Manitoba Hansard — 17 April 2013 (Sitting 24, 40th Legislature, 2nd Session)

40-2-24

Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session - Fortieth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Official Report (Hansard) Published under the authority of The Honourable Daryl Reid Speaker Vol. LXV No. 24 - 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, 2013 ISSN 0542-5492

MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Fortieth Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ALLAN, Nancy, Hon. St. Vital NDP ALLUM, James Fort Garry-Riverview NDP ALTEMEYER, Rob Wolseley NDP ASHTON, Steve, Hon. Thompson NDP BJORNSON, Peter, Hon. Gimli NDP BLADY, Sharon Kirkfield Park NDP BRAUN, Erna Rossmere NDP BRIESE, Stuart Agassiz PC CALDWELL, Drew Brandon East NDP CHIEF, Kevin, Hon. Point Douglas NDP CHOMIAK, Dave, Hon. Kildonan NDP CROTHERS, Deanne St.

James NDP CULLEN, Cliff Spruce Woods PC DEWAR, Gregory Selkirk NDP DRIEDGER, Myrna Charleswood PC EICHLER, Ralph Lakeside PC EWASKO, Wayne Lac du Bonnet PC FRIESEN, Cameron Morden-Winkler PC GAUDREAU, Dave St. Norbert NDP GERRARD, Jon, Hon. River Heights Liberal GOERTZEN, Kelvin Steinbach PC GRAYDON, Cliff Emerson PC HELWER, Reg Brandon West PC HOWARD, Jennifer, Hon. Fort Rouge NDP IRVIN-ROSS, Kerri, Hon. Fort Richmond NDP JHA, Bidhu Radisson NDP KOSTYSHYN, Ron, Hon. Swan River NDP LEMIEUX, Ron, Hon. Dawson Trail NDP MACKINTOSH, Gord, Hon. St.

Johns NDP MAGUIRE, Larry Arthur-Virden PC MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Flor, Hon. Logan NDP MARCELINO, Ted Tyndall Park NDP MELNICK, Christine, Hon. Riel NDP MITCHELSON, Bonnie River East PC NEVAKSHONOFF, Tom Interlake NDP OSWALD, Theresa, Hon. Seine River NDP PALLISTER, Brian Fort Whyte PC PEDERSEN, Blaine Midland PC PETTERSEN, Clarence Flin Flon NDP REID, Daryl, Hon. Transcona NDP ROBINSON, Eric, Hon. Kewatinook NDP RONDEAU, Jim, Hon. Assiniboia NDP ROWAT, Leanne Riding Mountain PC SARAN, Mohinder The Maples NDP SCHULER, Ron St. Paul PC SELBY, Erin, Hon. Southdale NDP SELINGER, Greg, Hon. St.

Boniface NDP SMOOK, Dennis La Verendrye PC STEFANSON, Heather Tuxedo PC STRUTHERS, Stan, Hon. Dauphin NDP SWAN, Andrew, Hon. Minto NDP WHITEHEAD, Frank The Pas NDP WIEBE, Matt Concordia NDP WIGHT, Melanie Burrows NDP WISHART, Ian Portage la Prairie PC Vacant Morris

537 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Wednesday, April 17, 2013 The House met at 1:30 p.m. Mr. Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom and know it with certainty and accomplish it perfec tly for the glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen. Good afternoon, everyone. Please be seated.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS INTRODUCTION OF BILLS Bill 20–The Manitoba Building and Renewal Funding and Fiscal Management Act (Various Acts Amended) Hon. Stan Struthers (Minister of Finance ): I move, seconded by the Minister of Health (Ms. Oswald), that Bill 20, The Manitoba Building and Renewal Funding and Fiscal Managem ent Act (Various Acts Amended), be now read a first time. Motion presented. Mr.

Struthers : This bill will–would ensure stable, transparent and dedicated funding for Manitoba's Building and Renewal Plan, as well as making amendments to The Balanced Budget, Fiscal Management and Taxpayer Accountability Act related to federal transfers, the net income of major Crown agencies and the duration of the economic recovery period. Mr. Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Some Honourable Members: No. Some Honourable Members: Agreed. Mr. Speaker: I hear a no. Voice Vote Mr. Speaker: All those in favour of the motion, please signify by saying aye. Some Honourable Members: Aye.

Mr. Speaker: All those opposed, please signify by saying nay. Some Honourable Members: Nay. Mr. Speaker: In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. Recorded Vote Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Official Opposition House Leader): A recorded vote, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker: A recorded vote having been requested, call in the members. Order, please. Order. The question before the House is first reading of Bill 20.

Division A RECORDED VOTE was taken, the result being as follows: Yeas Allan, Allum, Altemeyer, Ashton, Bjornson, Blady, Braun, Caldwell, Chief, Chomiak, Crothers, Dewar, Gaudreau, Howard, Irvin-Ross, Jha, Kostyshyn , Lemieux, Mackintosh, Maloway, Marcelino (Logan), Marcelino (Tyndall Park), Melnick, Nevakshonoff, Oswald, Pettersen, Rondeau, Saran, Selby, Selinger, Struthers, Swan, Whitehead, Wiebe, Wight. Nays Briese, Cullen, Driedger, Eichler, Ewasko, Friesen, Gerrard, Goertzen, Graydon, Helwer, Mitchelson, Pallister, Pedersen , Rowat, Schuler, Smook, Stefanson, Wishart. Clerk (Ms.

Patricia Chaychuk): Yeas 35, Nays 18. Mr. Speaker: I declare the motion carried. * (13:40) Any further introduction of bills? Seeing none, we'll move on with– PETITIONS St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park Mr. Ian Wishart (Portage la Prairie): Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly.

538 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 And the reasons are as follows: The St. Ambroise provincial park was hard hit by the 2011 flood, resulting in the park's ongoing closure, the loss of local access to Lake Manitoba, as well as untold harm to the ecosystem and wildlife in the region. The park's closure is having a negative impact in many areas, incl uding disruptions to the local tourism, hunting and fishing operations, diminished economic and employment opportunities and the potential loss of the local store and decrease in property values. Local residents and visitors alike want St.

Ambroise provincial park to be reopened as soon as possible. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To request that the appropriate ministers of the provincial government consider repairing St. Ambroise provincial park and its access points to their preflood condition so the park can be reopened for the 2013 season or earlier if possible. Signed by R. Bazin, L. Bazin and S. Labossiere and many, many more fine Manitobans. Mr. Speaker: In accordance with our rule 132(6), when petitions are read they are deemed to have been received by the House. Vita & District Health Centre Mr.

Dennis Smook (La Verendrye) : I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly. These are the reasons for this petition: The Vita & District Health Centr e services a wide area of southeastern Manitoba and is relied on to provide emergency services. On October 17th, 2012, the emergency room at the Vita & District Health Centre closed with no timeline for it to reopen. This emergency room deals with approximately 1,700 cases a year, which includes patients in the hospital, the attached personal care home and members of the community and surrounding area.

Manitobans should expect a high quality of health care close to home and should not be expected to travel great distances for health services. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To request the Minister of Health consider reopening the emergency room in Vita as soon as possible and commit to providing adequate medical support for residents of southeastern Manitoba for many years to come. This petition is signed by L. Boychuk, G. Boychuk and S. Korotash and many more fine Manitobans. Provincial Road 433 Improvements Mr.

Wayne Ewasko (Lac du Bonnet): I wish to present the follo wing petition to the Legislative Assembly. The background to this petition is as follows: Provincial Road 433, Cape Coppermine Road, in the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet has seen an increase in traffic volume in recent years. New subdivisions have generated considerable population growth, and the area has seen a significant increase in tourism due to the popularity of the Granite Hills Golf Course. This population growth has generated an increased tax base in the rural municipality.

Cape Coppermine Road was not originally built to handle the high volume of traffic to–which it now accommodates. We petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: To request that the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation recognize that Cape Coppermine Road can no longer adequately serve both area residents and tourists, and as such consider making improvements to the road to reflect its current use. This petition is signed by D. Henry, L. Lousier, C. Campbell and hundreds of other fine Manitobans. Municipal Amalgamations–Reversal Mrs.

Leanne Rowat (Riding Mountain): I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. This is the background to this petition: The provincial government recently announced plans to amalgamate any mun icipalities with fewer than 1,000 constituents.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 539 The provincial government did not consult with or notify the affected municipalities of this decision prior to the Throne Speech announcement on November 19th, 2012, and has further imposed unrealistic deadlines. If the provincial government imposes amalgamations, local democratic representation will be drastically limited while not providing any real cost savings–improvements in cost savings.

Local governments are further concerned that amalgamation will f ail to address the serious issues currently facing municipalities, including an absence of reliable infrastructure funding and timely flood compensation. Municipalities deserve to be treated with respect. Any amalgamations should be voluntary in nature and led by the municipalities themselves.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To request that the Minister of Local Government afford local municipalities –or local governments the respect they deserve and reverse his decision to f orce amalgamations –or municipalities with fewer than 1,000 constituents to amalgamate. R. Twretsky, R. Ziprick and S. Liske signed this petition and many, many other Manitobans. Hydro Capital Development–NFAT Review Mr. Blaine Pedersen (Midland): I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

These are the reasons for this petition: Manitoba Hydro is mandated by the provincial government to commence a $21- billion capital development plan to service uncertain electricit y export markets. In the last five years, competition from alternative energy sources is decreasing the price and demand for Manitoba's hydroelectricity and causing the financial viability of this capital plan to be questioned. The $21- billion capital plan requires Manitoba Hydro to increase domestic electricity rates by up to 4 per cent annually for the next 20 years and possibly more if export opportunities fail to materialize.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro create a complete and transparent Needs For and Alternatives To review of Manitoba Hydro's total capital development plan to ensure the financial viability of Manitoba Hydro. And this petition is signed by R. Marginet, T. Simpson, R. McCallister and many, many more fine Manitobans. TABLING OF REPORTS Hon. Andrew Swan (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I'm pleased to table the Manitoba Justice Vehicle Impoundment Registry Annual Report for 2011-2012. Introduction of Guests Mr.

Speaker: Prior to oral questions, I'd like to draw the attention of honourable members to the public gallery where we have with us today from the Heart and Stroke Foundation Amber Mamchuk, Heather Carroll, Kathy Gutheil, Susan Punter, Lila Lewis and Dorothy Sawchuk. These folks are the guests of the honourable member for Kirkfield Park (Ms. Blady). On behalf of all honourable members, we welcome you here this afternoon. And also seated in the public gallery we have from Tec Voc High School 30 grade 12 law students under the direction of Ms. Amy McBride.

This group is located in the constituency of the honourable Minister of Justice (Mr. Swan). And also in the public gallery we have from St. John Brebeuf School 50 grade 4 students under the direction of Ms. Natasha Viselli. This group is located in the constituency of the honourable member for River Heights (Mr. Gerrard). On behalf of all honourable members, we welcome you here this afternoon. ORAL QUESTIONS PST Increase Request for Referendum Mr. Brian Pallister (Leader of the Official Opposition): Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget made it perfectly clear that the NDP is no longer the NDP; they are now the spenDP.

They ran on no tax increases. Every member opposite went to the doors and said, elect me, no tax increases. The Premier had no right to raise taxes a year ago. He had no right to raise taxes yesterday either. That's 400 million fewer dollars, Mr. Speaker,

540 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 in just two years, 400 million fewer dollars in the households of M anitobans who work for their money, struggling families struggling to make ends meet, seniors on fixed income, small -business people, the working poor, and these are the two largest increases back-to-back in Manitoba history. Now, the taxpayer protection act requires that Manitobans be asked to approve personal, corporate or business tax rate increases before they are imposed. So my question for the Premier is: When will Manitobans have the chance to vote on his spenDP sales tax hike? Hon.

