Manitoba Hansard — 26 March 2025 (Sitting 34, 43rd Legislature, 2nd Session)

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Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

Second Session – Forty-Third Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Official Report (Hansard) Published under the authority of The Honourable Tom Lindsey Speaker Vol. LXXIX No. 34 - 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 26, 2025 ISSN 0542-5492

MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Forty-Third Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ASAGWARA, Uzoma, Hon. Union Station NDP BALCAEN, Wayne Brandon West PC BEREZA, Jeff Portage la Prairie PC BLASHKO, Tyler Lagimodière NDP BRAR, Diljeet Burrows NDP BUSHIE, Ian, Hon. Keewatinook NDP BYRAM, Jodie Agassiz PC CABLE, Renée, Hon. Southdale NDP CHEN, Jennifer Fort Richmond NDP COMPTON, Carla Tuxedo NDP COOK, Kathleen Roblin PC CROSS, Billie Seine River NDP DELA CRUZ, Jelynn Radisson NDP DEVGAN, JD McPhillips NDP EWASKO, Wayne Lac du Bonnet PC FONTAINE, Nahanni, Hon. St.

Johns NDP GOERTZEN, Kelvin Steinbach PC GUENTER, Josh Borderland PC HIEBERT, Carrie Morden-Winkler PC JOHNSON, Derek Interlake-Gimli PC KENNEDY, Nellie, Hon. Assiniboia NDP KHAN, Obby Fort Whyte PC KINEW, Wab, Hon. Fort Rouge NDP KING, Trevor Lakeside PC KOSTYSHYN, Ron, Hon. Dauphin NDP LAGASSÉ, Bob Dawson Trail PC LAMOUREUX, Cindy Tyndall Park Lib. LATHLIN, Amanda The Pas-Kameesak NDP LINDSEY, Tom, Hon. Flin Flon NDP LOISELLE, Robert St. Boniface NDP MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Malaya, Hon. Notre Dame NDP MOROZ, Mike, Hon. River Heights NDP MOSES, Jamie, Hon. St. Vital NDP MOYES, Mike, Hon.

Riel NDP NARTH, Konrad La Vérendrye PC NAYLOR, Lisa, Hon. Wolseley NDP NESBITT, Greg Riding Mountain PC OXENHAM, Logan Kirkfield Park NDP PANKRATZ, David Waverley NDP PERCHOTTE, Richard Selkirk PC PIWNIUK, Doyle Turtle Mountain PC REDHEAD, Eric Thompson NDP SALA, Adrien, Hon. St. James NDP SANDHU, Mintu, Hon. The Maples NDP SCHMIDT, Tracy, Hon. Rossmere NDP SCHOTT, Rachelle Kildonan-River East NDP SCHULER, Ron Springfield-Ritchot PC SIMARD, Glen, Hon. Brandon East NDP SMITH, Bernadette, Hon. Point Douglas NDP STONE, Lauren Midland PC WASYLIW, Mark Fort Garry Ind. WHARTON, Jeff Red River North PC WIEBE, Matt, Hon.

Concordia NDP WOWCHUK, Rick Swan River PC Vacant Spruce Woods Vacant Transcona

929 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Wednesday, March 26, 2025 The House met at 1:30 p.m. The Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom and know it with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen.

We acknowledge we are gathered on Treaty 1 territory, that Manitoba is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, 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 rema in committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration. Please be seated.

And just before we begin today, I'd like to remind all members, if you've got notes or cell phones on your desk to please keep them away from the microphones. Even if you have stacks of books piled too close to the microphone, it causes feedback, which makes it hard for the folks in Hansard to hear what 's going on. So they would appreciate that, and so would I. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS INTRODUCTION OF BILLS Bill 225–The Public Schools Amendment Act (Universal Screening for Learning Disabilities) MLA Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): I move, seconded by the member for Fort Garry (Mr.

Wasyliw), that Bill 225, The Public Schools Amendment Act (Universal Screening for Learning Dis abilities), be now read a first time. Motion presented. MLA Lamoureux: It is my pleasure to intro duce Bill 225, The Public Schools Amendment Act (Universal Screening for Learning Disabilities). The bill recognizes Manitoba students ' right to read and will improve Manitoba's literacy rates and better identify students who may struggle with learning disabilities. In short, the bill requires students in grades K to 3 to be screened twice per year using assessment tools approved by the minister.

The Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] Bill 221–The Wildlife Amendment Act Mr. Rick Wowchuk (Swan River): I move, seconded by the member for Riding Mountain (Mr. Nesbitt), that Bill 221, The Wildlife Amendment Act, be now read for a first time. Motion presented. Mr. Wowchuk: I rise today as a proud hunter and conservationist to intro duce a bill that targets those who break the law and threaten Manitoba 's protected wildlife species. Bill 221 proposes to increase statutory fines for the illegal killing of protected species in our province.

Strengthening these penal ties will send a clear mes - sage to poachers that we take the conservation of our wildlife seriously in Manitoba. It will also bring our penal ties in line with those in other western provinces. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to join me in educating Manitobans about responsible hunting practices and protecting the wildlife we hold dear to our heritage and our shared way of life. Thank you. The Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] Bill 222–The Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to The Occupiers' Liability Act Mr.

Derek Johnson (Interlake-Gimli): I move, seconded by the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Piwniuk) that Bill 222, The Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to The Occupiers' Liability Act, be now read a first time. Motion presented. Mr. Johnson: The Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to The Occupiers ' Liability Act will

930 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 make changes to the law governing civil claims for damages made by trespassers against occupiers of premises. The act aims to protect property occupiers from civil liability for injuries or death of individuals ages 12 and older who trespass with the intent to commit a crime. Occupiers may still be held liable for their actions are willful or grossly disproportionate, so i.e., you can't have any booby traps on your property.

The act amends The Limitations Act to pause the limitation period for claims against occupiers until any related criminal charges are resolved. The act extends the limited duty of care pro- visions to all individuals age 12 or older who enter the premises without permission; and the legis lative changes will align Manitoba 's approaches with other provinces such as Alberta, which have imple mented similar measures to protect property owners from liability involving criminal trespassing. This bill balances the right of property owners while preventing and denouncing vigilant attacks like actions. And, Mr.

Speaker, if you offer me a little bit of latitude, I wish to wish Denise Agbrall [phonetic] a happy 83rd birthday. She continues to faithfully serve our great Legislature from 269. The Speaker: Order, please. I would once again remind members to use the correct pronouns. It 's Hon ourable Speaker, not Mr. Speaker. COMMITTEE REPORTS Standing Committee on Justice First Report MLA David Pankratz (Chairperson): Honourable Speaker, I wish to present the first report of the Standing Committee on Justice. * (13:40) The Speaker: Tabling of report. Clerk (Mr. Rick Yarish): Your– An Honourable Member: Dispense.

The Speaker: Dispense. Your Standing Committee on Justice presents the following as its First Report. Meetings Your Committee met on March 25, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 255 of the Legislative Building. Matters under Consideration • Bill (No. 2) – The Provincial Court Amendment Act / Loi modifiant la

Loi sur la Cour provinciale • Bill (No. 5) – The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Impaired Driving Measures) / Loi modifiant le Code de la route (mesures en cas d'infractions de conduite avec facultés affaiblies) • Bill (No. 31) – The Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act (Various Acts Amended) /

Loi sur les instruments de contrôle de biens-fonds visant des épiceries et des super - marchés (modification de diverses lois) • Bill (No. 42) – The Buy Canadian Act (Government Purchases Act Amended) /

Loi sur l 'achat au Canada (modification de la

Loi sur les achats du gouvernement) Committee Membership • Mr. B ALCAEN • Mr. GUENTER • Hon. Min. NAYLOR • Mr. OXENHAM • MLA PANKRATZ • Hon. Mr. WIEBE Your Committee elected MLA PANKRATZ as the Chairperson. Your Committee elected Mr. OXENHAM as the Vice-Chairperson. Substitutions received during Committee proceedings: • Hon. Min. SANDHU for Hon. Mr. WIEBE Non-Committee Members Speaking on Record • MLA LAMOUREUX Public Presentations Your Committee heard the following three presentations on Bill (No. 2) – The Provincial Court Amendment Act / Loi modifiant la

Loi sur la Cour provinciale: Susan Dawes, Provincial Judges' Association of Manitoba David Grant, Private citizen Cory Hoes, Private citizen

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 931 Your Committee heard the following four presentations on Bill (No. 5) – The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Impaired Driving Measures) / Loi modifiant le Code de la route (mesures en cas d' infractions de conduite avec facultés affaiblies): David Grant, Private citizen Karen Reimer, Private citizen Ida Marie Poitras, Private citizen Garth Steek, Private citizen Written Submissions Your Committee received the following one written submission on Bill (No. 5 ) – The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Impaired Driving Measures) / Loi modifiant le Code de la route (mesures en cas d'infractions de conduite avec facultés affaiblies): Tanya Hansen Pratt, MADD Canada Bills Considered and Reported • Bill (No. 2) – The Provincial Court Amendment Act / Loi modifiant la

Loi sur la Cour provinciale Your Committee agreed to report this Bill without amendment. • Bill (No. 5) – The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Impaired Driving Measures) / Loi modifiant le Code de la route (mesures en cas d'infractions de conduite avec facultés affaiblies) Your Committee agreed to report this Bill with the following amendments: THAT Clause 7(3) of the Bill be amended in the proposed subsection 264(1.2.3) by adding "unrelated" after "two". THAT Clause 8 of the Bill be amended in the proposed subsection 264.1(2) by adding "unrelated" after "two". • Bill (No. 31) – The Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act (Various Acts Amended) /

Loi sur les instruments de contrôle de biens-fonds visant des épiceries et des super- marchés (modification de diverses lois) Your Committee agreed to report this Bill without amendment. • Bill (No. 42) – The Buy Canadian Act (Government Purchases Act Amended) /

Loi sur l 'achat au Canada (modification de la

Loi sur les achats du gouvernement) Your Committee agreed to report this Bill without amendment. MLA Pankratz: Honourable Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon ourable member for McPhillips (MLA Devgan), that the report of the com mittee be received. Motion agreed to. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS (Continued) Bill 222–The Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to The Occupiers' Liability Act (Continued) The Speaker: We just have to go back a step, because the member for Interlake-Gimli (Mr. Johnson) carried on a little after his intro duction.

We neglected –as in I neglected–to see if it' s the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion. So is it the pleasure of the House to adopt The Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to The Occupiers' Liability Act? Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed] TABLING OF REPORTS The Speaker: In accordance with

section 28.1 of The Auditor General Act, I 'm tabling the following Auditor General 's reports: Preparing In carcerating Individuals for Transition from Custody and Follow-up of Previously Issued Recommendations. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS National Procurement Month Hon. Mintu Sandhu (Minister of Public Service Delivery): I rise today to highlight a key aspect of our economy and public service: procurement.

March is National Procurement Month, a time to recognize the importance of what we buy, how we buy it and the procurement professionals who ensure fairness and transparency for both the vendors we work with and the taxpayers we serve. It 's an opportunity to ac - knowledge the vital contributions of procurement professionals across the Manitoba government, the broader public sector and beyond. This month serves as a reminder of our critical procurement plays in the effective functioning of our government and the advancement of our economy.

Procurement is much more than simply acquiring goods and services; it is a powerful driver of economy growth. Whether it is securing materials for infra -

932 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 structure development or acquiring services to deliver essential public services, procurement is fundamental to government operations. Here in Manitoba, we treat procurement as policy in action. This is how we uphold our commitments to climate action, support diverse -owned businesses, advance truth and reconciliation and build resilient supply chains that do not rely on any single trade partner. Honourable Speaker, we recognize procurement month; it is important to address the challenges we are facing due to recent actions by the US Trump administration.

