ur by ramming through something in its cabinet and then dictating that to the province of Manitoba before it is even dealt with in the Legislature. That is un accept able. For those reasons we would certainly welcome the chance to debate this.

I would suggest that if the government has concerns about a matter of ur gent publi c importance, the way we could deal with this matter right now is for them to announce when they are going to bring in the bill, the retroactive bill, and announ ce when we are going to have the opportunity, as memb ers of the Legislature, to speak out on behalf of our cons tituents. In my case, point to the mistakes this government is making by pushing ahead, ramming this through, when even some of their own caucus members do not even agree with this. So the bottom line is, Mr. Speaker, we want a debate on this issue.

More importantly, we and the people of Manitoba, and not just the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, but people in the city, people in the rural areas and in the northern areas , want more than a matter of urgent public impo rtance

20 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 for debate . They want to have a say, and it is about time the governmen t of Manitoba let them have a say. Hon. Clayton Manness {Go vern ment House Leader) : Mr. Speaker, the great left-wing coalition of this province is still alive. Here we have a situation today where the opposition parties are trying to argue for the urgency of debating Sunday shopping. The throne speech makes reference to the fact that the government will be bringing in legislation dealing with this issue.

Let me say that I have given notice, at least my office has given notice to the Cle rk's Offi ce. I believe that the Order Paper on Monday, if not Tuesday, will ind icate that the bill dealing with Sunday shopping will be introduced for first reading next we ek. Furthermore, Mr. Speak er, as soon as the Throne Speech Debate is concluded, we will obviously be calling that bill for second reading at that partic ular time. Let me point out, Mr. Speake r, the bill will be enabling only. It will not force anybody to shop on Sunday. It will not force anybody to work on Sunday.

So the argument is not whether or not this bill is debated befo re Sunday coming. That is a ruse. Mr. Speak er, let me also say, though, that the weakest argument put forward by the opposition is that tradition dictates that members opposite cannot speak today. That is not a rule. Any member today can get up and speak after the seconder. I am led to believe that the to tal number of minu tes that our mover and seconder will consume fo r the Throne Speech Debate totals roughly between 40 and 50 minu tes. So there will be ample time for the Leader of the Second Opposition (Mrs.

Carstairs), if she so chooses, to get up and make her presenta tion. It is a wide open debate. For those reasons , Mr. Speaker, I say to you that there obviously is no urgency. There is obviously an incredible opportu nity to debate this issue over all of next week, over all of the Throne Speech Debate and, indeed, more importantly, my promise to the House that this will be called in a bill fashion for second reading as soon as we have considered the Throne Speech Debate . * (1 1 00) Speak.er's Ruling Mr.

Speaker: I would like to thank all honourable members for their adviice as: to whether the motion proposed by the honourable member for River Heights (Mrs. Carstaim) should be debated today. I did receive the notk::e required under our subrule 27 .(1 ). According to our Rule 27 and Beauchesne's Citations 389 and 390 .. the re are two conditions to be met before a mattEtr of 1public importance can procee d. They are: (a,) the :subject matter must be so pressing that the or dina ry opportunities for debate will not allow it to be brought on early enough; and (

b) it mu:st be shown that the public Interest will suffer 111 the matter is not given imm ediate attention. With the respect to the timiing of the discussion of the matter, there are n•:> other opportu nities for this Asse mbly to discuss the matter before Sunday shopping commences on a trial basis In Manitoba on Sunday, November 29.

Regarding the second criteria for discussion of a matter of urgent public importance, that having to do with the urgency of the matter, I am not convinced that the matter is so pressing that the public interest will suffer if It is not gi"1fen irnmed'l8te attention by being debated today. I am aware that member s view the matter to be a pressing one, and I understand this issue will affect a large number of people in the work for�• and business , but I am not convince that the public: will suff er. Therefore, I am ruling tha·t it does not meet the criteria set by our rules a.nd practices.

Further, there will be an opportunity �:>r the matter to be debated when legislati on is befc1if'e the House to provide for Sunday shopping. Mr. Kevin Lamour eiL.IX {Second Oppos ition Hou .. Leader): Mr. Spea1ker, with respec t, I challenge the ruling. Mr. Speaker: The ruling of the Chair has been challenged. Shall th4:1 ruling of the Chair be sustained ? All those in favo ur, please say yea. Some Honour able Me111nber.s: Yea. Mr. Speaker: All those oppoiSed, please say r�ay. Some Honourable Members: Nay. Mr. Speaker: In my opinion, the Yeas have it. Mr. Lamoureu x: Yeas and Nays, Mr. Speaker.