Greg Selinger (Premier): Every single tax rate in the province of Manitoba is lower now than it was when the member opposite was [inaudible]. One point two billion dollars of tax relief has been offered. When the members opposite were here, the small-business tax rate was 9 per cent. Today it is zero in the province of Manitoba, Mr. Speaker. The property tax credit for homeowners was $250. Today it is $700. * (13:50) Yesterday the members opposite got up and asked for $112 million of infrastructure investments in the province of Manitoba.

And in today's –in yesterday's budget, we promised $10 million for Victoria Avenue in Brandon. I hope the member of Brandon West will be supporting that when the budget comes for a vote, Mr. Speaker, and other examples to come. Mr. Pa llister: The Premier spends an inordinately large amount of time talking about yesterday, Mr. Speaker. He sure as heck can't see the future of this province, that's for sure. The Premier goes out yesterday and he claims that he has a mandate–he claims he was given a mandate. He claims he has the right to increase taxes, but the mandate was based on a promise: no tax increases.

And his mandate was based on that promise, and a real mandate is based on keeping a promise, Mr. Speaker, but a broken promise means a counterfeit mandate, no real mandate. This government's addicted to spending, and addicts will beg, they'll borrow, they'll steal, and their mendacity knows no bounds. Now he says he has a mandate; he doesn't. He says he can raise taxes; he shouldn't. And he thinks he can tear up the taxpayer protection act, and he doesn't have the right to tear up the taxpayer protection act. When will he call a referendum and let Manitobans decide what kind of mandate that Premier has? Mr.

Selinger: Mr. Speaker, yest erday members asked for $112 million of infrastructure investments in the province of Manitoba. We gave them a budget–we provided a budget that will invest in Victoria Avenue. We provided a budget that will invest in Provincial Road 340 for $1 million this year. For the member in the constituency of Spruce Woods, we've got $10 million in the budget. Fourteen million dollars for Winnipeg roads, we've doubled the money for Winnipeg roads in this budget. We've doubled the money outside of Winnipeg. We have add itional money in southwest Manitoba where heavy trucks are travelling.

The future of Manitoba will be much brighter if we invest in infrastructure. And the future of Manitoba will be much brighter if we do not follow the advice of the Leader of the Opposi tion and cancel all the hydro projects. Manitoba's future is bright if we stimulate the economy, train our young people and create jobs. And that's what this budget does; it grows the economy of Manitoba. Mr. Pallister: Well, grasshoppers in charge of the garden, Mr. Speaker. They had a prosperous decade–they had the most prosperous decade in the history of the province.

They had the highest increases in revenues, they had the highest increase in transfers of any government in Manitoba history, and they ha ve the lowest interest rates in modern history, Mr. Speaker. If the Premier wants to examine history, take a look back at this last decade and describe it as a missed opportunity. I think he would; I know Manitobans do. They had a decade to prepare for floods and they didn't do a thing. They had a decade to pay down debt, and the grasshopper spenDP over there doubled the provincial debt. They had a decade.

Manitobans have had a decade to see the NDP in 3D, crystal -clear 3D: debt, deficit, and now desperation, Mr. Speaker. Does the Premier realize that in his pursuit of higher taxes he has not only broken his word, he's put the price of his integrity at 1 per cent? Mr. Selinger: Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the Leader of the Opposition acknowledged the last decade as one of prosperity in Manitoba.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 541 And it started the day we came into office, because what we did, we learned the lessons when he was in office, when he slashed welfare rates, when he cancelled the capital program for health care, when he refused t o build schools, when he slashed the program for roads in Manitoba, Mr. Speaker. We're doing things that build roads. We're doing things that build personal care homes. We're building hospitals, we're building schools and we're building infrastructure. Just today, Mr.

Speaker, the economic forecast for Canada came out with a dramatic reduction in the growth of the economy this year, to 1.5 per cent. The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that Canada should continue to grow the economy. This budget grows the economy. It puts people to work. It educates them. It builds hydro. It builds a bright future for Manitoba. And the debt load in Manitoba, the cost of servicing the debt in Manitoba, is half of what it was– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. PST Increase Request for Referendum Mr.

Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): This budget does one thing: It taxes hard- working Manitobans, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past we've seen the arrogance of this NDP government when they changed balanced bud get law so they didn't have to balance the budget. We saw their arrogance when they changed the legislation to protect the salaries of their ministers after they were incompetent. Yesterday we saw their arrogance when they decided that 1.2 million Manitoba ns wouldn't have the say not only that they deserve but that they are entitled to under the law in Manitoba.

The law says you have to ask 1.2 million Manitobans before you increase the PST. Will they put aside their arrogance today? Will they follow the law? Will they allow 1.2 million Manitobans to have their voice? Will you call the referendum as you should, sir? Hon. Greg Selinger (Premier): Mr. Speaker, perhaps they didn't notice it in the budget yesterday, but 5,500 Manitobans were removed from the tax rolls in this province. Manitoba has the largest free–largest tax -free zone in Canada for small business at $425,000, zero tax on small business in Manitoba.

Seniors saw their property tax accredit increase yesterday to $1,100, Mr. Speaker, the highes t it's ever been in the history of province of–in the history of this province. Mr. Speaker, we are bringing forward a program that will invest in schools, personal care homes, roads. Even the members opposite asked yesterday did we make those investments. And we have people that are facing the third major flood risk in the last five years, a $1.2- billion event in the 2011, and we are going to invest money to protect Manitobans to ensure that they have safety, they have security, they have good roads– Mr.

Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. Minister's time has expired. Mr. Goertzen: Mr. Speaker, Manitobans, they need protection; they need protection from this government. This is a government that is led by a Premier who broke his election promise. It's supported by a Cabinet that protects its salaries, and it's upheld by 36 NDP ML As who believe that they know better than 1.2 million Manitobans. Manitobans have been guaranteed in law that they would be given a say about whether or not a PST increase would occur, and this Premier pulled that guarantee, that right, out from them under in yesterday's budget.

Despite all the excuses, Mr. Speaker, will the government confirm the only reason they won't allow this to go to a referendum is because they know that Manitobans would overwhelmingly say no? Mr. Selinger: Mr. Speaker, perhaps the members opposite will let us know whether they really supported those requests for $112 million of additional investments yesterday. Did they want those roads or not? Did the member from Steinbach want that personal care home or not? If he wants it, we've provided a budget that'll allow those things to happen in Manitoba. We will provide that to Manitobans right now.

We cannot afford to lose this year's construction season, Mr. Speaker. This construction season will allow thousands of Manitobans to have j obs. It will allow Manitobans to go to work and build a stronger province. It will allow apprentices to be trained in the province of Manitoba. We have a commitment to 75,000 more skilled workers over the 'nate' –next eight years. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. The minister's time has expired.

542 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 Mr. Goertzen: You know, Mr. Speaker, Bill Blaikie may have been able to remove socialism from a party constitution, but he couldn't remove it from these NDP MLAs. This is a government that believes it is better and smarter than the people that it purports to govern. We reject that. We believe in the wis dom of the family who's trying to make end meets. We believe in the wis dom of those new Manitobans who are trying to build a better life, and we believe i n the wis dom of those small businesses who are competing locally and against our American friends.

We believe in the taxpayer accountability act that was put in place to protect Manitobans from this kind of government. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier please listen to the wisdom of these Manitobans and give them the referendum that they are legally entitled to, sir? * (14:00) Mr. Selinger: Mr. Speaker, we have listened to Manitobans. Manitobans told us they want better roads in this province; this budget delivers on that. The members opposite do not want to build any roads in Manitoba, we've discovered today, even though they asked for $112 million yesterday. This budget builds more schools for Manitobans.

Members opposite asked for schools, but they always vote against it when it's put in the budget, Mr. Speaker. This budget builds more hospitals. The members always vote against that when the budget comes up, Mr. Speaker. This budget reduces taxes for low -income families, takes 5,500 people off the roll s and increases tax credits for senior citizens. Mr. Speaker, this budget grows the economy. It keeps people working. It stimulates the economy. It creates employment at a time of economic uncertainty. And it puts resources in place to face the third major flood risk in five years in the history of Manitoba.

Those things are what Manitobans asked us to do. This budget delivers on that, Mr. Speaker. NDP Election Promises Tax Increase Mrs. Myrna Driedger (Charleswood): Mr. Speaker, this Selinger government promised no taxes, no new taxes, in the last election– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. From the comments I just heard from the member for Charleswood, we're to refer to members of the Assembly by their constituency names or ministers by their portfolio. So I ask the honourable member to ask her question with respect to the constituency name or the minister him or herself. [interjection] I stand corrected.

My apologies to the member for Charleswood. I should wait for her to finish her comments before I would make a ruling in that regard, so my apology to her, and I'll let her continue with her question here. And we'll make sure that the time is adjusted accordingly. Mrs. Driedger: Mr. Speaker, this spenDP government promised no new t axes in the last election, which was only a year and a half ago. A few months later, they hit Manitobans with the biggest tax grab in 25 years. Yesterday they hosed Manitobans with an even bigger tax grab.

So I have to ask this Premier of Manitoba: Did he make that election promise only to get elected? Hon. Stan Struthers (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, our commitment to Manitobans, when they face the flood, is to stand with them, and we have done that. And we continue to do that. And, Mr. Speaker, it's very clear, it's absolutely clear to everyone, except, I guess, the people across the aisle, that we face some real threats right in front of us in this province, and that is in the form of three floods in five years. They're extreme ly stressful events for Manitobans.

Members opposite should not make light of that. Mr. Speaker, we had a decision to make, and we made the decision not to put our heads in the sand and ignore those threats, those flood threats, and not to ignore the inv estments that we should be making in infrastructure. We're going to stand with Manitobans on this; you're not.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 543 Mrs. Driedger: Mr. Speaker, in the election, the Premier (Mr. Selinger) said, and I quote: Our plan is a five -year plan to ensure that we have future prosperity without any tax increases, and we'll deliver on that. That is what the Premier of Manitoba said. So I would like to ask the Premier: Why did he mislead Manitobans by saying no tax increases, then turn around and hit them with the bigges t breach of trust this province has ever seen? Mr. Struthers: Mr.

Speaker, when it comes to taxes, we were very clear to the seniors of this province that we would remove them from the education portion of their tax bills. We did that in yesterday's budget. I'm voting for seniors in this budget. What are you going to do? Mrs. Driedger: Mr. Speaker, lies, lies and more lies, broken promises, breach of trust, lack of integrity and lack of credibility. So I would like to ask this Premier: Why should anybody believe anything he ever has to say again? Mr. Struthers : Mr.

Speaker, because our Premier works very hard on behalf of the people of Manitoba, our Premier works very hard to protect Manitoba families who need that protection from what could be–and just look out the window and see what you see–what could be the third major flood in five years. Our Premier works very hard to protect Manitoba families. Our Premier works very hard to provide the seniors' tax credits. Our Premier works very hard to take people off the tax rolls: 5,500 Manitobans taken off the tax rolls yesterday. I guess you're going to vote against that, are you? Tax Increase Impact on Families Mrs.

Leanne Rowat (Riding Mountain): Yesterday Manitobans witnessed an arrogant NDP government who made it tougher for families to make ends meet. What we learned was that an average family of four will now be paying over $1,200 a year due to increases and additions to the PST brought in by the NDP in the last two years. It is clearly evident tha t the NDP hiking taxes every chance they get, those extra living costs look more and more unaffordable every day. A local blogger said, and I quote: As a young professional, this province continues to push out west.