In response to these economic pressures, our government introduced Bill 42, The Buy Canadian Act, which prioritizes the procurement of Canadian- made goods and services. This is a crucial step in supporting local businesses and strengthening our economy in the face of external pressures. The current economic climate highlights the importance of being mindful not only of the impact our purchasing decisions have, but also of how our commitment to fairness and transparency ensures that the Manitoba government remains a preferred buyer for businesses across Canada and internationally.

Manitoba is bringing public sector organizations together to boost efficiency and value. This approach focused on collaboration, not competition. By using a modern category management approach, Manitoba is moving beyond simple buying. We study markets, understand needs and align procurement with our strategic goals and showcasing the public sector innovation Canada needs.

The Department of Public Service Delivery is home to our Procurement and Supply Chain Division, which sets government-wide procurement policy, col- laboration with other broader public sectors to meet shared needs and supports best practices across the public sector through a centre of excellence. We also have a procurement professional in teams across gov- ernment, including Transportation and Infrastructure, Health, Com munications, Engagement and division and many others, who work tirelessly to meet t he unique needs of goods, services and construction across government.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank exceptional procurement staff across the government, particularly our team with the Department of Public Service Delivery. Their dedication, professionalism and hard work ensure that our procurement processes are not only efficient and timely, but also 'imtractful'– impactful and aligned with our broader goals. Today in the gallery, we have with us Paris Fragkoulis, assistant deputy minister from the Procurement and Supply Chain Division, along with his team.

Honourable Speaker, I also like –I ask all members to join me in recognizing and appreciating the important work they do every day for Manitobans. Honourable Speaker, I would also like to add the names of my guests to the Hansard. Thank you, Honourable Speaker. Munjir Ahmed, Alfred Akuamoah, Shorya Angrish, Ju Auditor, Sikander Billing, Adam Brooke, Paris Fragkoulis, Jim Fraser, Sarabjit Kaur, Kim Kostenlyk, Meytal Lavy, Alena Lukes, Tamanna Punia, Greg Reader, Dhruv Sharma, Shabbir Shawkut, Marlon Watts. Mr. Josh Guenter (Borderland): It's an honour to celebrate procurement month.

More than ever, it 's important that gov ernments buy local and buy Canadian. It was our previous PC government that signed on to the New West trade partnership with our neighbours to the west: Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, strengthening interprovincial ties. And it 's important that we continue this work. Procurement month is also a time to recog nize and appreciate the invaluable con tributions of pro- curement pro fessionals across Canada. Procurement professionals are the unsung heroes behind the seam- less operation of public services. Procurement is the backbone of public organ- izations.

It ensures that essential goods and services are acquired efficiently and strategically, allowing organizations to operate smoothly and deliver vital services to the public. Procurement professionals are responsible for the meticulous planning, negotiation and management of resources that keep organizations running effectively. And because of these hard-working people, health-care facilities remain stocked, schools receive necessary resources and cities continue to grow efficiently.

The role of procurement goes beyond just pur - chasing; it involves strategic decision making that aligns with long-term organizational goals. Procurement professionals analyze market trends, assess risks and establish procurement plans that promote efficiency and sustainability. Their work ensures that public organizations remain resilient and adaptable to ever-evolving challenges.

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 933 Beyond cost savings, procurement professionals focus on maximizing value. Their decisions impact the financial health and operational success of organ- izations to get the best possible value while main - taining high standards of service and efficiency. Procurement month is an opportunity to recog- nize and celebrate the impact of procurement pro - fessionals. They are the innovators, problem solvers and leaders who empower the future of our cities, institutions and essential services.

Their commitment to excellence upholds the highest standards of procure- ment practices. And, on behalf of all those who benefit from your work, I extend my sincere gratitude. Thank you for your dedication, expertise and unwavering com mit- ment to efficiency and ethical procurement. Your con- tributions are invaluable, and today we honour and celebrate you. Thank you. * (13:50) Introduction of Guests The Speaker: Order, please. Prior to moving on, there 's some guests in the gallery I 'd like to intro duce.

We have seated in the public gallery , from École Margaret -Underhill, 65 students under the direction of Jordyn White. The group is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Transcona. Further, I'd like to draw attention of all honour - able members to the public gallery where we have with us today from the Mining Association of Manitoba Incorporated: Jason Colomb, Stacy Kennedy, Chad Vinkle and Landice Yestrau, who are the guests of the honourable Minister of Busi ness, Mining, Trade and Job Creation, the hon ourable member for St. Vital (Mr. Moses). We welcome you here today.

And I would like to draw the attention of all hon- ourable members to the loge to my right where we have with us today Drew Caldwell, former MLA for Brandon East. And, on behalf of all honour able members, we welcome you here today too. * * * Now, just to make it official, today is a very big day for an esteemed member of our Legis lative Assembly family. Denise Abgrall is celebrating her 83rd birthday. Denise has served at the Legis lative Assembly since 1989. Thus, over one third of her life has been spent at the Assembly. It goes without saying that Denise has seen many changes over the years.

And if you leave through the east message room, please wish her a happy birthday. Happy Birthday was sung. The Speaker: And for future reference, there 's no singing in the Chamber. MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Rabbi Yosef Benarroch Hon. Mike Moroz (Minister of Innovation and New Technology): Honourable Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rabbi Yosef Benarroch, a respected leader in Winnipeg's vibrant Jewish community and a valued contributor to the broader social fabric of our city and province and someone I 'm honoured to call my dear friend. Born in Morocco, Rabbi Benarroch came to Winnipeg as a young child.

His family exemplifies the very best of Manitoba: hard working, com munity minded and deeply committed to building a better future. Rabbi Benarroch's journey began in Winnipeg' s public and Hebrew school systems before he pursued degrees in physical education and teaching at the University of Manitoba. However, his true calling emerged while studying at a religious seminary in Israel where he also met his wife, Elana. Together, they have raised a beautiful family of seven children.

Honourable Speaker, Rabbi Benarroch's warmth, energy and unwavering dedication to others have made him a unifying force within the Jewish com - munity and a cherished friend to many of all faiths. His ability to connect with individuals of all ages, his deep compassion and his tireless work to strengthen our society have left a lasting impact. His commitment to his congregation has required great personal sacrifice, as he has spent many years away from his family in Israel to serve the community in Winnipeg.

With mixed emotions, I inform this Chamber that Rabbi Benarroch will be retiring as the spiritual leader of Herzlia at the end of June. I ask members of this Chamber to join me in extending our heartfelt gratitude to Rabbi Benarroch for his lifetime of service and contributions to our community, city and province.

934 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 We wish him a well- earned retirement, knowing that he is deeply respected, greatly loved and will be profoundly missed. He joins us in the gallery today, with members of his family, and I'd like to add their names to Hansard. Kim Bailey, Al Benarroch, Michael Benarroch, Yosef Benarroch McKiya Mazur Mr. Rick Wowchuk (Swan River): Honourable Speaker, I rise this afternoon to bring attention to this House to an inspiring athlete from my constituency who's already attracting attention among television viewers right across Canada.

McKiya Mazur has undertaken what she describes as the most incredible and transformative experience while competing in the CBC reality series Canada's Ultimate Challenge. And now this 22 -year-old from Angusville, in the Russell area, is putting her passion and background as a hockey player and triathlete to great use in the TV competition that has challenged her like nothing else before. On Canada's Ultimate Challenge, McKiya is part of a team with three other athletes, travelling from coast to coast through one gruelling challenge after another in a sort of cross -country obstacle course.

Competing against four other teams, she has tested not only her physical conditioning but her mental toughness and skills in teamwork. And teamwork is what McKiya knows well, having played four seasons of hockey with the St. Francis Xavier University X-Women in Nova Scotia. She now coaches and trains athletes in part through an online business, while using social media to encourage healthy and active living. McKiya might yet win Canada's Ultimate Challenge.

But she is already a winner in pushing past her limits, empowering female athletes to become the best they can be, and as she has told the Crossroads This Week newspaper, experiencing our beautiful country in such a special way. On behalf of the residents across the constituency, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating McKiya Mazur who is watching virtually with her family. Thank you, Honourable Speaker. Two-Spirit and Trans Day of Visibility Mr. Logan Oxenham (Kirkfield Park): Honourable Speaker, I stand before you as a proud and joyous transgender man.

Monday, March 31, marks the first Two- Spirit and Transgender Day of Visibility here in Manitoba. In a world facing alarming rates of violence against trans individuals, especially BIPOC folk, we urgently need peace. All we desire is to live authentically, in peace, without fear of harm for simply being ourselves. Here in Manitoba, gender-diverse individuals can find some comfort knowing that your NDP government stands firmly against any efforts to erase or dehumanize transgender people.

The Two-Spirit and Transgender Day of Visibility Act affirms our existence, recognizing that two-spirit and trans individuals have always been a part of our history. Despite historical attempts to erase us from public life, our existence shines as bright as the stars, and just like those stars, transgender people will continue to shine on well into the future. In living authentically, trans individuals find joy, a joy that is deeply human and profoundly powerful. This joy is

an act of resistance, a declaration that we will not be defined by others ' limitations. In our happiness we find peace, and in our peace we find strength. Honourable Speaker, Manitoba stands as a beacon of hope for diversity. The world watches as trained physicians seek to practise gender-affirming care right here in our province. I'm immensely proud of my team and incredibly proud of our Health Minister. To any two-spirit and trans individuals watching, especially the young ones, we see you, we love you, we lift you up and you are worthy of being the best version of yourself. You are genuine and you are valid.

Miigwech. Merci. Thank you, Honourable Speaker. Tannis Saunders and Diedrich and Sara Unger Mr. Konrad Narth (La Vérendrye): Normally I'm excited to share the great stories of La Vérendrye, but today I rise following a difficult weekend in my hometown. This past weekend, the community of Vita and surrounding area has seen the loss of three community members within 24 hours, as the result of two tragic car accidents. * (14:00)

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 935 Early Saturday morning, Tannis Saunders, a resident of Sundown, was taken far too soon at age 46 as the result of a single vehicle rollover. Tannis was a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother and friend to many. Only 24 hours later, tragedy struck again west of Zhoda. Local community members and active farmers, Diedrich and Sara Unger, were tragically taken from their family as a result of a head -on collision.

Their adult son survived the accident and was transported to hospital by STARS air ambulance in critical condition, along with the driver of the other vehicle. Diedrich and Sara have been dedicated community members, active farmers, loving grand- parents and passionate foster parents. Out of all this weekend's tragedy, our first res - ponders and specifically the community volunteer firefighters deserve tremendous recognition. These heroic members of our community are true heroes.

Not only did they perform an unimaginable task, but these tragic victims in a small town are often friends, neighbours and even family. I want the families of Tannis and the Ungers, along with all the first respon ders, to know that the com - munity and myself are here for you. We recognize how difficult these days will be and we are praying for you to find peace and comfort. Honourable Speaker, I'd like to ask for a moment of silence to recog nize the families lost this past weekend.

The Speaker: Is there leave for a moment of silence to recognize the loss the member spoke of? [Agreed] A moment of silence was observed. Universal Screening for Learning Disabilities Legislation MLA Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): Honour- able Speaker, earlier this afternoon I had the honour of introducing Bill 225, The Public Schools Amendment Act (Universal Screening for Leaming Disabilities). I wanted to share a bit of background on the bill. Bill 225 will improve Manitoba's literacy rates by further identifying students who may struggle with learning disabilities.

