ORDERS OF THE DAY

THRONE SPEECH DEBATE

(First Day of Debate)

Mr. Speaker: Consideration of the speech of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor.

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to move, seconded by the honourable member for St. Vital (Mrs. Render), that an humble address be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor as follows:

We, Her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, in session assembled, humbly thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which Your Honour has been pleased to address us at the opening of the present session.

Motion presented.

Mr. Penner: Mr. Speaker, before I address the Assembly, let both Dora and myself pass on our condolences to the Downey family at the passing of one of their family members. It is certainly indeed a sad occasion for the family, and we remember them today.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and pleasure to move the acceptance of the throne speech, which was so eloquently presented by the Honourable Yvon Dumont, the Lieutenant-Governor of this province. I would like to thank the Premier, Gary Filmon, for bestowing this distinguished duty upon me and for the confidence he and my colleagues and His Honour have placed in me.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome back all members of this House on this momentous occasion of the history of this province, the sitting of the Sixth Session of the Thirty-fifth Legislature.

I would also like to welcome our new Pages. This will afford them an excellent opportunity to be an integral part in this page of our history books. While learning about the process of government would they experience first hand the shaping of our province today, the positive effects which will be rippled through the years for generations to come. I look forward to making their acquaintances.

I also welcome you, Mr. Speaker. May your wisdom guide us as we contemplate and debate the agenda for the government of our term of this session. I appreciate, Sir, and I am sure all honourable members of this House will agree, your dedication to your duties, the sincerity of your service and the commitment to the people of Manitoba and this government. You are a friend to me and truly to all Manitobans.

I also would like to welcome back as Deputy Speaker the member for Seine River, Louise Dacquay. You have always demonstrated your ability to keep us focused in our privileged responsibilities, and we look forward to your assistance and guidance during the critical debates to follow.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation also to my constituents once again for bestowing on me the honour of representing them in this Chamber. I continually look forward to their guidance as we deliberate the future of our province. I have valued the advice and opinions they have given me in the past, and I look forward to the continued counsel from them in the future.

I congratulate the Premier (Mr. Filmon) of our great province for the diligence that he has demonstrated for championing the interests of all the people of Manitoba and look forward to his continued leadership in guiding this great province into the most significant period of our history. The people of Manitoba have, time and again, supported the course he and his government is charting for the continued prosperity of Manitoba.

This government made a commitment to Manitobans four years ago to consult, to listen and to act on their behalf and in their best interests. Our records attest that we have been, as we shall continue to be, a reflection of the voice of our constituents.

We consulted the people of Manitoba on issues that concern Manitobans. The people spoke. The government listened. We listened to the demand of the people for their selected government to lay the groundwork for prosperity today and for the future of Manitobans to come. The people wanted this government to steer this province on a true and noble course in formulating responsible budgets and sound fiscal planning in the prudent readjustments of our health care system, in bolstering support for our families, in looking after the needs of our seniors, in stabilizing and developing a healthy economy, and in vitalizing our education system to best reflect the needs of our children and educators today and for the future.

In these and many other issues which are near and dear to the hearts of Manitobans, this government has listened.

The hallmark of this administration is not only in its attentiveness to the voice of this province. We have heard the voice of the people, Mr. Speaker, but, more importantly, we have acted on what they have said. We have acted responsibly through our commitment to jobs and economic development. We have acted prudently in the administration and legislation of government affairs, and we have acted with heart, sensitive to the fabric of Manitoba and its people.

Our throne speech is an illustration of our direction for Manitoba and is a clear reflection of the direction offered by our people in this province.

Mr. Speaker, six years ago, the people of Manitoba said that they were tired of the huge tax burden they were being saddled with by the previous socialist government and their borrow-more and spend-more attitude of fiscal irresponsibility. This action and that government were flatly rejected. The people spoke, and this government listened. They were tired of high taxes and a huge burden of accumulated debt that this excessive borrowing and spending had rendered to our province.

The people of Manitoba wanted responsible government that could fiscally manage and at the same time retain and enhance the services that they required. The people of Manitoba wanted real jobs for today and tomorrow, not the short-term, band-aid solutions of make-work projects of the previous government. In short, the people of Manitoba wanted, needed and demanded a change for the better.

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What the people of Manitoba demanded, the people of Manitoba got. That is our democracy. That is our government in action. The task for this government was not simply to do better than the previous government. That was too easy. The challenge for this government, Mr. Speaker, was to be the best government that this province has had for the people of Manitoba.

With Premier Filmon at the head of the good ship Manitoba and a spirited crew with a vision for the future, this province has been steering a course to a bright, bright future. For example, we have put into place programs that allow communities to invest in themselves.

The Grow Bonds program is one such initiative. The key to the celebrated success of this program is that it will encourage individuals and communities to join forces to develop industries and to develop and enhance business and therefore provide jobs to the young people of those communities, with such entrepreneurial efforts bringing the welcome consequences of providing much needed employment to the communities and, as I said before, the young people.

We can cite many success stories from Morden to the Interlake and from all across Manitoba.

The Grow Bonds and other programs add value to our economy in real dollars and cents and create jobs to strengthen our labour force.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Liberal Party of Manitoba called the Grow Bonds program "small potatoes."

