Manitoba Hansard — 15 May 2023 (Sitting 54, 42nd Legislature, 5th Session)

42-5-54

Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

Fifth Session – Forty-Second Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Official Report (Hansard) Published under the authority of The Honourable Myrna Driedger Speaker Vol. LXXVII No. 54 - 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 15, 2023 ISSN 0542-5492

MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Forty-Second Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ALTOMARE, Nello Transcona NDP ASAGWARA, Uzoma Union Station NDP BRAR, Diljeet Burrows NDP BUSHIE, Ian Keewatinook NDP CLARKE, Eileen, Hon. Agassiz PC COX, Cathy Kildonan-River East PC CULLEN, Cliff, Hon. Spruce Woods PC DRIEDGER, Myrna, Hon. Roblin PC EICHLER, Ralph Lakeside PC EWASKO, Wayne, Hon. Lac du Bonnet PC FONTAINE, Nahanni St. Johns NDP GERRARD, Jon, Hon. River Heights Lib. GOERTZEN, Kelvin, Hon. Steinbach PC GORDON, Audrey, Hon. Southdale PC GUENTER, Josh Borderland PC GUILLEMARD, Sarah, Hon.

Fort Richmond PC HELWER, Reg Brandon West PC ISLEIFSON, Len Brandon East PC JOHNSON, Derek, Hon. Interlake-Gimli PC JOHNSTON, Scott, Hon. Assiniboia PC KHAN, Obby, Hon. Fort Whyte PC KINEW, Wab Fort Rouge NDP KLEIN, Kevin E., Hon. Kirkfield Park PC LAGASSÉ, Bob Dawson Trail PC LAGIMODIERE, Alan Selkirk PC LAMONT, Dougald St. Boniface Lib. LAMOUREUX, Cindy Tyndall Park Lib. LATHLIN, Amanda The Pas-Kameesak NDP LINDSEY, Tom Flin Flon NDP MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Malaya Notre Dame NDP MARTIN, Shannon McPhillips PC MICHALESKI, Brad Dauphin PC MICKLEFIELD, Andrew Rossmere PC MORLEY-LECOMTE, Janice, Hon.

Seine River PC MOSES, Jamie St. Vital NDP NAYLOR, Lisa Wolseley NDP NESBITT, Greg, Hon. Riding Mountain PC PEDERSEN, Blaine Midland PC PIWNIUK, Doyle, Hon. Turtle Mountain PC REDHEAD, Eric Thompson NDP REYES, Jon, Hon. Waverley PC SALA, Adrien St. James NDP SANDHU, Mintu The Maples NDP SCHULER, Ron Springfield-Ritchot PC SMITH, Andrew, Hon. Lagimodière PC SMITH, Bernadette Point Douglas NDP SMOOK, Dennis La Vérendrye PC SQUIRES, Rochelle, Hon. Riel PC STEFANSON, Heather, Hon. Tuxedo PC TEITSMA, James, Hon. Radisson PC WASYLIW, Mark Fort Garry NDP WHARTON, Jeff, Hon.

Red River North PC WIEBE, Matt Concordia NDP WISHART, Ian Portage la Prairie PC WOWCHUK, Rick Swan River PC Vacant Morden-Winkler

2319 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Monday, May 15, 2023 The House met at 1:30 p.m. Clerk (Ms. Patricia Chaychuk): It is my duty to inform the House that the Speaker is unavoidably absent. Therefore, in accordance with the statutes, I would ask the Deputy Speaker to please take the Chair. Mr. Deputy Speaker (Andrew Micklefield): O Eternal and Almighty God, from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our province.

Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom and know it with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen. We acknowledge we are gathered on Treaty 1 territory and that Manitoba is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline and Nehethowuk nations. We acknowledge Manitoba is located on the Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We acknowledge northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit. We respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration. Please be seated. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS INTRODUCTION OF BILLS Bill 243–The Human Rights Code Amendment Act Hon.

Jon Gerrard (River Heights): I move, seconded by the MLA for Tyndall Park, that Bill 243, The Human Rights Code Amendment Act; la Loi modifiant le Code des droits de la personne, be now read a first time. Motion presented. Mr. Gerrard: This bill makes a small change. Learning disabilities have been too often forgotten, and people with learning dis abilities have too often been neglected. This puts a small change in The Human Rights Code to make sure that when it refers to somebody with a mental illness, The Human Rights Code would apply to an individual with a learning disability. Thank you. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: It the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] Committee reports? TABLING OF REPORTS Mr. Deputy Speaker: In accordance with

section 32(1) of The Elections Act and subsection 107(1) of The Election Financing Act, I am tabling the Elections Manitoba 2022 Annual Report, including the conduct of the Fort Whyte, Thompson and Kirkfield Park by-elections. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honour able Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage –and I would indicate to the House that in accordance with rule 27(2) the required notice was provided. Polish Heritage Month Hon. Obby Khan (Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage): Dzień dobry. [Good afternoon.] Mr.

Deputy Speaker, for the first time in Manitoba's history, I am honoured to stand and recognize the month of May as Polish Heritage Month. Polish settlers arrived in the Red River region in the early 19th century. Within this very Legi slative Building, there is a plaque to commemorate 200 years of immigration of Polish people to Manitoba from 1817 to 2017, installed in honour of the long history of the Polish heritage of these lands. Like so many of the communities in Manitoba – cultural mosaic, the Polish community has made significant cultural, social and economic contributions to our province.

Manitoba is home to the largest per capita population of people with Polish heritage in Canada, which, as of last census, makes up about 6 per cent of Manitoba's total population. We value and appreciate the contributions of the Polish community to Manitoba's cultural and economic landscape.

2320 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 Mr. Deputy Speaker, the preservation and promo- tion of Manitoba's cultural heritage contributes to our province's diversity while strengthening our com - munities. Due to these efforts of the community organizations such as Canadian Polish Congress and the Polish Combatants' Association, and of performing art groups such as S.P.K. Iskry and many others, the Polish community's stories, arts, dance, language and culinary traditions remain active and shared for the benefit of all Manitobans to enjoy.

As the Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage, this past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the 55th anniversary of S.P.K. Iskry Footsteps Through Poland gala and the 75th anniversary of the Polish Combatants' Association, Branch 13, where I, myself, enjoyed Polish hospitality, food, drinks and even learned how to waltz. Madam Speaker, this May, I would like to encourage many colleagues–all my colleagues and all Manitobans to learn more about the many important contributions made by those Polish heritage within our province.

There are a number of excellent events and activities planned throughout the province, a nd I encourage everyone to enjoy. Through supporting and celebrating our diverse heritage, we make a stronger and welcoming Manitoba for all. Our diversity is our strength. Dziękuję. [Thank you.] I would like to recognize the lovely people in our gallery today: the Polish Scouts, Harcerstwa; Polish Saturday school; S.P.K. Iskry; Polish School of Dance Sokol school, St. Boniface and so many others, and I'll also ask leave, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to include the names of all the lovely kids in attendance today. Thank you very much.

And now I ask my col - leagues to stand and recognize Polish Heritage Month. Mr. Deputy Speaker: And is there leave for the names of the children who were referenced by the minister to be included in Hansard? [Agreed] Janel Bem, Jaxon Bem, Julia Biel, Livia Biel, Colton Gronowski, Jayden Gronowski, Kaja Pecold, Gabrysia Stasica, Matylda Stasica, Patrycja Stasica Ms. Amanda Lathlin (The Pas-Kameesak): May is Polish Heritage Month, an annual celebration of the Polish community coming together and sharing Polish culture and heritage with others.

May 3rd is celebrated by many Polish people around the world to commemorate the 1791 Constitution, was a–which is a symbol of Poland's aspiration for freedom, democracy and independence. As such the month of May is chosen to celebrate Polish heritage. * (13:40) Manitoba also has a large and vibrant Polish com- munity with a rich history dating back to the early days of our province. The community has long made significant contributions to the development of Manitoba, the Prairies and across Canada in areas such as agri - culture, industry, culture. Polish foods has –always been staples in our province.

Polish Heritage Month includes events and activities that are held to showcase the vibran t and diverse culture of the Polish and Polish Canadian com - munities. These events can include music and dance performances, art exhibits, food festivals and cultural workshops and much more. These activities not only allow the Polish community to celebrate and share their heritage, but also to provide an opportunity for all Manitobans to learn more about Polish culture and history.

It is important to recognize and celebrate the con- tributions of all communities in our society, and Polish Heritage Month is a wonderful example of this. By celebrating the rich history and contributions of the Polish community, we can promote greater under- standing and appreciation of our shared cultural heritage and the history of our province. Ekosi. Ms. Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I ask for leave to respond to the minister's statement. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Is there leave for the member for Tyndall Park to respond to the minis ter's statement? [Agreed] Ms.

Lamoureux: I rise today to commemorate Polish Heritage Month. It was in 1817 that people from Poland first arrived in Manitoba. At the time, Poland was experiencing political turmoil which is why many sought new places to build their lives, and we are lucky to have many Polish settlers choose Manitoba to call home. Mr. Deputy Speaker, with time, these new immi- grants became well established, and today we are proud of the big role they have played in building up our country and our very own communities. I know right here in Manitoba, I have a dear friend who has joined us here today, Margaret von Lau.

Many members of this House know her as well, and

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2321 she herself is a Polish immigrant who created the Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services, also known as NEEDS, in 1999. And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this was based on her own challenges as a new Canadian, and she chan- nelled these challenges by creating a program tailored to the needs of newcomers. Last fiscal year alone, NEEDS served 4,600 children and youth, and over 2,000 of them were from Ukraine.

We have seen by both those with Polish heritage living here in Manitoba and those living in Poland, how they have led by example in helping those from Ukraine and have inspired many other countries and individuals to do the same. Currently, Manitoba is home to over 80,000 people of Polish heritage and, here at the Legislature, there's a plaque to commemorate 200 years of immigration of Poles to Manitoba from 1817 to 2017. The initiator of this project was the Manitoba district of the Canadian Polish Congress. In wrapping up, Mr.

Deputy Speaker, by recog- nizing Polish Heritage Month, the province of Manitoba pays tribute to the enduring spirit and remarkable contributions of the Polish community here in Manitoba. We're very glad Polish Heritage Month has officially been proclaimed here in Manitoba and I'd like to thank all of those who have joined us in the galleries here today for coming out and being able to be part of this proclamation, and for the minister for bringing for - ward today's statement. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Bo Huang and Mingdi Zhao Hon.

Jon Reyes (Minister of Labour and Immigration): I am delighted today to share with you the fascinating story of Waverley con stituents Bo Huang and Mingdi Zhao. On April 17th, 2023, the duo represented Winnipeg, Canada and participated in the world -famous Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious road races in the world, attracting elite athletes from around the globe.

Bo and Mingdi finished with a flourish in that race, with Bo clinching a personal best time of three hours and 13 minutes and 41 seconds, and both of them ranking in the top half of 30,000 fast runners from all over the world. Bo and Mingdi started to put their passion into running about eight years ago and have maintained a strong momentum since then. Bo has now run six full marathons and Mingdi has run 11. Accomplishments like this come from dedication, discipline and deter - mination.

They trained very hard for the Boston Marathon for several months; early morning long runs, late-night speed workouts, and all this hard work finally paid off. In addition, this duo has been accepted to run in the New York City Marathon in November this year. Their consistency and commit - ment to running has inspired many people in the Winnipeg running community. Bo is a senior design engineer at New Flyer Industries, and Mingdi is a teacher at Sisler High School. Apart from their dedication to their jobs, they are also highly involved in comm unity services.