The bill does this through tangible action by amending The Public Schools Act requiring that students from kindergarten to grade 3 be screened twice a year. These screening assessment tools would, of course, be approved by the minister responsible. Honourable Speaker, through nearly a year of consultation, this bill was created by those working in our education system. It was created to improve Manitoba's literacy rates by not only informing educators which students are meeting their literacy goals, but also to identify students who may require additional supports.

Currently, Manitoba's 37 school divisions do not have a clear or consistent direction with respect to screening assessments for reading. This bill allows Manitoba to join the many other jurisdictions in Canada who mandate universal screening for all students. We can learn from our neighbouring province, Ontario, as well as from Alberta and New Brunswick, who have some of the highest literacy rates in the country, and Saskatchewan has recently committed to implementing this, too.

My hope is Manitoba will do the same because this will not only help students thrive with the tools they are required to use to learn to read, but it will also help educators who do what they do best: teach. In closing, Honourable Speaker, I have an open door to any MLA or minister, of course, who would like to have a bill briefing and I look forward to having this bill brought to second reading. Thank you. ORAL QUESTIONS Death of Ashlee Shingoose Condolence to Family Mr.

Wayne Ewasko (Leader of the Official Opposition): Today, Honourable Speaker, I'd like to express my heartfelt sympathies and con dolences to the family and friends of Ashle e Shingoose and, of course, the community of St. Theresa Point. I want to express my deepest sympathies to her parents, Albert and Theresa, and I know that they must have suffered greatly since their daughter went missing, and with that uncertainty. I could not imagine losing a child, never mind to a horrendous crime. And I hope this information pro- vided today starts to bring some form of closure to the family and the com munity.

And I ask the Assembly, when you see fit, Honour able Speaker, because I know that we're not able to do this during question period, but to have a moment of silence for the Shingoose family.

936 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 And I would like –I do have some questions, but I will stand down to allow the Premier (Mr. Kinew) or others from the NDP caucus to make a statement to the community and to the family. Hon. Uzoma Asagwara (Deputy Premier): Certainly, I think all members of this House –certainly our gov- ernment–extends our condol ences to the entire Shingoose family, the community of St. Theresa Point. And certainly, I do think it's impor tant to recog- nize and reflect on the fact that many, many Manitobans have been standing with that family for some time.

And that family have been tre mendous advocates for themselves and their community. I want to recog nize the Minister of Families (MLA Fontaine), the Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness (Ms. Smith) as being folks who have stood with the family, stood with families not just in recent years and months, but certainly for decades. And this is a time for all Manitobans to reflect on how we ensure that our province is safer for all women and girls, and certainly do the work of making sure that MMIWG2S is some thing that we take seriously and address moving forward.

The Speaker: Just before we move on, if we could stop the clock, please. Is there leave for a moment of silence to honour the memory of Ashlee Shingoose? [Agreed] A moment of silence was observed. Impaired Driving Law Stricter Penalties for Drivers Mr. Wayne Ewasko (Leader of the Official Opposition): Honourable Speaker, we can all agree that one impaired driver is one too many. While many Manitobans have been affected, the family of Jordyn Reimer have made the decision to honour her memory by ensuring that laws change for the better.

During last night's committee hearing, the family noted that if someone uses a gun or a machete during a course of a violent crime, they receive a lifetime ban on possessing such items. A vehicle with an impaired driver behind the wheel is as dangerous as any gun or knife. The Reimers recom mended no second chance be given to an impaired driver to kill or injure again. Will the Premier stand with the Reimer family today and ensure impaired driving conse quences are equivalent to the crime? Hon. Uzoma Asagwara (Deputy Premier): Honour- able Speaker, certainly, our heart goes out to the family–the Reimer family.

This is a tragic situation that, of course, we never want to see happen anywhere– we never want to see happen in Manitoba. I want the House to know that the Minister of Justice (Mr. Wiebe) has met with the Reimer family multiple times, and the Minister of Justice will con - tinue to meet with the Reimer family and have very important conversations.

In addition to that, now while we recognize there's no single piece of legislation that will solve the issue of impaired driving, legis lation has been brought forward that has been supported by MADD Canada and MADD Winnipeg, and that takes an imme diate step to address this very im portant area of concern. And we hope that all members of this House –on that side of the House–will support it. The Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a final supplementary question. Mr.

Ewasko: It is interesting that the Deputy Premier brings up the piece of legis lation because it just took a few seconds last night for the Minister of Justice to dismiss the Reimer family's suggested amendments. He cannot be bothered to take any of their sugges- tions back to the department and have them review it for potential implementation. The minister put a lot of words on the record last night condemning impaired drivers and their dangerous behaviour. * (14:10) What he did not do was accept any suggestion that his bill could be improved.

In fact, the only amend- ment that the minister voted in favour were correcting minor typos, Honour able Speaker. Yes to fixing a typo, not to real consequences. Instead of intro ducing new impaired drivers bill every session, as the minister said he will, can the Premier (Mr. Kinew) direct his minister to fix the legislation today? MLA Asagwara: As I stated previously, Honourable Speaker, we–on this side of the House we recognize that no single piece of legis lation is going to funda - mentally fix the issue of impaired driving, but there are steps that we can take to move things in the right direction.

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 937 Bill 5 is a piece of legislation that was developed in partnership with MADD Canada, has the support of the president of MADD Winnipeg. And to correct something that the member opposite put on the record, the Minister of Justice (Mr. Wiebe) has done a lot of work, working, getting legal advice and expertise to help inform what is a durable approach in terms of legislation. I think that's a really impor tant point to understand. I'd encourage the member opposite to not politicize this.

Let's take a step in the right direction on behalf of all Manitobans and certainly on behalf of the Reimer family. The Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a new question. Eascan Automation Layoffs Due to US Tariffs Mr. Wayne Ewasko (Leader of the Official Opposition): So then have the Deputy Premier stand in their place today, accept the amendments and move forward, at least with them to the de partment and bring back some recommendations. Honourable Speaker, t he Premier talks about Trump-proofing the economy, and he talks about how he's respecting–or, protecting jobs.

Unfortunately for one Winnipeg-based robotics company, all the NDP talk about preparing for Trump since 2023 hasn't altered the fact that 23 employees are now without a job. Twenty- three families have lost a good -paying job, and 23 families are going to have a more difficult time meeting their financial choices as how they navigate through the new economy. One third of robotics and custom machine manu- facturers, entire workforce laid off, and not a peep from their local MLA for Wolseley. The local NDP MLA has not made a single statement or reference to this company or its workers.

Why has the NDP failed Eascan Automation and its employees, Honourable Speaker? Hon. Uzoma Asagwara (Deputy Premier): Honour- able Speaker, our government has taken real action to ensure that we can respond to the tariffs brought forward by Donald Trump and the US administration. On that side of the House, they've taken a very con- cerning approach. They have members in their caucus who have thanked Donald Trump for the tariffs. They have members in t heir caucus who want Manitobans to become Americans.

On that side of the House, while they're thanking Donald Trump, on this side of the House we introduced a '25- 26 budget led by our Minister of Finance (MLA Sala) that builds our economy better: $3.7 billion to create jobs and to stand up infra - structure that's going to benefit Manitobans, and we're going to keep doing that work of Trump-proofing our economy. The Speaker: The honourable Leader of the Official Opposition, on a secondary question. Mr.

Ewasko: Honourable Speaker, this minister con- tinues to stand up, day in and day out, and makes excuses for the lack of their effort to actually improve anything in this great province of ours. The NDP's budget promised to, and I quote, bring more manu- facturing jobs to Manitoba, end quote. The reality is the NDP can't even keep the current jobs in Manitoba; never mind bring new ones to us. Eascan is just the tip of the Trump tariff iceberg. So much for supporting Manitoba small busi nesses. The 90-day tax deferral is more of a snake oil sales - men's solution.

The Premier said he is, and I quote, engaged daily with industries that are navigating tariffs, end quote. Why is the Premier–was he made aware of–Eascan Automation was laying off one third of its workforce due to the ongoing trade war?

MLA Asagwara: Honourable Speaker, our govern - ment is focused on making our province as strong as it can be, and Trump-proofing our economy, which is why just yesterday, the Premier, the minister of busi- ness, mining, jobs and trades and the minister of natural resources were in Lynn Lake, announcing that we are standing up a gold mine, some thing that is going to create 450 to 600 well-paying jobs. Our government has invested in NFI, more jobs in Manitoba, supporting a good local busi ness. Our government is taking real steps to make sure we can respond to Trump's tariffs.

On that side of the House, they cut the economy, they damaged the health-care system– The Speaker: Member's time has expired. The honour able Leader of the Official Op posi- tion, on a final supplementary question. Mr. Ewasko: Honourable Speaker, there they go again, taking credit where credit is definitely not due over there. The budget says the NDP say, and I–[interjection]

938 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 The Speaker: Order. Mr. Ewasko: –quote: responding to tariffs with supports for impacted businesses and workers. End quote. One-third reduction in manufacturing jobs are gone. Honourable Speaker, 23 very high- paid, good jobs are now gone. The Premier (Mr. Kinew) won't even rise in his place today, despite decades of legislative tradition, to even defend his own budget, Honourable Speaker. The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (MLA Naylor) won't rise in their place to address the layoffs in their own backyard.

Can anybody–can anyone, Hon ourable Speaker, on that side of the House, offer real action for Eascan Automation and its staff, or do they even see the financial struggle Manitobans are facing now that the NDP gave themselves $15,000 increase to their front bench? MLA Asagwara: Honourable Speaker, that member has zero credibility. That member on that side of the House wants to take credit for jobs that we are making real today in Manitoba–600 jobs in Lynn Lake.

And, Honourable Speaker, I know that member opposite knows our govern ment is doing a great job because he was at the an nouncement we made in Lac du Bonnet where we're building the personal-care home he refused to build for two terms of a failed PC government. So we'll take no lessons from that member. We are building in our province. We are fixing the damage they did to health care, and we're creating great Manitoba jobs for Manitobans. On that side of the House, they can continue to thank Trump. We're Trump-proofing our economy. Provincial Deficit Balanced Budget Concerns Mrs.

Lauren Stone (Midland): Honourable Speaker, this Minister of Finance is collecting a billion more in taxes and reve nues, $82 million more in personal income taxes on the backs of Manitoba families, $182 million more in edu cation property taxes on homeowners, which is on top of the double -digit school division tax increases that Manitobans are facing. Yet, he's still planning to run up to a $1.9- billion deficit. Even TD and RBC economists have ques - tioned this minister's revenue outlook. So I ask the minister: What happens when his wishful revenue projections don't come true?

How high will the deficit actually go? Hon. Adrien Sala (Minister of Finance): Honour- able Speaker, while the members opposite were arguing internally about whether they support Trump, whether they don't support Trump, whether they support the tariffs, whether they don't, what was this team doing? We were building a budget that is going to see the biggest capital construction plan in this pro vince's history. We know that now is the time to be Trump - proofing our economy.

That's why that plan's going to see us building 11 schools, some thing members opposite never took care of, ensuring we had schools for our kids where we needed them. We're going to be building three new PCHs, something they never touched in their time. In fact, we're building one in the backyard of their interim leader. And , of course, we're finally going to build energy infra structure, some thing they didn't do for seven and a half years–not one single megawatt. They took us backwards. We're moving us ahead. We're– The Speaker: Member's time has expired.

The honourable member for Midland, on a sup- plementary question. Mrs. Stone: Had this minister actually moved forward and built the schools a year ago, like the PCs had planned and had announced, then those schools would have caused a lot–mess–less–[interjection] The Speaker: Order. Mrs. Stone: –from their capital budget. How is this minister going to return to balance? Is he going to raise taxes, or is he going to cut spending? [interjection] The Speaker: Order. Mrs.