To Manitobans, Mr. Speaker, who have invested their hard-earned dollars, made sacrifices and taken risks on their community, this is clearly an insult.

To those Manitobans who put in the hard work and long hours to make the dream a reality and this province a better place to live, this is again an insult. They are insulting not only the people and the communities who have a vision for their sustained prosperity but all the men and women and the children today and throughout our colourful and illustrious history who have carved a life out of this land.

Mr. Edwards has slapped the very face of Manitoba by belittling that statement. Mr. Edwards owes a clear apology and a sincere apology to the people of Manitoba living today, for all those who have gone before us and who have built this great province from these "small potatoes."

The young people working in those communities call those "small potatoes" real jobs, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with your permission I would ask one of your Pages to come forward and assist me. I would like to present Mr. Edwards, the Leader of the Liberal Party, with a small potato. I would like you to give that to the Leader of the Liberal Party, Mr. Edwards.

Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I hesitate to interrupt the honourable member for Emerson, but, on two counts, sir, first of all, we refer to the honourable member for St. James as the honourable Leader of the second opposition party or the honourable member for St. James. Also, sir, I would like to direct you to a particular rule in Beauchesne's which clearly indicates that there are no exhibits allowed in the Chamber.

Point of Order

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Second Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the Leader of the Liberal Party would in fact want to offer a large potato for the large amount of money VLTs are taking out of--

Mr. Speaker: Order, please. What is the point of order? The honourable member does not have a point of order.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader): Mr. Speaker, I was wondering if perhaps since you made it very clear that our exhibits are not allowed in the House if someone is going to remove the potato and perhaps return it to the member. I think that apart from the one time when we did have a dead pigeon tabled in the House, we have followed the rules in terms of exhibits.

Mr. Speaker: I thank the honourable member for that clarification.

Mr. Penner: I consider this, Mr. Speaker, not an exhibit. I consider this a truly worthy precedent to the honourable Leader of the Liberal Party, and it is certainly symbolic of what rural Manitoba feels about the comment that was made in regard to the programs that they used to build.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please. I have already indicated that it is an exhibit. The Page is just returning it to the honourable member for Emerson. The honourable Member for Emerson does not have a point of order.

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Mr. Penner: Mr. Speaker, the potato that was given, as I said before, is a symbol of how rural Manitobans feel about comments such as debilitating the programs that they have used very successfully to build industries, to build businesses and to develop rural Manitoba.

It is my belief that the small business developed by the Grow Bonds program are also some of the best quality businesses in the world and like agricultural prosperity in this province will continue to grow.

Our small potatoes, Mr. Speaker, are enjoyed by people in the United States and in Japan and in many other countries around the world. The huge mountains of potato chips that are derived from this small potato are of course enjoyed by many, many people, not only in Canada but outside of this country. The industry that has been built around this is invaluable in contributing to rural Manitoba and the diversity of the agricultural community in this province.

We should not underestimate the impact of the kind of programs that we have developed over the past number of years to encourage exactly that kind of development.

I invite the honourable Leader of the Liberal Party to try tasting some of those small potatoes. Given the choice between our home-grown potatoes and his words, you will no doubt find the potatoes easier to swallow.

As long as there are people on earth, food will be one of the commodities that will never go out of fashion or demand. This fact and the purple plains of Manitoba have made agriculture the bread and butter of our province. There is no doubt that food production has assured the very existence of our people throughout the decades.

With the enhancement, advancement of people and the growth of agricultural demands, so too the transportation networks of rail and road began crisscrossing the country to transport this raw resource to the population base to the east. The St. Lawrence Seaway further ensured the economical transportation of our resources and product east and around the world.

Trading with the world in a commodity that the world will always need has assured the agricultural viability of western Canada in the global market. But the farm community, especially the grains sector, Mr. Speaker, has been devastated by the trade relation measures in both the European community and the United States over the past while. Export enhancement programs and other measures of foreign countries have substituted historical competitiveness in the world market with negotiated agreements under the CUSTA agreement, the NAFTA agreements. Canada had a fairly level playing field.

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The GATT was negotiated, however, and some farmers in the United States objected to wheat exports to the U.S., and consequently all the agreements that had been negotiated over the years were recently set aside. The Liberal government in Ottawa sold out the western durum and hard wheat growers by limiting exports in contravention of the previous agreements. Most recently the federal Liberal government has sold out Manitoba farmers and caused irreparable damage, Mr. Speaker, to our provincial economy in one stroke of a pen, not realizing what the impact of that action would be.

We have constantly told our farmers to be innovative, to search out new markets. Well, a couple of years ago, when we had a disastrous effect in the Red River Valley and our quality of wheat was low yet very high in protein, those farmers did exactly that. They searched out new markets under the implementation and under the agreements of the NAFTA and the CUSTA. And yet our federal government chose to go to the United States and cut those exports of our Canadian wheat in half. The economic impact of that, Mr. Speaker, can seldom or will probably never be truly evaluated.