They gave back to the running community by volunteering in multiple running events. They also use their passion for running to raise funds for the community. In May this year, they are participating in the Million Reasons Run to raise funds for Winnipeg's Children's Hospital, and also, in July this year, they'll participate in RunThePeg100 to raise funds for the unsheltered com- munity, End Homelessness Winnipeg, by running 100 kilometres around Winnipeg in one day. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Bo and Mingdi are perfect examples of the Manitobans we can truly be proud of.

I ask my colleagues to celebrate this duo with me for being such pacesetters with an unending passion for running for a cause. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Hat Phan MLA Uzoma Asagwara (Union Station): It is with great pleasure that I recognize the years of dedication and exceptional service provided by Hat Phan, Winnipeg's best tailor. For the past 25 years, Hat has been an integral part of Winnipeg's fashion industry, bringing her unique skills and style to our community of Union Station.

After immigrating from Vietnam 38 years ago, Hat eventually started her tailoring business in the basement of the old Hudson Bay building. She then moved to her current location at 120 Donald in 2001. Hat has worked in her trade for so long that day - to-day tasks have become secondary to the customers who make her so happy. She loves the people in our neighbourhood. Much of her clientele were people at The Bay and those nearby who lived near by, and they've since retired. Her customer base has shifted to

2322 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 include much younger people, and Hat says she really likes that. She enjoys the energy they bring to her shop. As one of her loyal customers, I can attest to Hat's exceptional skills as a tailor. She always makes the experience fun, affirming and flexible. She truly cares about her customers, going above and beyond to ensure that they are satisfied with her work and leave her store feeling confident. Hat is a community staple, and people always light up when they talk about her.

She is a shining example of what can be achieved with dedication, community-mindedness and a love for one's craft. All of her hard work is also reflected in her beautiful family. Hat has four children and three grandchildren and, like her, they exemplify the values of hard work, dedication and perseverance. It is an honour to recognize Hat Phan's 25 years of success as a business owner in Union Station. I invite everyone to join me in celebrating Hat's achievements as she joins us in the gallery today with her husband, Ha Tran.

Congratulations, Hat, and thank you for being such a vibrant and important part of our Union Station community. Curtis Charison Mr. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside): It gives me great pride to stand today and recognize the recipient of the prestigious Lions Club award, Curtis Charison. Mr. Charison is the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship award. This award is a worldwide honour presented to those who showed tremendous care and compassion for their communities. It is putting the needs of our neighbours and our communities first. It requires taking action to serve others. Mr.

Charison has lived in the entire–his entire life in the Gunton area. Here he runs Charison's Turkey Hatchery, which has been a staple in Teulon and Gunton areas. The hatchery has been running since 1952, supports many local events and projects with their generous donations. Each and every year, Curtis consistently steps up with his donations in support of the local community, which he considers an honour to be able to help out. Giving of one's time and energy to others is a great way to help your community. Mr. Charison truly cares about the people and the community.

He is compassionate and generous beyond any expectations. He has certainly made the community better, has led by example, building relationships and improving the world through kindness. Curtis made a lasting impact and changed many lives. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I hope the members of this House will join me in wishing Curtis Charison con- gratulations on his outstanding achievement. He truly deserves this honour and something to be proud of. Thank you. * (13:50) Susie Erjavec Parker and Allan Pineda Mr. Adrien Sala (St.

James): Local entrepreneurs and com munity organizers are an important part of what makes our communities in Manitoba so vibrant. It's my honour to highlight two of these today: Susie Erjavec Parker and Allan Pineda, two Filipino entre - preneurs from St. James who founded Winnipeg's Fried Chicken Fest. Fried Chicken Fest began in 2018 as a way to support local chicken farmers and our robust agri - cultural scene. Since then, it's become the food festival that kicks off the year and a celebration of the fantastic restauranteurs of the province.

It takes place for 10 days during January, which is typically a slow month for the restaurant scene. During Fried Chicken Fest, Winnipeggers can try out fried chicken dishes from participating restaurants and vote on their favourite. For Susie and Allan, the work they do for Fried Chicken Fest is all about promoting the local busi - nesses and organizations that make Manitoba a great place to live and work. This has become especially important as we recover from COVID. We know the pandemic hit the restaurant industry especially hard. And because of this, Susie also created the save Manitoba restaurants campaign.

It was an effort to encourage folks to order from restaurants directly whenever possible. This allows them to keep more of their profits and reinve st in their businesses by paying staff and suppliers. It's especially important for small and independent restaurants, who often have thin profit margins. The efforts of Susie and Allan have made a difference. The save Manitoba restaurants campaign spread coast to coast in support of the restaurant industry. And they heard from many restaurants who said Fried Chicken Fest has helped keep their businesses afloat.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2323 In the future, they hope to bring Fried Chicken Fest to other Canadian cities. I'm so proud that these incredible entrepreneurs are from my community in St. James. Susie is here with us today, along with her daughter, Steffi. I invite them to stand up. And I want to sincerely thank both Susie and Allan for their contributions to our economy and quality of life here in Manitoba. Polish School of Dance "Sokol" Mr.

Shannon Martin (McPhillips): It gives me great pleasure to recognize the Polish School of Dance "Sokol" Winnipeg on celebrating their 50th anniversary on June 17th. The Polish School of Dance was founded in 1973 by Mrs. Gladys Kulas, under the Polish Gymnastic Association "Sokol" Winnipeg. The school of dance was supported by many Polish Canadians who felt there was a need to pass on ancestral culture. They wanted to return to their roots by giving their children an opportunity to learn about the Polish culture through song and dance, and this has continued for the past 50 years.

Today, it continues to be home to over 70 proud dancers ranging in ages from three to 17. Throughout the years, "Sokol" has always taken pride in its leadership and choreographers. Over the past 50 years, the school has had almost 40 dedicated and passionate instructors that have worked with children, passing on their love of Polish culture, dance and tradition.

Over the decades, the Polish School of Dance in Winnipeg has had the privilege and honour of sharing traditional Polish folk dance, attire and language at many events, both within and outside of our province of Manitoba; some including Folklorama, Polish Fest, year-end concerts, Christmas concerts, dance camps, senior citizens' homes, hospitals, community centres and countless special and commemorative concerts for various organizations.

These children have travelled to out-of-town per- formances at Cooks Creek, Beausejour, Brandon, Selkirk, Kenora, Thunder Bay and have performed during two tours through Ontario and Alberta. The Polish School of Dance has also travelled to the International Folk Festival in Poland on two separate occasions. They have participated and represented our province among thousands of other Polish folk dancers and singers around the world. To all the dancers, past and present, congratula - tions on your great achievements.

Your talent and love for Polish culture is inspiring to your own community and to our province's–as a whole. We wish the Polish School of Dance a wonderful 50th anniversary, and we wish nothing but success for the next 50. Thank you. ORAL QUESTIONS Death of Jason Butchart Condolences to Family Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable official leader– or, Leader of the Official Opposition. Mr. Wab Kinew (Leader of the Official Opposition): I want to start today by paying tribute to a Manitoban who left us far too soon. Jason Butchart was a volun- teer firefighter with the Fisher Fire De partment.

He was a father, a trauma nurse and a veteran of our Armed Forces. Before he passed away, Jason helped survivors of an accident on Highway 68, that included a 10-month-old child. He's an absolute hero, and he will be deeply missed. I do have a question that I would like to pose to the First Minister, but I wanted to put those words on the record first. Hon. Heather Stefanson (Premier): Our hearts go out to Jason and his family and–on the tragic loss. We–our thought s go out to all volunteer fire - fighters in the community who do incredible work to save lives each and every single day.

We thank them for the incredible work that they do. School Libraries Containing LGBTQ2S Content Government Position on Call for Book Ban Mr. Wab Kinew (Leader of the Official Opposition): On this side of the House, we think that books shouldn't be banned in this province. We also think that it's im portant to call out anti- 2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric. When that happens, we should send a clear message to kids and families across Manitoba that we support them. Now, we called on this provincial government to make 2SLGBTQ+ training available to all trustees and elected leaders in 2016.

Recent events have made it clear that this training is still needed in Manitoba. It's important that we send a clear and united message to people across the province on this issue. I would ask the First Minister: Will she clearly and unequivocally state that books should not be banned in our province?

2324 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 Hon. Heather Stefanson (Premier): We support our 2SLGBT community, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And when it comes to this situation, I know that, certainly, school divisions have been involved, and we know that we've left certain things and decisions up to those school divisions. But I will say that we do support the community. We want to ensure that there is no–that nobody is being discriminated against when it comes to informa- tion that is being out there, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a final supplementary. Mr. Kinew: You well know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that all kids in our province should be supported, and that's why it's im portant for leaders on this issue to speak very clearly. We also know that the provincial government has an important role to play when it comes to the K-to-12 education system. It can send a powerful and im por- tant message of support to 2SLGBTQ+ children, families and everyone in the com munity, that we see them and that we support them.

That means ensuring that books that reflect their lives and the lives of their families are not banned, particularly not in public schools. The Premier has the ability to ensure that no books will be banned simply because they feature 2SLGBTQ people within their pages. Will she commit to taking action today? Mrs. Stefanson: I just said that we do support our 2SLGBTQ com munity in Manitoba, children–and children right across the board who are being taught through our publ ic school system and all school systems in Manitoba, Madam Speaker.

Obviously, that's–the situation is being dealt with at the school division level, and we'll continue to support those in our L-G-D-P community, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But, again, this will take place at that level. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a new question. Winnipeg Hospitals Nurse Staffing Levels Mr. Wab Kinew (Leader of the Official Opposition): I just want to say, for the record, that the Premier should unequivocally state that these sorts of things should not be happening at the school division level, and it's the role of provincial government to intervene.

We know that the Premier has also refused to tell us just how many people are leaving the front lines of our health-care system. However, we now have the facts. I'll table the infor mation that shows just how many nurses have left the bedside. In 2016, there were 8,014 nurses working in Winnipeg hospitals. Seven years later, there are 300 fewer nurses. Those are the facts. Will the Premier tell the House why her gov ern- ment cut the number of nurses working in Winnipeg by 300? * (14:00) Hon.

Heather Stefanson (Premier): The Leader of the Opposition and all Manitobans will know that we are investing $200 million more in–to ensure that our– there's more health human resources in the province of Manitoba, Madam–or, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That is including more than $125 million spe cifically for nursing in Manitoba. We'll cont inue to make those invest ments in health human resources as needed in the province of Manitoba. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a supplementary. Mr. Kinew: Well, what the facts show is that there are actually fewer resources.

There are fewer nurses working in Winnipeg hospitals today than when this PC government took office. Every day, we hear about the impact of the cuts that began under Brian Pallister and have continued under the Stefanson government: cancelled surgeries, nurses being forced to work mandatory overtime, being run off their feet and more nurses than ever leaving the profession. The Premier should be accountable for the deci - sions she made as Health minister and implements today as the Premier. So, will she tell Manitobans why there are 300 fewer nurses in Winnipeg hospitals than there were in 2016? Mrs.