Stone: Last week's budget makes it clear he has no plan to ever return to balance and all he is going to do is raise taxes on Manitoba families and grow the deficit. The minister is spending $2.3 billion on interest payments, all going to Wall Street and Bay Street lenders. So this minister's spending; debt, deficits and interest payments are growing.

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 939 What is this minister's plan to return to balance? Is he going to cut, or is he going to raise taxes? MLA Sala: Honourable Speaker, this is coming from a party that left Manitoba with a $2 -billion hole that we need to climb out of. That's their record. What's our record? We saw with our last report we cut that deficit by one third in this fiscal, and we're committed to that path to balance, because you know what, Honourable Speaker? On this side of the House, we know some thing about responsi ble bud geting, about fiscal sustainability.

On that side of the House they left Manitobans a giant hole to climb out of. * (14:20) We're doing the work. We're committed to invest- ing in health care and affordability while we balance the budget because that's what Manitobans sent us here to do. They took us backwards; we're moving us ahead. The Speaker: The honourable member for Midland, on a final supplementary question. Mrs. Stone: Honourable Speaker, the hypocrisy and misinformation that this minister continues to put on the record. Three- hundred-and-forty-million-dollar surplus is what the former PC government left.

Clearly, this Minister of Finance has no plans to ever return to balance. This budget is so bad, it actually included two deficits. So I give the minister the opportunity to explain: How is he going to balance the Province's books? Will it be cutting? Will it be increasing taxes on Manitoba families? MLA Sala: Honourable Speaker, one of the worst things that we saw from the members opposite during the election was that they hid the state of fiscal affairs for our province. And they did that for a very clear reason. It's because they wanted to get back into office. We know what they did.

They hid the fiscal situa- tion to pretend to Manitobans that we were in a better position than when we were actually were. That tracks with that party. There's never trans parency; there's never accountability. On this side of the House, what can Manitobans count on? A party that's going to continue investing in health care, affordability, education while we ensure fiscal responsibility. That's what we're going to deliver, and that's why Manitobans sent us here, and that's why they sent them packing.

Compliance with Bail Conditions Penalties for Surety Breaches MLA Jeff Bereza (Portage la Prairie): Honourable Speaker, individuals continue to offend while out on release conditions. The Kellie Verwey tragedy is the most recent occurrence of this failure of this justice system. Sureties play a crucial role in the justice system by guaranteeing that an accused individual complies with the release conditions. It is important to understand the scope of their involvement.

Honourable Speaker, will this minister provide data on how many accused individuals released on the strength of a surety have breached their conditions in the past year? Let's fix this bail reform now. Hon. Tracy Schmidt (Acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I thank the member opposite for the question. And it's important to remind this House that under the leadership of our Premier (Mr. Kinew) and of our Minister of Justice (Mr. Wiebe)–[interjection] The Speaker: Order.

MLA Schmidt: –that we–our government has acted and we have imple mented the National Police Federation's recommendations on bail reform. Under the leadership of our Premier, he joined premiers across Canada, calling on the federal govern- ment to act. And we are taking–unlike members opposite, who would prefer to peddle in division, on this side of the House we are happy to work with our partners. We are working with the National Police Federation; we will work with the federal gov ern- ment, and we are taking action on bail reform here in Manitoba.

The Speaker: The member for Portage la Prairie, on a supplementary question. MLA Bereza: When an accused person breaches their release conditions, the surety is held responsi ble for failing to ensure compliance and may themselves face legal consequences. The public must have confidence that sureties are being held accountable. What con sequences does a surety face if the accused breaches release conditions, including failing to attend court, violating terms of release or not residing at the designated address? Let's fix this bail reform here now.

940 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 MLA Schmidt: I'm very proud to stand, again, with our Premier (Mr. Kinew) and with our Minister of Justice (Mr. Wiebe) and update the House on some of the in credible work that they have been leading on when it comes to bail reform and when it comes to public safety here in Manitoba. Public safety, which is some thing under the leadership of the previous failed PC gov ernment we saw get worse than ever before.

So, here in Manitoba, under the leadership of our Minister of Justice we brought back the ankle monitoring system–the ankle monitoring system that the PC government cancelled that led to less oversight on people out in our community. So when the member opposite gets up here and feigns that he has some interest in protecting Manitobans, he needs to look to his left– The Speaker: Member's time has expired. MLA Bereza: Honorary Speaker, a strongly worded letter is not going to change anything. Forfeiture courts is an impor tant mechanism for enforcing accountability.

When a surety fails to meet their obligations, the court may require the surety to pay any sums that they promised to pay if the accused breaches their release conditions. However, questions remained about how often this tool is actually used to hold sureties responsible. I'm being heckled about somebody's death, across the way. When will this gov ernment do some thing to fix this poorly–bail reform in this province today? MLA Schmidt: I find it–thank you, Honourable Speaker.

I find it very concern ing that the member opposite would denigrate the actions of our Premier standing alongside every other premier in this country and writing a letter to our federal government to work with our federal government, something that the members opposite obviously know nothing about. During their time in office, they would have rather picked fights with the federal gov ernment, refused to work with the federal govern ment.

The members opposite did absolutely nothing on bail reform, and they dare to stand up in this House and criticize the in credible work under the leadership of our Premier and our Minister of Justice. I will take absolutely no lessons from the member opposite. On this side of the House, we are with team Canada– The Speaker: Member's time has expired. Health-Care Listening Tour Health Worker Feedback Mrs. Kathleen Cook (Roblin): The NDP has hyped up its listening tour in throne speeches, budgets and at least five separate news releases.

Unfortunately, front- line workers are pretty public about the fact that this tour hasn't done anything for them. Earlier this month, the president of MAHCP told media that despite the listening tour, quote: it doesn't seem anyone is being heard. And the Manitoba Nurses Union's white paper, released earlier this year, said regarding the tour, that, quote: these strategies have largely been ineffective. After months of promoting this tour as the solution to health care in Manitoba, why do front-line workers say their concerns are still being ignored? Hon.

Uzoma Asagwara (Minister of Health, Seniors and Long -Term Care): Honourable Speaker, it doesn't surprise me at all that that member stands up and devalues listening. It doesn't surprise me at all that members on that side of the House don't think it's im- portant to go to the front lines and listen to people who provide care at the bedside of Manitobans. They still don't get it. Manitobans sent them to that side of the House because of the way they mis - treated health -care workers, and they're still saying that listening to health-care workers is a mistake.

The member for Roblin needs to get on board and understand that listening to experts and working with them is how we make health care better, and it's what our government will continue to do. The Speaker: The honourable member for Roblin, on a supplementary question. Mrs. Cook: Freedom of information documents, which I table, reveal that the NDP govern ment charged taxpayers almost $10,000 for professional video and film production on the listening tour.

This means hours and hours of footage exist somewhere on the minister's hard drive, yet Manitobans, and especially the health-care workers who were sup posedly being consulted, have yet to see any of it. So if the govern ment truly values trans parency and respects the input of the front lines, will they commit today to releasing this footage? Or is the real reason they're keeping it locked away the fact that this proves that the tour was nothing more than a PR stunt, not an attempt to meaningfully listen to front- line health-care workers.

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 941 MLA Asagwara: Honourable Speaker, I dare to say that this line of questioning is beneath the member opposite. Our government making the effort to go out to the front lines and listen to health -care workers and then take steps like adding over 260 beds to our health-care system, adding 1,255 net -new health -care workers, adding millions of dollars to improving ca pacity on the front lines, those ideas come directly from the health-care workers we listen to. Honourable Speaker, what do they spend money on for advertising?

Huge billboards that attack the victims of a serial killer, bus benches that target trans kids. I don't think we should listen to how they want to talk to Manitobans. On this side, we'll continue to do it– * (14:30) The Speaker: Member's time has expired. The honour able member for Roblin, on a final supplementary question. Mrs. Cook: With nearly $10,000 worth of footage collected from these events, the NDP should have had no trouble compiling a com prehensive and detailed report on what they heard from health- care workers. Yet despite all this material, the gov ernment only released a vague five-point

summary of their findings in the backgrounder to a news release. Even worse, freedom of infor mation documents that I'll table now reveal that the Premier's (Mr. Kinew) office produced zero documents related to the listening tour; not a single briefing note, internal report or, what we heard, document was created. How can the Premier stand before Manitobans and claim to have listened to front- line health -care workers when their own office has absolutely nothing to show for it?

MLA Asagwara: Honourable Speaker, one of the first things I heard when we started our listening tour was that they never saw a member of the previous failed PC gov ernment in their hospitals. They didn't get a visit from the Health minister, they didn't get a visit from a premier, they didn't get a visit from any member on that side of the House. What we've been able to do as a gov ernment in just under 18 months, by listening to the front lines, is to do the work of fixing the historic damage done by that member and members on that side of the House.

Budget 2025 invests 1.2 additional billion dollars to shrinking health care; $770 million to respect the workers they disrespected for seven and a half years. We're going to keep doing that work, because that's what we're hearing from the front lines when we go and see them: to keep showing up. On that side of the House– The Speaker: Member's time is expired. Impaired Driving Causing Death or Bodily Harm Individuals Charged More Than Once Mr. Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): Last night at committee we heard from Manitobans about Bill 5, The Highway Traffic Amendment Act.

Presentations were impassioned and heartfelt and anyone who has lost a loved one to impaired driving knows the pain. Karen Reimer, in memory of her daughter Jordyn, has become a tireless advocate for reform. The format of the committee did not allow Mrs. Reimer to have an opportunity to ask the minister a question about the effectiveness of this legislation. So, on behalf of her, I'm asking the minister if he can share with this House how many Manitoban drivers were charged with two counts of impaired, causing bodily harm or impaired, causing injury during the last decade.

The Speaker: The honourable Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning. Hon. Tracy Schmidt (Acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Thank you, Honour able Speaker, and I would like to take a moment to add my voice to that of the Premier and the Minister of Justice (Mr. Wiebe) and our whole team and the member opposite, who has spoken on this issue many times, and extend my own personal heartfelt condolences to the Reimer family.

And the member opposite and I do agree on one thing, and that is how incred ible and how much respect we have for the family of the Reimers and the way that they have taken this terrible, unfor tunate tragedy and turned it into something that the commu- nity can really rally around. And we are going to work with them to ensure that what happened to Jordyn Reimer never happens again here in Manitoba. The Speaker: The honourable member for Brandon West, on a supplementary question.

942 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 Impaired Driving Legislation Effectiveness of Bill 5 Mr. Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): Honourable Speaker, it's shocking that the minister is unable to answer even the most basic question about his own signature bill. The answer to Ms. Reimer's question would give Manitobans an idea about the effectiveness of Bill 5, about whether it will have a real impact or it's simply window dressing. Surely, the minister must know the answer. Why won't he share with Manitobans? Will it – will Bill 5 impact 500 people, zero? We don't know.

The Speaker: The honour able Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care. No, sorry–the honour- able Minister of Edu cation and Early Childhood Learning. Hon. Tracy Schmidt (Acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Thank you, Honour able Speaker. And I find it quite unfor tunate that the member opposite would take the oppor tunity to call Bill 5 window dressing. We don't believe that any Manitobans would agree with them and would call this sig nificant step that we have taken window dressing.

This is a step that we have worked, in col labo- ration with the sector, including MADD Canada and including MADD Winnipeg. We have worked with them to develop this bill and we have their support. And I will read for the House a quote from the national president of MADD Canada: We recognize that there is no one single piece of legis lation that will solve impaired driving and we welcome the govern ment taking steps to– The Speaker: Member's time has expired. The honourable member for Brandon West, on a final supplementary question. Impaired Driving Charges Increased Penalties When Minors Present Mr.

Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): Honourable Speaker, the shutters absolutely closed on the Reimer family last night. While this minister and his col- leagues rejected every sentiment put forward to strengthen this bill, I remain optimistic that common sense will prevail and not politics. In 2009, with all -party support, the govern ment banned smoking in a motor vehicle if a child was present, a reasonable action that protects children and ensures there are consequences.

A reasonable amendment that was put forward on Bill 5 would impose consequences if an individual is charged with impaired driving when a minor is present. Children strapped in a car seat don't have a choice, and we can make a difference today. Will the minister now tell Manitobans that drinking and driving with children present is not only wrong but illegal– The Speaker: Member's time has expired. The Honourable Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning. Hon.

Tracy Schmidt (Acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General ): As the Minister of Justice has said before, and as is recognized by MADD Canada, there is not one panacea, there's not one silver bullet that we can do as government to solve this–the problem of impaired driving. But this is an impor tant step, and it's one that we've taken in col laboration with the experts at MADD Canada And it's one that our Minister of Justice has met with the Reimer family on, will continue to meet with the Reimer family on, met with them just yesterday at committee and after committee.

We know that there is nothing that we can do to bring back Jordyn Reimer. And if we could, Honour- able Speaker, we would. Bill 5 is an impor tant and excellent step, and the members opposite should get on board. The Speaker: Member's time has expired. Vaccine for Shingles Absence in Budget 2025 MLA Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful and debili- tating rash that can occur anywhere on your body. It typically looks like a single stripe of blisters and nearly one in three Canadians develop shingles in their lifetime. This proportion increases after 50 years of age.

The virus comes from the infection that causes chicken pox and can remain dormant for many years in a person. Why has this government not included the Shingrix vaccine, a cost-effective and preventative health-care measure in the 2025 budget?

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 943 Hon. Uzoma Asagwara (Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care): I thank the member for that really important question and I want to reassure the member that our gov ernment is taking a look at additional vaccines. We know that there are folks, seniors in particular, who are advocating for a whole host of vaccines to be added to our formulary and to be more accessible via Pharmacare or otherwise. Our government has taken real steps to strengthen our formulary, strengthen access to pharmaceuticals.

And we'll keep doing that work and certainly we'll continue to look at shingles as being an option that we move forward. The Speaker: The honourable member for Tyndall Park, on a supplementary question. Pharmacare Coverage MLA Lamoureux: Honourable Speaker, a study in 2019 found that vac cination against shingles in Canada is an intervention that is cost-effective. In fact, the national vaccine recommendations include that all adults 50 and older should receive two doses. Each dose of the vaccine costs approximately $150, and this is simply not affordable for many Manitobans.

Will this government commit to provide coverage for the shingles vaccine for those who are living below the poverty line or are living on a limited fixed income? MLA Asagwara: Again, I appre ciate the member's advocacy on this issue. We recognize as a government the importance of vaccines being available to the public. I'm going to take this moment to actually, Honour- able Speaker, to encourage folks to get vaccines that are available, specifically around flu and influenza. We know that there's challenges for folks in terms of misinformation that's out there.

Measles vaccine is a really important one that we want to see families use and access for their little ones, for their kids. And so I just think it's really im portant for folks to work with their primary care providers to make decisions that best meet their needs. But certainly we encourage folks to get vac - cinated, especially young kids, get the measles vaccine and other vaccines as per the advice of your doctor or nurse practitioner. The Speaker: The honourable member for Tyndall Park, on a final supplementary question. Cost to Treat vs.

Prevention Costs MLA Lamoureux: I'd like to thank the minister for their comments and advocacy. Over the years, my constituents have continued to push for the accessibility and affordability of the shingles shot. This is a con versation I have had on multiple occasions with our minister. * (14:40) Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Yukon are all examples of juris dictions in Canada that already provide the vaccine free of cost. In Canada, the average cost to our health-care system for being hos- pitalized for shingles is around $12,038 for roughly 14 days.

Does the govern ment feel that this money could be better used on the side of prevention? MLA Asagwara: I really appreciate that point raised by the member. Our government takes prevention very seriously. We've made invest ments, and in this '25- 26 budget: $1.2 billion added to health care, $770 million added to funding renumeration, compensation, wages for health-care workers.

And one of the most im portant things we can do to take a preven tative approach is to make sure we have the people in our health-care system, in our com- munities to deliver that pre ventative care, which is why our government is making those investments. I recognize there's a long way for us to go. We're talking about cleaning up the mess and fixing the damage of the failed PC gov ernment before us. But our government is doing that work and we're going to continue to lean into taking pre ventative approaches for Manitobans of all ages, but certainly, our seniors.

Prescription Birth Control Program Number of Manitobans that Accessed MLA Carla Compton (Tuxedo): On this side of the House, we know that reproductive health care is health care, that birth control is health care. We also know the members opposite in the PC caucus don't agree. But despite PC leadership candidates' attempts to stigmatize and shame women for accessing this health care, our NDP gov ernment will always stand up for the reproductive rights and freedoms. Can the Minister of Health please update the House on the success of this program and remind us why it is so important?

944 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 Hon. Uzoma Asagwara (Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care): Honourable Speaker, I am so proud to say that since we launched our program in October, 32,000 Manitobans have accessed free birth control in our province. Our govern ment is committed to repro - ductive rights and freedoms and I'm so excited that Budget 2025 expands our coverage to include Plan B. And, of course, it was just earlier this month that PC leadership candidates said that all this program does is encourage, and I quote, poor women to be more sexually active, end quote.

Honourable Speaker, the real question is, why has no one on the PC side of the House condemned those shameful remarks? Why has the member for Roblin (Mrs. Cook), who sat by at that debate silently, said nothing to condemn those remarks? Who on that side of the House is going to join– The Speaker: Member's time is expired. Premier's Travel on Charter Flight Request for Independent Inquiry Mr. Mark Wasyliw (Fort Garry): Honourable Speaker, it's not the crime; it's the cover-up. We're seeing this with the Premier (Mr.

Kinew) violating the Conflict of Interest Act, not once but twice, by accepting flights on the Bomber plane, an organization that receives provincial funding. CBC looked into this story in September 2024. The Premier's office refused to release their records. The ombudsman had to warn the Premier that he's breaking the law. This was followed by a quote from CBC: Weeks of staffers provi ding inaccurate and contradictory infor mation regarding the Premier's expenses, arguing the story wasn't worth reporting. This then led to the Premier violating the law again in November 2024.

That's three violations of Manitoba law by this Premier. Will the Premier commit to an independent inquiry into this very sordid affair? Hon. Tracy Schmidt (Acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General): It's unfor tunate that the member for Fort Garry continues on his witch hunt and his obsession, trying to besmirch the great reputation of our Premier , a Premier who is today, Honourable Speaker, more popular than ever. Honourable Speaker, I don't know if the member from Fort Garry has seen the most recent polls, but the NDP's stock is rising under the leadership of our in- credible Premier.

The only one who's in a conflict of interest here, Honourable Speaker, is the member for Fort Garry. And I can't wait to get into why in the –in my next answer. The Speaker: The honourable member for Fort Garry, on a supplementary question. Mr. Wasyliw: When CBC began their in vestigation into the Premier's conflict of interest, it's clear the Premier's story didn't add up. Online disclosures for November 2023 indicated he expensed his hotel for the Grey Cup. It was taken off the website only last week, over a year after the fact. Now, he says he's paid for it.

If you have expensed that hotel stay and then pay for it, why would you do that? That makes no sense. The Premier declined to answer questions. He refused to provide an invoice he paid to the Bombers. He even refused–[interjection] The Speaker: Order. Mr. Wasyliw: –to answer whether he consulted with the Manitoba Ethics Com missioner. We know he didn't. Will the Premier order an independent inquiry so Manitobans can learn the truth? MLA Schmidt: Here on this side of the House, including–we stand with our Premier on team Blue Bombers. We also stand with our Premier on team Canada.

On this side of the House, there is no ques - tion. The member for Fort Garry is in a –again, I mentioned, a conflict of interest. Who does the member for Fort Garry stand with? Does he stand with team Canada? I don't think so, Honourable Speaker. On his social media, the member for Fort Garry called the Canada flag outside thirsty. Shame on him; he thinks that pride is thirsty? Not even his bu ddy– [interjection] The Speaker: Order. MLA Schmidt: –not even his buddy, the member from Steinbach, would agree with him. They like to sit over there and buddy up. Does the member for Steinbach (Mr.

Goertzen) also think that patriotism–[interjection] The Speaker: Order. MLA Schmidt: –is thirsty?

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 945 The Speaker: The time for question period has expired, thankfully. PETITIONS New Neepawa Health Centre Mr. Wayne Ewasko (Leader of the Official Opposition): I wish to present the following petition to the Legis lative Assembly, and the background to this petition is as follows. [interjection] Honourable Speaker, it's a great afternoon. Health Minister might even want to listen to this one. The Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. The honour able member has the floor. He can pick up where he left off and stick to what's on the paper. Mr. Ewasko: As follows:

(1) Thanks to the investment made under the previous PC provincial government as part of the clinical and preventative services plan, construction for the new Neepawa Health Centre is well under way. The facility and surrounding community would greatly benefit from added diagnostic machinery and equip- ment, but specifically the addition of a CT scanner.

(2) The new hospital is being built east of Neepawa, on the north side of the Yellow Quill highway, PTH 16. It will be nearly double the size of the existing hospital and will better serve patients from this broader, western Manitoba geographic area.

(3) CT scanners are standard equipment that combine X-ray images from several angles to create detailed, three -dimensional models of structures inside the body. They perform critical diagnostic pro- cedures that support the diagnoses and treatment of a wide range of injuries and diseases, and the new equipment will be able to complete these important scans faster and with sharper and clearer images. The average–

(4) The average wait -times for Manitobans to receive a CT scan is currently seven weeks, and there are over 14,000 patients on the wait -list to receive the diagnostic imaging procedure.

(5) The new CT scanner will reduce these wait-times as it would decrease the need for patients to travel long distances, sometimes involving over - night stays, to access the care they need.

(6) The new scanner will reduce pressure on emergency response services, who would no longer have to transport these patients, opening up appoint - ments in other communities and allowing more people to get the care they need sooner.

(7) A CT scanner in the Neepawa Health Centre will enable further treatment and diagnoses to take place in community, reducing wait-times for patients in surrounding areas and reducing the burden of travel to other facilities. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial government to support the investment and placement of a CT scanner machine in the Neepawa Health Centre in Neepawa, Manitoba. This petition, Honour able Speaker, is signed by Kimberly Yerex, Lacey Comptay [phonetic] , Marion Lebedynski and many more fine Manitobans. * (14:50) Thank you.

Death of Jordyn Reimer–Judicial Review Request Mr. Wayne Balcaen (Brandon West): I wish to present the following petition. To the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, the background to this petition is as follows:

(1) On May 1, 2022, Jordyn Reimer, 24 years of age, was killed by an impaired driver while she was acting as a designated driver.

(2) There are two people legally culpable for her death: the impaired driver and the accomplice. The driver was charged, but the second criminal, the accomplice, has not been held accountable.

(3) A concerned citizen took the keys from the impaired driver earlier in the evening to ensure he could not drive impaired. The accomplice retrieved the keys from this citizen under false pretenses and knowingly provided the impaired driver with access to the vehicle.

(4) The Winnipeg Police Service, WPS, their in- vestigation provided adequate evidence to meet the charging standards and recommended charges be laid against the accomplice. The Crown prosecutors declined to prosecute the accomplice.