I have been working for two years now at my current job, but the western provinces just look better and better every day. Well, Mr. Speaker, we have an arrogant NDP government whose slogan says, focused on what matters to families. However, today's news headlines read: New 8 per cent PST tax. No wonder our young generation are heading out west. I ask the Minister of Finance: What part of enough do you not understand? Hon. Stan Struthers (Minister of Finance): On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, our population in Manitoba continues to grow and grow and grow.

This same member just stood just a few minutes earlier today and asked us –in the context of her petition–she asked us to provide stable, predictable funding for infrastructure. That's what the budget did yesterday. She should be voting for it. She should stand up for her constituents and say, here's a good budget. Here's some investments in infrastructure for that family of four she just mentioned who needs that protection from their government, and we're going to give it to them. Child Poverty Rate Mrs. Rowat: Mr.

Speaker, according to the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, the child poverty rate in Manitoba has gradually increased and remains at 6.4 per cent–points higher than the national average. Marla Somersall of the Samaritan House in Brandon indicated that the 1 per cent increase in PST will have a negative impact on the working poor in Westman. This sector of the Westman population are the highest users of the Samaritan food bank. Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of Finance: While the rest of Canada is improving the rates of poverty, why is the NDP government intent on driving more and more Manitobans below the poverty line? Mr. Struthers: Mr. Speaker, that's just not accurate. That's not correct. Yesterday's budget was very clear. We're increasing the–by a significant amount the rent aid that goes towards people that she claims to be concerned with. Yesterday's budget increased the number of social and affordable housing that Manitobans–by 500 units–in this budget. Mr.

Speaker, it is –it seems very rich for any Conservatives to stand in this House after they

544 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 clawed back the National Child Benefit when they were in government. When their idea of poverty– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. The minister's time has expired. * (14:10) Mrs. Rowat: I'm asking the tough questions for Manitobans who want answers, Mr. Speaker. The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg reports that Manitoba has the seco nd highest child poverty rate in Canada in 2012, with over 20 per cent of our children–that's about 54,000 children–living below the poverty line as defined by Stats Canada's low-income measures after taxes.

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, David Northcott of Winnipeg Harvest was asked if he saw anything in the budget that addresses the needs of those who often do without. His answer was no. One per cent increase in PST, I understand, that's to pay the bills. Every low -income family in Manitoba knows what it's lik e to run deficits and pay bills. They do not – they cannot do it and they struggle. A society is judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Why has the NDP, Mr. Speaker, abandoned the most vulnerable Manitoba citizens– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Mr.

Struthers : Well, first of all, the dean of the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business, Mr. Michael Benarroch, said that the –that spending, Mr. spending –Mr. Speaker, spending is primarily focused on lower income Manitobans. That's absolutely counter to what the member opposite just said. I said in my speech yesterday that since the year 2000, between 2000 and 2010, there were 16,000 fewer people in Manitoba living in poverty. Yesterday's budget built on the successes that we've had in the past in dealing with this. We saved Manitobans money by moving forward yesterday in the budget.

Again, members opposite have a chance to join with us– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. The minister's time has expired. PST Increase Government Promise Mrs. Bonnie Mitchelson (River East): During the 2011 election campaign the Premier (Mr. Selinger) said, read my lips: no new taxes. Mr. Speaker, that was his commitment and this government's commitment to the taxpayers and the voters in Manitoba. Well, Mr. Speaker, $184 million in new taxes last year, and yesterday a 1 per cent PST hike was rammed down the throat of Manitoba taxpayers.

Today Frank, an angry Manitoban, said of the Premier, and I quote, he lied to us again. End of quote. Mr. Speaker– Mr. Speaker: I want to caution all members. I understand the –these situations can be highly charged for the debate that occurs in this Chamber, and I want to caution all members in the Chamber, please, in asking your questions and in choosing your answers, to pick and choose your words very, very carefully. Most members in here are very, very experienced and they are aware of the rules of the Assembly, so I'm adding this as a caution to all members. Choose your words very carefully, please. Mrs.

Mitchelson: Yes, thanks, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate your comments and your cautions. These were Frank's words and they were quoted. They were on CJOB this morning, and so I was just quoting an angry Manitoban. Mr. Speaker, what does the Premier say to Frank and to many other angry Manitoba taxpayers that believe that they have been lied to once again by this NDP government? Hon. Stan Struthers (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago we received a report that said to us, for the price of a billion dollars, you need to move forward and protect Manitoba families, including Frank.

We need to protect Manitoba families from an imminent threat, which is the – possibly the third flood in five years. Mr. Speaker, a month ago we were presented with a federal budget that said, we're going to put money on the table to build it –necessary capital, necessary infrastructure in this country, and we need to have some money for that too. We are moving forward in a fair way to make sure that we have money to be able to take advantage of those programs, to be able to protect Manitoba families from imminent flood danger. We're not going to stick our heads in the sand and ignore this.

We're going to invest in flood protection. We're

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 545 going to invest in capital in frastructure, and you should be there too. Request for Referendum Mrs. Mitchelson: Well, Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago and even just yesterday –as a matter of fact, right now, Manitobans have a law in place, a law that indicates that Manitobans have the democ ratic right to vote by referendum to say yes or no to a PST increase. What makes this arrogant NDP government think that they know best, that they can strip away this democratic right from hard- working Manitoba taxpayers? Mr. Struthers: Mr.

Speaker, may be across the way they just don't understand the urgency of what we face. Two weeks ago that report came forward – maybe they're just not interested. Mr. Speaker, we need to move quickly to make sure that we're in a position to protect Manitoba families fro m floods, we need to move quickly to make sure we can take advantage of federal dollars to provide infrastructure, and we need to do –move quickly to make sure our economy grows and we provide jobs and we provide good services that Manitobans come to rely on. We're seized of this undertaking. We know we have to move quickly. We're not– Mr.

Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. Mrs. Mitchelson: Well, Mr. Speaker, we can't deny what Frank said. Frank's an angry Manitoba taxpayer who said of the Premier (Mr. Selinger), and I quote, he lied to us again. Mr. Speaker: Order. I know I've already cautioned members of the House already, but I want to specifically address this to the member for River East with the greatest of respect. You cannot quote from a document and indicate things that are unparliamentary in the rules of the Assembly. So I caution the honourable member once again, and I ask her please do not reference that again.

So I'm offering this as a quote directly to the member for River East. Mrs. Mitchelson: Well, thanks very much, Mr. Speaker, and I'll quote from Jennifer who said this morning: I'm angry this government said they wouldn't raise my taxes, but, Richard, they're robbing me again. End of quote. Mr. Speaker, can this government tell Frank, tell Jennifer and many other angry Manitobans why they want to strip them of their democratic right to vote on tax increases and turn this pr ovince from a democracy into a dictatorship? Mr. Struthers : I don't know –I–Mr.

Speaker, Manitoba families expect that this government is going to move quickly to protect them and their families. They expect us to protect health care. They expect us to protect education; we're doing that. They expect us to protect them when there's an imminent flood threat, and we're going to do that. We have to move quickly; we cannot let a construction season go by. We have earmarked $100 million this year for flood protection, Mr. Speaker.

That flood protection, that $100 million will go a long way to provide security and to provide a little bit of relief for Manitoba families who are up against, again, quite– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. The minister's time has expired. PST Increase Infrastructure Spending Mr. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside): Mr. Speaker, they expect this Finance Minister to take his foot off their back, let them have a true choice. That's what Manitobans want. Mr.

Speaker, this government has broken its promise to Manitobans time and time again since the 2011 election, firstly by promising not to raise taxes and then this NDP government did raise taxes in last year's budget by record numbers. They stated that the gas tax would all go a hundred per cent towards infrastructure. They were sick and tired of the public I–being lied to. I ask the Minister of Infrastructure to be honest with the people of Manitoba, admit that the fact his government has misled all Manitobans. Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): Well, Mr.

Speaker, yesterday in anticipation of the budget, I was really pleased to answer questions about infrastructure in this province. And, you know, I was inspired today to go in my closet and bring out a cup, Yes Winkler!, because we were asked yesterday by member after member for initiatives that were going to deal with infrastructure issues in the budget. And I'm very pleased to indicate that we're addressing the needs of Winkler. We're addressing the need s of Brandon.

546 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 We're addressing the needs of members opposite, all members in this House, with a record investment, $622 million. * (14:20) And, Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite who spent 85 million on capital, we're spending 468. That's the truth. That's the honest truth and members opposite should admit to it– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Mr. Eichler: Maybe if the minister yells a little louder they'll hear him in Brandon as well. Just more rhetoric, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance (Mr. St ruthers) stated that 1 per cent sales tax is going into infrastructure.

The reality is that CAA and the Free Press' Bartley Kives get the fact the numbers don't add up. This government has to come clean with the truth. Mr. Speaker, I challenge the Minist er of Infrastructure to stop the rhetoric and tell the public that not all 1 per cent of the sales tax increase is going into the infrastructure budget. Come clean, Mr. Minister. Mr. Ashton: I'm not sure if my voice will be heard in Brandon, but our acti on as a government will be when this year, Mr. Speaker, we work on Victoria Avenue. And, Mr. Speaker, members opposite may be proud of the fact they spent $85 million on capital.

We actually, at that time, raised more money on gas tax than we spent. Well , we spend more money than we raise on gas tax and we're going to spend even more as part of this budget. The real question here, Mr. Speaker, is: Will the members opposite support a record investment in highways infrastructure? Mr. Eichler: Mr. Speaker , we will make sure he's hoed through–heard throughout the province as well, by this province's government and the rhetoric they put on the record each and every day.

The 1 per cent sales tax raise $198.5 million this year according to the government's numbers, and yet the infrastructure budget only shows an increase of $28 million over 2012. Clearly this does not add up. CAA states it, well, it's a shell game. Well, the minister should get some basic math lessons from CAA, the Free Press, to get it. Mr. Speaker, Manitobans deserve the truth. I asked the minister two times to tell the truth about his budget. Will the minister stand up, apologize to all Manitobans for misrepresenting the 1 per cent sales tax increase is not all going into infrastructure? Mr.

Ashton: You know, Mr. Speaker, I'm absolutely shocked that this member, who knows the impacts of the flood of 2011- 2012, will completely ignore the fact that, in addition to a record investment in our highways in this province, we're addressing in this budget the kind of challenge that the Roblin government in the 1960s addressed with the floodway; that our government, in the early part of our mandate, addressed with a billion dollars' worth of investment in flood mitigation infrastructure; the fact that we will not let the events of 2011- 2012, the major flooding that took place, go unaddressed.

We'll be there for those flood victims, whether the members opposite support us or not. Infrastructure Renewal Government Expenditures Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, this NDP government is misleading Manitobans. The budget delivered yesterday brings in a 3 million– $300-million-a-year tax grab, and yet the planned deficit at the end of this fiscal year, $502 million, is virtually the same as the $504- million deficit budget this time last year.

The Finance Minister says the $300 million a year will go all to new infrastructure, but the new money being spent in this budget is in operating funds for health and education and justice. I ask the Premier: Will he table today the complete list of all the new infrastructure on which he plans to spend the new $300 million? Hon. Greg Selinger (Premier): We will spend $1.8 billion on capital this year versus $1.4 billion last year. That list of priorities will be identified. There will be estimates. The full discussion of that will occur.