Stefanson: Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we do know that, as a result of our health human resource action plan, that we've added more than 259 nurses to the system as a result of those invest ments that are being made.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2325 The Leader of the Opposition will know, as well, that since 2016, there–we had a worldwide pandemic that was a sig nificant challenge, not just here in Manitoba, when it comes to health human resources. It's right across the country, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We're taking action, and we're getting results. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a final supplementary. Mr. Kinew: Actually, Mr.

Deputy Speaker, what the numbers that I just shared with the public show is that the amount of nurses working at the bedside in Winnipeg hospitals decreased each and every year that the PCs have been in office. That means that they began their progr am of cutting the number of nurses working at the bedside many years before the pandemic. And, unfortunately, it continued right through the pandemic.

And so, today, here we are in an election year that the PCs are promising to change, but we see that what their actions have been since they've taken office has been to cut the number of nurses working and caring for you, the people of Manitoba. So I'll ask again: Can the Premier explain to the House, why did she cut the number of nurses working in Winnipeg hospitals by 300? Mrs. Stefanson: Mr. Deputy Speaker, as part of our health human resource action plan, invest ment of more than $200 million into that, into recruitment, retention and training of all health-care professionals, including nurses.

We have added 400 ad ditional nursing beds in the province of Manitoba. That has resulted in us retaining more–there's been a number of initiatives that we've taken to retain nurses, as well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and we've added 259 more nurses in the way of recruitments. We'll continue to take action on behalf of Manitobans. Health-Care System Nurse Staffing Levels MLA Uzoma Asagwara (Union Station): Deputy Speaker, Manitobans across the province are suffering thanks to the PCs' health- care cuts. These c uts have led to reduced services and less care by the bedside.

Instead of stopping their cuts, the PCs are desper- ately trying to mislead Manitobans by pretending that they've added hundreds of health-care workers to the system, yet they won't say how m any workers have left. We have a FIPPA, which I'll table, which shows the reality after seven years of the PCs. There are 50 less nurses working in the Southern Health region since–sorry, since 2016. Will the Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) explain why she cut 50 nurses from Southern Health? Hon.

Audrey Gordon (Minister of Health): I was so pleased to be out in Southern Health this morning making another great announcement on behalf of the doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and support staff in that area, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I thank all the workers in the Southern Health region for the incred ible work you've been doing to support Manitobans and make care available closer to home. Mr. Deputy Speaker, nearly 900 new health pro- fessionals have been 'hadded' to the health system.

MLA Asagwara: Deputy Speaker, when the PCs aren't spending millions of dollars on private for - profit agency nurses, they're firing public sector nurses. There are less–there are 50 less nurses work - ing in Southern Health today, compared to when the PCs took office in 2016, yet the PCs are trying to mislead Manitobans–[interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. MLA Asagwara: –by saying they've added hundreds of health-care workers. Manitobans won't be fooled so easily by these PCs. They don't trust them when it comes to–[interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order.

MLA Asagwara: –health care, given their terrible track record on the issue. It's time for the Premier to do the right thing and end her cuts to health care. Will the Premier commit today to stop firing nurses and stop cutting health care? Ms. Gordon: Mr. Deputy Speaker, our commit ment is to add more nurses to the health system. That is why our government is committed to adding 400 additional nurse training seats. Just last week, I was at the college of nursing, welcoming 120 students to the inaugural summer program.

For the first time in the province of –in the history of this province, we will have three intakes at the college of nursing; 259 nur ses have been added through the health human resource action plan.

2326 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 Mr. Deputy Speaker, we will continue to answer the call for nurses to be added to the Manitoba health system. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honour able member for Union Station, on a final supplementary. MLA Asagwara: Deputy Speaker, 50 fewer nurses in Southern Health, cuts and less care by the bedside. That is the record of seven years under this PC gov - ernment. Less nurses means less care for those Manitobans in their time of need.

Instea d of investing in public nurses, the PCs are instead sending millions of dollars to private, for -profit agencies for nurses across our province. That's the wrong approach. The Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) should do the right thing: stop cutting nurses and inv est today in strengthening our public health-care system. Will she commit to doing so? Ms. Gordon: When I had the privilege of meeting at the front line with nurses, they said, Minister, these are the incentives we propose that your gov ernment launch to retain, train and recruit nurses to the province.

And out of that came the health human resource action plan, Mr. Deputy Speaker: $123 million for nine incentives. Adding more individuals to the college of nursing inaugural summer program; 400 addi tional nurse training seats. You know what the nurses told me when I met with them? In the 17 years they were in office, no one ever went to speak with nurses, and they did nothing for nurses. But we're standing– Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable minister's time has expired. Manitoba Hydro Rate Increase Request Mr. Adrien Sala (St. James): Deputy Speaker, Manitobans are facing–[interjection] Mr.

Deputy Speaker: Order. Mr. Sala: –a cost of living crisis. Families are struggling to make ends meet and can't afford any more surprises. But instead of helping regular Manitobans, this PC government is going to hike up their hydro rates again. They're now asking the Public Utilities Board to approve a resi dential rate hike of 2.4 per cent for September, and then another 2.4 per cent in April next year. That's nearly 5 per cent, after this PC government has already increased hydro rates by over 20 per cent since 2016. Enough is enough. Will the Premier stop hiking up hydro rates on Manitoba families? Hon.

Cliff Cullen (Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro): I hope you will see the irony in the NDP coming forward and talking about affordability when it comes to Manitoba Hydro. Madam–Mr. Deputy Speaker, we know what happened under the NDP: t he biggest capital boon- doggle in the history of Manitoba. They created a $24 billion of debt; they were $4 billion over target on that. That has created increased rates to Manitobans. [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. The honourable member for St. James, on a sup- plementary. Mr. Sala: Deputy Speaker, we know the PC govern- ment's playbook.

They didn't like the PUB's indepen- dent oversight of hydro rates, so they rewrote the law to let them hike up rates 5 per cent every year. Now they can set rates at the Cabinet table, costing families hundreds of dollars. We believe, on this side of the House, that that's wrong. Will the Premier stand up and commit to stopping her hydro rate hikes today? * (14:10) Mr. Cullen: Well, part of the $4- billion overrun on behalf of the NDP was because they chose to ignore the Public Utilities Board process. Mr.

Deputy Speaker, we have taken steps to make sure to stabilize Manitoba Hydro and we've also taken steps to make sure the Publi c Utilities Board is stronger than every –before, by adding $2 million to the PUB budget. [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. The honourable member for St. James, on a final supplementary. Mr. Sala: Hydro rates have increased by over 20 per cent under this PC government. That's hundred of dollars more out of the pockets of Manitoba

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2327 families. And now this PC government wants to raise rates another 5 per cent while Manitobans are already struggling with rising costs. On this side of the House, we believe that hydro rates should be set through independent oversight, not behind closed doors at the Cabinet table, as we're seeing with this PC government. Will the Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) stop raising hydro rates today, yes or no? Mr. Cullen: Well, Mr.

Deputy Speaker, under their watch, what happened was they increased the water rental rates and the debt guarantee rates to Manitoba Hydro by twofold. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we took it upon ourselves as government to reduce that in half this past year. That will save Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Hydro rate - payers $185 million. That's why it's gone from a 3.5 per cent increase down to a 2 per cent increase. That is progress. Allied Health Professionals Collective Bargaining Negotiations Ms. Lisa Naylor (Wolseley): Mr.

Deputy Speaker, it's allied health-care professionals week but workers are still waiting for a fair deal from this gov ernment after having had their wages frozen for over five years. This includes rural paramedics, pharmacy and MRI techs, radiation therapists and 190 other allied health professionals. Some mental health and addictions counsellors have been waiting for over six years. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the government committed in their 2022 budget to completing all wage contract settlements by the end of the 2022- 2023 fiscal year, but allied health-care workers are still waiting.

Will the minister give them a fair deal today? Hon. James Teitsma (Minister of Consumer Protection and Government Services): Not surprising, I suppose, that the NDP continue this con- sistently irresponsible approach as espoused by their leader. I'll remind the member that government is not the employer. The parties that are involved are involved in active bargaining –aided, in fact, by a mediator at this time. What the Leader of the Opposition and this member is doing is inflaming the situation. They need to stop. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for Wolseley, with a supplementary question. Ms.

Naylor: Mr. Deputy Speaker, the PC government promised Manitobans in their budget last year that they would complete all wage contract settlements by the end of the fiscal year. That date has come and gone, forcing allied health- care workers to vote 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. This is an un precedented mandate and it's clear that thousands of front -line health-care professionals feel disrespected by the Stefanson government, including addictions and mental health workers during an addictions crisis. Will the Minister of Health (Ms.

Gordon) stand up during allied health- care pro fessionals week and finally say she can give allied health -care workers a fair deal? Mr. Teitsma: Mr. Deputy Speaker, on this side of the House, we have nothing but respect for the amazing work of Manitoba's allied health-care professionals.

The member doesn't seem to want to listen to our members, though, so perhaps she'll listen to former NDP Cabinet minister Jennifer Howard, who said, I believe and I know that collective bargaining can be a delicate process and I don't think any of this –anyone in this House would want to inter fere with this process–except for, apparently, this member and her leader–or would want to see that process go off of the rails because they want to take political advantage of a situation. I think that's what the member is doing.

Sadly, this–I tell you, Jennifer Howard, as a Cabinet minister, had more credentials, more capability and more courage than the entire front bench of the NDP. Shame on them. Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Order. Order. Order The honourable member for Wolseley, on a final supplementary. Ms. Naylor: Mr. Deputy Speaker, this PC government's seven years have–of cuts have thrown our health-care system into chaos. Allied health-care workers have had enough. The PC gov ernment promised to complete all wage contract settlements by the end of 2022- 2023 fiscal year.

The deadline has come and gone, and allied health-care workers are no closer to a fair deal. A five-year wage freeze during a cost -of-living crisis is unacceptable, Mr. Deputy Speaker. On this

2328 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 side of the House, we believe in respecting health-care workers who care for us and our families. Will the minister give allied health -care workers a fair deal today? Mr. Teitsma: I think the member knows that we shouldn't be commenting publicly on the s pecifics of active negotiation and that we should be respecting the bargaining process. I hope that she will take at least that information from this question period. Given that this is –I don't know how many times that she's come back to the same questio n, though, I kind of doubt it.

I would just say to that member that we have actually arrived at a number of success ful contracts within the health bargaining units, and in every single one of those cases, there has been retroactive pay available, there has been compounding increases available. I expect that will happen here again. Assiniboine Community College Funding for Nurse Diploma Program Mr. Jamie Moses (St. Vital): Mr. Assistant Deputy Speaker, the–in February, the PC government promised Assiniboine Community College addi tional funds to establish a one-time nursing diploma program.

Yet after making this promise, the PC gov ern- ment backtracked, saying the funding for the nursing diploma program would have to come out of ACC's base funding. That left ACC on the hook for over $300,000 in addi tional costs. That's another broken promise by this PC government. Can the minister explain why she's forcing ACC to pick up the tab for this nursing diploma program? Hon. Sarah Guillemard (Minister of Advanced Education and Training): First, I want to thank Mr. Mark Frison, who is the president of ACC, for all his hard work in leading ACC and their programming.

And he and I have been in constant com munication and contact, and this was an unfortunate situation that we are actively working on a solution for. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honour able member for St. Vital, on a follow-up question. Mr. Moses: As it stands right now, Assiniboine Community College is projecting a $750,000 deficit this year, and that's thanks in large part to the PC government. And they've resulted in thirty–$300,000 in a broken promise. And that money should have been gone to nursing students in the diploma nursing program.