(5) The family of Jordyn Reimer has called for the prosecution of the accomplice and that the decision to not prosecute be reviewed independently. Mr. Tyler Blashko, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair

(6) As recent as 2022, there is precedent to refer criminal files of decisions to not proceed with pro- secution to extra-provincial departments of justice for review. This was done with the Peter Nygård file,

946 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 which ultimately led to a reversal in the decision not to prosecute, and charges were laid.

(7) An out -of-province review is supported by MADD Canada, MADD Manitoba and by Manitobans.

(8) The family has exhausted every avenue within the existing system, and, in the absence of a prescribed process when a disagreement exists on charging standards, the only option is to request an independent out-of-province review.

(9) In December 2024, the WPS reported an alarming number of impaired drivers in the holiday Check Stop program. Extending criminal culpability beyond the driver to those who engage in overt actions to facilitate impaired driving will save lives.

(10) Manitobans deserve to have confi dence in the provincial government and justice systems to make decisions that achieve true justice for victims and their families. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial gov ernment to order an out-of-province review of the prosecutor's decision to not prosecute the accomplice in the death of Jordyn Reimer. This petition is signed by Doug Denning, Colleen Robbins, Eileen Clarke and many, many other fine Manitobans. Funding for Outlet Channels Project Mr. Derek Johnson (Interlake-Gimli): I wish to present the following petition.

To the Legis lative Assembly of Manitoba, the background to this petition is as follows:

(1) Since 1958, the Province of Manitoba has known about the potential increase in Lake Manitoba water levels due to the operation of the Portage Diversion and the necessity of increasing outflows from Lake Manitoba at these times.

(2) The Province of Manitoba commissioned studies into the control of Lake Manitoba water levels in 1958, 1973, 1978 and 2003, in addition to studies conducted after the devastating 2011 Lake Manitoba floods. In all of these studies, the residents surroun d- ing Lake Manitoba made it known that they were not pleased with the way Lake Manitoba levels were being managed. The level of Lake Manitoba is regulated between 810-and-a-half and 812 -and-a-half feet above sea level. In 13 of the last 18 years, lake levels has exceeded this range.

In 2011, Lake Manitoba levels reached 817 feet above sea level; on May 31, 2011, record- high water levels combined with northwest wind gusts to nearly 100 kilometres an hour caused levels to approach 820 feet above sea level, which resulted in un pre- cedented flooding and widespread damage to areas around Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. Previously, lakefront properties found them selves three kilometres offshore. (5) 2011: over 7,100 people were evacuated due to Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin flooding, including over 4,000 First Nations residents.

Many people did not return to their homes until years later. Flooding on Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin is a well- known and documented occurrence. It has, for generations, cost Manitobans billions of dollars in compensation, lawsuits, lost agriculture productivity, lost economic activity and flood recovery projects, all of which has taken an incalculable social and emo - tional toll on its victims. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial gov ernment to reverse its decision to cut the funding for the Lake Manitoba and Lake St.

Martin out to–outlet channels project and to immediately take steps to expediate its completion. This petition was signed by many, many Manitobans. Provincial Trunk Highway 34 Ms. Jodie Byram (Agassiz): I wish to present the following petition. To the Legis lative Assembly of Manitoba, the background to this petition is as follows:

(1) The Provincial Trunk Highway 34, PTH 34, is a two -lane provincial primary highway that runs from the US border where it meets with ND 20 to PTH 16 at the town of Gladstone.

(2) PTH 34 runs north-south in the south-central region of the province. It is the main highway for the towns of Crystal City, Pilot Mound and Holland, serving as a main corridor for semi -trailers, farm equipment, daily drivers and local school bus routes.

(3) A bridge is currently being constructed over the Assiniboine River at PTH 34, north of Holland, in the RM of Victoria. The bridge serves as an important north-south link over the Assiniboine River between the Trans-Canada Highway and PTH 2.

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 947

(4) The deterioration of PTH 34 has raised major concerns due to its narrow shoulders and numer ous deep potholes that pose serious safety risks consid - ering farmers often need to use the highway to transport heavy equipment.

(5) Construction of a new bridge in accordance current design codes and the RTAC standard, located on PTH 34 crossing the Assiniboine River, will sup- port trade and commerce and improve public safety in the area, and also accommodate flood events on the Assiniboine River. We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial government to address the conditions of Provincial Trunk Highway 34, making the necessary upgrades to RTAC standard and to resurface the road once the new bridge has been completed. This petition has been signed by M. Fehr, C.

Zacharias, Abe Zacharias and many more Manitobans. * (15:00) Phoenix School Mrs. Kathleen Cook (Roblin): I wish to present the following petition. The background to this petition is as follows: Phoenix School, a kindergarten to grade 5 school located in Headingley, has experienced consistent enrolment growth over the last several years. Enrolment is expected to reach 275 students in the next two years. Because the school is now over capacity, the school division has had to install portable classrooms on site as of fall 2024. For several consecutive years, the top capital priority of the St.

James -Assiniboia School Division has been the renovation and expansion of Phoenix School. In 2022, the Phoenix School expansion and renovation project was approved to proceed to the design phase. The project included, among other amenities, a new gymnasium, two new classrooms, a multi-purpose room and room for 74 child -care spaces. In June 2024, the school division received notice from the provincial government that the project has been deferred. There is no guarantee if, or when, the project will move forward. There are currently hundreds of children on a wait-list for child care in Headingley.

The daycare operator in Phoenix School has been told that they will continue to have space within the school for the 2024-2025 school year only, that further expansion of child-care space within the school is not possible and that space may be reduced go–moving forward due to the shortage of classrooms. If new space is not constructed as planned, many families may be left without child care. It is critical that the expansion and renovation of Phoenix School proceed as planned in order to support the needs of students, teachers and families in the growing community of Headingley.

We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: To urge the provincial government to proceed with the planned renovation and expansion of Phoenix School without further delay. And this petition is signed by Brandon Barter, Lori Renton, Bruce Brezden and many, many other Manitobans. The Deputy Speaker: Seeing no further petitions.

ORDERS OF THE DAY GOVERNMENT BUSINESS House Business MLA Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): Honour- able Speaker, could you please canvass the House for leave to allow me to swap my members' statement scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, 2025, with one al- located to the official opposition caucus on Thursday, May 22, 2025. For clarity, this would mean that, (1) on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the official opposi tion caucus will have three member statements and I will not have one; (2) on Thursday, May 22, 2025, I will have a member statement and the official op position caucus will have one member statement.

This agreement does not affect the allocation of member statements for the government caucus or the honourable member for Fort Garry (Mr. Wasyliw). The Deputy Speaker: Is there leave to allow the hon- ourable member for Tyndall Park to swap her member statement, scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, 2025, with one allocated to the official opposition caucus on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Is there leave? [Agreed]

948 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 BUDGET DEBATE (Third Day of Debate) The Deputy Speaker: In accordance with our rules, the House will now resume debate on the budget motion moved by the Minister of Finance (MLA Sala), standing in the name of the hon ourable member for Tuxedo, who has 15–sorry, 14 minutes remaining. MLA Carla Compton (Tuxedo): Now, last day we– I ended on the cusp of telling a story, and over the past few days, I've had a little bit of time to reflect.

And I've decided I'm going to save that story for another day because I want to be mindful of time, and I want to give my colleagues oppor tunity to also put some words on the record on this great Budget 2025 that we have here. So moving back to more of the specifics of Budget 2025, there is a couple more things that I do want to highlight about how we're building one Manitoba. So, again, we're building a strong, Trump- proof economy with $3.7 billion in capital projects. We're building schools, highways, flood channels and we're building and rebuilding health care.

So we're going to build new ERs, like at the Victoria Hospital and Eriksdale commu nities. We're going to renovate the Children's Hospital emergency room. We're going to build a health- care centre of excellence in downtown Winnipeg; a new CancerCare Manitoba headquarters; new personal -care homes in Transcona, Lac du Bonnet and Arborg; and a mobile MRI for the North, travelling between Thompson and The Pas , which we know is going to help increase accessibility to folks that live in those areas of the province.

And we're investing in or building capacity in, and we're decreasing barriers for women's health care in Manitoba by continuing the momentum that we started with the an nouncement of birth control –the free birth control program –in fall 2024. And that program is making Manitoba a leader in reproductive freedom for women and gender -diverse folks here in Manitoba. I've had many health- care professionals, as well as Tuxedo constituents, tell me how great and how impactful that program has been since it started back in February.

I've even had people reach out to me from other provinces saying how excited they are that we're doing that here in Manitoba, and they wish that that was happening in their provinces. And we're building on that. We're building more access to reproductive freedom by funding to protect safe abortion services at the Women's Health Clinic; funding to include Plan B in our free birth control program; providing a transformative investment in health care for women in menopause and perimenopause, which includes building the Mature Women's Centre at the Victoria Hospital.

Having full body autonomy, no matter your gender, is an essential foundation for every Manitoban. And women and gender -diverse folks–for health care for women and gender-diverse folks–is health care. And our NDP govern ment is a champion for everyone to have accessible, equitable health care, and this Budget 2025 is a testament to our values in action. So, to close, I do want to thank again the amazing work and leadership of our Minister of Finance and his team.

This budget shows that in times of uncertainty, we can double down on edu cating Manitobans, pro- tecting Manitobans, creating jobs for Manitobans and making life more affordable for Manitobans. And, most especially, caring for Manitobans. Together we are building one Manitoba. Thank you. MLA Cindy Lamoureux (Tyndall Park): I'm happy to rise here this afternoon and put a few words on record with respect to the Budget 2025. Honourable Deputy Speaker, I believe that the provincial budget is a true demonstration of what gov- ernments are intending to prioritize through out the coming years, throughout their mandate.

It's an oppor- tunity for them to put on paper and put numbers to their commitments to show Manitobans what they are truly taking seriously, and many of these ideas and concerns and issues, they come from election promises. Many of them come from ministers learning their portfolios and seeing what is im portant for the province of Manitoba. And I try my best that, when a budget is intro- duced or a throne speech is made, to start off by recog- nizing what I believe are good ideas; in this case, within the budget. I think this is important, no matter which party is in government.

There are always good things and bad things, things that are forgotten, things that are included in a budget, and I think it's important to recognize the good things that have been included. So, to start off, a couple of the positive items that were included in Budget 2025 is the stance on the US. I am proud to be part of a province who is taking a strong stance on the US, who is taking a strong stance

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 949 against President Trump. We need to stand united on this, honour able Deputy Speaker, and I am very grateful that the govern ment took a strong stance in Budget 2025. I am also glad they have a plan for tariffs. I think that there is always more that can be done, but it was something that I was watching for with respect to this budget, and they came off –they came out strong out of the gate, and now we would like to se e them put actions to their words here in Manitoba.

Another item in the budget that I particularly liked to see was the free entrance to provincial parks. I think this is so impor tant. It's something I've spoken about in the past, here in the House too. We want to encourage Manitobans to go and visit our provincial parks, to go camping, to go hiking, to go swimming.

And by making provincial parks free of charge, this enables people; it encourages people to go and use the provincial parks, honourable Deputy Speaker. * (15:10) I can talk about how I'm excited that extended coverage came for diabetes and birth control, in part- nership with the national Pharmacare program. It's a wonderful program. I'm glad to see that the province is getting on board with it and pursuing it further. There are more things that we should be adding to the extended coverage, and I'll get more into that shortly, honourable Deputy Speaker.

Lastly, I am glad to see that Victoria Hospital is getting a –shovels in the ground is the terminology being used. I'm not sure if they're building a brand new hospital or if they're going to fix up the infrastructure that is currently there, but I'm glad to see there's move- ment on this. But this creates further problems with different areas and neighbouring com munities, honourable Deputy Speaker. So with my remaining time, I'd like to talk a little bit about the gaps in the budget.