What took Canadian farmers of high protein wheat years to develop markets in the U.S., the federal Liberals, as I have said before, in one slash of the pen, negated. The federal Liberals have a long history of not supporting farmers and the economy of Manitoba. The Western Grain Transportation agreement is being devastated by the federal Liberals. The federal Liberal Transport minister has made it clear that he would not support agriculture transportation and clearly that in itself, Mr. Speaker, is going to have a $726 million impact to western Canadian farmers and specifically to Manitoba grain growers and grain producers.

The Agriculture minister in Ottawa has said very clearly that his budget is not immune to reductions. So where will the support for transportation, Mr. Speaker, come from? If the Minister of Transport is saying that he is not going to maintain the Crow benefit, where is Agriculture--in saying that they are going to have their budget reduced--going to take the money from to help farmers in that effort? It smacks of the Trudeau years of telling farmers to sell their own wheat. The farmers would sell their own wheat if they could, but the Chretien Liberals in Ottawa have clearly closed off all other avenues. All efforts have been stopped by farmers themselves exporting wheat, and now farmers in Manitoba are left with the option of looking inwards only to their own markets.

Our government will stand by its farmers today and in the future and in times of need, as it has in the past. This government recognizes that farming has been and will be the backbone of our economy for many years to come. GRIP and NISA were two examples of some of the abundant support this government has given to our farmers in times of need.

Sugar is another diversified crop that warrants the attention of government in its achievements to expand the industry. I am given to understand, Mr. Speaker, that the Liberals in Ottawa have signed an agreement with the United States recently severely restricting sugar sales from Canada to the United States. Our sugar industry is competitive without subsidy, yet the Liberals have seen fit to sell out the industry to the Americans without knowledge of either the Canadian industry or the Canadian growers, namely, severe restriction of Canadian sugar products entering the U.S. Does this remind you of time past when Ottawa totally ignored the needs of western Canada? Echoes of "sell your own wheat," right?

Liberals do not care about agriculture. They have clearly demonstrated that. Liberals do not care about small business. Liberals call it "small potatoes." We will remember, and so will rural Manitoba remember. The Filmon team has acted and protected agriculture over the last number of years as long, as we have been in government.

Mr. Speaker, "small potatoes," wheat and sugar are not the only things growing in Manitoba, but everywhere pockets of innovation and development are sprouting. Job creation in Manitoba continues to grow, and as of August we showed an increase of 11,000 jobs over May of 1993. That will have a very definite impact on this economy. You want to call that "small potatoes."

This is due in part to many of the programs that this province has initiated over the last number of years, including the Grow Bonds program and the REDI program. Through the Grow Bond and REDI programs, we have created over 1,200 full-time jobs and over 2,100 jobs for our youth.

I will give you some examples of the work that this government has not only initiated but been involved in, and that is, of course, the development of a new pasta processing plant in southern Manitoba. In light of the fact that the federal Liberals restricted movement of wheat into the United States and other countries, and in light of the fact that durum wheat is the best quality wheat that we grow, it is important that we support the initiatives of a group of young farmers and aggressive young businessmen in building and enhancing the production, the secondary production, of food products such as pasta in this country.

There are many other small and large industries that are flourishing in our communities and specifically in my constituency. We have a fellow in South Junction, for instance, who builds wood stoves--Portage and Main, the wood-fire system--in South Junction, employs eight people, not one dime of federal support, not one dime of provincial support.

We have Dave Desjardins who set up a sawmill and cuts dimensional lumber to build crates for snowmobiles and exports this crating lumber all over the United States, not one dime of federal or provincial money in building this industry. We have Elmer's Welding at Altona building row crop equipment, the only row crop manufacturer in all of western Canada; he exports 90 percent of his production to the United States, no federal-provincial money involved.

Loewen Manufacturing is employing large numbers of people building replacement parts; Leisure Travel Vans at Gretna is converting vans to travel vans. These are the kinds of initiatives and the kinds of industries, including D. W. Friesen, who is one of the largest printers in western Canada operating out of our constituency. Then, of course, we have Golden West Broadcasting out of Altona, which has been a growth industry and employs people in the media area, which needs to be congratulated. These are the kinds of programs and initiatives that have been started.

Woodstone Foods of Portage la Prairie employing 35 Manitobans with its Grow Bond expansion expects to add another 20 people in the near future. That is "small potatoes," Mr. Speaker. The tire recycling plant at Winkler recently hired 25 new employees. That is "small potatoes." Portage Crocus Foods will create 114 jobs in the blossoming area of economic development. Do you call that "small potatoes"? Monsanto recently chose Morden over 50 other world locations to locate a plant to produce chemicals in southern Manitoba, a $5-million plant expansion.

The Institute for Biodiagnostics moved from Ottawa to Winnipeg creating 70 new jobs. Winnipeg Vita Health added 95 jobs in its staff, and Baxter Corporation created 30 jobs. Mr. Speaker, do you call that "small potatoes"? Rural Manitoba and the city of Winnipeg certainly do not.

In total, our strategy has created important new investment. In 1993, 6,000 jobs were delivered in the private sector. It is basically those kinds of small entrepreneurs who have had the vision, had the initiative and had the audacity to move at all odds during a time period of recessionary impacts to move in those areas and expand our employment base in this province.