And for years, the PC gov ernment h as under - funded universities and colleges, including ACC, and failing to provide adequate funding, and spe cifically for this nursing program. The funding for ACC this year is below inflation, and it's below other Manitoba post-secondary institutions. Can the minister explain why she's leaving ACC behind? Mrs. Guillemard: There is no risk to the nursing diploma program. It will go ahead as planned. There is no risk to the funding for this program.

The president of ACC understands that this nursing program will go forward and is committed to helping the province meet their 400 -additional-nursing-seat commitment, and he is actively coming up with solutions that we are working towards addressing that goal. The member opposite does not have all of his facts straight, but I do acknowledge that the situation was unfor tunate and we are actively working for a resolution. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for St. Vital, on a final supplementary. Mr. Moses: The fact is, the PC gov ernment broke their promise.

They broke their promise to fund the one-time nursing diploma program at Assiniboine Community College. They went against their word. They should have funded it. Instead, they told them to fund it out of their base funding; another exampl e of why Manitobans can't trust PC announcements because they break their promises immediately. And it's another example of the sheer incompetence of this PC government. * (14:20) ACC is being forced to pick up the tab for this program. Despite inflation and inadequate funding by this–[interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Mr.

Moses: –government, they've already 'folced' to cut–[interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Mr. Moses: –at least one industrial mechanical program. So, will the minister do the right thing today? Will she fund the nursing diploma program at ACC fully?

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2329 And will she commit to that right now, right next – right here? [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Mrs. Guillemard: The president of ACC does not characterize this as a broken promise; only members opposite are characterizing this way. Again, another example of the members opposite putting misinforma- tion on the record. They owe Manitobans an apology. Funding for Nurse Training Programs Budget Clawback Concerns Mr. Dougald Lamont (St. Boniface): We all know there's a massive shortage of nurses in this province.

And despite what the gov ernment may claim, every- one predicted it coming for decades. Both the NDP and the PCs froze education budgets for years, which meant we had fewer nurses, and it's still happening. The Brandon Sun is reporting, as I table, that despite promising new funding in February, the PC gov ernment reversed itself and, at the last minute, pulled–[interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Mr.

Lamont: –nursing funding 'lead -to-ing' to a $300,000 deficit for the college and cuts to another needed program in industrial mechanics course, quote, all because of some miscommunication within the government's ranks. [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Mr. Lamont: Now, Brandon University only got an increase of 3.9 per cent this year while ACC had to make to–do with only a 2 per cent increase. Is this blunder a one-off mistake, or is it because this gov ernment has no inten tion of keeping their health-care promises? Mr.

Deputy Speaker: The honourable leader–or, the honourable Minister for Advanced Education and Training. Hon. Sarah Guillemard (Minister of Advanced Education and Training): Once again, I'll reiterate that we are in close contact with our post -secondary institutes and leadership, working on resolu tion of a number of different issues. Every post -secondary in stitute did receive an increase this year. There is over $100 million more added to our post-secondary institutes that is creating more programs, including nursing seat expansions. We are committed to our 400 -seat expansion in the nursing training seats.

We will meet those goals. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for St. Boniface, on a supplementary question. Mr. Lamont: You know, year after year, we've asked this government for something pretty simple, which is an honest accounting for the budget. Because when the Premier (Mrs.

Stefanson) stands to talk about all the extra money that's supposed to be going to health care, when–year after year, the PCs put one number in the budget, and then immediately turned around and demanded 15 per cent cuts, imposed wage freezes through legis lation and forced reorganizations that resulted in hu ndreds of staff deletions and thousands of resignations. They did that year after year, and we're still in a health-care crisis. And I don't want to hear how much more money they're spending than the NDP, because that's exactly what Brian Pallister said when he was cutting.

We've heard that people are being told that if they go over their health -care budgets this year, it will be clawed back next year. Is that why the gov ernment is cutting funding to nurse training programs now? Hon. Cliff Culle n (Minister of Finance): Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the reality is, under this Premier and this year's budget, we've increased assist ance– financial assistance–to health care to the tune of a 9.2 per cent increase. And also to that, we've committed to a dditional seats in our post-secondary institutions for health-care professionals.

We've committed ad ditional money to post-secondary to the tune of $60 million. We've also committed, to health care in parti cular, $200 million, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to support and attract 2,000 more people to health care. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we're on the right track. Work Permit Holders Health-Care Coverage Ms. Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): A couple of weeks ago, I asked the Health Minister what she's going to do to make sure those on work permits here in Manitoba are provided health coverage, as they are entitled to. I have three open cases.

These are people who live and work in Manitoba, one who is pregnant and due

2330 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 in October. I've been working with the federal govern- ment on the technicality that their work permits are a few days shy of a year. However, this is not just a federal issue. The Minister of Health in Manitoba has a big responsibility, as it is her job to ensure those in Manitoba on work permits are, in fact, receiving the health coverage they are entitled to. Health is a provincial topic. Will the minister respon sible provide assurance today that these three Manitobans will, in fact, receive health-care coverage? Hon.

Audrey Gordon (Minister of Health): I thank the member for bringing this forward. This is an issue that Manitoba Health was actually leading the way in discussing with the federal gov ernment in terms of their work permits and when they expire and how it impacts on our ability to provide health-care coverage to individuals whose work permits are expiring. This is a very live issue that I encourage the member to continue to work with their federal col - leagues on, as Manitoba Health is also continuing those discussions. Portage Place Shopping Centre Redevelopment Announcement Mr. Shannon Martin (McPhillips): Mr.

Speaker, sustainable and lasting economic development requires a gov ernment and com munity stake holders to work towards a common goal. I understand tha t last week, the Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade joined the Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) for a historic announce- ment that follows this principle. Can the minister elaborate on this announcement and how it will help Manitobans and our downtown? Hon.

Jeff Wharton (Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade): I want to thank my colleague from McPhillips for that question and the opportunity to speak on this exciting, unpre cedented an nounce- ment last Friday. I was pleased to join the Premier last Friday, along with representatives from True North, leaders in our health- care sector and also Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, as well, at Portage Place shopping centre. At the heart of this in credible an nouncement, Mr.

Deputy Speaker, $500-million investment in our downtown core and the creation of a com prehensive health-care centre with the Pan Am Clinic expanding to become the anchor tenant; truly remarkable. Our gov ernment is committed to growing the economy, healing our health care and creating safer streets, unlike the NDP, Mr. Deputy Speaker, who have a track record of broken promises and failed projects. I'd like to thank everyone who made this project a reality and– Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable minister's time has expired. Silica Mine Project and Drinking Water Safety Municipal Board Zoning Rules Mr.

Mark Wasyliw (Fort Garry): Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Minister of E nvironment and Climate has so far failed to stand up in this House and comm it to protecting drinking water for Manitobans. Residents near Vivian in southeast Manitoba fear that the Sio Silica mining project would permanently damage the freshwater aquafer they drink from every day. The local RM rejected zoning changes for this project, a decision that was recently overturned by this PC-government-appointed municipal board. Can the minister tell us why the PC gov ernment is not listening to elected local officials? Hon. Kevin E.

Klein (Minister of Environment and Climate): I would hope that the members opposite begin their statements with once upon a time, because they're filled with fictitious points and comments. They're not talking about the facts. The member opposite is obviously very busy in court and doesn't under stand that, in fact, we are listening to Manitobans and we will continue to listen to Manitobans.

That's why we sent it to the Clean Environment Commission so that they could listen to hundreds and hundreds of Manitobans, unlike the NDP when they ignore d the Clean Environment Commission year after year, not replacing the North End treatment plant. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honour able member for Fort Garry, on a supplementary question. Mr. Wasyliw: Not only is this minister not listening to the people of southeastern Manitoba, he is over - turning the decisions of democratic ally elected local councils in that area.

The proposed Sio Silica project will drill thousands of wells across the region, and if the mine is approved, wells will extend deep pa st the limestone aquafer

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2331 where many residents draw their water and into the sandstone below. It should not be difficult for this minister to stand up in this House and commit to protecting drinking water for all Manitobans. Why won't he do that today? MLA Klein: Yet again, we have more election propaganda and misleading statements being made on the record. It's embarrassing for the members opposite. I can tell you that we are, indeed, listening to the residents of Manitoba. Every statement that memb er made is fictitious; it's made up.

It is nothing more than election propaganda. * (14:30) If that's the way they're going to win an election and try to get back into office and destroy our environ- ment–as noted in a Winnipeg Free Press article–or a Winnipeg Sun

article that said their fraudulent climate change plan was fraudulent and driven mostly by spin and propaganda. We will take no lessons from the members opposite. Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for Fort Garry, on a final supplementary. Mr. Wasyliw: You know, I would suggest the minister take this lesson: perhaps he can start listening to the people of Dawson Trail and Springfield- Ritchot, because on this side of the House, we certainly do.

The Manitoba Auditor General shows us that the PC gov ernment has failed to fully implement 90 per cent of recommendations from the past several years, including recommendations on drinking water safety. The local RM has concerns about zoning implica- tions for the Sio Silica project, but now th at decision has been overturned by this PC government-appointed municipal board. Will the minister respect the concerns of local decision makers and commit to protecting drinking water for all Manitobans? Mr.

Deputy Speaker: Before recognizing the minister, just a caution around language about fictitious when referring to what is spoken by another member in this House. MLA Klein: I guess if I can't use that term to properly identify what is being said on the public record, it is nothing more than misle ading. And I can tell you as somebody who has spent over 26 years in the media, it is absolutely misleading. So, let's instead of answering these false claims and stories that are being made up at this parti cular point in time, let's talk about the facts. [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order.

MLA Klein: Are you–do you want to listen to this or no? [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. MLA Klein: Kids, kids. Let's look at the fact. The fact is that during the NDP's time, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis fisheries– Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable minister's time has expired. Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. I–order. Order. Comments need to go through the Chair, and let's behave like adults. Lynn Lake Hospital Staffing Levels Return to Community for Transferred Patients MLA Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon): Let's talk about misleading statements.

Residents of Lynn Lake and the Marcel Colomb Cree Nation were told that their family members had to get shipped hundreds of kilometres away because of staffing levels at the Lynn Lake hospital. We now know that those staffing levels are back to where they need to be, and yet those people have not been repatriated to their home community. Will the minister tell the people of Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb Cree Nation when their family mem- bers will return to Lynn Lake, or will she continue to ignore them? Hon.

Audrey Gordon (Minister of Health): I'd like to thank the member for Flin Flon for thanking our government for fixing the staffing issue in Lynn Lake. We will be working very closely with the com - munities in –around Lynn Lake on their needs. We continue to bring individuals to the table of solutions to address the specific needs of com munities, and Lynn Lake is a priority for us as well. Thank you.

2332 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 Mr. Deputy Speaker: The honourable member for Flin Flon, on a supplementary. MLA Lindsey: Quite frankly, the people of Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb Cree Nation are tired of that minister's spin and refusi ng to answer the primary question: When will their family members be allowed to return to the hospital in Lynn Lake? Can the minister answer that question because the staffing levels are back where they need to be, or did she always plan to shut down the hospital in Lynn Lake? Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. Order. Ms. Gordon: Mr.

Deputy Speaker, members opposite will continue to rely on fear mongering as their narrative. But, do you know what fear is? It's fake evidence appearing real. That is what they rely on every day that they come into this Chamber. The members on this side of the House care about the North. We care about the residents of Lynn Lake and the surrounding communities, and we'll continue to work with the l eadership of those com munities to address their needs. Mr. Dougald Lamont (St. Boniface): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise on a matter of privilege. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Okay. The time for oral questions has expired.