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 21 Mr. Speaker: Call in the memb ers. The question before the House is: Shall the ruling of the Chair be sustained? * (1 12 0) A STANDING VOTE was taken, the result being as fo llows: Yeas Cumm ings, Dac quay, Der kach , Downey, Driedger, Ducharme, Enns, Ernst, Filmon, Findlay, Gilleshammer, Helwer, Laurendeau , Mc Alpine, Mcintosh, Manness, Mitchelso n, Neufeld, Orchard, Pallister, Penner, Praznik, Reimer, Render, Rose, Sveinson, Vodrey.

Nays Alcock, Ashton, Barrett, Carstairs, Cer illi, Cheema, Chomiak, Dewar, Doer, Edwards, Evans (Brandon East), Friese n, Gaudry, Gray, Hick es, Lam our eux, Lathlin, Maloway , Martindal e, Plohman, Reid, Santos , Storie, Wasyly cia-Leis, Wowc huk. Mr. Clerk (William Remnant) : Yeas 27, Nays 25. Mr. Speaker: The ruling of the Chair has been sustained. ORDERS OF THE DAY THRONE SPEECH DEBATE (First Day of Debate) Mr. Speaker: Consideration of the speech of the honourable Adminis trator. Mrs. Louis e Da cquay (Se ine Riv er ): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable member for Portage Ia Prairie (Mr.

Pallister) , that an humble address be presented to the honourable Admin istrator as follows: We, Her Majesty's dutifu l and loyal subjec ts, the Legisl ative Assembly of Manitoba, in session ass embled, humbly thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which Your Honour has been pleased to address us at the opening of the present ses sion. Motion pr esented. Mrs. Dacquay: Mr. Sp eaker, I regard the challenge of moving the acceptance of the throne speech as both a privilege and an honour. I would like to thank the Premier (Mr. Filmon) for providing me with this opportunity.

I would also like to begin by extending my congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, on your reappointm ent to the Off ice of the Speaker. I have experienced the challenges of the Chair and I congratulate you for your patience. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to you and your office , the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk and all of the staff in the Clerk's Offi ce, Hansar d staff, the Sergeant-at Arms and the Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms for their assistance and co-operation extended to me as my ro le of Deputy Speaker.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all honourable mem bers back to the Chamber for another session and, in addition, I would like to extend a sincere welcome to the two new member s of the House, my colleague the honourable member for Portage Ia Prairie (Mr. Pallister) and the opposition member the honourable member for Crescentwood (Ms. Gray).

I would also like to extend a welcome to our new Pages, and we are im pressed with their first initiative this morning: Matthew Jenkins from Selkirk, Jeffrey Peters from Oakville, Trevor Rudge from Portage Ia Pra irie , Tina So ntag from Dugald, Karen Tymofi chuk from Winnipeg and Gaetane Manaigre from Lorette. I am sure you will find your time here in the House both rewar ding and exciting. Mr. Speaker, I am always mindful that I would not be here if it were not for the support of my constituents.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the residents of the Seine River constituency for their conti nuing support and for the input I receive from them as I go door to door and as I attend functions, events and meetings throughout my constitu ency. I always enjoy opportunities to meet with constituents and hear them express their views on the state of Manitoba today. I am proud to say, Mr. Speak er, that one of the views expressed most often by my constituents is the confi dence and the trust that they have in our Premier, Premier Filmon.

As well, they have expressed great confidence to me in our government's ability to properly manage Manitoba's economy. Mr. Speaker, we are all keenly aware of the difficult times that have been facing Canadians from coast to coast. Conver sely, I think that as Canada moves out of this recession we are all aware that

22 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA !November 27, 1992 Manitoba is leading that challenge to better times. In 19 90, this gov ernment ma de a strong commitment to Manitobans to make our province strong. We are keeping our comm itment as Manitoba emerges in excellen t shape, because the Filmon governmen t made the right choices. Mr. Speaker, I wou ld like to take a few momen ts to put some of the good news on the record . This gov ernment has managed to cut and hold the line on taxes for the past four years. I consider that a major a ccom plishment.

We have , while keeping the deficit down, maintained spending levels on the services Manitobans depend on the mo st Education, Health, and Family Services. Mani toba's economy is impr ov in g . The unemploymen t rate Is the second lowest in the country. In the last two months, the total number of empl oyed people has grown by 11 ,000 In Manitoba . That is the best growth rate in the cou ntry. As wel l, recen tly the Co nfer en ce Board of Canada announced that Manitoba's real gross domestic product growth for 1 992 will share first place with Alberta among all Canadian pro vinces. I consider that also good news.

More and more e mployment opportuni ties are being opened through government initiatives. In the past year, we have developed a number of progra ms, one of which is Partners withY outh. This is a partnership betw een business, youth and our government, and it did create jobs for young Manitobans. Another program which bene fitted the youth of Manitoba was the program Ready Green Team . This job initiative helps prepare youth for careers in the future. As I travel across my constitu ency and across Manitoba, I am extremely interested in hearing what Manitobans have to say.