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Our programs are having an impact. Through Grow Bonds, over $6 million has been invested which has leveraged almost $20 million in total investment. As an example, Sterling Press of Selkirk is a printing company, which is owned by Debbie and Jim Hickson. Debbie and Jim identified and developed a niche market in cardboard box manufacturing and commercial printing, and in November of 1993 local people, little people, invested $170,000 through the Grow Bonds issue. They expected to create 15 jobs, and, in fact, they have created over 20. That is good news, Mr. Speaker; that is not "small potatoes" to Selkirk. The really good news is that Debbie and Jim and the fine people at Sterling Press are growing above expectation, that they cannot print stuff fast enough, so to speak. It is growing so fast, they are looking to do another expansion.

Success stories such as these increase revenues to the province through increased provincial and foreign currency earnings which, in turn, allow us to fund essential programs such as health care, education and family services.

I note with interest the NDP's alternative to the throne speech. I do not know whether this is their way of implementing legislative reform because they presented their throne speech to the general public four days before we had the throne speech. Of course, that is maybe their way of initiating new ways of doing legislation. They want to involve every Manitoban in rebuilding the health care again in Manitoba, and remove, they say, the shroud of secrecy. Then, if I understand correctly by their own document, they want to give the responsibility of health care and the whole system to the Ombudsman. Now I call that being innovative. I call that being truly innovative.

In the next paragraph, they talk about how this government has introduced cutback after cutback in health care, and then they go on to say that we must be fiscally responsible. These are the same people that want to govern Manitoba. If they had listened, Mr. Speaker, if they had watched, they would have noted that this government did not cut back but increased spending in health care by $600 million over the last six years. A 600-million increase in health care spending, is that a cutback? I ask them: Is that a cutback?

Perhaps I can put it in simpler terms that maybe for the benefits of our members opposite, they can understand. If you put one loonie into health care and you do that 600 million times over six years, you have an increase of $600 million. Imagine the stack of loonies that it would take.

That, of course, comes out the pockets of every taxpayer in this province, or you are going to have to go out and borrow that money and pay interest on it.

The NDP have only one thing to fear, and that, of course, is themselves. They talk about the secrecy of our government and in the same paragraph condemn the hundred committees that are reviewing health care. Yet they are saying, nothing is being done; the public should be consulted. They know not where they come from, Mr. Speaker. However, had they wanted to participate in those discussions, they were welcome to do so; yet they chose not to.

This government has been told by our constituents and by the rest of the province that we had to change the way health care was being delivered or we would lose it. Everybody in Manitoba knew that. It was becoming too costly. Cutbacks, no, Mr. Speaker, change, yes--with a lot of help and input from Manitobans.

The NDP, I believe, could learn something today besides the difference between increased cutbacks. They could also learn from this government examples of how to listen and consult with people which they represent. Evidently they did not care, and they had no ears to hear.

A community-based health care system is what Manitobans have asked for. Directing funding to where it is most needed will serve the people of Manitoba in the way that health care should be delivered. We have listened and we have acted.

Another issue of vital importance to this province's future, which endorses the government's commitment to the province, is of course the area of education. Mr. Speaker, this government recognizes that in order to sustain and develop the pride and economy of our province for the future we must act responsibly today for the citizens of our future and our children. Our youth are the building blocks of tomorrow, and the foundation is in the family of today.

Education is simply not school buildings and passing grades. Education is vital to the very prosperity of our province and the quality of life for our children today and for all tomorrows to come. Mothers and fathers throughout this province care deeply about their children and the legacy which they leave behind. We asked Manitobans to help us prepare a blueprint for future education.

Mr. Speaker, together we established a criteria for the basics and essentials of learning such as reading, writing, mathematics, communication, problem solving, human relations and technology. In order to achieve this, we were advised that we must set educational standards and evaluation. We must also take steps to ensure schools' effectiveness, involve communities and parents, use technology for distance education and develop sound training for teachers.

Our Minister of Education (Mr. Manness) deserves a lot of credit for having taken action. In 50 or a hundred years from now some archivists are going to dust off pre-21st Century history books and make a cursory mental note of this one action by this government. In 50 or a hundred years from now, Mr. Speaker, who is going to remember--maybe a few, perhaps no one. The prosperity and the quality of life for our children and our children's future may be in the not-so-small apart due to this government's consultation, listening and action today.

Again the opposition has been critical of this process. At the same time they state in their own document that change is essential. I invite the opposition to have the courage to support our efforts in order to ensure our children's education and future. The opposition has frequently used the word "cutback" in reference to the government's administration in some very, very key areas.

Spending for Education has increased to $990 million annually. This is an increase of 25 percent from the 1987 level, the last year the NDP formed the government, and I am sure Manitobans will remember that during the next election.

Albeit it is not how much we spend on education that is important, it is the quality of education that our children receive which is important, Mr. Speaker. The quality of education suffers when the environment in which it is delivered is not conducive to learning. That is why we are also committed to supporting teachers in maintaining discipline in the classrooms.

I want to commend our teachers and the high standards that our teachers have set. We have many, many teachers in this province that truly have education of the children at heart. We must create an atmosphere together with parents to ensure that discipline occurs in the classroom and that an educational environment is in fact encouraged in the classroom.