MATTER OF PRIVILEGE Mr. Deputy Speaker: And I did understand that that member was rising on another matter, so I will recognize him again. Mr. Dougald Lamont (St. Boniface): I rise on a matter of privilege. There are two conditions that must be satisfied in order for a matter to be ruled in order as a prima facie matter of privilege: first, was the issue raised at the earliest opportunity, and second, has sufficient evidence been provided to demonstrate that a prima facie matter of privilege has occurred in order to warrant putting the matter to the House.

On the question of the first opportunity, this matter concerns remarks that were made in the House on Thursday, May 11th, after oral questions. Therefore, this is my first opportunity to raise the issue. On that day, I asked the current policy–about the current policy in Manitoba that has taxpayers directly financing second homes for MLAs, something that, at the federal gov ernment level, is prohibited for members of Parliament. I did not suggest that anyone was breaking t he rules. I didn't accuse anyone of anything. I was asking why the rules in Manitoba are so lax.

On the question of a prima facie case of privilege, after oral questions, the NDP member from Elmwood and the PC Government House Leader (Mr. Goertzen) approached my colleague in this Chamber and asked them to tell me to stop asking questions about it. The member for Elmwood (Mr. Maloway) said it was dangerous and the PC Government House Leader said to warn me that if I continued my line of questioning, they would retaliate.

The NDP member from Elmwood said I was walking a dangerous line, and the PC House leader and MLA for Steinbach said if I continued to bring it up, the PCs would respond by raising the issues of office–of travel expenses by the former M anitoba MLA for Keewatinook, who had a home in Steinbach and also drove to her home community of St. Theresa Point in Island Lake, to which there's only winter-road access, a com munity of 15,000 people with no rail, boat or all-weather roads, so you can imagine she had some mileage claims.

The member of Steinbach also wanted –from Steinbach also wanted to bring up my office expenses, including a dinner and the fact that we'd bought laptops, which remain government of Manitoba property. Those are my office expenses, and we bought laptops so my staff and I would have the tools to do our jobs. I know that there's a lot that this gov ernment does that's on paper or on fax or with technology that's decades out of date, but my staff and I actually use m odern tech- nology to do our work.

And I'm talking about the one issue –personal expenses and the use of public money to help MLAs pay for their mortgages on a second home that they get to keep and sell. For another member to approach my colleague and co nvey to me that I will face retaliation and that I should not ask questions on this subject is a prima facie violation of my privilege and my freedom of speech as a member in this House. The single most important right we have as legis- lators is parlia mentary privilege and the freedom of speech to be able to speak truth without fear of reprisal.

It's in the bill of rights, dating back to 1688; it's in the British North America Act of 1867; it is in the Constitution Act of 1982. And it's some thing tha t's

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2333 personally important to me. It's reflected in the legis - lation I've brought forward. And, to be clear, I know what it's like to be silenced in this Chamber, because as an in dependent MLA, we can be silenced all the time. When I asked for leave from the House on a ministerial statement on International Women's Day, the House leader and the NDP said no.

So, I could not pay tribute to my aunt, who was the–one of the first ever all-women–member of the first ever all -women law firms in Manitoba, along with her friend and law partner Marion Meadmore, who was the first First Nations woman ever called to the bar in Canada. When I asked for leave for speak on international day of la Francophonie, I was denied it by the Gov - ernment House Leader (Mr. Goertzen). I represent St. Boniface, where the founder of this province is buried after being murdered for having temerity to– able to speak his own language in his own land.

And I was silenced, as so many French speakers have been throughout this province's history. That's because, by legislation, independent MLAs are treated as second- class members of this Legislature, and this Legislature denies us the right to speak and vote that other members can take for granted. You may not want to hear the ques tions we ask, but we were chosen by the people of our constit- uencies to represent them, so it's our constituents and Manitobans who are being denied repre sentation and denied a say in this House.

And more than our constit- uents, because we have to cover all of the min istries, and we may help people anywhere in Manitoba. We are demo cratically elected members of this House, elected to represent our com munities and all Manitobans as best we can, and yet, we are denied the basic democratic right to speak and vote in this House that other parties can take for granted and have gone out of their way to knowingly suppress.

That is contempt for democracy, it's contempt for freedom of speech and contempt of this Legislature. * (14:40) I don't know how it works with other provincial and federal parties, but –and the–are–the NDP or the Conservatives, but nobody in any other party ever gets to tell any Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party what questions they get to ask in this House –not the NDP, not the PCs, not the federal Liberals, for that matter. I presented evidence, in the form the member's own expenses, from this gov ernment's own public disclosures. I showed them what they did and I asked them how they could justify it.

What was the response? Not, you know what, your leader is right, we should do something about this; not, look, it's clear we can't defend this, this needs to change. It was a threat that if I brought it up again, I'd get muck thrown at me, and my former caucus colleague, a First Nations woman who is no longer in politics, would get muck thrown at her. So I'm being threatened by the members of both the NDP and the PCs that, unless I stay quiet, they'll smear me–everything wrong with Manitoba politics right in a nutshell. So, Madam Speaker–so, Mr.

Deputy Speaker, as matter of privilege, it is fundamental as–to our jobs as MLAs that we cannot be threatened to dissuade us from asking questions in this House. I cite House of Commons Procedure and Practice, 3, Privileges and immunities: Members are entitled to go about their parlia mentary busi ness undisturbed. Menacing any member on the floor of the House, when they are coming or going to the House, or on account of their behaviour during a proceeding of Parliament, is a violation of the rights of Parliament.

Any form of intimidation of a person, for or on account of his behaviour, during a proceeding of Parliament could amount to contempt. That's Maingot, second edition, 230 to one. Now, the fact that my colleague was approached, and not me personally, doesn't change the fact that they were asked by two members to tell me not to ask questions. And I want add, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is a matter of the utmost seriousness.

The offence is not just against me but the Legislature as a whole, because as the Speaker knows, what people at home or even in this gallery do not realize the truly terrible things that are continually said as part of heckling in this House. Now, to be threatened with being smeared for acting–asking completely legitimate questions is a vio- late of the right–violation of the rights of Parliament, not just a violation of my rights as a member. Unless it is made absolutely clear that this behaviour is unacceptable, it will continue, because we will not be silenced and we will not be denied.

I move, seconded by the member for River Heights (Mr. Gerrard), that the members for Elmwood (Mr. Maloway) and Steinbach ( Mr. Goertzen) be asked to apologize to the House for the violation of privilege and that it be referred to an all -party com- mittee for immediate consideration.

2334 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 Mr. Deputy Speaker: Before recognizing any other members to speak, I would remind the House, remarks at this time by hon ourable members are limited to strictly relevant comments about whether the alle ged matter of privilege has been raised at the earliest op - portunity and whether a prima facie case has been established. Hon. Kelvin Goertzen (Government House Leader): It seems that the member opposite has two parti cular issues that he's raised in one matter of privilege.

The first seems to deal with the fact that he doesn't like that our rules require the member opposite, as an independent member, to ask for a leave on certain matters of the House. That is, as he asked–or cited as an example, for responding to ministerial statements. That's just one example. There'd be numer ous examples where independent members do have to ask for leave. Those are rules that are established by the House. In fact, the House has long had the rule that a party has to achieve four seats in this House to be able to be recognized as a political–[interjection] It is–[interjection] Mr.

Deputy Speaker: Order. The member for Steinbach has the floor and will be respected as such. Mr. Goertzen: It is slightly ironic that the member opposite, who raised as part of his matter of privilege a concern about heckling, now heckles from his seat. So perhaps he can take his own advice. He raised the issue about being silenced in this House and he gave several examples. Each one of those examples, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are related to the rules of this House, and they require that to be recognized as an official political party one has to achieve four seats.

Now, briefly, in the last 20 years, the Liberal caucus has achieved four seats until they lost the fourth seat and went back down to three seats. He will remember, because it was during his time as leader, that during that time where they had four seats, he didn't have to ask for leave to respond to minis terial statements or other things because they briefly achieved those four seats.

The remedy for that, if he's concerned about having to ask for leave, isn't coming with a matter of privilege to the House, it's either changing the legis - lation and the rules of this House –and they brought forward a private member's bill in the past on that –it didn't pass, but they could do so again– or trying to find a fourth seat in the next election. Or maybe they'll even aspire higher; I have no idea what their aspira- tions are. But if they actually achieve party status after the next election, then this isn't an issue. It in no way forms a matter of privilege.

When it comes to accusations in the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I said it in my response to my question last week, t he rules as it relates to expenses for individual members of this House are set by an independent commission and they're agreed that it should be an independent commission. There are some legislatures in Canada that have MLAs or their equivalen t, MPPs, in some cases, setting their own expenses. That is not the way it's done in Manitoba. That's not the way it should be done in Manitoba.

And I'll repeat to the member, as I repeated to others, that accusations that rules are being broken should n ot be brought to the floor of the House without evidence, which the member did not present. [interjection] Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. MLA Nahanni Fontaine (Official Opposition House Leader): I'm going to keep my comments very, very short. I know that the member is emotional in respect of what may or may not have been said to his colleague or to him in respect of what he perceives his roles and privileges are in the House.

I will let that for the deputy–for yourself, Deputy Speaker –to attest to its truth and its validity. I will say only this: it is in credibly rich, coming from the member for St. Boniface (Mr.

Lamont), to talk about being silenced or attacked or however he emotionally attempted to construct, again, whatever he feels may or m ay not have happened, when we have given that member ample op portunity to get up in this House and apologize to a female member of the Legislative Assembly for his interaction and his threatening and his yelling in the face of a female member of this L egislative Assembly in October of 2020, outside these legislative doors. He still has not done so.

Him, as a male member of this Manitoba Legis lative Assembly, has still doubled down and refused to apologize to a female member of this Legis lative Ass embly, of whom we are all equal here. He has still not apologized for getting in her face and yelling and screaming and swearing at her. I will leave that on the record. Miigwech.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2335 Mr. Deputy Speaker: A matter of privilege is a serious concern. I'm going to take this under–a matter under advisement to consult the author ities and will return to the House with a ruling. We will now move on to petitions. PETITIONS Drug Overdose Reporting Mrs. Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas): I wish to present the following petition to the Legis lative Assembly of Manitoba. The background to this petition is as follows:

(1) Across the province, many Manitobans continue to struggle with addictions, and the pandemic has led to even more death and worsened the ongoing public health crisis of opioid overdoses.

(2) Three hundred and seventy -two Manitobans died from an overdose in 2020, and that's over one a day, and 87 per cent higher than in 2019.

(3) Manitoba is expected to exceed over 400 overdose deaths in 2021, but that data is not publicly available since the last public reporting of opioid deaths was published in 2019.

(4) The data for drug overdose deaths from 2020 and 2021 was compiled through media inquiries, and this needs to change.

(5) Access to timely data on the harms of drugs helps to inform both government and stakeholders on where to take action and target resources needed in various communities.

(6) Manitoba is the only province not provi ding regular, timely data to the federal government opioid information portal.

(7) Manitobans deserve a gov ernment that takes the growing drug crisis seriously and will report the data publicly in a timely manner to target actions and allow for accountability. * (14:50) We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial government to enact Bill 217, The Fatality Inquiries Amendment Act (Overdose Death Reporting), to require the Province to publish the number of drug overdose deaths, as well as the type of drug, on a government website in a timely fashion.