One of the commen ts that I hear most frequently is the pride that Manitobans have in themselves and in our great pro vince. A few weeks ago, the Economic Innovation and Technology Council held a forum which brought together representat ives from business, labour, governmen t and education to discuss common problems and possibl e solutions for Manitobans. I was pleased to partici pate in this foru m. From all indica tions, it was a success, as new contacts , ideas and solutions were developed. This is, I feel, the type of approach we need to the economic challenges which face our province .

This great pro vinc ::e of ou rs has endl ess opportunities for everyo11e within its borders. In the past four years, more a1nd more people outside of Manitoba are also realizi�J this. A number of companies are decidinu that Manitoba is the best place in Canada and fo1r that matter the best place in the world for them to do business. Companies like Apotex, Medix and Ayerslt in Brandon are just a few that are investing in Manrtobans and Manitoba . Outside of Manitoba, man�' cities, provinces and countries are discovering what Manitoba has to offe r. Last year, Manitoba' s merchandise exports were $3.1 billion.

This )''ear, c>Ur province's exports are anticipated to grow by 13 percent. For our economy to expand, this type of growth must contin ue. We are also attractiing many new visitors to Manitoba. One of the best tourist attractions in the prov ince is our feat1Jre at The Forks. This gove rnmen t is comm ittEtd to lthis area , and we are confirming our commi'tment with a contribution towards the relocation 10f the' Manitoba Chi ldren's Museum to once again nnhance The Forks site and its potential as a major tc1(Jrist attraction.

In addition , a brand new , state-of-th,a-art tourism centre is to be bui lt once again on that magnificent site , our meeting place . In fact, Statistics Cansda recently amounced that our province is expected to have the second largest increase in total capital investment of anywhere in Canada. Manitoba ranl,led No. 1 in private capital investment intentions and Nc>. 1 in manufacturing investment inte ntions. • (1 13 0) The world is a rapidly changing place. As a pro vince, we must be pt1·eparEtd for these changes, because there is a tn�mendous opportu nity for Manitoba to grow, and we must seize the momen t.

Manitoba has to continu•1� attratcting new business to our prov ince for a number of re asons, two of which are to keep the economy growing and to continue the expansion of the province's tax base . The expansion of the tax base means that taxes can be kep t down, which mak e:s my co nstitue nts particu larly happy and all Manitobans extremely happy. Equally as im portant, .attracting new business will provide an environment conducive for companies to invest in Manitoba It is .a chaiin that is held together only because each link is strong, and the chain's

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 23 success depends on the strength of each link. The gov ernment of Manitoba is comm itted to keeping taxes as low as poss ible, not only for the benefit of the citizens of this pro vince, but also so we can con tinue to attract new business from around the wor ld. As these businesses grow and expand, there are more companies and em ployees in the province who are going to pay taxes which will allow our gov ernment to provide the most important human servic es-Ed ucatio n, Health and Fa mily Services.

Undoubte dly, one of the most important services we provide is that of education . The children of today must be properly cared for, nurtured and edu cated . We must use the tools of today to ensure that the work force of tomorrow has all of the tools necessary to succeed. I applaud this government's commitmen t to education in our provi nce of Manitoba. I particularly welcome one of the government's latest initiatives in cont inuing its strong role in education, namely, the construction of the new K-9 school , Ecole Highbury, which opened in the River Park South area this past September.

I had the pleasure and honour of attending the official opening of this school together with my colleague the honour able Minis ter of Education and Training (Mrs. Vodrey) just this past Wednesday. This is indeed a facility to be proud of. In the past year, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of schools in my constit uency of Seine River. This provided me with an opportunity to speak to both educators and students and to listen to their concerns about their schools and the education system In general.

As a form er educator and a proud grandmother of three preschool grandsons, I am deeply concerned about education . My const ituency is primarily comprised of young families who have children entering the public school system. I am pleased that our gover nmen t will be exploring options toward im proving standards and increasing province-wide testing and evaluation in the most im portant areas such as sci ence, mathem atics and language arts. Parents want quality education for their children and we, as a gov ernment, must always be looking to im prove our education system.

To that end, our gove rnment will be hosting an inno vative forum to discuss the implem entation of vital education refo rms. Our gov ernment has and will con tinue in the future to make education a top priority. The education that we provide for today's youth is the inspiration and the training for tomorrow's career. Another of our gove rnment's progr ams which has enjoyed success is the Commu nity Places Progr am. This past fall, I had the distinct pleasure of working with the H S Paul School parent association who participated in this progr am.