All of you have heard and seen the commercials run by the Manitoba Teachers' Union. If there is one thing these ads point out, it is when unions attack they damage the very heart of the system. The children and the system need and depend on co-operation and caring, not disruption and distrust. By working together with parents and teachers, by setting standards and by having the courage to measure the results, the entire Manitoba community and all of its facets will be better served, Mr. Speaker, and we will deliver.

Mr. Speaker, I take special pride in our accomplishments in the area of personnel and community security. We have taken a tough stand on youth crime and violence by introducing boot camps for serious repeat offenders. We have removed the pool tables and the television sets. What they are in today is no longer a Holiday Inn. We have continually asked the federal government to strengthen the Young Offenders Act so that young people know that when they break the law there will be a serious, serious consequence.

As part of the same effort we are working toward to make parents more responsible for the actions of their children, Mr. Speaker, and I think that is one of the most important aspects and needs to be addressed by this government and future governments.

This government has had the distinction of introducing the toughest drinking and driving laws in Canada, and we have come down hard on spousal abuse. We have also introduced amendments to strengthen the anti-stalking laws. Mr. Speaker, this government delivers.

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We have just come through one of the worst recessions our province has experienced. We have all had to tighten our belts and most Manitobans have done so admirably. In spite of the fact that the opposition have continually encouraged us to throw money at problems, other Manitobans have said, you are doing the right thing, your fiscal management policies are in fact creating the kind of economy that will lead us out of this recession.

Instead of doing what the opposition has asked us to do, we have introduced sound fiscal management plans to Manitoba, applying sound economic strategies through responsible taxation and spending, creating economic growth and jobs. Nobody can argue that.

We have learned from the former NDP government that heavy borrowing and spending does not lead to creating sustainable jobs and lasting economic growth.

The 1980s was an era of high revenue growth, higher spending growth, high deficits, high inflation and high wage increases. Since 1988, spending and revenues have grown on average about 3 percent annually.

The 1990s are a time of low revenue growth, low spending, declining deficits and low inflation, which will lead us towards a balanced budget.

Throughout the 1980s, provincial deficits ranged around the $500-million-a-year mark. Since 1988, the Filmon government's deficits have stabilized to about 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product. This is the best performance in Canada.

In the six years previous to the Filmon administration, our provincial debt tripled--tripled in just six years. Those years gone by, of irresponsible fiscal management, is choking the funding of programs needed today.

Interest costs at $500 million annually represents about $500 for each man, woman and child; $2,000 for a family of four.

Translated for our opposition members, if they are listening, interest costs one loonie 500 million times. We were the second- highest-taxed province in all of Canada in 1987. Today, because of sound fiscal management, we are the third lowest.

I say to you, Mr. Speaker, that is quite an accomplishment.

But that is not good enough for us. We must bring our debt down and eliminate our deficit. We have made the promise and we will deliver. We cannot stop there. We must ensure that future governments do not enter into this ludicrous cycle of spending and taxing more.

Therefore, as stated in the throne speech, we will introduce balanced budget legislation. This will ensure that Manitobans will be on the leading edge of economic development and maintain its aggressive competitiveness.

As importantly, the action will help us maintain our programs such as health care, education, family services and many others.

Today I call on all my colleagues in this Legislature to support the adoption of the throne speech, and I ask all of you to work together to balance the need for stimulating more jobs and economic growth, reducing our deficit and to maintain our social programs. By living within our means, we can maintain our essential services and preserve our quality of life today and for all of us and our families in the future and for tomorrow.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mrs. Shirley Render (St. Vital): Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to second the Speech from the Throne for the Sixth Session of the Thirty-fifth Legislature of the Province of Manitoba.

I just want to begin by commending the mover of the throne speech for his very apt comments. I think his gift of a small potato a little earlier on in his speech probably said more than any number of letters or press releases on, I guess, the apparent ignorance of some of the people on the opposite side, in the second opposition, the ignorance, their lack of understanding of the importance of "small potatoes" to food production or really just generally the importance of the rural economy. I think he expanded on this very well when he talked about the hundreds and hundreds of jobs that were created through Grow Bonds and REDI. So again I say that I think his gift of a small potato spoke volumes about the ignorance of some people here in this Chamber about the importance of the rural economy to the overall well-being of this province.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin really by welcoming you back in the Chair. The first time I said that some four years ago I had gone back to some of the old Hansards to find out what a member said the first time they stood up to speak on the throne speech, and all the member's speeches all started off with welcoming the Speaker back, so that is what I did.

An Honourable Member: It was a tradition.

Mrs. Render: It was a tradition, and I followed that tradition.

Now I speak with four years of experience. I have seen you sit in the Chair there, I have seen you in the committee rooms, and I have to say that this Chamber is very fortunate to have you in the Speaker's Chair. You are one of those very unique people who know when to hold tight with tradition and when not to, when to have a little bit of blurry vision and when to have your eyes wide open to ensure that strict order is kept. You know when to be stern and when to give a lecture. You know when to relax the rules because someone has inadvertently broken it. So welcome, Mr. Speaker, and I hope you are in the Chair for many more sessions.