One thing that has been a unanimous consensus from anyone you speak to within our health- care system is morale continues to decline. We need to make tangible changes here in the province that will fix health care from coast to coast, from all–from up north to here in the city of Winnipeg, every single Manitoban deserves quality health care and to feel safe and protected that no matter where they go to receive these–this health care, that they are going to in fact receive it. We can talk about how the wait times, they've only increased under this govern ment.

I've been a politician now under both PC govern ment and NDP government and it's always a back and forth. It's your fault. It's your fault. It was longer under your time. It was longer under your time. And the bottom line is, we know that health -care wait times are longer now than they were two years ago. And I've heard from constituents directly about this, whether they've been waiting in hospital ERs, or even in health -care facilities.

I received a message a couple of weeks ago on Instagram from a constituent, and they were sharing with me how in the dead of winter, they were waiting outside Dynacare for hours. Now, fortunately, this constituent is a younger individual, well-bodied. But what happens for seniors, for example, who are expected to wait outside in -20°-plus weather to be able to go in and access, in this case, Dynacare? The wait times have only increased under this government when they promised that they would do the opposite. So I was hoping to see a little bit more of this in the budget.

We can talk about home care, honourable Deputy Speaker. Home care hasn't been very strong here in the province for years. And if you go back decades, home care was actually created to be so much more than it is today. Currently, home care often involves a person going to someone's house and helping out for 15, 20 minutes, rushing out the door, having to drive to the other side of the city. When home care was first created, it also included things like helping homeowners with their groceries, going grocery shopping. Sometimes it included shovel- ing the driveway, shoveling the walkway.

They used to do a whole lot more, but because our home -care workers are so stretched thin, they're being rushed from house to house. And, again, from the stories I am hearing, it's only getting worse. And the stories I'm hearing include home -care workers not even having time to show up for their shifts, having to completely skip over houses and call the residents on their way to the next appointment that they have. We need more home- care workers. We need an investment in home care to better enable, in many cases, seniors, for example, to stay in their homes.

We need to focus on home repairs, encouraging people not to be forced out of their communities where they–we know that they're going to prosper more. A couple of other thoughts that I have heard from community groups who have reached out since the budget include the elimination of sick notes. This

950 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 wasn't even mentioned in the budget. It includes investing in team-based care; again not included. Earlier today in question period, I talked about the shingles shot here in Manitoba. And just a few facts to put on record here, honour able Deputy Speaker. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful and debilitating rash that can occur anywhere on your body. And nearly one in three Canadians develop shingles in their lifetime. This proportion increases sharply after 50 years of age.

It's a virus that comes from the infection that causes chicken pox and can remain dormant for many years. And the national vaccine recom mendation includes that all adults 50 and older should receive two doses. I can hear my colleague sharing that he received his two doses. And we need to make sure that we allow all Manitobans, whether–if you cannot afford it or access it, this govern ment needs to do a better job to ensure that those who are on fixed incomes, under the poverty line, can in fact get their shingles vaccine. This is a wonderful form of preventative care.

Right now, when people have to go and be hospitalized for usually up to 14 days if they do not get the Shingrix shot and they get –if they get shingles, honour able Deputy Speaker, this ends up costing our health- care system way more than we could be saving. Honourable Deputy Speaker, one of the biggest issues with health care for myself, personally, because it's what I hear every single day from my constituents, is how the Seven Oaks Hospital continues to be neglected under this NDP govern ment.

During the election, they stood in front of the Seven Oaks Hospital and they shouted loud and proud that they were going to open the emergency–re-open the emer- gency room services, and they've done nothing on it. In fact, they haven't even begun talking about it , not even preliminary plans. They're talking about other hospitals, and that's wonderful. But that–North End, again, begins–or con- tinues to be neglected under the government. And they can't go on one side and say they're going to do it and then just completely ignore it, not even mention it in the budget, in throne speeches.

And the hospital itself, Seven Oaks, for those who may not know, it was created to be a major hospital here in Manitoba. It has a helicopter pad right on top. It could be–when the Pope was going to be coming to Manitoba, that was going to be his hospital if he needed services at the hospital. And yet it continues to be cut and disregarded and can't even be mentioned by the NDP in their 2025 budget? I'm disappointed. What about my colleagues from Burrows? What about my colleagues from The Maples? They're in the North End; they're constituents; they use the Seven Oaks Hospital.

Someone needs to be advocating for them. Honourable Deputy Speaker, $3.7 billion in capital projects, and nothing in the North End –3.7. We can talk about the schools being built, we can talk about health-care facilities being built. If we think more about seniors, here in our province –I know we've spoken about them a little bit but I want to go a little bit deeper. In Budget 2025, it has zero increase into seniors and long-term care. If you look at the budget and you go to the line into seniors and long-term care, there's a zero-dollar increase. We need to think about day programs for seniors.

Unfortunately, under the former government, day pro- grams did go up in price. These are important programs for seniors in the province. These are programs that help get seniors out of the house, help establish social- izing, help give a purpose throughout the day. And we know how im portant this is for a person, mentally, socially, just for your overall health and well -being. And they continue to be completely disregarded now, under both former PC and new NDP government.

We can talk about how seniors are often forced to choose between remaining in their residence and per- haps prescription medication or being able to afford a bill. We should be having conversations, for example, about cell phone bills. Let's ensure that every senior in Manitoba, if they want a cell phone, they can have an affordable plan. Let's talk about transit. If they want to be able to take transit here in the city of Winnipeg, they shouldn't have to worry about the cost of having to go on. And this gets into the issue of safety too, which I'll get into shortly, honourable Deputy Speaker.

Another issue that is often forgotten about with respect to seniors is the topic of long-term care facilities. Often we talk about personal-care homes specifically, and that's great–we need more personal-care homes in all areas of Manitoba. But we can't forget about the other facilities as well. We need supportive housing homes. For example, 55-plus homes, infra structure in place for people to remain in their homes if they so choose. Currently, seniors, when they need to leave their home, whether it's for a financial reason or for specialty reasons, like

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 951 perhaps a ramp into their front door, or they can no longer do stairs, some thing of that such, honour able Deputy Speaker, they're often forced to move to dif - ferent communities entirely. And again, this is terrible for one's social and mental well-being. Honourable speaker, I spoke a little bit about that $3.7 billion in capital projects, and again, nothing being in the North End. This NDP govern ment cut the school that was to be built in Tyndall Park. I've been the representative now for Tyndall Park spe cifically for six years–six, seven years.

Prior to that I was MLA for Burrows; there was a lot of crossover. And I know how des perately we need a new school in Tyndall Park. Every school I visit, they have portables. They've got–what we call it hallway educa- tion now happening under this NDP government. We need a new establishment and I want to encourage this NDP government: do what's right; bring back the school that was planned to be built in Tyndall Park. It will affect hundreds and thousands of residents, not only in my com munity, but some of the members in the government's community as well.

They need this new school, and I would encourage them to bring it back. * (15:20) We know that there's chronic underfunding for the University of Winnipeg. And I'm well aware that the minister is aware of this because the students who come to speak with me share with me the con versa- tions that are occurring. Honourable Deputy Speaker, the amount of funding that is being cut from the University of Winnipeg is becoming detrimental. If we want to see the uni versity succeed –and I don't understand why the NDP members wouldn't want the university to succeed when I know many of them went there.

Hon ourable Speaker, I went there myself; I did my undergrad in political science and religion and culture there; I got my master's in marriage and family therapy from the University of Winnipeg. I know many of the other members have education from the University of Winnipeg, and they are allow- ing the school to dwindle down. The school des perately needs provincial funds; they need the Province to step up and ensure that programs don't continue to be cut, like English learning. That was recently cut under this NDP govern ment. Like the women's soccer team: that was recently cut under this NDP government.

These are programs that need to be coming stronger here in our inner city, in Winnipeg. The University of Winnipeg is literally in the middle of the city of Winnipeg and we're losing control of it. We need this government to step up, do their job and protect post-secondary education here in the province. The last thing I'd like to share on education, honourable Deputy Speaker, is with respect to inter - national students and their health-care coverage. No– my thoughts on this has changed over the last couple days and I've been very pleasantly surprised because of question period.

I think it was just yesterday or the day prior, and I had the opportunity to ask the minister why health - care coverage was not included for international students in this budget after they campaigned on it. They cam- paigned, made their promises that they so do during the election, insisting that inter national students and their health care would be reinstated. I can remember members of that NDP gov ern- ment sitting on this side not long ago yelling across the way at the PC government saying, reinstate health- care coverage for inter national students.

And almost two years into their mandate, they haven't done it. They're barely talking about it: not even mentioned, not even the preliminary plans for it. But I am grateful–and I don't want to take it for granted–that yesterday in question period, I asked about it, and the minister responsi ble said before the end of their mandate, they are going to reinstate health- care for international students. So I look forward to seeing that come to be. Honourable Speaker, there's so much more to say. I want to talk a little bit about child welfare here in the province of Manitoba.

At this moment in time, there are over 300 hard -working people who are on strike fighting for a living wage. This shouldn't even be a ques- tion. We need to do–it's a moral responsibility; it's an ethical standpoint. We need to do absolutely every- thing we can to protect children here in Manitoba. But instead, this government just finished cutting over 60 critical workers, just finished cutting programs where children had some shelter. And now, there's words going around that they might end up going back to hotel rooms.

Again, when this NDP government were in opposition, they yelled at the top of their lungs, saying, we would protect children in care. Then let's see it; let's see in vestment into it; let's see action; let's see children being uplifted out of care. But instead, we're seeing more and more tragedy, unfortunately. We're seeing children not be protected,

952 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 not be taken care of, and I believe that the provincial government has an ethical role to play in this. Honourable Speaker, with respect to our environ- ment, we need goals to be established for reducing green- house gas emissions. Someone emailed me saying we can do much better in the approach to treating the sewage in Winnipeg to reduce phosphorus going into our water- ways and into Lake Winnipeg. I'm noticing the time; I only have a few more minutes, so I'm going to speak quickly through this. With respect to justice, there's been an increase in crime.

And again, I don't want to play the game that crime increases under one government or another gov- ernment. I don't care who is in government. Whoever is in government has a responsibility to do what they can to improve the safety, to get rid of crime as much as possible all through out Manitoba. But instead, we're hearing and seeing preventable accidents, honourable Deputy Speaker. If you go into any small busi ness in the North End, and again, I know this affects many of my col - leagues in the North End, they have had recent break and enters. They have had so much theft.

They have had weapons held up and used against them, honour - able Deputy Speaker. There is more that we can be doing. And this should be a round table conver sation. I believe I heard one of my colleagues talk about having a non-partisan committee. I think that's a wonderful idea. Let's have a non-partisan committee and let's focus on how we can improve the safety of Manitobans. Honourable Deputy Speaker, homelessness in the province: I remember, during the election, this govern- ment came out strong, saying that they were going to eradicate homelessness within eight years.

Again, they are almost 25 per cent through those eight years –but let's just go mandate by mandate here–almost halfway through their mandate, and we aren't seeing an improvement. What is their plan? We've seen money be spent in arguably frivolous ways. We want to be careful there, but trips to Boston: How many staff have to go to Boston? What infor mation perhaps could have been conveyed over a Zoom call? These are all con versa- tions that I think should be held. But the bottom line is our homeless population is continuing to increase, and not just here in Winnipeg, but in cities like Brandon.

There needs to be a better approach, and perhaps it's working more with munici- palities. Perhaps it's getting the federal govern ment, the provincial gov ernment and the City to all come together and talk about a homelessness approach. I believe that the minister responsible for homeless- ness is specifically doing a good job for the resources that she is being provided. But I think that this govern- ment is failing her a little bit, and she could be doing so much more. Honourable Deputy Speaker, we also know EIA rates. They need to go up. We need to give people a fighting chance.