The parents' association worked tirelessly to raise fun ds independent of gov ernment, and our gov ernmen t assisted by approving a Commun ity Places grant to construct a long-awaited neighbourhood play space and recreation area. I am confident that it will prov ide the communi ty with lasting benefits for many years to come. Health care and educa tion are on the min ds of my constituents and on the minds of most Manitobans. Our government has maintained priority spending on these vital human services. The necessity and protection of these services cannot be overstate d.

In Manitoba one of the most im portant issues and challenges fa cing our gove rnment is health care . We, as gove rnment, have a duty and an obliga tion to protect and preserve one of the finest health care systems in the entire world. In Manitoba it does not matter how rich or poor you are, how old or young, what your race or you r re ligion is, you are simply entitled to the best medical care that can be given. As a recent user of our health care syste m, I am gratef ul for the excellent, efficient health care that is provided to Manitoba ns.

Recently, our government has taken steps towards im proving our health care syste m. The challenges and problems of the current system have meant a shift in the health care ser vices from high co st ins titutions to commu nity-based fac ilities. This is an im portant move by our gove rnment, one which ensures that our children and our grandchildren will have a health care system which will adequately address their needs. It is the need of Manitobans which guides the gove rnment as we attempt to provide Manitobans with the best health care possible. We must take advantage of the latest technologies.

With that in min d, I am pleased that the development of computerized health card technology in the area of Pharmacare is a priority of our honourable Minister of Health (Mr. Orc hard). Our govern ment has taken many steps to improve the health care system in Manitoba. This past spring I had the honour of participating in the

24 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 opening ceremonies of the Family Birth Centre at Victoria General Hospital with my colleague the honourable Minister of Health. This is a first; it is the first such facility in Canada. The Victoria General Hospital not only emplo ys numer ous constituents of my constituency of Seine River, but it also provides health care services to those residents. This centre was made possible by a $700,000 capital grant from our pro vincial government. This inn ovative centre combines labour, delivery, recovery and postpartum in one room.

As well, the patient's stay at the hospital is reduced by half to now 48 hours while reducing costs by combining two separate nursing areas . * (1 140 ) As I have mentioned, two of the most im portant areas of concern to our government and to all Manitobans are education and health care. These two areas came together this past spring to form a partnership in education. This was once again an initiative of the Victoria General Hospital, and a tripartite agreement resulted between the Victoria General Hospit al, Glenla wn Collegia te and the Royal Bank.

This initiative saw the hospital assisting students through job training program s and various other educational programs related to the health care field. The Royal Bank and the hospital hosted the students at semina rs and conf erences and introduced them to skills req uired that relate to banking and health care. It is a program that I know will be beneficial to both the students, our youth, and the hospit al. One of the things I am most proud of in my constituency is the level of volu nteerism .

In particular, at Dakota Commu nity Centre, many volun teers give endless amounts of time and energy to the community and our youth. I had the honour of hosti ng a Canada Day celebration this past summer that included a salute to volu nteers. Over 15 0 volun teers were given certificates and a Manitoba spruce tree was planted to commem orate this special day. As a member for a constitu ency with a large number of fam ilies, I know how im portant it is for people to become involved in their com munity.

Many constitue nts vol unteer in nu mer ous or ganizations, such as Pride, Brown ies, Girl Guides, Cubs and Scouts. We all need to lend our wisdom, experience and knowledge to Manitoba's youth. Mr. Speaker, I would li�te to share with this Chamber another example of volunteerism and Manitobans pulling tog,ether to accomplish a goal. This past fall was the o·�:>n of the Annual Terry Fox Torch Light Run in St. Vital Park. Once again, together with my colleagues the honourable Minister of Government Services (Mr. Ducharme) and the honourable memb er for St Vital (Mrs.

Render), I had the privilege of participating in this exciting event which is organized and run by many people, includin g tea·cher s:, admin istrators and students of the St. Vital School Division. Terry Fox is still and will always be ll national hero to all Canadians. His legacy of courage pushes all of us to volu nteer, to work and to strive for a better tom orrow. This past spring, I also ha<ll the honour of hosting and participating with many dedicated constituent volu nteers in the Me1nitoba Cancer Research Foundation fundraising fashic:Jn show.

A number of volu nteers worked long and hard to make this fas hion show a succeS�S�<, and I thank my colleagues who participated. We raised over $1 ,200 towards this most worthwhile charity. Desp ite the challenging economic times in Canada, the province of Manitoba is leading the way to recovery and pros�Mity. The government has played a large role in helping to build a stronger Manitoba. Our govemment is working together quite successfully, I beliieve, 'INith the private sector and all Manitobans. Mr. Speaker, the beiSic concerns of people in Manitoba are being heard and are being dealt with.