I would also like to welcome back the Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Dacquay) because she like you has proven that she knows how to run a Chamber here.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Pages. Unfortunately, not all of them are here this morning, but I would like to welcome you into this Chamber. I know that this will be an eye opener for you, what you hear in the Chamber, what you hear in the committee rooms. It will show you how democracy is practised in the 1990s. I wish you all the best for your stay here and, of course, in your future studies.

Of course, this is traditionally the time to welcome back all members into the Chamber.

It is also traditional to say thank you to the constituents who have put the member here in this Chamber, and I do want to thank my constituents for their ongoing support. When I meet them at the door, when I meet them in town halls that I hold, when I meet them just in small community meetings, it is their comments, their suggestions, their recommendations, that I bring back to our caucus, and so many of their comments and suggestions have been reflected in past throne speeches and are reflected again in this throne speech, Mr. Speaker. That is how democracy works in this province. That is how we on this side of the House practise. We listen to the people in our riding, and we bring back those comments and insert them.

Mr. Speaker, this undoubtedly will be the last throne speech before a provincial election is called. When that happens, governments tend to pack a throne speech full of promises of masses of legislation to come. This is not the case here. Why? Well, because we have already put in place many of the mechanisms that are needed. Yes, the throne speech does introduce new ideas, but it also emphasizes the continuance of the themes that we have been talking about and acting upon since we came to government.

In 1988, when this government was first elected, we had a vision. We worked out the first steps of a plan to ensure that vision happened. Each throne speech, each budget has expanded that plan and made that vision concrete reality, not just pie-in-the-sky talk. We have been consistent with our objectives.

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(Mrs. Louise Dacquay, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair)

This throne speech again emphasizes what Manitobans want to hear. For instance, we are continuing the theme of good fiscal management, of making sure that this province has a good competitive business environment, because that brings in new business, new industry, new manufacturing. That means more jobs. That means dollars in our pocket.

Speaking of dollars, another one of our objectives is to balance the budget. Now earlier this morning, the Leader of the second opposition said, gee, this is a fast conversion. That is not so, Madam Deputy Speaker. We have been working towards a balanced budget. This throne speech, we are stating that we are introducing balanced budget legislation. We will be putting some teeth into that legislation. We are going to make sure that there are penalties attached for not adhering to it.

As you will remember, Madam Deputy Speaker, we were one of the first, if not the first province, to really come to grips with the out-of-control spending that governments right across this country seem to be on. We recognized that had to stop and that we could not continue to be overspending. We ended the irresponsible spending that the previous administration had so unconcernedly embarked upon. We delivered on our promise to stop increasing taxes. Budget after budget, we kept our promise, and now we can say with pride that we are the only jurisdiction in North America that has not raised major taxes in seven consecutive budgets.

Now that did not happen because we just did things on an ad-hoc basis. We had a vision. We had a plan, and we worked logically and carefully to make those things happen. Consequently, we have a stable environment in Manitoba for business and, indeed, for all of us. Thus, we do not need to come out with a lot of hype about a lot of legislation. We have been putting it in place, and now is the time to monitor, to fine-tune it. That stable environment, that good business climate, that now describes Manitoba.

Of course, what has happened is that new businesses and new industry have come into Manitoba. The mover of this throne speech mentioned some of them. Rather than repeat what he mentioned, I will maybe just add a few more examples. I think all of us have heard that Monsanto chose Morden over 50 other world locations for a $5-million plant. The Institute for Biodiagnostics moved from Ottawa to Winnipeg. That created 70 new jobs. Vita Health added 95 jobs. Baxter Corporation created 30 new jobs.

These last examples that I have given are all in the health care industry. Under this government, investment in the health care industry has increased by approximately 300 percent. That industry alone has gone from just a handful of jobs, a handful of companies to over 1,000 jobs.

In another area, we have been also very successful. That is in making Manitoba the call centre capital of Canada. We will continue our efforts to attract information and telecommunication activities and to secure new investments and new jobs in what is undoubtedly North American's fastest growing sector. In other words, Madam Deputy Speaker, our strategy has created important new investment.

As the former speaker said, in 1993, 6,000 jobs were delivered in the private sector. As he also I think pointed out, small business accounts for about 80 percent of new jobs. Because we recognize that, in each of our budgets we have been introducing initiatives for small business.

This throne speech again introduces some of the things that we are going to be doing for small business. One of these initiatives is a new pooled investment fund. We have a proven track record, Madam Deputy Speaker, already in this area. The previous speaker has already mentioned REDI, Grow Bonds, Crocus Fund, Business Start and Vision Capital Fund. These have all been things that have helped Manitoba businesses create jobs. We will be using these successful programs to build upon and add new ones. As the saying goes: Why invent the wheel, we have already done it. We will just simply expand on these successful programs.

Now networking, I think all of us know how important that is. The trick, of course, is to create the situation which puts the proper people together. We will be holding a major forum to put together entrepreneurs and small-business owners with potential investors. If a match can be made, if a business can be borne and a business can thrive, that will benefit not just those business people, not just that company, it will benefit all Manitobans.

Health is something that concerns all of us. From the moment we are born until we die somewhere along the way most of us are probably in at the doctor's office at least once. So it is something that all of us have to be concerned about. Our approach of spending smarter, of making the tax dollars go farther has been applied throughout government including health care.