Currently, EIA rates are less than the amount that a person has to pay for a single or a bachelor apartment. How can we expect someone to even get one leg up if we can't even have a place for them to reside here in the province? These are the actions that this govern ment needs to start to take. A lot of words being put on record, a lot of promises being made –and again, I do credit them for what they have done well in the budget –but there are a lot of gaps missing, and my hope i s that they will start turning some of their rhetoric into action, honourable Deputy Speaker.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond. MLA David Pankratz (Waverley): I am so pleased to have the oppor tunity today to stand up and speak about this in credible budget that has been brought forward by our Minister of Finance (MLA Sala). You know, and I want to start today by telling a little story that I think really speaks to what this budget is all about, and specifically it's from when I was working as a firefighter. So, you know, we're at work; it's a night shift. I get a call at about one in the morning, and it's pitch black outside, very dark.

And we called for a check well - being at this elderly woman's home. And her family hadn't heard from her. They usually hear from her all day; at some point, they'd hear from her. So we go, we knock on the door, there's no answer. It's one in the morning, again, it's kind of eerie, dark, nobody home, so we have to break in. We break in through the front door. Still nothing. Don't hear anything in the house. We come in, I start sort of fumbling my way through, trying to find some lights to turn on, to see what I'm going to do in this house. We're calling out, you know, firefighters–anybody home?

I finally get to a bedroom. It's pitch dark, again, and so I try to find a light. So I'm, you know, feeling around, and all of a sudden–and I want to–I just want to say this –it was very quiet, kind of eerie, creaking floorboards. And from the darkness and the silence I just hear, hello, would you like some tea?

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 953 And this woman is sitting there, she's sprung up from her bed, and now she's running to the kitchen and she's putting a kettle on before I know what's going on. And she's making me tea, and the crew. And so, you know, we go in, we're like, are you okay ? Your family called in, we didn't know what was going on. And she turns to us like, oh yes, yes, no I'm fine, you know, but would you like to come and have a tea?

We're at work, so we're thinking we should probably head out but, you know, the captain I was with was feeling gracious and he said, yes, yes, we'll have a tea. At one in the morning. And so we sit down with this woman at her dining room table and she loved it. You know, we sat down for 10 minutes. Conversation, tea, she got to tell her friends that she had a VIP ex per- ience with the fire de partment at one in the morning. She loved it. And, you know, maybe it was sort of a VIP ex- perience because I think, ultimately, that's what build- ing community is about, right?

And maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but it was one of these moments where I felt like, in my work, I got to really connect with somebody one-on-one. * (15:30) And I think that that's what this budget does, and it's about showing up and turning on the lights, I sup- pose; offering some reassurance. And I would also say that sometimes people don't really need the –or know that they need that support until it shows up and it's sitting there beside them making sure they're okay. And, honourable Speaker, I would just say that I think that's exactly what this budget is about.

You know, building one Manitoba, it means investing in one another in our com munity. It means showing up for families, for busi nesses or for com munities, and not just when they ask, but sometimes before they would even know it. And sometimes that looks like $3.7 billion invested in building hospitals, schools, roads and critical infra- structure, and sometimes maybe it just looks like having a tea at one in the morning.

You know, this budget, it's bold, it's responsible, it's hopeful, and as I just said, we're investing $3.7 billion in building hospitals and schools, roads, critical infra - structure and the very foundations, you know, that allow communities to thrive. And that's how you make that sort of idea of you're not alone a reality across this great province.

And I want to start by talking about education, and I want to thank the Minister of Education for the in - credible work that they are doing in their new role, following the footsteps of our dear colleague Nello Altomare, and the incredible work that she is doing to move forward on that incredible work that he started. You know, the–in Waverley, where I am fortunate enough to represent, we are building two new schools. That's right. Very exciting. And, you know, these schools obviously aren't just buildings, you know, they're where kids will make friends, they learn team- work, they find out who they are.

And, yes, they learn math and science and all of those other things too.

You know, and right now also, so many kids in Waverley–and I heard this at the door so often, can- vassing around the neighbourhood–they're being bused to different com munities, right, and I commend the school division, actually, for the incredible work that they have done in trying to work over the seven and a half years of cuts and freezes that they faced when the PCs were in power, and now they are seeing what a stable budget can do, and so promises of actual schools that go through Treasury Board and are actually pro- cessed in a reasonable and responsible way.

So, you know, we talk about these schools and how they won't be busing any more, and that means that now kids that live a couple blocks apart will have that opportunity to meet on their walk to school. Parents, when they go to pick up their kids, can talk about maybe a family barbeque, and that means b uilding more community, right. And it's just so im portant to be doing that work. So I am so in credibly proud and grateful as the MLA for Waverley, just to see our community's needs being so reflected clearly in this budget. We also need to talk about health care. Incredibly important.

You know, on doorsteps as I was canvassing around the neighbourhood, I heard the same question over and over again: What happens if something goes wrong? And with my history as a first responder, there were a lot of questions around why am I driving across town right now to get to an ER? And, unf ortunately, that was due to cutting of ERs by this former govern- ment. They closed the Victoria ER. They said they had a plan. I don't think that plan ever came to fruition, obviously. But now our govern ment, under a Premier (Mr. Kinew), Minister of Finance (MLA Sala), Minister of Health, we're delivering.

And, you know, in 2025 we will break ground on a new Victoria

954 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA March 26, 2025 emergency room. That's right. And that's –ultimately, that's peace of mind for families, that's trust restored. It's so important for the community, the growing com- munity in south Winnipeg. I also want to touch on the incred ible work that our Minister of Housing and Addictions, Homeless - ness and Mental Health is doing with that Your Way Home plan, and her work with addictions and harm reduction, and the funding that we're doing to get people housed in our city as part of this budget. It is so incredibly important.

And I would actually just take a moment too to caution members opposite. I've been seeing some really harmful rhetoric and some pretty toxic language around this work that's being done to save lives, and as someone who has worked in that field, I would just encourage them to really think about the words they're using as we try to help folks, give them a hand up in their life in this budget and try to help with this scourge of opiates here in our city. So, you know, I also think it's important for me to talk a little bit, because we're talking about one – building one Manitoba.

And that also includes rural health care, as well, right? I worked as a paramedic in Virden and travelling to Russell, Minnedosa, Reston. I was out there for a while–great town. You know, there's small towns where people take huge pride in their com munities. They show up for each other. They volunteer. They coach. They make sure their neighbours are never left behind. In Spruce Woods, for example, is a great commu- nity. I know we've got a lot of friends and support out there, as well, for the work that we're doing. And, you know, folks in those com munities, they show up for each other.

And what they've needed for too long is health care that shows up for them too, close to home. And that's exactly what we're delivering through this budget. You know, this–[interjection] Yes, it's right. That's right. After seven and a half years of the PCs, unfor - tunately, cutting rural health care. And this budget will invest in communities, in Spruce Woods specific- ally, for example, and Brandon and out in the Westman. It's really important because building one Manitoba specifically means building for everyone. You know, this budget, it invests in every corner of our province.

Up north, as well, we're doing a ton of work. We're building hospitals and clinics. We're upgrading roads. We're expanding mental health services, strengthening water systems, because that is what a responsible gov- ernment looks like. And, you know, honourable Speaker, I wasn't going to bring this up, but I have been chatting with a lot of first respon ders about this budget, and they were pretty disappointed with some of the words they heard from the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr.

Piwniuk) last week, actually, who suggested that myse lf as a former firefighter might not have the mental horse - power to talk about payroll tax. And so they were deeply disappointed by this. I've had quite a few emails and phone calls, actually. It's been really disappointing. Well, you know, they were disappointed. And since the member brought that up, I'm more than happy to talk briefly about pa yroll tax and what we're doing in this budget, and how our government is actually cutting it. So we're raising the exemption threshold to 2 and a half million.

We're increasing the point where busi- nesses pay the full rate to $5 million. That means over one thousand Manitoba businesses will be better off. And that is how you support small -, mediu m-sized business, so they can hire, they can invest, they can grow. You know, and that's how you build one Manitoba, ultimately. And if the member for Turtle Mountain would like, I'd be happy to sort of talk about that policy a little bit more with him, maybe over a cup of tea. I could put the kettle on, as the woman did with us on our call in the middle of the night. Be happy to do that.

So, you know, one bigger idea that I think is really important to talk about that's touched on in this budget, specifically, is our democracy; it doesn't take care of itself. And the tariffs, the division, the disinformation, they really test the strength of our in- stitutions and as special envoy for military affairs, I've seen how fragile trust can be, and how quickly it can erode when leaders stop showing up for their people. You know, there's a historian that I really like, Timothy Snyder.

And he talks about this idea that freedom isn't some thing you're given; it's some thing you build and you defend every single day. So this budget, it builds freedom through invest - ments and health care, through investments in educa- tion, infrastructure in communities that lift people up and create good oppor tunities. Because I would say real freedom, honourable Speaker, isn't about slogans, necessarily. You know, it's about Manitoban families spending less time worrying about broken systems or closed ERs or schools that were promised in the

March 26, 2025 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 955 campaign but not actually delivered through a budget, and more time maybe worrying about, I don't know like–things like how two parents are going to execute sort of a logistical masterpiece to get three kids to five different activities in one night. Maybe I'm speaking too close to home there, but I think that it's a pretty widely held concern here in Manitoba. You know, and it's about debating about what you're going to throw on the barbecue on the weekend with your friends, or who you're going to cheer for.

And, you know, when the big things are taken care of, then those small joys can really come alive. And that's freedom, that's com munity, that's what we're building with this new budget. * (15:40) So, honourable Speaker, just to close, I'm so proud to stand here as MLA for Waverley. I'm proud to represent a com munity that has been heard and to be part of a govern ment that listens and delivers. I want to thank the Premier (Mr. Kinew) and thank the Minister of Finance (MLA Sala) and his incredible team for leading with vision and compassion and courage. And, to Manitobans, we see you.

You know, we hear you, we're showing up and we're doing that for you, because of the work that you're doing. And some- times, if you'd like, even though I'm more of a coffee guy, myself, I'd love to sit down for a cup of tea. Thank you. Mr. Rick Wowchuk (Swan River): It gives me great pleasure or–you know, standing up today, put a few words on the–honourable Deputy Speaker. Gives me pleasure to put a few words on the record and we see– and I know a lot of times, everybody wants to take credit for certain things, et cetera, and we see all the jostling going back and forth in the House.

You know, the government had a chance to go up and–to Lynn Lake yesterday, and make a big an- nouncement on a gold mine that we really sowed the seed for a couple years ago and got through all the red tape that was created over a number of years. And I know that the honour able member from Dauphin there, he –actually, one day, I stopped in at McDonald's and a guy came up to me and said: Boy, do you see the great job that our new minister had done on the highways in Dauphin?

And I said, well, that's a couple of years ago that we got that in motion, and it finally came, you know, into being as soon as they stepped in, and another project–but those projects are running out. They're going to soon run out and they won't have any more of our announcements to make, so hopefully they're going to be able to either fabricate a few of their own, just like we hear about these 1,200–or nurses, or the doctors, nurses, health- care people that we never seen. And I asked one of the people in the health-care system. I said: Where are these 1,200 nurses and doctors and health- care aides, et cetera?

Well, they're sure not in Prairie Mountain Health, so we kind of wait to see where that's going to come. But, anyway, I think our member from–the MLA from Midland summed it up really well the other day when she said: tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend, borrow, borrow, borrow. And

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Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	43-2-34
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Volume / chapter	43rd 2nd hansardpdf 34.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
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