I am particularly proud of our government's record of a ccom plishments, and I am confident that our gove rnmen t will cont i nue to wor k with all Manitobans to build a stronger Manitoba, strengthen our economic growth across the province and provide a positive futurE!! for the youth of Manitoba. Mr. Speak er, I am pe1r sonally comm itted to those goals, and I will continut:� to listen to the concerns of the people of Seine Ri'o,'er and to work diligently to address those concer!'lf:l. Thank you. Mr. Br ia n Pall lster (Por tage Ia Prai rie) : I expected to be heckled , Mr.

Speaker, but by the other side of the House . I would like to begin, Mr. Speaker, by thanking you and this House for the opportu nity to speak today and to second the Sp1Meh from the Throne. To begin, I would like to praise the people of my

November 27, 1992 LEGISlATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 25 constitu ency who have been so supportive and helpful of me during both the election campaign and since that time. As well, I would like to pay tribute to the prev ious member from Portage Ia Prairie for his six years of dedic ated service to our constitu ency. As memb ers of this Asse mbly, we have a common desire, and that desire is to shape the future of this pro vince. Althou gh our visions may certainly vary at times, I believe that we have that common thread running through all of us.

We are not prepared to accep t the false fact that our future is one that is predet ermined. Instead we choose to believe that we have power; we recognize that other jurisdictions and circumstances may limit the extent to which we are able to influence the future but we persevere in the attempt neverthe less. I think this is a noble attempt. Other honourable memb ers have preceded us in this esteemed Chamb er with these same desires, their circumstances perhaps more similar than different to ours. Their succe sses or failures, history will judge, but I salute them for their efforts and I salute you for yours .

I am deeply honoured to join with you in the attempt. I believe it is custom ary, Mr. Speaker, at this time to spend a little bit of time educati ng my fellow members on my home constituency and I will do so now . Portage Ia Prairie is Manitoba's third largest city outside of Winnipeg. It is home to 13 , 000 people. Our city and our district off er an impeccable quality of life.

From the spectacular featu res of our beautiful Island Park to our new 18- hole golf course, the deer pens, our exhibition grounds, to the beauty of Crescent Lake, where national water skiing competitions have bee n held, where car ice racing has been held in the winter and York Boat races have been held as well, the city is indeed a winter and summer wonderland with a multitude of family and individual entert ainment opportunities.

From organized and casual sporting events at the Centennial Arena to the Republic of Manitobah Park to an eclectic mix of art program ming at the Portage and District Arts Council, there is opportunity in Portage Ia Prairie to get involved . Indeed we are involved as a community, Mr. Speak er.

Our involvement is highlighted by the annual Portage Exhibition, the Strawberry Festi val, and perhaps most recently was illus trated in our successful hosting of the World Junior Curling Championships which saw over 350 volunteers give of their time to put on an event which was of a world-class nature-a credit not only to my constitu ents, but to all of us in Manitoba . Urban living blends with cou ntry style in my community, Mr. Speaker. We have over 10 0 community volun teer organizations, a superb educational system from kindergarten to high scho ol.

I believe the presence of two new Pages from Portage Ia Prairie-Mr. Trevor Rudge and Mr. Jeffrey Peter�s testament to the quality of education in our area. We offer post-secondary opportunities at the Red River Co mmu ni ty College, Patal Vocational Institute, as well as the Yellow quill College. These educational institutions provi de excellence in both regional learning venues, and focus as well is placed on our daycares, chur ches, modern equipped general hospital and personal care home, our new Douglas Campbell Lod ge, as well as our fine Herman Prior Seniors Centre.

Portage Ia Prairie is a lifestyles focus of the central region of this pro vince. Portage Ia Prairie's gove rnment service sector is also significant. It is a regional service sector for the Province of Manitoba . It is home to the Manitoba Developm ental Cen tre . It is the location of Southport Aerospace Centre as well as others. Government recognizes Portage Ia Prairie as a significant pro vincial commu nity. In terms of tou rism, I have long felt that Portage Ia Prairie was the hidden jewel of this pro vince.

It is located along major transportation corridors and is ideally located as far as tourism development. Currently there are multitudes of conventions held, sports events draw people from around the pro vince, and in addition ou r National Strawberry Festival draws tourism dollars from other parts of the pro vince and the country as well as from the United States. * (1 15 0) The Delta Marsh, Mr. Speaker, located just outside of our city has long been recognized as a world-class waterfowl staging area, and it has proven to have magnetic appe al to nature lovers the world arou nd.

Many of my fe llo w me mbers, presently and in the past, have enjoyed the beauty of this area. It is interesting to note that in fact in the

26 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 19 30s and '40s, such people as Clark Gable, Carole lombard, Ernest Hemingway, Dick Po well visited this area, and it has long been an attractive area in this pro vince. An Honourable Member: Harry Enns. Mr. Palllster: And Harry Enns as well I believe. Agriculture is at the heart of our economy, boasting the richest agricultural land I believe in western Ca nada, Mr. Spe aker.