In July 1994, this government made health care history by becoming the first province to have a fully integrated drug information network. That new Pharmacard, I have been told by constituents who have already used it, has been wonderful, particularly for the seniors who are on a low income, because it means for them instant rebates. Of course from the other side of the fence it will help stop some of the abuse that has been going on.

We also made history in Manitoba, Madam Deputy Speaker, with our commitment to establish community nurse resource centres. This happened because our Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae), this government, reached out to the nurses and said, let us work together, and it was the nurses themselves who said they wanted to have a greater say in the delivery of health care. Well, we are giving them that opportunity.

Again this is a continuation of our move to make those health care dollars go farther. It is a continuation of our move to keep people in the community, rather than thinking that the only place that health care can be delivered is in the hospitals. So I repeat again, this is a throne speech that is not full of a lot of hype. This is a throne speech that is showing the continuation of the vision and of the plans that we have been moving towards.

These community nurse resource centres will be established throughout the province, and these centres will facilitate community action and development in meeting the needs of that particular community. Whether it is health needs or education and health needs or outreach, including home services to seniors or new moms, or providing clinical primary health care, these are some of the services that this new initiative will deliver.

Now along these lines of keeping people in the community, we put an additional $2.6 million into the 1994 budget for home care. So when some of you on the other side of the House say that we have cut money to home care, as the Premier (Mr. Filmon) said earlier, give me a break. Since we have come into government, home care assistance has grown from $35 million to over $65 million in 1994-95. That is well over a 90-percent increase. Our commitment to home care is there. It is there in the bottom-line dollars. In fact, once again in this throne speech, it states that we will be strengthening the Home Care program. We will be doing that to better meet the needs of the seniors, to better meet the needs of the disabled and those patients who are just recently discharged from hospital.

Now I know that many of the members opposite like to say that our health care reform has been disastrous, that we are destroying the health care system, so I was really very interested to note just a couple of days ago in the newspaper, each of the newspapers here in this city--front page--let me just read into the record the headlines. The Winnipeg Sun, on November 30, here is the headline: "HEALTH CARE IS A-OK. DESPITE SPENDING CUTS, SERVICE HIGH." Here is the lead sentence in the paragraph: "Despite the loss of hundreds of beds in Winnipeg hospitals the quality of health care in the province remains high, . . ."

Here is the second headline: "'Never had it so good.' Hospitals' quality high despite cuts." The lead sentence in that paragraph: "The province's health has never been better."

Here is a quote from one of the authors of the study. The key thing that came out in the study was that hospitals are doing damn well, Shapiro said. "The public doesn't need to worry."

That is just one newspaper, Madam Deputy Speaker. The second newspaper, the Winnipeg Free Press, here is the headline that day: "Hospitals still healthy." The next headline: "Downsizing analysis fails to find health-care decline."

Here is a quote from one of the authors of the study: "To date, we have no evidence that bed closures or fiscal restraints have negatively influenced the quality of care delivered."

Madam Deputy Speaker, I think it is very interesting that this was an independent study. You would almost think that we wrote the headlines ourselves. I understand that one of the authors of this study was an official in the former government, so I think this is independent.

Once again, I say this government took a clear look when we came in at what was happening to our health care system, and we realized that we could not continue to function in the same way because we simply did not have the ability to keep pouring more dollars into it. We had the courage, Madam Deputy Speaker, to deal with that problem. We had the courage to work with health care officials to make the changes, and we had the courage to keep on going even when the opposition was out there fearmongering.

I said earlier, in speaking about economic initiatives, that we were expanding or continuing on successful initiatives. Well, we are doing that also in the health care field. We are building on the success of the Drug Program Information Network, and we are developing a new system, a new system that is called the Provincial Health Information System. That will link all the health care stakeholders on a computer network. Needless to say, this will contribute by improving health care by helping to provide better information to consumers and to the health care professionals. Of course, it will also help because it will reduce overlap and duplication and abuse of services. This government is preserving health care.

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I will just finish this small section by just referring to what we have done on the capital end of things. The Health-Capital Program, since 1988 completed capital projects have amounted to over $361 million. Another $183.2 million worth of projects was approved for construction just a short time ago. Since 1988 more than 525 personal care home beds have been added to the system, and another 500 beds have been approved or are already in construction in the '94-95 health-capital plan.

Just last week, the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson) announced that we will be providing $1.2 billion from a health care budget of $1.8 billion for the operation of hospitals, personal care homes, community health centres and the healthy community programs that we have also been working towards, because, as we all know, catching it up front, prevention is far better than treating it after the fact.

These are just a few, and I say just a few, of the good things that have been happening in health. This government is committed to providing good health care services. That commitment is reflected in the fact that we spend a greater percentage of our budget on health care than any other province in this country. Since we took office in 1988, we have put over $500 million or 38 percent more into the health care budget. That says commitment, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Education, I have made it a point to be involved with the schools and the parent associations in my riding. I have seen first-hand the enthusiasm and the dedication and the excellence of teaching of so many of the teachers. Having taught Grades 11 and 12 French and history many, many years ago, I am pleased that this government has put education in the top three of its priorities. After health, education is the second biggest spender. Since we have come into office, spending has increased from 17.2 percent of the budget to 18.2 percent.