The member needs to know that when we put that money out there it will make a difference. It will build new social housing units. It will build new schools. It will build new personal care homes. It'll build new roads all across Manitoba, regardless of the constituency. It will do those things that protect Manitobans from floods at a time of imminent risk, when we've had the third major risk in five years.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 547 One point eight billion dollars in the budget this year, Mr. Speaker. PST Increase Government Expenditures Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): And yet still a deficit this year of $500 million. Each year since the NDP came to power in 1999, the government has tabled an expenditure budget. Each year at the end of the year, the NDP government has spent more than it budgeted, and this year it was $130 million more. The Premier said the 1 per cent sales tax increase will be temporary.

Does the Premier mean that it will be temporarily 1 per cent and then permanently something else, like 2 per cent? Hon. Greg Selinger (Premier): Mr. Speaker, the sales tax is going to be the third lowest in Canada and, just like the unemployment rate, will be among the lowest in Canada, and the participation rate of working Manitobans will be among the highest in the country, at 69 per cent. This budget will create jobs in Manitoba at a time of sluggish ec onomic recovery and economic uncertainty.

This budget will protect Manitobans from the threat of a third major flood risk in five years; $1.2 billion was spent in 2011. We will be there for Manitobans. We will not leave them alone at the time of peril during another flood risk in Manitoba. We will be there to support them. That's the promise we made. That's the promise we will keep. Constituency of Morris By-election PST Referendum Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, the NDP have brought in legislation to allow them to bring in a sales tax increase but depriving Manitobans of a democratic referendum, which they should have.

Manitobans are outraged. But the Premier now says a referendum is too expensive. Mr. Speaker, as a litmus test of publ ic opinion, the Premier could call the Morris by-election and add a question to the ballot: Do you, as a voter, approve of the increase in the sales tax by 1 per cent? I ask the Premier– Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I'm having a great deal of difficulty hearing the question trying to be posed by the honourable member for River Heights. I'm asking co- operation of the House to allow the member to ask his question. Mr.

Gerrard: I ask the Premier: Will he commit today to calling the Morris by -election this m onth and to give Morris residents a chance to vote on having an increase in the sales tax? Hon. Greg Selinger (Premier): I was very pleased to be in Morris, Manitoba, last Friday, Mr.

Speaker, and I complimented the mayor, Gavin van der Linde, on the excellent work he's done, providing leadership in that community against racist commentary by a very small group of people, by the homophobic commentary by a very small group of people, and the excellent leadership that community has provided with their citizens in fighting floods. And one of the things we saw in Morris, Manitoba, we saw a brand new Main Street. We saw brand new sidewalks through that community.

We saw very significant investment in infrastructure in that community, and now we're working on a long- term solution for that community. That community has a ring dike around it that never existed 12 years ago. That ring dike is to protect the people of Morris from the possibility of a serious flood risk. We toured that community. We saw the materials necessary to protect that community. We saw the new Main Street. We saw a community that's got prosperity because we've invested in that community, Mr. Speaker, a growing community, with good citizens. Infrastructure Protection Investment for Flooding Mr.

Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, today the Premier announced a new infrastructure funding plan for Manitoba. As the MLA for the Interlake, I and the people that I represent bore personal witness to the widespread and devastating impact that the flood of 2011 had on the infrastructure that serves the people of our province. I was especially gratified to see that PR 513, the road to the Dauphin River First Nation, was on the list in the budget speech yesterday for repairs.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation please inform the House of our government's plan for investment and how it will help Manitobans addressing the infrastructure needs of flooded communities in our province?

548 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): Mr. Speaker, as we prepare for the third major flood in five years, it's important we in this province not forget those that were so significantly impacted in 2011- 2012, in fact, Manitobans who are still away from their homes. * (14:30) I had the opportunity to meet, along with the member for the Interlake and our Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Kostyshyn), with representatives from around the lake earlier this week. And if there was one thing they said, Mr.

Speaker, they said, we know the kind of work that's been done in other areas, like the Red River, to protect those communities after past major floods. They pleaded with us to ensure that we did not forget them and forget what happened. Well, Mr. Speaker, what this budget does is not only does it not forget, it puts in place the kind of investments in flood protection infrastructure that are going to make sure that the people of Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin and other flood victims in 2011 will not only be forgot–they will not be forgotten and we will be there to meet their challenges in the future.

I hope members opposite will stand with us to support flood victims in this province. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. PST Increase Request for Referendum Mr. Reg Helwer (Brandon West): Mr. Speaker, this government tries to say that their plans are guaranteed by law, but we know that those laws are only good–they're only last as long as they're convenient to this government. A referendum is required by law to increase taxes such as the PST. Did this government break that law yesterday? Will the Premier (Mr.

Selinger) stand up in this House today and admit that this NDP government has lied to Manitobans about raising taxes? Mr. Speaker: I've cautioned honourable members during this sitting here today about the use of that particular word just used by the member for Brandon West. So I'm going to ask the member for Brandon West to please withdraw that word. Mr. Helwer: Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw it, but I understood a ruling previously that you did say the government could. I will withdraw the remark, Mr. Speaker. Mr.

Speaker: It was–to add some clarity to it, if it's directed at a particular member of the government. I'm asking the honourable member not to use that word with respect directl y to someone, nor can we quote from a document that someone may have provided to a member through email or some other source. So I'm asking the honourable member to be very cautious when using that word, please. Mr. Helwer: Mr. Speaker, I will continue. I understood that the government did indeed lie to Manitobans. But, Mr. Speaker, you know, on this side of the House we are very proud of our veterans.

We're very proud of those veteran Manitobans that fought in two world wars to defend our right to vote. And what's going to happen here, Mr. Speaker? This government wants to take away that very right through this legislation. That should not be allowed. Manitobans should be allowed to vote on this legislation. Hon. Stan Struthers (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, the member for Brandon East (Mr. Caldwell) and I had a very good morning with the folks of Brandon talking about our budget, and do you know what they said?

First of all, they were so glad that the member for Brandon East and this government delivered on infrastructure for Victoria Avenue, Mr. Speaker. You know what else they said, Mr. Speaker? They said they remember the pressure they were under two years ago when they had 18 feet worth of super sandbags along 18th avenue.

They remember those days, and they understand that this government needs to move forward quickly in the city of Brandon in co- operation with the mayor and the councillors to make sure that we deliver on that kind of protection, that kind of flood protection for the Manitoba families living in the second city of Manitoba, living in Brandon, Mr. Speaker. They get it. I only wish the member for Brandon West would get it. Mr. Speaker: Time for oral questions has expired.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 549 MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Hayden Tolton Mr. Ian Wishart (Portage la Prairie): Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise today to recognize the work of Mr. Hayden Tolten who was recently inducted into the Mani toba Agricultural Hall of Fame. Hayden grew up on a family farm near Otterburne west in Manitoba, graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BSE–A, sorry–in 1949. Always committed to soil conservation and good crop management, Hayden accepted a position as a soil specialist with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture in Winnipeg.

During this period, his interest in the subject led him to obtain his masters of science in soil fertility and statistics from the University of Manitoba in '57. In 1962 Hayden was hired as research director for the newly -formed Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation. As Manitoba was the first province in Canada to offer crop insurance, Hayden consulted with his American counterparts to learn from their experience.

Hayden's major contribution during this period was his work on soil productivity mapping and geographic risk areas, utilizing soil type data, precipitation statistics and a farmer's cropping and yield history. His main focus was to improve the accuracy and dependability of crop production and management records as the base for establishing insurance premiums. His methodology is still being used today and copied in many other jurisdictions. Later, as manager of MCIC, Hayden generously shared his expertise with other provincial insurance corporations.

His mentoring extended internationally in the later stages of his career, to wor k with countries such as Indonesia and Trinidad through his contacts with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. From Manitoba grain farmers–or from grain farmers in Manitoba to vegetable growers in Trinidad, there is a large debt of grat itude owed to Hayden Tolton for his groundbreaking work with crop insurance. It has provided many Manitoba –it has provided Manitoba farmers and thousands of others with risk protection insurance options vital – today's high-tech agriculture.

Hayden also con tributed to his community. He served as leader of the Boy Scouts, a board member for both the Portage Industrial Exhibition and the Rotary Club international. He was a canvasser for the United Way and CancerCare and is active in his church. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Heart and Stroke Month Ms. Sharon Blady (Kirkfield Park): Mr. Speaker, every year, February marks Heart Month in Canada. Today, heart disease and stroke take a life every seven minutes and 90 per cent of Canadians have at least one of the risk factors that can lead to these chronic diseases.

No one is safe from heart disease or stroke, conditions that cause 30 per cent of deaths in Manitoba every year and that can be devastating, not just to individuals but to entire families. There i s much that we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones. The Heart and Stroke Foundation, thanks to its dedicated volunteers and donors from across Manitoba and Canada, continues to make a real difference in reducing death and disability from heart d isease and stroke.

They are leading the way in promoting prevention of these diseases through healthy eating, physical activity and better lifestyle choices, because Manitobans have the power to make health last by addressing controllable heart and stroke risk factors in their daily lives. This past February, people across Manitoba got involved in promoting Heart Month. Heart and Stroke staff and volunteers held tag days in Safeways across the province, collecting donations and distributing resources on he art health. Volunteers also visited homes across the province to raise funds and help promote healthy heart choices.

Two of these hard -working individuals are in the gallery today. Mrs. Dorothy Sawchuk has been a volunteer with Heart and Stroke for 11 years and Mrs. Lila Lewis for 25. I am proud to say that they, along with 44 other Heart and Stroke volunteers, are from Kirkfield Park. The foundation also works to increase the number of people who survive cardiac arrest.

And research shows that using a defibrillator can increase survival rates by 75 per cent, and they are–and they – so they are partnering with the Manitoba government to make sure that automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, will be installed in high -traffic public places, such as community centres and airports, over the next year. Mr. Speaker, by promoting heart and stroke awareness, we can create communities that make the healthy choices the easy choice. Working hand in

550 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 hand, we can make a real difference for all Canadians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Park West School Division Mrs. Leanne Rowat (Riding Mountain): In celebration of Education Week, I woul d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Park West School Division and their outdoor education pilot project team. They are–they were awarded the Parks Canada 2011 ambassador of education award for Manitoba this year.

The team created a multidisciplinary outdoor education program targeted at students in grade 6 that takes place in Riding Mountain National Park in May and June of each year. Students from multiple schools are grouped together for two and a half days, allowing them to interact with people in their peer group from nearby communities and work with local experts. The students are engaged in activities that are a part of their grade 6 curriculum. They participate in activities such as macroinvertebrate identification, making pre-contact traditional pottery and take

part in geocaching exercise that utilizes global positioning satellites. The division's partnership with Parks Canada, the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve and the Friends of Riding Mountain National Park, along with local c onservation districts, has resulted in a program that engages students with their environment in a meaningful way. Again, I would like to recognize and congratulate the Park West School Division for spearheading this program and the youth in their division who excelled at an initiative that was well received. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. * (14:40) Peguis Juniors Hockey Team Mr.

Tom Nevakshonoff (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, involvement in sport is a great way for young people to get to work as a team, learn dis cipline and, most importantly, have fun. Today I would like to recognize one group of talented, hard -working young people for an extraordinary achievement. The Peguis Juniors hockey team from Peguis First Nation will represent Manitoba in the Western Canadian Junior B hockey championships held in St. Malo this week. They will compete for the Keystone Cup alongside the teams from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northwestern Ontario.

The Peguis Juniors have played hard this season and their dedication has pa id off. They swept the Manitoba Keystone Junior Hockey League with a record-breaking 35 consecutive wins and defeated the Selkirk Fishermen in the final to win the Baldy Northcott trophy. They deserve congratulations, but I also want to recognize all the h ard-working coaches, parents, volunteers and fans that have helped make this season possible for the Peguis Juniors. Mr. Speaker, hockey brings communities together.