Capable of producing a mix of high-value vegetable grains, special crops, fruit crops, the central region of our province, with Portage as Its hub, is indeed microcosm of the entire province's econom ic base. Farming in the Central Plains Region is big business. Urban and rural economies are married. In terms of industry, in Portage Ia Prairie our in du stry is linked intimately to its agricultural advantage, as it should be. The Agri-Food sector in Portage Ia Prairie translates into such operations as McCain Foods, Woodstone Foods and the new Can-Oat Milling plant.

It translates into a provincial and federal acknowledgement of this strength through the presence of the Manitoba Food Technology Research Centre, as well as the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute and others . It is a solid base upon which we have built, Mr. Speaker. It is responsible for thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. It is our natural stre ngth. In terms of location, Portage Ia Prairie is ideally situa ted . We are astride the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway route .

We are along the CNR and CPR main lines complete with one of two Canadian diamond cr ossov ers of those main rail lines. We are positioned strongly as a transportation and distribution centre. Portage's daily newspaper, The Daily Graphic, and the local radio station CFRY help to keep our area's citizens well informed on local, provincial and national issu es, as does Manitoba's only independent television station which chose Portage Ia Prairie as its home. This adds an outstanding dimension to a commu nity of this size.

Because of its many resources, chief of which are its fine people, the Portage Ia Prairie of today is indeed a vibrant and attractive com mun ity-a co mmuni ty which I am indeed proud to call my home. Mr. Speaker, it has been said, and wisely so, that "Hi story is a great tea cher." I believe this to be a true statement, so please allow me to provide you with some greater insights into my communi ty by going back in time, bac:k, way back, long ago, to an ancient time, before t�1e member for lakeside (Mr.

Enns) was in this Hou91:t, be fore this House was built in fact, before there W•lotre partisan political parties, perhaps even before the biirth of the member for Rossm ere (Mr. Neute•d) , before all of these things, there was an awesome land, much of it unknown even to its inhabitants, and there was a river, the Assiniboine River. It �tas the major transportation route and the major commu nication system of what is today Manitoba .

Via this route in 17 3SI, Sieur Gaultier Varennes de Ia Verendrye , whose marvellous statue graces the east entrance to our House, came to Portage Ia Prairie with three sons in blrc::hbark canoes. His voyage of dh: �covery had co mmer cial motivations as he established trading posts to assist in the French fur trade. Fort La Reine was e•stablished near the current site of Portage Ia Prairie arid becam e one of the chief trading posts of the French in the West throughout the 18th and earlly 19th centuries.

The locality was used as a ·t::arrying place for the native people as they travelled between the Assiniboine River and lake Manitoba, helllCe, the name Portage Ia Prairie. As you can see, Mr .. S peaker, my constitu ency has long been a well-lo •cated commercial center. Archdeacon Cochrane, of the East Church Mission Society, is credited with having established the first white settlemE•nt in Portage Ia Prairie in 185 1.

He had been giving spiritual guidance to the Red River settlement 80 kiilom etres to the east and, perhaps in frustra tion, travelled that short distance to Portage Ia Prairie alol'lQ with 151 oyal membe rs of his cong regati on, fo· rmin !g a nucleus of the settlement. The settlement grew and a1s it did the problems of governing it also gr•ttW. There was extreme lawlessness and a fair number of unsavoury characte rs, in cir ect q1:>position to the meeting I attended this past Wt:tekend with some of my colleagues where we had a very civilized gathering, Mr.

Speaker, and perhap s more res embling a meeting held the week. earlier attended by some memb ers opposite.

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 27 In response to the lack of attention being paid to these problems by the territorial authorities in Winnipeg, a local group of concerned citize ns, led by grocer Thomas Spe nce, declared independence and founded the republic of Manitoba. They set up a courthouse and jail, and they even tried to collect taxes.

Althou gh the repub lic's life was not long, messages are clear: Any gove rnmen t that ignores the people of Portage Ia Prairie and area does so at its extreme peril; and secondly, my constituency is politically active as evidenced by the large number of influe ntial representatives it has selected over the years including four Manitoba Premiers: John Norquay, Douglas Campbell, Walter Weir and Sterling Lyon as well as one Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighe n. The Portage Ia Prairie of today faces many challenges, Mr. Speak er, as you know, but the Portage Ia Prairie of the past faced challenges as well.

Shortly after its incorporation in 188 0, its main street was destroyed by fire, and the council declared bankruptcy and resi gned, and the school board resigned as we ll, but Portagers rebuilt, phoenix-like, rising from the ashes. They established the provi nce's leading brickyard and within a very short time were producing two and a half million bricks a year. Portage brick, in fact, was essential for the construction of many buildings in Winnip eg at that time as well as in ot her commu nities of this pro vince.