And this has been signed by Hilda McKay Canard, Flora McKay, Brenda Catcheway and many other Manitobans. Security System Incentive Program Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly. The background of this petition is as follows:

(1) Cities across Canada and the United States, including Chicago; Washington, DC; Salinas, California; and Orillia, Ontario, are offering home security rebate programs that enhance public safety and allow for more efficient use of their policing resources.

(2) Home security surveillance systems protect homes and businesses by potentially deterring burglaries.

(3) Whole neighbourhoods benefit when mor e homes and businesses have these security systems.

(4) A 2022 Angus Reid Institute poll found 70 per cent of Winnipeggers surveyed believed crime had increased over the last five years, the highest percentage found among cities in Canada.

(5) The sam e survey reported half of Winnipeggers polled do not feel safe walking alone at night, and almost 20 per cent of them said they were a victim of a police-reported crime in the last two years.

(6) Although the public understands that the – what the criminolo gists and com munity advocates point to as the main drivers of crime, namely the larger issues of lack of food, addictions and poverty, they support rebate programs and–as these help to –the most vul nerable in our com munity by moving – removing financial barriers for personal protection.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the prov incial government to work with municipalities to establish a province-wide tax rebate or other incentive program to encourage residents and businesses to purchase approved home and busi ness security protection systems. Petition's been signed by many, many Manitobans. Punjabi Bilingual Programs in Public Schools Mr. Nello Altomare (Transcona): I wish to present the following petition to the Legislative Assembly. To the Legis lative Assembly of Manitoba, the background of this petition is as follows:

(1) According to census 2021, Punjabi is the fourth most spoken language in Canada and there are 33,315 people in Manitoba whose nat ive language is Punjabi.

(2) Thousands of Punjabi newcomers are coming to Manitoba as students and as immigrants, looking to

2336 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 call this province home. People of Punjabi origin contribute a great deal to the social and economic dev- elopment of Canada and Manitoba in fields such as education, science, health, business and politics.

(3) In coming to Manitoba, Punjabi new comers make sacrifices, including distance from their cultural roots and language. Many Punjabi parents and families want their child ren to retain their language and keep a continued cultural appreciation.

(4) Manitoba has many good bilingual programs in public schools for children and teens available in other languages, including French, Ukrainian, Ojibwe, Filipino, Cree, Hebrew and Spanish. Punjabi bilingual programs for children and teens as well as Punjabi language instruction at a college and uni versity level could similarly teach and maintain Punjabi language and culture.

(5) Punjabi bilingual instruction would help cross- cultural friendships, relationships and marriages and prepare young people to be multilingual professionals. We therefore petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the prov incial government to take steps to implement Punjabi bilingual programs in public schools similar to existing bilingual programs and take steps to implement Punjabi language instruction in other levels of education in Manitoba. This petition, Deputy Speaker, is signed by many Manitobans. Thank you. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Grievances?

ORDERS OF THE DAY GOVERNMENT BUSINESS House Business Hon. Kelvin Goertzen (Government House Leader): Prior to announcing the business for this afternoon, I'd like to announce that the Standing Com mittee on Social and Economic Dev elopment will meet on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, at 6 p.m. to consider the following: Bill 230, The Munici pal Councils and School Boards Elections Amend ment Act; Bill 231, The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (2); and Bill 235, The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: It has been announced by the honourable Government House Leader the Standing Committee on Social and Economic Dev elopment will meet on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, at 6 p.m. to consider the followi ng: Bill 230, The Munici pal Councils and School Boards Elections Amendment Act; Bill 231, The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (2); Bill 235, The Em ployment Standards Code Amendment Act. * * * Mr. Goertzen: Could you please call for third reading this afternoon: Bill 2, Bill 6, Bill 11, Bill 12, Bill 15, Bill 18, Bill 19, Bill 26, Bill 34, Bill 38, Bill 17. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: It has been announced by the honourable Government House Leader that this after- noon we will consider concurrence and third readings on bills 2, 6, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 26, 34, 38 and 17. CONCURRENCE AND THIRD READINGS Bill 2–The Official Time Amendment Act Mr. Deputy Speaker: We will now commence, as previously announced, with Bill 2, The Official Time Amendment Act. Hon. Andrew Smith (Minister of Municipal Relations): I move, seconded by the infrastructure–the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation (Mr. Piwniuk), that Bill 2, The Official Time Amend ment Act, be now read a third time. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: It has been moved by the honour- able Minister of Municipal Relations, seconded by the honourable Minister for Infrastructure and Transportation, that Bill 2, The Official Time Amend ment Act, be concurred in and be now read for a third time and passed. [interjection] We're going to get the minister to read that again. It's important that it gets done right. Mr. Smith: I move, seconded by the Minister of Infrastructure and Trans portation, that The Official Time Amendment Act, be now read a third time and passed. Mr. Deputy Speaker: I'm going to ask the minister to try that one more time. Mr.

Smith: Okay.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2337 Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, that The Official Time Amendment Act be–reported from the Standing Committee on Legis lative Affairs, be con - curred in and now be read for a third time and passed. Mr.

Deputy Speaker: It has been moved by the honour- able Minister for Municipal Relations, seconded by the honourable Minister for Infrastructure and Transportation, that Bill 2, The Official Time Amendment Act, reported from the Standing Committee on Legislative Affairs, be concurred in and be now read for a third time and passed. Mr. Smith: I thank you for the oppor tunity to put a few words on the record with respect to this –with Bill 2. * (15:00) The Official Time Amend ment Act will allow Manitoba to consider adopting permanent daylight saving time.

We know that that's something that's been discussed, not only here in our juris diction, across the country and of course, in the United States. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we want to make sure that Manitoba is aligned properly with other jurisdictions, particularly our largest trading partner, the United States.

So this bill will essentially allow, if the will of Manitobans, through consultation, and of course if the United States goes through with their time change, that we would follow suit and make sure that Manitoba is able to align itself with per manent daylight saving time with our partners, colleagues, and of course, our good allies to the south of the border, the United States of America. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think we all can appreciate the importance of having that alignment, not only for convenience sake when folks travel across the border, as many of us do.

We have quite a strong working relationship and a very good relationship with the United States. It certainly would also help in matters of trade. We know that our largest trading partner, by far, is the United States, and Manitoba has a tremendous amount of exports that go to the United States, agri culture being one of them. So we do thank that–ask that the House considers this, passes it and makes sure that Manitoba aligns ourselves with the United States, should they choose that path as well. Thank you. Mr. Deputy Speaker: Are there any other speakers wishing to speak to Bill 2? Ms.

Lisa Naylor (Wolseley): Why did the gov ern- ment decide that now was the right time to put forward this bill? [interjection] Mr. Brad Michaleski, Acting Speaker, in the Chair The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): The hon- ourable member for Wolseley. Ms. Naylor: Mr. Assistant Deputy Speaker, this bill amends The Official Time Act to discontinue the seasonal time change for daylight saving time. We know, as has already been discussed in this House, that daylight saving time is a divisive issue in Manitoba. Even this bill is conflicted over whether we should move away from daylight saving time.

It doesn't even fully commit to ending time changes and establish ing permanent daylight saving time, instead leaving the decision up to the United States, where the bill is currently stalled in Congress. Thoughts on what should happen to daylight saving time in Manitoba are mixed. Some Manitobans prefer permanent daylight time, which is what the government is sort of proposing, and this would keep the time as it is during the summer after the clocks are switched for daylight saving time, meaning that sunsets and sunrises would be later in winter and stay as they currently are in summer.

Longer nights in winter is an obvious benefit of this system. One negative result of permanent daylight time, however, would be that some children and workers would have to make their morning commute in the dark during part of winter. However, other people prefer permanent standard time. This would mean that the sunrises and sunsets in summer would be earlier and remain as they currently are in winter. Some sleep experts favour this, claiming that it's healthier for people and is more in line with the body's circadian rhythm.

In Canada, daylight saving time is the practice of turning clocks ahead one hour on the second Sunday

2338 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 in March, and back one hour on the first Sunday in November. Canada has six standard time zones that may be abbreviated as: PST for Pacific Standard Time; MST for Mountain Standard Time, etc. However, during the daylight saving period between March and November, they may be abbreviated as PTD and MDT. Sorry, PT–PDT and MDT, et cetera. The boundaries of the standard time zones are not necessarily the same as those of the cor responding daylight saving time zones.

For example, the Mountain Time zones include a portion of northeastern British Columbia in the summer, but not during the winter; boundary shift because some munici palities choose not to participate in daylight savings time. It's up to each province to decide whether to use daylight time and not all do. Most, but not all jurisdic- tions in Canada and US, have been moving their clocks ahead by one hour on the second Sunday in March and back by one hour on the first Sunday in November. The majority of Saskatchewan has followed Central Standard Time year-round since 1966.

However, some towns along the Manitoba and Alberta border have chosen to follow the time scheme of the province beside them, rather than staying with the rest of Saskatchewan. In 2020, Yukon Territory switched to observing Yukon Standard Time year-round. In Canada, areas of Quebec do not change to daylight time and remain on Atlantic Standard Time year -round. Pockets of Ontario and British Columbia do not use daylight time.

The bill in the US Congress to make daylight saving time permanent, which would trigger Manitoba at doing the same if Bill 2 is passed, has been stalled in the House of Representatives since November 2022. The US Senate passed the bill in March. Supporters of the bill in the US claim that the change will be to brighter afternoons and increased economic activity. Because it is now a new year, supporters of the bill in the Senate will need to introduce it if they want the bill to eventually be passed.

Supporters argue that if approved, the so- called sunshine protec tion act, would allow children to play outdoors later and would reduce seasonal depression. Critics, including the National Association of Convenience Stores, say it will force many children to walk to school in darkness during the winter since the measure would delay sunrise by an hour in some places. US President Biden has not said that he supports the bill to making daylight saving time permanent in the US.

While this bill is currently stalled, since 2015 about 30 states have introduced or passed legis lation to end the twice-yearly changing of clocks, with some states proposing to do it only if neighbouring states do the same. Mr. Assistant Deputy Speaker, it's commonly as- sumed that daylight saving time was put in place as a way to give farmers more time to work in the fields in the spring and the summer. However, the purpose of having it be lighter later in the day was actually about reducing electricity consumption.

Although first instituted in 1915, the idea of daylight time have been battled around for more than a century. Benjamin Franklin suggested the idea more than once in the 1770s while he was an emissary to France. In 1784 he sent a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris suggesting that Parisians could save money by getting up earlier during the summer beca use it would allow them to light fewer candles in the evening. But it wasn't until more than a century later that the idea of daylight time was taken seriously.

William Willett, an English builder, revived the idea in 1907, and eight years later Germany was the first nation to adopt to daylight time. Daylight time was first enacted in Germany in 1915, then quickly adopted by Britain and much of Europe and Canada. The Canadian government intro- duced daylight saving time in 1918 as a measure for increasing production during the First World War. The idea was that during months when the sun stays visible for longer, a pre -breakfast hour of day - light could be saved for use after supper.