In Peguis, hockey has brought families, friends and elders out to watch games and cheer on these dedicated, young men, and with the development of the new Peguis multiplex, partially funded by this provincial government, even more people will be able to get involved in the near future. Sport also forges connections between communities. The boys on the Peguis team come not just from Peguis and Fisher River, but from Winnipeg, Norway House, Ebb and Flow and Pinaymootang.

I invite all honourable members to join me in congratulating the Peguis Juniors and their supporters on their success this y ear, and in wishing them luck in the 2013 Keystone Cup. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker: Before I get to honourable member for River Heights, the honourable member for Interlake. Mr. Nevakshonoff: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I would ask leave, with the consent of the House, to submit the names of the Peguis Juniors into the record. Mr.

Speaker: Is there leave of the House to submit the names to–for Hansard to be included? [Agreed] Shane McPherson; Aaron Sinclair; Dallas Cochrane; Ralph Cochrane; Cole Murdock; Matthew Cameron; Preston Folster; Spencer Sutherland; Cody Zulyniak; Waylon Neault; Evan Spence; Tyler McKay; Jordan Anderson; Patrick Kirkness; Joseph Sutherland; Ryan Delorme ; Alex Sutherland; Skylar Tait -Reaum; Dwight Sutherland; Wayne Folster; Grant Sutherland; Jarrett Cochrane; Presley Kirkness; Head Coach, Farron Cochrane; General Manager, Doug Daniels; Assistant Coach, Martin Favell; Assistant Coach, Trainer, Troy

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 551 Cochrane; Trainer, Amie Lafreniere; Treasurer, Linda Sinclair. The honourable member for River Heights, thank you for your patience. PST Increase Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): The NDP have got themselves and us as Manitobans in a pickle with a very large deficit and a growing debt. They needed in this budget to confront the situation head on and provide a pathway forward; they didn't.

They're raising the provincial sales tax from 7 per cent to 8 per cent, bringing in an estimated $278 million annually from the pockets of Manitobans, and they still plan to have a budget deficit this year of over $500 million. One of the NDPs problems is their poor financial management. In the most recent fiscal year the NDP spent $130 million more than they budgeted for. This continues a pattern in which the NDP, every year they've been in power, have spent more than they budgeted. Cumulative overexpenditures have now reached more than $2.8 billion.

A fundamental principle of sound budgeting is to craft a budget that you can m anage within. It applies to a household budget, a business budget. But, sadly, the NDP don't understand this principle and have, as a result, run up large deficits, and Manitoba's debt is growing as well. Indeed, in the last five years Manitoba's provincial debt has grown very substantially. Manitoba's debt -to-GDP ratio has also grown significantly to reach almost 29 per cent at the end of this year. This means that our debt's growing much faster than our economy; it's not a good sign.

There should be a plan to address this and turn the situation around so our debt -to-GDP ratio decreases, not increases. Sadly, the NDP didn't include such a plan in their budget this year. The NDP are not only doing a poor job of financial management, they're also depriving Manitobans of their democratic right to vote in a referendum on any sales tax increase. This democratic right's been enshrined in law for almost two decades. The NDP are making a big mistake in removing legislated democratic processes.

Though this governme nt may succeed in its efforts to 'underdemine' democracy today, Manitobans will remember and will vote against the NDP the next time they have a chance. ORDERS OF THE DAY GOVERNMENT BUSINESS House Business Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Official Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, traditionally, after the budget is introduced, on the second day the Official Opposition Leader gives his address, his remarks to the budget. As often is the case, there is a scrum that's happening regarding comments, both with the Premier (Mr. Selinger) prior and now with the opposition leader.

I would ask the will of the House if we could have a five -minute recess with the bells ringing a minute prior so that the Leader of the Official Opposition (Mr. Pallister) could conclude his business with the media. Mr. Speaker: Is there leave of the House to have a five-minute recess to include a one- minute bell ringing to encourage members to return to the Chamber. [Agreed] So we're–recess for five minutes. The House recessed at 2:45 p.m. ____________ The House resumed at 2:50 p.m. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. House will now come to order. BUDGET DEBATE (Second Day of Debate) Mr.

Speaker: For adjourned debate, on second reading of the budget, on the proposed motion of the honourable Minister of Finance (Mr. Struthers), that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government, standing in the name of the honourable Leader of the Official Opposition. Mr. Brian Pallister (Leader of the Official Opposition): It's an honour and privilege to stand and speak to the budget. Regardless of our views on it, we respect the process and we respect our members and colleagues and friends opposite in their responsibilities and role. It is quite possible, Mr.

Speaker, to love people that you have trouble respecting–it is possible. It's hard sometimes, but it's possible. Thirty years ago this week, my uncle passed away at the age of 60. He

552 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 was a very easy man to like. He was fun, he could joke with the best of them, he was musical, he played bass in a country band all his life, he was an enjoyable person to be with. Unlike many of our older relatives, he always showed an interest in his nieces and nephews. He asked us about our lives, asked us where we wanted to go with them, asked us about our dreams and our hopes. He endeared himself to other people, especially his brother, my dad. I never saw my father more depressed than the week that my uncle passed on.

But in spite of all his wonderful qualities, my uncle was a hard man to respect, because he was a person who didn't have control of his life–his addiction did. And as I listened to yesterday's Budget Address by our Finance Minister, I recalled my uncle. I have to say, the addictive behaviours of this government reveal and repeat many of the most common traits of addicts. To satisfy their cravings, addicts will do anything, and this government appears addicted to a continuous behaviour despi te adverse consequences as a result of that behaviour.

The spenDP are creating such adverse consequences, not only for themselves, but for Manitobans as well. Classic hallmarks of addiction, Mr. Speaker, include impaired control over substances, and in t his particular government's case, the substance is other people's money and spending it is what they're addicted to. Now the habits associated with addicts are typically characterized by putting immediate gratification ahead of long- term delayed costs, and so it was with my uncle when he passed at 60 years of age. None of us doubted that he was at least partially responsible for the fact of his early passing.

The NDP's inability to control their spending has created an almost $30 -billion consolidated debt in our Province. This year alone, the interest cost to service that debt will add up to nearly a billion dollars, and those funds cannot be used–not a penny of those funds can be used for infrastructure; not a penny for health care; not a penny for educat ing our children; not a penny to protecting the people of this province; not a penny can go to anything that's helping today's Manitobans, that's focused on what matters most to families–not a penny. So what's the long-term consequence?

The long- term cons equence–that's what we have to think about. That's what responsible people think about – not addicts, but responsible people do. What's the long-term consequence for Manitobans when interest rates start to rise? Not good. Old habits are all hard to break, and old spending habits are also very hard to break. But this government has overspent its budget every year since it came to power –every year, and as a consequence has doubled the mortgage –the Manitoba mortgage that our children and we ourselves, as we ar e older, will be responsible for repaying.

Yet each year this government breaks its word, promises not to do it again, and then does. Just as my cousins grew to understand and sadly expect their father's broken promises, so too does the Manitoba family h ave reason to doubt the word of this government. Just one and a half years ago, a solemn promise by our Premier (Mr. Selinger): I promise not to increase taxes. Weeks later, the largest tax increase in over a quarter of a century. Manitobans understandably are skeptical. Another promise the Premier made: We are on track to balance the budget by 2014- 15. Add two more years to that goal and the result, Mr.

Speaker, is doubt. People doubt that they are being supported by the actions of this government. It is not words, it is deeds that matter. The heartbreaking broken promises of an addict who cannot or will not change cause frustration and anger and fear in those closest to them. And so it is understandable that we here in this House who are witnessing this, who are witnesses to this annual betrayal, are profoundly concerned and we must make an intervention on behalf of the people of our beautiful province. Withdrawal is a challenge for an addict, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the government claimed it was going to reduce its spending at some point. Later we'll encourage the government with some additional ideas, tomorrow I will outline in detail a number of ideas that this government I hope will consider. We may disagree with the administration's specific cost - cutting proposals in certain departments –we do. But we are in agreement with the broad intent of some of their words around making services more effectively available to Manitobans, increasing the availability or rapidity of services to Manitobans.

We want to make sure that government services is no longer an oxymoron in our province. But the reality is that moving to a balanced budget is a form of withdrawal for this government and that psychological dependence means that as they move towards–and they didn't yesterday, but they claim they will–reducing their spending, that change will produce symptoms within them, symptoms of

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 553 anxiety and irritability and intense cravings to return to old habits. Well, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, they returned to old habits. Hier, le gouvernement a prétendu qu'il va réduire ses dépense - plus tard. Nous encourageons et incitons le gouvernement de considérer d'autres idées additionnelles.

Arriver à un budget balancé sera comme une retraite pour le NPD : cette dépendance psychologique pour des déficits budgétaires doit produire, par une réduction de ces dépenses, des symptômes d'anxiété, d'irritabilité et des besoins insatiables pour revenir aux vieilles habitudes. Translation Yesterday, the government claimed that it would reduce its expenditures at a later date. We encourage and urge the government to consider other additional ideas.

Achieving a balanced budget will be like withdrawal for the NDP: this psychological dependence on budget deficits must, through expenditure reduction, result in symptoms of anxiety, irritability and the insatiable need to fall back into old habits. English Physiological symptoms of withdrawal may also produce nausea, hallucinations, headaches and cold sweats. Just the thought of returning the vote tax money to the rightful owners of the money would produce all of those symptoms in the members on the opposite side all at once. What is the nature of this NDP beast, Mr. Speaker?

Well, I tell you, I love dogs personally. I really do, in spite of years of canvassing and door-to- door, I've–I still love dogs. But I make an exception in the case of our neighbour's dog. I grew up southwest of Portage la Prairie and about a mile from our place, a good friend of mine and his family had a dog–NDP dog. I'm pretty sure it was an NDP dog, it was–not just because it was orange –it was an orange dog. But it was a dog that lived for one single - minded purpose. Its purpose [interjection] –orange dog, yes, it's different, and I'm not suggesting it had any resemblance to the member for Thompson (Mr.

Ashton)–I'm not. But this dog would noisily intrude into the lives of everyone who went by that lane – every single person. It existed for one purpose and one purpose only: to bring attention to itself. Right? And it–like this g overnment, however, that dog, had it ever caught the bumper of any one of those vehicles it was chasing, wouldn't have known what to do with it any more than this government understands what to do with the power it's been given by the people of Manitoba.

A nd it's not likely going to change. * (15:00) A few years ago, just the week before our marriage–or, I know that I can't refer to people in the gallery, but somebody might have–might be up there who I am currently married to. I know that the reality of her visit with her mother was this: Her mother told her, don't expect him to change, okay. Don't expect him to change. Now, all of us know, especially the men, that we're improving on a daily basis in this place. We know that. But the reality is that it's hard to change. Change is hard. It's difficult. We know that.

And the reality is this government's got to change because it is a bottom of the barrel government. In every respect, we see major challenges facing this government and it seems they are finding it very, very hard to change their old habits, whether it's being rated 10th out of 10 on fiscal management or 10th out of 10 on red tape by the CFIB; child poverty ranking–bottom of the barrel; public safety –too many examples, really, Mr. Speaker, sadl y, to get into. Attractiveness to mining –well, here's the good news. Attractiveness for mining and exploration, we're ninth. We're ninth. Yes.

BC, of course, BC's got 140 per cent of its land mass under dispute, so it's kind of natural to be behind us, but we are behind Botswana, which is not good for our ability to create jobs and wealth in this province, and I'm sure the Premier (Mr. Selinger) would agree. We were first for a long time, but now we're ninth of the Canadian jurisdictions survey, and that's all of them. The NDP consumes –despite the rhetoric, they consume our future security. One of the major failings in this government is that they are preoccupied, not with income creation, but with income redistribution.