By 19 00, Portage Ia Prairie had been transformed from a clapboard frontier town with a muddy ox cart trail as its main thoroughfare to a modern, civilized com mu ni ty-! repeat civiliz ed-with attractive multistory brick buil dings of distinct architectu ral quality lining the most developed and visually appealing main street in this country, west of Winnipeg. Economic devastation is not new to Portage Ia Prairie, Mr. Speaker. The Lake of the Woods Milling Plant was one of Canada's leading producers and suppliers of ground flour. It was Portage Ia Prairie's largest single em ployer for over four decades.

In the early 19 40s, this plant downsized and then closed, giving as its re asons consolidation with its eastern Canadian operations, similar to the re cent closur e of the Cam pbell Sou p plant in our commu nity. Portage Ia Prairie regrou ped and quic kly re-es tablished a viable econom y. The Portage Ia Prairie area has been knocked down before , Mr. Speaker, but we have steadfastl y refused to stay down. The past is prolo gue. My constituents' predecessors faced challenges ranging from fire and flood to disease and drought.

Whatev er the cha llenge, these peop le, my peop le, have responded with intelligence and energy and have dedicated themselves with successful results. Today's challenges are more sim ilar than different to those of the past, Mr. Speaker. You are aware of the recent closure of the two major employers in Portage Ia Prai rie, but it has been said that through adversity we grow stronger, and such is the case in Portage Ia Prairie.

The strength of cooperation among various economic development agencies in our comm unity was a key factor in the pro curement of the privatized flight training contract for the Department of National Defence . A co-operative communi ty economic developmen t foru m, the first of its kind in this pro vince, was established in Portage Ia Prairie in order to harvest the skills, energy and dreams of concerned consti tuen ts. Our Ch am ber of Commer ce became increa singly proactive and est ablished industry and agriculture commi ttees.

These are increasingly involved in the pursuit of opportunities and in the ach ievement of goals that we all share for a progressive Portage Ia Prairie and area. People who had been content to spectate , Mr. Speaker, and to dele gate respo nsibilities for the communi ty's future are no longer on the sidelines. Today, in my commu nity, they have entered the playing field. They have done this because they recognize the consequences of apathy, or wor se, of petty criticism . In our past, in my commu nity, Mr. Speaker, we may well have had an overabundance of critics.

It has been said, and I do direct this comment to my new friends opposite , that a donkey can kick a shed do wn, but it takes a carpenter to build one. In my community, we have an ever increasing number of Portage Ia Prairie's people, Mr. Speaker, who un der stand the simp le wisdom of that statement. Unfor tunately, it appears that the members opposite are simply wishing to supply furthe r evidence of their lack of under standing of the statement. My constituents and I will build, Mr.

28 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA November 27, 1992 Speaker, and we will build because it is our legacy to build. In the fall of 19 28, disaster came to a family farm just outside of Portage Ia Prairie. A couple was awakened by the screams of animals. Looking out into the night, they were horrified to see the glow of fire in their bam. Although able to free the livestock, they could not extinguish the blaze, which to tally destroyed the barn. In these times, the bam was most often a more significant investment than was the home, and such was the case with this young family.

Within hours, the communi ty was aware of the dilemma and they responded imm ediate ly as was the custom of country comm unities of this time. Within 1 0 days, through the combined efforts of neighbours and friends, a new and a better structure was erected, better than before . This, for the benefit of my urban colleagues, was called a bam rai sing, perhaps the greatest example of how our pioneers worked together to build from adversity. They worked toge ther, and they were builders. • (1 200) Today, Portage Ia Prairie faces adversity , Mr. Speaker, and together my constitu ents and I will respond .

We will build. We will build because our will is strong. We will build because we love our communi ty, and we love our province. We will build to give our ch ildren and grandchildr en the opportunity to make their future in our city and district and in this province of Manitoba. We will build to preserve our careers, our families, our futures. We will build because it is our nature to do so, because that is what our pioneer prede cesso rs did. It took skill. It took a co-operative spirit.

It took vision, and we have an abundance of those qualities in Portage Ia Prairie, and I believe we have an abundance of those qualities in this House and in this government. Mr. Speaker , I am asked will Portage Ia Prairie succeed in the future, and I say of course, certainly. History is an excellent teacher. My new colleagues of the Manitoba Legislative Ass embly, we have each been shaped by our past experie nces whether within the confines of this lovely building or in the real world outside it. We bring with us many skills, many diverse skills. I am a resident of rural Manitoba.