Countries did this by turning the clocks ahead by one hour in the spring to start the day earlier and back by one hour in the fall. It was reasoned that people would expend less energy trying to light their homes, for instance, if time were adjusted to suit their daily patterns. When the days started getting shorter in the fall and people awoke to increasing darkness, the clocks were turned back an hour to get more light in the morning.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2339 During the First World War, daylight saving time was used in parts of Europe, the US and Canada. Great Britain, for example, put the c locks ahead one hour during the winter months and two hours during the summer. However, in most cases, observance of daylight time ended with armistice. In Canada, federal government regulation of day- light saving time lapsed with the end of the First World War but resumed during the Second World War.

Canada and the United States both used a form of daylight saving time all year round during the Second World War. * (15:10) During the Second World War, a different form of daylight time was also reinstated by Britain, and clocks were set two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time during the summer. It was known as double summertime. The time shift didn't end with the summer, as clocks were rolled back to be one hour ahead of GMT through the winter.

The Uniform Time Act enacted by US Congress in 1966 established a system of uniform–within each time zone–uniform daylight time throughout most of US, exempting only those states in which the legislatures voted to keep the entire state on standard time. However, in 1973, the US adopted year -round daylight saving time again in an attempt to reduce energy use because of an oil embargo. They repealed the use of year -round daylight saving times the next year, allegedly because of its unpopularity with the public.

Municipalities in Canada came to regulate DST to reduce the confusion present when different busi - nesses on the same street used different times. The provinces became involved, passing different sorts of time legislation. Since 1987, official time zones and DST have been regulated by the provincial, territorial and municipal governments. Other countries have also done away with time changes. For example, Russia experimented with a permanent daylight time in 2011, but three years later, opted to i mplement a permanent standard time.

In November 2022, Mexico rolled back its clocks one last time after the passage of a law last week to abolish daylight saving time. Some northern towns will con- tinue to practice the time change come spring, however, likely due to their ties with US cities across the border. The move, long sought by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was based on backing by voters as well as negligible energy savings and negative health effects from the time change, officials said. Some parts of Australia have adopted daylight time.

Of course, it's done a little differently than in the northern hemisphere, where seasons are opposite. So when daylight time starts in Canada, it comes to an end in Australia and vice versa. I know that was one of the most fascinating speeches ever delivered in this Legislature and potentially one of the most controversial. But on that note, I don't want to take up any more time, as I'm absolutely certain that members across the House want their op- portunity to speak on this issue as well. So, on that note, Mr.

Assistant Deputy Speaker, I will thank the House for their time and this opportun- ity, and take my seat. Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise to comment and little bit on this bill. We support this bill because we, in fact, need to stan- dardize with the United States in terms of time, but, of course, things are still up in the air in the United States and we don't know exactly where they're going to finally end up. So this is a bill which is there in case, and it may not necessarily happen. So, we'll see.

I think it's important to mention and to remember that Canada had a very important role in the establish- ment of international standard time. In fact, it was Sir Sandford Fleming who was credited with being the father of inter national standard time. He apparently spent an uncomfortable night in a railway station because of time confusion and, in part, as a result of that, became a strong advocate for 24 time zone s around the world, each equal to 15 degrees of longitude, and with each time zone repre senting one hour difference; of course, beginning at Greenwich meridian.

The intro duction of standard time happened in North America in 1883 to begin with, at lea st for railways. And that was led by Sir Sandford Fleming. And it was not only a matter of convenience to passengers to avoid people having over night stays when they shouldn't have because there was time confusion; it was also pretty im portant in term s of safety. It wasn't desirable to have two trains using two different time references, ending up going in opposite directions on the same train –same tracks at the same time. Obviously one needed for safety's sake to do something.

2340 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 There were in North America at one point 144 official time zones. Thank goodness we don't have that many now. In Sir Sanford Fleming's role, he was very impor- tant in convening an inter national prime 'meridium' conference in Washington, DC, in 1884. And there were many countries from around the world represent- ed, and out of that meeting came the inter national standard time development. So here we are, many decades later, and we are debating time and how we allocate it, and how we set it up and how we set our clocks.

It is a much better position from which we are starting from, but, of course, there's still a lot of debate as to whether we should have daylight saving time or not; and we will leave it–in this case, the decision will be up to our neighbours to the south, and we will see what they decide and then we will do–follow along. It is important that we, on this day as we're debating this bill, remember the importance of time, the importance of standard time and the im portant role Canadian Sir Sandford Flaning [phonetic]–Fleming played in having this arrive internationally and globally. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): Is there any further speakers? Is the House ready for the question? Some Honourable Members: Question. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): The question before the House is concurrence and third reading of Bill 2, The Official Time Amendment Act. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] I declare the motion carried. Bill 6–The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Amendment Act The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): We will now move on to Bill 6, The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Amendment Act. Hon.

Kelvin Goertzen (Minister responsible for the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation): I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Cullen), that Bill 6, The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Amendment Act, reported from the Standing Committee on Justice, be concurred in and now read for a third time and passed. Motion presented. Mr. Goertzen: I put on significant comments on the record on second reading, so I won't repeat all of those. We heard–we brought this to com mittee; it's passed that stage.

Just in brief, then, this will either expand or enhance the benefits for the personal injury and pro- tection plan, or allow MPI to collect back funds from an individual who should not have been provided funds because of inaccurate or false information. Thank you very much, Mr. Acting Speaker. Mr. Matt Wiebe (Concordia): Appreciate the oppor- tunity, put a few words on the record at third reading of Bill 6. This bill makes several amendments to The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act.

The cor poration is not required to pay benefits to a resident of juris dic- tion other tha n Manitoba, if there is an inter - jurisdictional agreement that exempts the corporation from providing benefits to residents of that juris dic- tion. Currently, an accident victim 65 years or older is entitled to an income re placement indemnity only if they are employed at the time of the accident.

This – the entitlement is broadened to also apply if the victim has a job offer or a history of seasonal, casual or temporary employment. * (15:20) The corporation is authorized to pay funds in trust to a person to manage on their behalf of a victim with impaired cognitive functioning, even if no formal committee or substitute decision maker has been appointed by or for the victim, and the cor poration's ability to recover overpayments is strengthened.

This bill brings forward three main changes: it expands the ability to reclaim funds from people who have made fraudulent claims, as I mentioned; it changes the criteria for qualifying income re place- ment due to an accident; and it allows to pay funds in trust to a person on behalf of someone with an impaired cognitive functioning. We have a number of concerns, of course, as you may know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with regard to how this government has managed or mismanaged, in this case, MPI. Manitobans value their public insurer. They see the value in having a public insurance cor poration in this province.

And, in fact, it was, of course, an NDP government which brought forward MPI as a solution to keep those rates low.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2341 Manitobans want to see their Autopac bills stay low as one of the items of affordability that we can implement here in this province, especially at a time when inflationary pressures are making every thing more expensive. That is the goal, or should be the goal, of MPI. But, of course, we've seen under this government, as we've seen with so many other elements of public life and public purview that this gov ernment has control over, they don't see it that way. They see this as a way to continually pressure the cost to average Manitobans.

We've, of course, seen that with Manitoba Hydro. We've seen just this week where this government has gone, once again, to the PUB, saying, we want to max out the amount that we can increase our Manitobans' hydro bills by applying for a rate increase at the PUB. And now we've seen it again with MPI just this spring with Autopac rates going up at a time when even the insurer says they should be going down. PUB says they should be going down.

Rates should be going down because people drove less dur ing the pandemic; there were less claims; there was an oppor- tunity to pass some of those savings along to the average Manitoban. But why are rates going up? Well, we know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, they're going up because this government has mismanaged MPI, specifically when it comes to the IT upgrade, known as Project Nova. This government, you know, stepped in early on in the process and said, we know better; we know how to manage this project.

In fact, it was the minister himself who said, I will step in; I will be the one to tell you how to upgrade this project. And it's been an absolute boondoggle ever since.

And now Manitobans are paying more every month when it comes to their Autopac bills because of the mismanagement that this government has. [interjection] Now, I hear the minister being quite loud, and it's quite actually strange that he's not out answering questions in the hallway right now with reporters because we know for a fact that the mis management and the boondoggle continues at MPI as the board and as the hand -picked CEO continue to mismanage the project, and rates are going up because of it.

So, you know, my question, I guess, if we had an opportunity to ask questions–I know the member for Wolseley (Ms. Naylor) was eager to ask questions even at third reading. I would like to do the same because I'd like to know how the minister expects that this bill can be imple mented at a Crown cor poration that is so mismanaged that they're having trouble even delivering to Manitobans t he most basic elements of the cheap rates that they expect. That is –has become an issue, and it will continue to be an issue as long as this government is in power. The buck stops with this government.

They have the responsi bility to manage these o n behalf of Manitobans, to manage our Crown cor porations in a responsible way, and they have failed over and over and over again. It's time that–for them to be held accountable. We will do so at the next election, at the ballot box. I look forward to that happening. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, I rise to say a few words about this bill. And I want to particularly comment on the changes which relate to who would be eligible for income re placement in- demnity.

And currently, the situation is that an acci - dent victim, 65 years or older, is entitled to an income replacement indemnity only if they're employed at the time of the accident. In this bill, it is broadened to apply to a victim who has a r easonable expectation of em ployment at the time of the accident, and it falls into one or two categories: that they have received a written offer of employment and the offer has not been declined; (

b) they have a history of seasonal, casual or temporary employment that would have continued but for the accident. This is a useful and helpful extension. I thank the government for making those changes. I personally think that there should be a broader look and a broader eligibility for those who are victims. Remember, these are people who are victims in a car accident and who can be severely, badly affected. Why are we limiting it to people who have employment? Certainly, it seems to me that a case can be made that we should not base this on whe ther somebody is employed or not.

This is somebody who is a victim, and maybe we should start to look at whether there should be more equivalent indemnifica- tion for individuals. Certainly, in my ex perience, I've come across a number of individuals who were excluded from such– having such an indemnity because they didn't quite fall under the condition of being currently employed, and they felt that this was very unfair. And some of

2342 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 these would be captured in these new changes, but not all of them. And so I think that at some point in the future, we should actually look at a broader –opening it up to those who are victims of an accident, because I think all 'vixtims' of an accident should be looked at and not be discriminated against for one reason or another. With those comments, I will sit down and look forward to this law passing third reading and becoming implemented. Thank you. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): Are there any further speakers?

Seeing none, is the House ready for the question? Some Honourable Members: Question. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): The question before the House is concurrence and third reading of Bill 6, The Manitoba Public Insurance Cor poration Amendment Act. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] I declare the motion carried. Bill 11–The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act, 2023 The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): We will now move on to Bill 11, The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act, 2023. Hon.

Kelvin Goertzen (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I move, seconded by the Minister of Seniors, that Bill 11, The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act, 2023, reported from the Standing Committee on Justice, be concurred in and be now read for a third time and passed. Motion presented. Mr. Goertzen: As noted at second reading, this bill has a number of different provisions regarding acts that are responsible under a number of different min- istries.

A couple that I would quickly highlig ht is the ability to allow for the City of Winnipeg to permit planning notices to be sent electronically, that would be a convenience to many residents of the city of Winnipeg; and also to allow paramedics to respond and to direct traffic, as they are often first on scene, especially in rural areas. That's an im portant provision. * (15:30) The other provisions I spoke to at second reading and at committee, and I don't need to put any further words on the record. Mr.

Mintu Sandhu (The Maples): It is my honour to rise in the House today to put a few comments on Bill 11, The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act, 2023. This bill amends several acts to reduce or eliminate regulatory require ments or pro - hibitions to improve services and to stream line gov- ernment operations. The Amusements Act is amended to eliminate the prohibition on reselling tickets at a markup price.