They see themselves as the primary p rotectors of our society. They see their principal means of protecting as spending and they get their money from our taxes. And their high spending problems have become our high tax problem. They are wrong when they say they are our protectors. Manitobans are our protectors. Manitobans are the most generous people in Canada. Stats Canada 2011 data published in February shows that 25.9 per cent of Manitoba tax returns reported a charitable donation. No other province showed a

554 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 higher rate. In each of the la st–this is remarkable, Mr. Speaker, and something for all of us to be proud of and encourage. In each of the last 20 years, Manitoba has been the most charitable province in our great country, something to be proud of. Charitable donations come from the work of registered charities. They work hard; they solicit donors. Manitobans know that their donations matter. Whether it's support for health or social services or education or churches or overseas development work, Manitobans are willing to give to help good works happen.

And they do that all without the hand of the government forcing them to do it. They do it of their own free will. In 2011 eight and a half billion dollars was given to charities across Canada. So I have two questions. In spite of the fact the NDP takes more from our citizens than almost any other province in taxes, we continue to give, to volunteer and to care. But how much harder will it be, with yesterday's budget announcement, on Manitoba charities as the result of the last two year s of record tax increases?

Will Manitoba, as a consequence of that government's decisions, lose its No. 1 ranking as the after -tax income of donors is eroded by $400- million-plus? When the numbers come out next year, we'll see. We'll see. But it would be a shame if our high spending and taxing spenDP caused that to happen. My second question's this: If these worthwhile groups can raise their own money, why can't the NDP raise its own money? The more the NDP take from us, pretending to be protectors, the less able we, as Manitobans, are able to help. And they aren't getting the results. We have a great province. We have great assets.

We have dedicated, hard -working people. We have a strong and loyal small business community, but we are being forced to run our race against our competitors with a handicap, and that government is the handicap. Cependant, le plus que le NPD prend de nous autres, le moins est notre capacit é d'aider. Et il n'a réalisé aucun résultat. Nous avons une province remarquable avec des ressources formidables, un peuple diligent qui travaille dur et une communauté de petites entreprises fortes et loyales.

Le Manitoba est obligé de parcourir la course contre les rivaux avec un handicap : c'est ce gouvernement NPD qui est l'handicap. Translation However, the more the NDP takes from us, the less we are able to help. And they have not produced any results. We have a remarkable province with extraordinary resources, diligent people who work hard and a community of small businesses that is strong and loyal. Manitoba is forced to compete with a handicap, and that handicap is the NDP government. English The NDP doesn't get it.

You know, on Sunday they may have duct taped over the word socialism in their constitution, but they do still believe in central planning of the entire economy, despite the duct tape. They are insistent that they want to put Manitoba Hydro at risk to export power at a loss. They've even politicized Manitoba Hydro to encourage three quarters of a million dollars' worth of advertising so that we in Manitoba can all get behind their plan to raise our rates by 80 per cent.

Seems to me that if a product's that bad, it doesn't matter how much you advertise, people aren't going to buy it and I don't think Manitobans are going to buy it either. We had a small -business man in our area a long time ago who had a truck–he had a one-ton truck and he produced a good at $3 and then he took his truck to a marketplace quite a distance away and sold it for two. He couldn't figure out why he was losing money, Mr. Speaker. So he brought him –his neighbour's neighbour was a financial adviser and an NDP supporter.

His neighbour said, you know, I've looked at all the facts and figures, I've looked at all your data and I've solved your problem for you: you got to buy a bigger truck. Yes, well, you know what, Mr. Speaker, that didn't make much sense, but neither does it make much sense to make a massive life-long decision that commits our children and our grandchildren to it, that says, let's spend 20-plus billion dollars and buy a bigger truck. The Premier (Mr. Selinger) and his colleagues need to realign their priorities. Manitoba Hydro doesn't belong to them; it belongs to all Manitobans.

And we have to make a decision as a province whether we want Manitoba Hydro to be for us or for the US, because this plan that the Premier is advocating claims that US energy –because we don't need these projects for domestic purposes, we –not right now, not for years to come. The Premier keeps

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 555 claiming that US customers will pay premium prices, but the five -year average price is less than half the estimated cost of production and the current spot price is less than a third of the co st of production. And, to make matters worse, the additional – alternative energy sources and supplies in places like North Dakota, the fastest growing economic state in the United States of America, are flooding the market and their supplies are expected to last for decades to come, and that affects the price of the commodity.

The Premier understands he has an monopoly to produce. He does not have a monopoly to sell, and he does not have control over the world price for energy any more than he has control ov er his ability to restrain his own spending habits. The spenDP wants to gamble Manitoba Hydro's future on a 20- plus billion dollar supersizing and they're hypnotised about it, they're in a trance and they won't snap out of it –they won't snap out it. The green network now says, conservation not construction. The PUB keeps asking for numbers that isn't being provided with those numbers. We say, what's the big hurry?

Why not put the future of our province ahead of the vanity of the NDP? Former NDP Hydro mi nisters say it's a mistake, they're putting all our eggs in one basket, they say. When's the Premier (Mr. Selinger) going to start to understand that when even his own supporters are marching in the opposite direction, it's perhaps him that's out of step. This is a massive risk, and we have a Premier and some of his colleagues running around like riverboat gamblers, telling us we should throw this money up there and it'll really help, but they don't provide evidence to Manitobans about the fact.

They say, let's go all in, it's a high- stakes game, let's put our future at risk by exporting hydro at a loss to the United States of America. And while he's telling us to double down, that riverboat gambler could be selling us down that river, into a saturated Uni ted States energy market where everything has changed except the NDP's fixed position. * (15:10) Energy markets are dynamic; this government is not. Alternative sources are driving down prices, the climate's changing, the increasing costs and the risks to Manitoba are enormous and this government does not get it.

They're at a loss, and so is Manitoba Hydro. The same day that the Premier (Mr. Selinger) was pushing hydro sales at a loss on a US junket, Hydro was posting a $38- million loss for the first three quarters of 2012. And the Premier's quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press as saying, quote: We have strong US customers and none of them understand why we –anyone would oppose the expansion of hydro production in our province.

Well, that's what his custome rs say, but I've got a little business acumen and I understand that if my customers, who don't invest a dollar, a nickel, in my project, are advocating for me to produce more, it's probably because it's not necessarily good for us, it's good for them. Our friends in the US, who we love dearly, are certainly happy to see this naive group, who lack business acumen, going ahead into an already flooded energy market where the demands are going to be at least partially met, but not to the degree they anticipate, by our sales at below the cost of production.

That's good for the US, bad for us –bad for us. The Premier says US customers agree with his government developing more cheap hydro export. That makes sense–that makes sense, he says, as if they were allies in the argument that we should go ahead with 20 billion of investment here without a nickel coming from any of them. The Premier says – he says that the US customers –and this gets better – he says that the US customers like our cheap hydro because it helps them diversify their energy sources. Right, so it helps them, but how's it helping us? How's it helping us? How's it helping us?

When will the Premier understand, whose degree from the London School of Economics is most certainly not in economics–when will he begin to understand that his first responsibility is to the people of this province, not to our US customers? Manitobans are right to ask, where is the plan? They don't know the Premier's plan because he doesn't know his plan either. On infrastructure, they– this claim that they are going to enhance the infrastructure of our province somehow, magically, with an increase in taxes –it never holds true because they don't keep their promise on committing the dollars to infrastructure.

They want MPI to backfill for them. They want MPI to do the speed bump projects now. They cut nighttime snow plow shifts on main highways in the transportation centre of central North America.

556 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 An Honourable Member: There was no snow this winter. Mr. Pallister: No–no. Squandering a Manitoba advantage, whether it's hydro or our infrastructure, that's why Manitobans are asking the question, where is the plan? In public safety, in health care, in social services, in poverty reduction, the problems persist or worsen and all of us keep as king, where's the plan? Where's the consultation? Where are the innovative approaches? Where's the respect for the people of this province? Where is that? Where is the plan?

There is a difference between that party and this party on this side of the Hous e, and it's an important one. We have a plan, and part of that plan rests on the fundamental understanding that you have to balance your books, because that's the right thing to do. We have a number of ideas –I'll be outlining a number of those in detail t omorrow, and I just have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I believe that innovative approaches to governing better are what we're here to try and do–all of us.

And we are willing to work with the government to offer our suggestions, but I certainly hope that they get away from this defensive mentality, this siege mentality of saying they're not listening; not listening to ideas on bills, they're not going to listen to the people of Manitoba, they discount people when they cite concerns from concerned Manitoba ns, angry Manitobans, about issues on social services, on infrastructure, on health- care delivery–they discount those concerns. We will work for social justice. This is a party that claimed that it was working for social justice some years ago.

It's lost that mandate a long time ago–a long time ago. We will –we will–fight to raise the basic personal exemption to the Canadian average for the people of this province; we will fight for that. We believe very strongly that the rental allowance for social allowa nce recipients is a good thing and needs to be increased, and we all believed it. But it's better to put a good, strong, safety fence around the top of the steep hill than to wait for problems and pay for an ambulance at the bottom – we understand that. See, Mr.

Speaker, we'll do these things given the opportunity and more, because they –not only because they're the right thing to do, but because we have the discipline and the will to do them and because we base that discipline and that will on the fundamental philosophies that guide us as people. And we believe certain things. And one of the fundamental things we believe in, on this side of the House, is the empowerment of individuals and that our role here is to empower individuals in the achievement of thei r financial independence. As a political party, we're dedicated to that principle.

But the NDP is not, nor can it be. I submit to you that no political party that is itself dependent on a vote tax can claim to be dedicated to the independence of the citizens of this province. There is a difference, and it's an important one; it's a difference of attitude as well as beliefs. This past weekend, the NDP decided to change their constitution, and that's the –as you know, the constitution that governs this party opposite. They decided to remove the negative references to profit. You know, Mr. Speaker, you know –you know–that that's a lot about perception –a lot about perception.

It's an ongoing problem for this NDP government, their greater concern with perception t han with reality. They may have removed the words, but the flawed philosophy beneath remains–it remains intact. Actions speak louder than words. Shut down the hog industry regardless of all scientific evidence to the contrary, and then pretend that you're cleaning up water and air. Not really. Not really.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, preen for the cameras at the Hoop and Holler, and then draw attention away from the man -made disaster a few miles to the north that's still hurting thousands of Manitobans and their families. And talk, as the minister did yesterday again, for months on end about how much you care about people, but don't follow through. Make promises, programs without consultation with the federal government, and commit to them without assurances from the federal government, and then go out to a hall and blame the federal government for the promises you made that you broke.

Doesn't make sense. I don't mind words, Mr. Speaker. This is a place that has a lot of words said in it. I don' t mind words, but I like actions. I like deeds. I base my relationships with other people on what they do more than what they say. My old dad used to say when we were in election time –he wasn't that philosophically aligned with any party –he said, don't lis ten so much to what they say, but look at what they've done. What this government's done over the last number of years isn't commendable. It is not. It is not.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 557 Members on this side of the House care about the people who were flooded, too, Mr. Speaker. And collectively they've travelled over 100,000 miles visiting with the families who've been affected, listening to their stories, gathering information and data; that's real empathy. That's not pretend empathy. That's real empathy. Good for them for putting that deed to reality. We listen. We're there to listen.