I appreciate the greater challenges of distance and time faced by haHthe resi dents of this provi nce, and I applaud the efforts of this gov ernmen t in their attempts to assist rural development through :!luch initiatives as the REDI and Grow Bond program s. Building a stronger rural economy is an essential part of Manitoba's economic r1mewal, Mr. Speaker. Growing up on what is today a fourth generation family farm, I have a personal sympathy for the great challenges faced by our 1�arm ope rators .

This government has been c:ognizant of the needs of our farm sector and rightfullly so, for though we have a diverse economy the a�gricutture sector will remain a key influence on this �� nee 's future success. I encou rage and support the• initiative of a forum bringing together strategic partners in agriculture in order to ide ntify din •ctions in diversification, value-added processil'l4 ;,� and exports . Havi ng taught hi1 1Jh school in your own cons tituency, Mr.

S1 peak•er, in the beautiful communi ty of Gladsto ne, I have an understanding and concern for the challenges faced by our educational system, and I am pleased to learn that the government will host a Manitoba education innovation for um. This is the type of leadership Man itoba needs in order to achieve the oppor tunities of the future and unlock the pote ntial that exists in our youn•g peclf>le. I am particularly pleased with the establ ishment of a program to recognize excellence in education, thus recognizing the pivotal role which our teachers play.

Having built a financial senrices firm from nothing to a reasonably succesHful operation-at least it had been successfu l until my present foray into this Chamber -! have fir st-hand understanding of the challenges faced by th•�t smnll business person in our province today. I congratulate this government in its struggle to hold th•e line on taxes , while at the same time providing :neaningful education and training supports such as the Workforce 2000 program . As a financial consulltant, I am fully cognizant of the unlim ited diffic:u lti:es fatc:ed by all of us in managing very lim ited cllollars .

I will encourage this gov ernmentto avoid the coume of action mistakenly being followed by other prov incial jurisdictions. The idiocy of spending one'::i way out of debt makes no more sense in government than it would make sens e in your own home • or business. The spendaholic: tendencies of prev ious pro vincial and federal gove rnmen ts '!Nere short-term solutions which now contribu te• to long-term problems. Surely, we must learn frc:>m th4� mistakes of the past, Mr. Speaker.

November 27, 1992 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 29 Our Manitoban and Canadian society is a changing one. Any suc cess that I have experienced in my life has come about because of a willingness to respond to change and a strong work ethic. Genuine respo nsibility and genuine responsi ble leadership must set an inno vative and dedicated example. I look forward to serving my constitu ents in such a manner, both as an individual and as part of a talented group whose commitment to the people of this pro vince is unquestionable and which I share. Many have asked what is in the future for Manitoba.

My fine and talented colleagues of the Manitoba Legisl ative Ass embly, whose common desire it is to shape a positive future for this pro vince, to know what is in the future, look to the courageous past. Manitoba is a province of pioneers, people who came here, whether in pre vious centuries or in this one, with dreams of a better life. In the past, Manitobans have repeatedly dem onstrated their willingness and their ability to face challenge. They have done so as well or better than any Canadian pro vince. Will Manitoba succeed in the future ? Of course, Mr.

Speaker, certainly, because history again is an excellent teach er. Our predecessors rose to face the challenges of this era, of their era. Our task is to face the challenges of today successfu lly, with courage, with cooperation and with vision, and I believe we will. Thank you. Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): I move, seconded by the member for Thompson (Mr. Ashto n), that the debate now be adjourned. Motion agreed to. Mr. Speaker: Is it the will of the House to call it 12 :30? The hour being 12 : 30, this House is now adjourned and stands adjourned until 1: 30 p.m. Monday.

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Friday, November 27, 1992 CONTENTS Introduction of New Members Department of Education and Training Brian Palliste r Gray; Vodrey 16 Film on 9 Civil Service Avis Gray Ashton ; Filmon 16 Carstairs 9 Nonpolitical Statements ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Winnipeg Blue Bombers Edwards 17 Presenting Petitions Filmon 18 Pharmacare System Reform Sto rie 18 Cheema 9 Matter of Urgent Public Importance Oral Questions Sunday Shopping in Manitoba Econ omic Growth Carstairs 18 Ashton 19 Doer; Filmon 9 Manness 19 Education System Speaker's Ruling Chomiak; Vodrey 11 Econ omic Gro wth Matter of Urgent Public Imp ortance Carstairs; Filmon 12 November 27, 19 92 Health Care S�stem Roc an 20 Wasylycia- eis; Orc hard 13 Mining Indus try Stor ie; Downey 15 ORDERS OF THE DAY Mining Reserve Fund Throne Spee ch Debate Storie ; Downey 15 (Fi rst Day of Debate) Education Syste m Dacquay 21 Gray; Vodrey 16 Pallister 24

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Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	35-4-2
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Volume / chapter	35th 4th hansardpdf 2.pdf
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