The City of Winnipeg Charter and the city of Winnipeg– sorry–The City of Winnipeg Charter and The City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment and Planning Amendment Act are amended to permit planning notices to be sent electronically. The Highway Traffic Act is amended to give paramedics and emergency medical respon ders the same authority as fire fighters to direct traffic and to eliminate an exemption that allowed vehicles other than emergency vehicles to disregard speed limits, stops, signals and other traffic control devices if carrying first aid or rescue equipment.

The Teachers' Pensions Act is amended to allow the Teachers' Retirement Allowance Fund to set its own board procedures and adapt forms to reduce the administration of the Teachers' Retirement Allowance Fund. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I've already spoken to this bill earlier on the second reading, but I'd still like to put a few comments. This is where we had a chance to sit down with True North and Ticketmaster to see what their position is, especially regarding The Amusements Act, which is eliminated–you know, they can–anybody can sell–resell those tickets.

And what they were thinking is that the gov ern- ment will bring in a bill which –well, actually, they have given the name to–Manitoba ticket sales act–and to have a protection for the consumers. So, I will put on the record what they were talking about or what they were saying, how can this govern- ment or people in the –all the MLAs who can maybe vote on this and to protect the consumers. So, they were asking to ban the use of software bots, which are designed to circumvent online security measures, cut to the front of the line and steal tickets; prohibit–sorry–tickets posting, which deceive fans

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2343 into paying higher prices for tickets not even on sale yet; bring ticket reselling out of the black market with a strong and new consumer pro tection such as mandatory money background keeper of the sold tickets, disclosure of exact seat location and information, transactions in Canadian dollars only, transparency in pricing through prompt pricing outlet fees and taxes, display of the tickets' refund policies in the eve nt of event cancellation; ban deceptive marketing like the unsanctioned use of name, logo or teams, artists and venues on reselling websites to confuse consumers; consider it a requirement for resellers to register with the provincial consumer protection authority to certify that they do not use deceptive practices, software bots and require payment of local taxes.

So this was–but the True North and Ticketmaster were thinking that the government might bring another bill for the consumers' protection. I guess the govern- ment was busy with other stuff, so maybe instead of trying to get themselves re-elected and not paying really attention what the consumer protection is. So I'll leave with this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I'll give the chance to other people to speak on this bill. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Ms.

Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): And I'm happy to be able to rise this afternoon and just put on a few more words on the record here about Bill 11, The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this bill actually amends several acts. There's four parts to it, and The Amusement Act, which is the first on the bill, eliminates pro - hibition on reselling tickets at a markup. And I'm very weary with respect to this piece of the legis lation. I think that there's a lot we're going to have to do to be proactive on this piece of the legislation.

And I also think it's worthy of having its own piece of legislation being early debated by all MLAs and be introduced on its own. We see so much fraud happening, and it's not just in Manitoba, but it's all over Canada, all over the world, and I can reflect to just a few weeks ago with the Whiteout parties happening here in Winnipeg when the Winnipeg Jets were still in our Stanley Cup here, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

And it was unfortunate because we were here and we were so excited about these Whiteout parties, and within two days of tickets going on sale, we heard people trying to sell fake tickets; we heard people trying to upsell the tickets from what they originally paid for them. And we just –we want to make sure that we're setting a tone here in Manitoba that it is creating an atmosphere for all Manitobans to be able to participate in different forms of entertainment, for example. It's a big part of our social atmosphere, and I'm weary with this piece of legis lation that that might impact that a little bit.

We want to ensure that everyone is able to attend what they would like to attend and that people are not going to buy in bulk just to then resell what they have bought, going into it with that intention. Another part of the legis lation is the City of Winnipeg Charter and the City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment and Planning Amendment Act. They're amended to perm it planning notices to be sent electronically. It's fairly straightfor ward and makes sense.

The Highway Traffic Act gives paramedics and emergency medical responders the same authority as firefighters to direct traffic and eliminate an exception that allowed vehicles, other than emergency vehicles, to disregard speed limits, stop signals, and other traffic control devices if carrying first aid or rescue equipment, and fairly straightforward. And the last piece, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is The Teachers' Pension Act that allows TRAF–the Teachers' Retirement Allowance Fund board –to set its own board procedures and adopt forms to be used for administration of the Teachers' Retirement Allowance Fund.

As many members of this House know, over the last year, we've actually all done a lot of work for the Retired Teachers' Association of Manitoba, specific - ally with respect to the TRAF board, and I want to thank all of my colleagues in–with–for the unanimous support in the legislation that was brought forward. So, we want to make sure that, with this legis - lation, we are properly equipping TRAF; therefore, properly equipping the entire teachers association to have the resources they need, to have the discussions that need to be had at the board level.

So, there's definitely some merits to this piece of legislation. I don't like how they've lumped together several different pieces into one. I think they should be different pieces of legis lation, all individually debated and voted upon. But overall, I think it's good legislation. Thank you for the opportunity.

2344 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): Any further speakers? Seeing none, is the House ready for the question? Some Honourable Members: Question. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): The question before the House is concurrence and third reading of Bill 11, The Reducing Red Tape and Improving Services Act, 2023. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] I declare the motion carried. Bill 12–The Minor Amendments and Corrections Act, 2023 The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): We'll now move on to Bill 12. Hon.

Kelvin Goertzen (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I move, seconded by the Minister of Families (Ms. Squires), that Bill 12, The Minor Amendments and Corrections Act, 2023, reported from the Standing Committee on Justice, be concurred in and be now read for a third time and passed. Motion presented. * (15:40) Mr. Goertzen: Mr. Acting Speaker, this is an annual bill and, as the name would suggest, it contains minor amendments and corrections. Mr. Matt Wiebe (Concordia): That'll certainly bring up anyone's spirits to know that I have the support of my colleagues as I rise to debate Bill 12.

And it is im- portant to be part of a strong team here, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is fighting for Manitobans every single day on every single bill, including Bill 12. Now, I, you know, I'd be remiss if I didn't make the joke that this is an omnibus bill, as the minister said, not an ominous bill. But I'm always leery, of course, of this minister and this gov ernment because we know that, in the past, they have used bills that address number of different legis lative acts to hide their cuts. And we know that that has been their modus operandi now for seven years.

So, it was important that we went through this bill and we made sure that, as far as we can tell, and I'm not–don't take my word for it, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because we–one might have slipped past us, as it does sometimes. But there are certainly always cuts coming from this gov ernment, so we're always very leery when we see thick bills that the government says don't worry about, don't pay attention to.

We do, of course, pay attention to them because Manitobans have seen the impact that this gov ern- ment's austerity and cuts have had, and that's been, of course, under the Pallister gov ernment, under Brian Pallister as the premier. That was –you know, he proudly said that. But, of course, we know, under the Stefanson government, this current Prem ier (Mrs. Stefanson) continues to do the same thing, but maybe just doesn't say it quite as loudly or as boastfully. But we know for a fact that she has continued on this –the former premier's cuts and austerity, and that has been their only offering to Manitobans.

What has been the impact? We know, in the health-care system, there have been severe impacts, there have been severe con sequences and we know that that carries across the board, whether it be in edu- cation–as I hear my friend from Transcona n odding along and agreeing with me on, he has seen and we have seen, in all of our constituencies, the impact that education cuts have had.

And we have seen this every single budget year, but this one maybe even more so, more acutely, because, while the government has gone out and said, just trust us in an election year, we're going to spend more than ever on edu cation, we have actually seen school divisions cutting programs that impact stu- dents, not least of which, of course, in River East Transcona School Division; we've seen library techs cut, we've seen the International Baccalaureate program cut. So, we have seen firsthand, we know what the government is saying is not true.

And, of course, we know that while they're sending cheques to billi on- aires, the school divisions are saying, we don't have what we need to offer the program ming that our students and our families are asking for. So, again, that's just one example, and I could go through the minor corrections and amendments act, and, of course, this touches on a number of very im - portant acts in this province. And, you know, as the minister correctly noted, it–usually spelling errors and very minor stuff.

May 15, 2023 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2345 But the impact that is –every depart ment and every element of public service and gov ernment has been impacted by this gov ernment's, you know, single-minded focus on simply cutting rather than finding solutions, rather than listening to those at the front lines and rather than making a real difference. Manitobans are suffering. They want a change. We are here to offer that to them, and I look forward to offering in–that to them, on the doorsteps, as we go to the next election. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Ms.

Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): I'm happy to rise and speak to Bil l 12 here this afternoon. And, you know, I've had the opportunity to speak to Bill 12 in the past, so I'm going to keep my remarks short here. I did just want to clarify something that the last member just shared on record here. It was actually the NDP who first cut funding for education. For them to then come into the House and say switch direction, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we need to be very clear that they were the ones who first cut edu- cation. PCs didn't help, but they were the ones who first cut it. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): Is there any further speakers? Is the House ready for the question? Some Honourable Members: Question. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): The question before the House is concurrence and third readi ng of Bill 12, The Minor Amendments and Corrections Act, 2023. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] I declare the motion carried. Bill 15–The Court of King's Bench Amendment Act The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): We'll now move on to Bill 15, The Court of King's Bench Amendment Act. Hon.

Kelvin Goertzen (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I move, seconded by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Johnson), that Bill 15, the court of queen's bench amend ment act, repo rted from the Standing Committee on Justice, be concurred in and be now read for a third time and passed. The Acting Speaker (Brad Michaleski): It has been moved by the honour able Minister of Justice, seconded by the honour able Minister of Agri culture, that Bill 15, The Court of King's Bench Amendment Act, reported from the Standing Committee on Justice, be concurred in and now read for a third time and passed. Mr.

Goertzen: This bill deals with a relatively small classification of individuals c urrently knows as masters in the court–that might change at some point in the near future, in terms of their name, but that's what they're currently known as. The senior masters, when they move back into a position of a regular master after seven years, it has to do with equalizing their pay, as is done with others in the judiciary or the court system.

And this was recom mended by the Judicial Compensation Committee, which meets on a statutory basis to make recommendations when it comes to the pay of those in our justice system, as it's an in depen- dent system, and so their pay is set independently. Mr. Matt Wiebe (Concordia): I appreciate the oppor- tunity to address Bill 15, The Court of King's Bench Amendment Act. And I am very much interested in putting some words, once again, on the record with regards to this important bill.

This bill amends The Court of King's Bench Act to establish a salary for a person who resigns as the senior master but continues to act as a master. Now, I just wanted to pause very quickly before I put any more words on the record, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because I do know that there is a bill before the Legislature, brought forward by my very, very learned and exceptional colleague, the member for St. Johns (MLA Fontaine), who has–[interjection] I'm hearing that there's leave that I can continue on, on this line of comments. We could continue on all afternoon on this.

But I just wanted to say, that –on a very serio us note–that she has brought forward a bill that does address this very outdated and archaic language that's being used in this bill, and is currently used in the justice system. But I just wanted to address that, because I do hope that that bill finds u nanimous support and is passed. However, just in terms of my comments today, I do–will continue to use the current language, just for

2346 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 15, 2023 clarity's sake. But that is just a note for those paying attention to the debate here this afternoon. We

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	42-5-54
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	42nd 5th hansardpdf 54.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	87040d300ba2e4dddf1eb4dda394ee72ab6a81b7

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