Drafting an antibullying law without a definition, without consequences for the bully, without any thoughtful consultation and then claiming that you care about students –that's a perceptual piece of legislation [inaudible]. That defines it. Then go out and claim that you'll consult in the fall. Claim that the federal government is making dramatic cuts, which are this year $37-million increases–actually, increases. Not really. The PC Party believes that actions matter. The government believes that words matt er. There is a fundamental difference there, I think.

The biggest whopper, the biggest terminological inexactitude, since I can't use that other word, I understand that's inappropriate –terminological inexactitude is borderline, too, is it? If truth was an island it'd be uninhabited by the members opposite, how's that work for you? Claim you're protecting front-line services–when this minister and this government claim they're protecting front-line services that is a terminological inexactitude, because what they mean is themselves. They mean themselves. Not only the private sector, but people in the public sector understand just as well.

Protecting front -line services, what does that really mean? Everyone in government knows there is no security in a money -losing operation. A half -billion- dollar deficit this year alone, a doubling of the provincial debt, how's that protecting front -line services? How is that giving a sense of security to civil servants? How is that protecting the people who work in government, let alone the people who don't? No, Mr. Speaker, there is no security in a money - losing operation. And this party can claim, by removing a sentence in its constitution, that it now doesn't despise profits.

But the reality is, it does. And it loves losses. And that's why the record of this government i s one of running up losses year after year after year. * (15:20) You know why they do that, Mr. Speaker? Because they like a dependent society, that's why. Because they don't want to fight for independent people. They don't want to fight for strong- willed people. Anybody that would refuse to let Manitobans vote on a tax increase based on a piece of legislation been in place for a quarter of a century isn't telling Manitobans they respect them.

It isn't telling them that they respect Manitobans' rights to decide on their own taxes. It's telling them it doesn't. How many backbenchers –put up their hand– were consulted on the 1 per cent tax increase, the 1 per cent sales tax? Good to hear. [inaudible] Put it on record. Note them, okay? Three? Good. Those three, and perhaps four or five here. That's maybe eight or nine people in the province outweighing the input of a million -plus people. They think they're more important than the whole province put together, Mr. Speaker. Unbelievable–unbelievable. So much for protecting front-line services.

And you know, this is another one, Mr. Speaker, speaking of funny: praising themselves for reducing the out -of-control growth in that Pac -Man department, health care. Praising themselves, oh, we've reduced the out-of-control spending. This year the spending in the Health Department alone will use up the cuts in many other departments combined and this Finance Minister knows it. He's shrunk every other department. That Pac-Man department, he can't get a handle on it.

And the growth this year in the Health Department will be over double the rate of economic growth of the province of Manitoba yet again, 3.8 per cent with a 1.85 per cent growth in the economy in this province, double the rate of economic growth. Deer in the headl ights, Mr. Speaker. Deer -in-the-headlights approach to delivering health care, which means that workers are burning out, nurses and doctors feel shut out, Manitobans feel left out.

And despite massive injections of capital taken from Manitoba taxpayers, taken from other government departments, the unprecedented generosity of federal governments to transfer money in here from other provinces, this government doesn't buy change. They're not protecting front -line services, Mr. Speaker. What they're doing is endangering front - line services. The fundamental difference between our two political parties is this: The NDP view themselves as the protectors of Manitobans, and we view Manitobans as the protectors of Manitobans.

558 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 We just recently had a really enjoyabl e–I know members opposite enjoy these too–with the caucus – understand they were in Swan River, where they haven't had services to –they've had to have –a number of women have to go to Saskatchewan to deliver babies, but they made it up there with, I think, a couple of dozen of their communication staff to have a–kick up their feet and enjoy the visit to the good member for Swan River's country. So awesome, excellent. Good for them for going. Too bad they didn't listen to the people when they were there.

Now the reality is, we went to the Interlake and toured around. We had a really good tour. We met a lot of folks and we got a lot of good input and we talked to a lot of people. One group we met with was in Arborg, and some of you, some of the caucus here, were at that meeting. It was really interesting. Community representatives, good–great riding in the Interlake there, not great representation, but a great riding.

And certainly the –we met with a number of people: municipal leaders who are told that they're useless and dysfunctional and should, you know, be forced to amalgamate; people waiting for weeks at a time for health-care services that they used to be able to get before the NDP came in. Anyway, it was a great series of discussions. One of the groups we met with was a group of employers up there representing three companies. Mr. Speaker, I know you'll be interested in this because these three companies employ, I believe, just over 400 people currently.

Four hundred jobs – 400 jobs provided by this, and it' s amazing, because Arborg–is where my wife's from, you know, it's a small community, very thriving, very creative people, hard- working people. And just a few miles north of town, here is this enclave of businesses that do tremendous job producing products not only for national export but international export – international. An Honourable Member: Wake up, Tommy. Mr. Pallister: And so we –I'm glad that the member for Interlake (Mr. Nevakshonoff) is awake and listening, Mr.

Speaker, because actually the discussion turned to this: They wanted eight miles of road built. They thought it made sense. They had a lot of folks that work there, safety of the people working there, ease of transport for the goods that they produce to points all around the world. They met with their MLA and their MLA gave them this insight. He actually told them that they built in the wrong place. I guess, with his –I don't mean to be disrespectful of his international investment experience, Mr. Speaker, but I do think that his input was not well received.

I think the request was a reasonable one and I think that it shows the reality of circumstance. You know, they built in the wrong place. This is just a fundamental thing the government needs to understand. See, labour is mobile. Capital is also mobile. No one is forced to put their labour out here in Manitoba. They shouldn't be and we wouldn't support anybody that tried to make that happen. The reality is you have to appeal to people if you want them to work for you and in your province. And if you want capital to flow to your province, you have to make it feel welcome.

And that kind of attitude, that they built in the wrong place, that's the kind of thing that, I think, is indicative of the attitude of any political party doesn't understand the need for profits. They don't understand the profits. See, the real saviours, the real protectors of this province and its future, Mr. Speaker, are working people. They are the people who provide the money to governments, to this government to spend. Those are the people that are the protectors of our future. Those are the ones that deserve to be respected.

Those are the ones that deserve a vote on whether they want to protect to the tune of another $400 million or not; those people. The real fron t line are Manitoba seniors who've given their lives, in some cases risked their lives to protect our freedoms. Those people; they deserve a better government. And those people long for a better and more sustainable health -care system, and they know that w hen a government is running half-billion dollar deficits, that isn't what they've got. The real front line of our province, Mr.

Speaker, is people like the people you used to be before you came here–and so did I –working people, labourers, people who put their lives on the line to put their skills up for sale and try to support their family and give back to their community. Those are the real people who want a higher standard of living and want some security, and they want some job security too. And on t he issue of average weekly earnings, since '99 we lag the nation. That government is failing to give Manitoba workers that kind of security that they deserve to have.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 559 The real front line is Manitoba farmers. It's Manitoba families. It's small -business owners whose willingness to take risks in the hope of profit, which we believe is a good thing. Those profits, Mr. Speaker, they create jobs. All these people I've mentioned and many others, Mr. Speaker, through their taxes, through their fees, these are the people who pay that government to pretend that it's the front line when it's those people that are the front line. These are the people we stand for.

These are the people we believe in and these are the people who we believe deserve a better government. Mr. Speaker, my uncle was a lovely man, but he couldn't fight his demons. He remortgaged his house. He borrowed money from his 85- year-old mother, just as this government steals as surely as we are here today is stealing from our future right now. And the damage my uncle inflicted was limited to himself and his immediate family, probably, but the damage this government's inflicting on our province is much broader than that. It goes much deeper than that.

It is essential to our future as a province that t his government learn from its failures, that it admit it has a problem, that it stop blaming others, that it reach out for help. And today I commit to the government that we will work with them. We have no dislike for our colleagues. We believe they mean well. We believe they are doing their best. But after years of mismanagement–after years of mismanagement –it is increasingly hard to believe in them and to believe that they mean what they say and to believe that they will keep their promises.

We'll offer our suggestions genuinely, our ideas, our encouragement and, some of us, our prayers for their success, Mr. Speaker, because we see that as our role. We will encourage them, but we fear that this government cannot keep its promises and that once again those promises will remain unfulfilled to the people of our province. * (15:30) This government seems so caught up in the deepening hole of their own making, this great debt construction that they are prepared to leave to our children and grandchildren that they cannot see the sky. They cannot see the bright, beautiful prairie sky above them.

They are so busy digging us deeper into a hole. And the broader horizons that can be our future are achievable if we work intelligently in a disciplined manner on the principles that we believe in, to make them the reality in this province. We need to do that. We can achieve our goals. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I admit to you that we would like to replace them. We would be honoured to have the opportunity to lead this pr ovince, and we believe that it's time for some tough love. It's time for some intervention. It's time for a change. We want them to aim high. And so I move, seconded by the member for Tuxedo (Mrs.

Stefanson), THAT the motion be amended by deleting all of the words after "House" and substituting: therefore regrets this budget fails to address the priorities of Manitobans by: (

a) ignoring the taxpayer protection laws that safeguard Manitoba families; and (

b) saddling Manitoba families with crushing and unnecessary taxes that don't allow them to prosper and save for the future; and (

c) failing to tame a $500- million structural deficit created through 13 years of overspending; and (

d) failing to promise a full and transparent review of all provincial government spending; and (

e) failing to control growth of low spending priorities such as advertising and vote taxes; and (

f) stifling economic growth and prosperity through excessive red tape and unwarranted taxation. As a consequence, the provincial governme nt has thereby lost the confidence of this House and the people of Manitoba. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. It's been moved by the honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, seconded by the honourable member for Tuxedo, THAT the motion be amended by del eting all the words after "House" and substituting: therefore regrets this budget fails to address the priorities of Manitobans by: (

a) ignoring the taxpayer protection laws that safeguard Manitoba families; and (

b) saddling Manitoba families with crushing and unnecessary taxes that don't allow them to prosper and save for the future; and

560 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 (

c) failing to tame a $500- million structural deficit created through 13 years of overspending; and (

d) failing to promise a full and transparent review of all provincial government spending; and (

e) failing to control growth of low spending priorities such as advertising and vote taxes; and (

f) stifling economic growth and prosperity through excessive red tape and unwarranted taxation. As a consequence, the provincial government has thereby lost the confidence of this House and the people of Manitoba. The amendment is in order. Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): Mr. Speaker, I am honoured again to be able to rise in this House to address one of the most important debates that we have. We obviously have a very important debate with the debate on the Throne Speech. But this, in many ways, gets to the heart and soul of what government is all about. It's about choices.

Budgets are very much a bout making, in some cases, very difficult choices. Fundamentally, it's about our economy. It's about social justice as well because we are very cognizant whatever we do in this House –whatever we do as the government makes a very significant impact on Manitobans. And I must say, Mr. Speaker, I always look forward to this debate, but I'm a bit of a loss, where – to say where to begin after the previous speech by the Leader of the Opposition.

I was struck by the fact that we have pretty broad debate on the budget, but there's two things that really stood out from that speech: No. 1 was the degree to which the Leader of the Opposition went out of his way to talk about Manitoba Hydro and to defend a position that would freeze construction of new Hydro dams –and I' m going to get to that in a few moments. Nothing in the budget itself, but he clearly put on the record what he said outside of this House, that he'll continue with a pattern we've seen from members opposite for decades in terms of shutting down hydro development. What also struck me, too, Mr.

Speaker, and, you know, there'll be time to have a full debate on this, but I was shocked when he actually stood up and started talking about Bill 18. Now, we're –we have a bill in this Legislature; it's about bullyin g. We're going to have a chance to debate that, but I know it's been rather difficult for some members opposite, particularly the Leader of the Opposition, to get away from their obsession with Bill 18. By the way, I'll put on the record I support Bill 18. I support protecting our students against bullying and I have no problem in the year 2013 allowing students to organize gay -straight alliances.

There are lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered Manitobans, and there are many other Manitobans who want to join with them to make sure that we don't have homophobia in this province and we don't have bullying. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, it struck me that that's been one of the issues that members opposite have had a difficulty with. You know, I –and I understand why. I understand why. I mean, they, you know, the member opposite talked about our federal party. I mean, I know what goes on at, you know, Conservative meetings. First of all, by the way, they don't have much debate on policy.

They do it behind closed doors. They're usually too busy actually either putting knives in their leader's back or pulling the knives out of their leader's back. And I notice the Leader of the Opposition spent a lot of time addressing his comments to his –to the members of his caucus. The–I think the body language said it all. But, Mr. Speaker, you know, I do want to put on the record that this is budget debate, and if the members opposite want to get into debating Bill 18, we on this side are glad to do that.

But, you know, i n a way, it shows the degree to which those two debates that they brought forward show how out of touch they are with Manitoba today because I can tell you this is a province in which people are socially tolerant and they also believe in hydro development. So on those two scores alone you see how far out of whack the members are. What's particularly noticeable, if you look at the Leader of the Opposition's speeches, I think you'd also put on the record the degree to which this Conservative Party has moved dramatically away from the Conservative Party up until around the 1960s in this province.

Now, Duff Roblin, by the way, brought in the sales tax, and Duff Roblin built schools and he built hospitals, and Duff Roblin built hydro dams. And I always ask this, Mr. Speaker, it's– I know it's a bit of a trick question–but I ask people when I go around the province to name a single dam that members opposite built in –from 1969 on. And it's a trick question because the answer is, none. What they did when they were el ected in 1977 is they mothballed Limestone; we built Limestone.

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 561 What did they do when they got into government under the Filmon government, of which the leader opposition was a lead minister, minister of Emergency Measures, minister of Government Services at the time? They cancelled, Mr. Speaker, they mothballed Conawapa. And what did we do? We built Limestone. We built the Wuskwatim Dam, and we put in place the plans that can build Keeyask and Conawapa and harness our gold: our water, our hydro developme nt. And once again, what are members opposite doing? They're saying they would shut it down. History is repeating itself.

Mr. Speaker, but this is not only the only area where they're so dramatically different from their party historically. Let's talk abo ut what the Roblin government did. They undertook one of the toughest challenges that you can imagine, and that was the aftermath of the flood of 1950. Now, the flood of 1950, for members opposite who perhaps have forgotten some of their history, and they should talk to some of the people who went through it. It led to 100,000 people being evacuated all up and down the Red River Valley and here in the city of Winnipeg. It led to 10,000 homes being destroyed.

It created millions and hundreds of millions of dollars. And what came out of that was a study of alternatives. But what came out of it really was a political will to change things. And, Mr. Speaker, if anybody doubts the value of that, in 2009 we had a flood that was a greater flood than 1950 and we didn't have 100,000 people evacuated and 10,000 homes destroyed. We had one home affected by water seepage.

That showed the value of the Red River Floodway and the wisdom of the people of the–of Manitoba and the politicians who took on that challenge in the 1950s and 1960s. * (15:40) Well, I can tell you, I was very honoured to be a minister who was able to work on the flood river–the Red River Floodway expansion. And there's another generation of politicians and leaders in this province who've undertaken that tremendous challenge, because when we came into government in 1999, we recognized that flood mitigation had to be a top priority. Mr.

Speaker, how much have we spent on flood mitigation in the last decade plus –a billion dollars. But out of that we now have the city of Winnipeg protected to one-in-700-year flooding, and all throughout the Red River Valley, as we face a flood that could very much be in the level of 2009 this year, we have those dikes, the $130- million worth of dikes, to protect those communities and to protect those homes. So we undertook that challenge and we worked with the federal government.

We obtained specific targeted funding for both of those major initiatives, and I want to put on the record that that's very much what this budget is all about. It's fine to get up and ask questions, as members opposite do on occasion, on flood issues. It's fine to go around to meetings, Mr. Speaker, and I know the Leader of the Opposition had a meeting, I know the Minister of Finance (Mr. St ruthers) was there, and, you know, a lot of colourful language, a lot of really incorrect information as well, which are repeated on the record today.

I suggest he read the flood report about the Hoop and Holler cut, which the flood report said was entirely defensible. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, it's one thing to go out and try and stir up the very real frustrations and concerns people have, but you have two choices: (1) is you can go that route, or you can choose the route that we've gone. And what did we do?

After the flood–and a flood in which we invested a – $1.2 billion–we put in place two studies, two task forces, both of which I have said publicly on behalf of our government, that we have adopted each and every one of the recommendations–126 in the case of the task force in terms of overall flood protection and water-related issues, and also in the case of Lake Manitoba. And I can tell you what it all comes down to – earlier this week –you know, I know the member opposite, again, as part of his aim -high strategy, was taking shots at the member for the Interlake (Mr. Nevakshonoff).

Well, I met with the member for Interlake and our Agriculture Minister with representatives of First Nations municipalities from around the flood affected areas, and I can tel l you what they said, Mr. Speaker. They said that they recognized, obviously, a lot of the work that went into the flood, but they said, our concern is that we not be forgotten.

Well, not only are they not forgotten–we not only adopted the recommendation of the reports to focus in on the billion- dollars-plus worth of potential ways to reducing flooding–we could have just said, well, we're going to look at it, we're going to– you know, we're going to see if we can afford it. We could have put in all sorts of qualifications–you might want to call them weasel words. You know, I –when I look at members opposite, I think of weasel words, because, you

562 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA April 17, 2013 know, I don't see much commitment of–from them in terms of this. But what we did in our budget and what our Finance Minister did, was put in place the fiscal framework, put in 'flace' –place the fund that can fund the flood protection for those flood victims. That is leadership. Now, I can talk a lot as well, and I will talk loudly, I know.

But, you know, the Leader of the Opposition talked about –I loved it when he talked about action speaks louder than words, because nothing typifies that more than our investments in infrastructure, in particular investments in highways. And I know the members opposite don't like talking about the '90s, but I can tell you–basically, Mr. Speaker, what you saw from the Leader of the Opposition is that this is the party of the '90s –I would say the economics of the 1990s and the social perspective of the 1890s; they are stuck in the past.

And it doesn't –shouldn't surprise you, I mean, the Leader of the Opposition is on record, I think–I don't know if he called Gary Filmon, you know, the greatest leader, but maybe, as part of the government, he was proud of their record and I think he's gone out of his way to see himself as the heir to Gary Filmon. Now, he was a minister –he was a minister, by the way, when they sold MTS. But I–to use the phrase of our Finance Minister, who earlier said, that's a bit rich, well, nothing is more rich coming from the Leader of the Opposition, who was part of the Filmon government, talking about poverty. Mr.

Speaker, the word P in PC doesn't stand for poverty reduction, believe you me. When they were in government, when they faced some of the uncertainty that they faced at that time, similar to the uncertainty we face today, what did they do for low-income Manitobans? They cut welfare rates. They even put in place the snitch line and they cut everything from friendship centres through to pretty well any agency you can imagine that works with many of the people affected. That was their first target–was the poor. Their second target was northern and Aboriginal people. They shut –they cut off roads.

They shut down organizations. So, when the Leader of the Opposition gets up and wrings his hands and claims some new -found interest in poverty in this province, I'll match our record on poverty against his record when he was part of the Filmon government any day. And I'll refer members to the budget, because our budget a ctually includes a whole

section not only on what we've done in terms of poverty and social inclusion, but what this budget does –the increase in rent aid – probably one of the best examples –the increase in the minimum wage. Mr. Speaker, we went from the highest minimum wage in the country in the 1990s to one of the lowest. With the recent increase announced by our Finance Minister in the budget, we will have the highest level of minimum wage in the country. That is about poverty reduction too. So–and I know the member opposite, he even got into talking about small business.

I love PCs when they talk about small business, because I'll refer them to the budget, by the way, and they can find a little column–it's called the small business tax. And they can check every province across the country; there's only one that has a zero in that column–it's NDP Manitoba, no corporate tax on small businesses. But, you know, if you read between the lines, you know, the member opposite, he was talking about a Pac-Man approach on health care. Well, first of all, that's a bit of a flashback.

Pac- Man, I think a lot of video gamers in this province are probably checking Wikipedia right now and trying to figure out what that was, Mr. Speaker. You know what, that being having said, I'd suggest people check out what that really indicates, because did you notice how he took us to task for increasing the spending in health? I call it investment in health at a rate greater than the rate inflation. So what does that mean? Just –I just want to get this straight. The Leader of the Opposition basically said we're spending too much money on health care.

Now, if that sounds familiar, by the way, I hate to take them back to the 1990s, that was their same philosophy then. That's what brought us Connie Curran, the efforts to privatize home care, patients in the hallway, frozen food. They haven't learned their lesson. It's an investment –an investment. Now, I also was struck that –by the fact that members opposite –you know, what a difference 24 hours make. You know, I loved question period yesterday. I know our Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Kostyshyn) came in, and he said he was losing his voice. By the end of question period, I was probably losing my voice too.

And we did a calculation, you know, ov ernight of what they were asking for, because I'm going to hold them accountable to this, Mr. Speaker. We calculated in one question period alone you could almost hear the ka -ching every time they stood up. It was spend, spend, spend. And, of course, today he comes in and he says, oh, the government has a spending problem. Well, I know

April 17, 2013 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 563 it's been said that oppositions can have it both ways; they're trying to have it both ways. But, you know, you want to be in government, you can only have it one way. We made the tough decisions. We made the dedication to infrastructure funding, and what's interesting is we're actually doing pretty well everything they asked for. The member for Brandon waist–West, in particular, be careful what you ask for; you might get it. I'm looking forward to seeing him walking up and down Victoria Avenue as the construction takes place.

I'm sure he's going to come into the House and probably complain that–too many construction delays, you know, given his approach, Mr. Speaker. * (15:50) And I, you know, did bring a –Mr. Speaker, I know we're not supposed to have exhibits so I won't display it, but –my Yes Winkler ! mug. Because, you know, the City of Winkler –the member opposite got up yesterday, said, well, there's big issues with Highway 32. Well, we said, yes, Winkler, when we paved the main street.

But we also announced today a new program that's going to provide funding to municipalities in terms of highway improvements within urban areas outside of the city of Winnipeg. Why? Because there's growth in Winkler and Morden, and there's growth in Steinbach. So I wonder if the member opposite –be careful what ask for, you might get it –will actually vote for the budget based on that, Mr. Speaker? An Honourable Member: And we're building schools in both of those communities. Mr. Ashton: Oh, we're building schools.

You know, I mean, I refer members –you know, they might want to do a –I know that the member opposite, you know, who's in the Pac -Man era of computers, but, you know, he can–we can probably take his speech and search –despite the sort of suggestion there –come up with positive ideas. I didn't hear too many. But Mr. Speaker, to search through in terms of some of the comments that were in his speech, they're actually really reflect w hat they really stand for, because you know, the bottom line is, check what their petitions say. Check what their questions say.

I mean, what great about question period yesterday, apart from the spending theme, you know, the theme of their petitions and their questions was, we're growing; we have all these needs. Well, Mr. Speaker, where have they been since 1999? I mean, what planet are they living on? We, Mr. Speaker have had the second highest rate of growth of any province in GDP over the last five years, and we're aiming f

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	40-2-24
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	40th 2nd hansardpdf 24.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	2968d1b01daa1c9dad32645fb4da698b8aac99c6

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