Just recently, the Minister of Education tabled a document known as Renewing Education, New Directions. This blueprint outlines the kindergarten to Grade 12 education reform. That document was based on consultations that the ministers did with the educational stakeholders, the professionals in the area and with parents. The goals of that document, the bottom line of that document, Madam Deputy Speaker, is to ensure that our students can read and write and think and compute at a high level, because we have to be sure that our students are going to be able to cope in a global economy.

This throne speech states that we will be continuing to implement the blueprint for the renewal of our education system. One of the things that we are going to be doing very shortly is developing measures to assess student performances with test developments. We will be beginning with Grade 3 math. We will also be establishing a western institute of reading recovery in Winnipeg to support the development of literacy skills.

I think of interest to some of the young women and perhaps some of the Pages here in the Chamber is the creation of a new Training for Tomorrow scholarship award program to enable women to attend nontraditional programs at our community colleges. Speaking of community colleges, we are going to be asking the community colleges and the universities to start working together so that credits from the community college will be recognized at the university level.

Last year, the Minister of Education held a very successful parents forum. We want to do that again, because we need the input from the parents. Throughout the short time that I have been here as the member for St. Vital, I have had many parents come and speak to me about some of their concerns on education. Those parents were at the forum. They appreciated the fact that the Minister of Education took the time to hold a special meeting that was for parents.

The role of teachers needs to be strengthened. That is something else that teachers have spoken to me about in private. We recognize that the teacher's role has to be strengthened, and we will be inviting them to participate in a special forum designed to get feedback directly from them. We will also be introducing legislation to give teachers more power to preserve order in the classroom. I think there are probably very few of us here in the Chamber today who have not heard a teacher talk about the violence in the classroom or the lack of authority some of them feel that they have. They feel that they cannot handle the classroom in the way that they should. So we will be working with the teachers. It is a matter of co-operation.

Justice--I think all of us have a concern with public safety. In fact, when I came into the building this morning I literally bumped into one of the members opposite and he laughingly asked what happened to my truck. I said, well, did you not know it had been stolen last year. One of the other members came up and said, well, did you know that another member's vehicle had been stolen, and he mentioned another one that had been stolen.

Well, I think all of us and many of our constituents in the past year have been very frustrated with the fact that they read about vehicles being stolen, they read about the vandalism. Yet, when these young people are apprehended, they seem to get only a slap on the wrist. They feel that consequences have to be toughened.

Personal and community security are high priorities of this government, and in this throne speech, we outlined a series of initiatives and programs to better protect Manitobans. Again I say, this is a continuance, an expansion of what we have already started.

I will remind the members opposite that it was this government, it was our Justice minister, who took the toughest stand with the federal government on the Young Offenders Act because we believe, and our constituents believe, that young people who commit crimes, particularly crimes of murder, must have consequences that reflect the seriousness of their actions.

Now our hands, Madam Deputy Speaker, were tied on doing anything more than asking the federal government to make changes to the Young Offenders Act, but where we did have the authority, we did move. We also brought in preventive measures. We brought in the youth gang and violence line. We brought in an amendment.

Here is one of the measures that my constituents were extremely pleased about was the amendment which will provide for an automatic one-year suspension of a driver's licence for people convicted of car theft or vandalism. If that person is convicted again, that would lead to a five-year suspension, and suspensions for convicted young offenders become effective on that offender's 16th birthday. So we feel that there is now some bite in the legislation.

We are trying to move in the direction of making young people accountable for their actions, but we need to do more in the sense that we have to work with the federal government and try to get them to understand that this is something that they have to deal with.

The throne speech also highlights some of the new initiatives that the minister will be bringing in, such as the introduction of night courts for young people who are charged with criminal offences.

(Mr. Speaker in the Chair)

Now these evening sessions will enable the parents to go with their child without having to take time off from work and, of course, it will enable that child, if they are in school, to also go to court.

Again we feel it is very, very important that the parents take responsibility for the actions of their child. Too often parents have been abdicating that responsibility. We want to bring parents back into the system.

Now all of you are very aware of our made-in-Manitoba boot and wilderness camps, and we will be expanding this principle of rigorous youth confinement initiative into the adult correction system.

I found it very interesting a number of months ago when I read a newspaper article which stated that a young person who had been confined in a youth detention setting wanted to be transferred to an adult detention setting because it was easier there. Well, no longer will it be easier, Mr. Speaker. We will be toughening that up because this is not supposed to be a holiday place.

To improve community-based justice services, the community magistrate training programs will be expanded, and an additional 20 magistrates will be appointed.

One of the things that my constituents were very upset about last year was, when a dangerous sexual offender had been released, the public could not be notified. This, Mr. Speaker, will be changed. The public will be notified. We will also be investigating mechanisms for placing the names of convicted pedophiles on the Child Abuse Registry. Another change will be notification of the victims of stalkers when the person is at large. All of these measures will provide better security for the public and for each of us as individuals.

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Mr. Speaker, I will just finish by saying that jobs, economic development are top priorities of our government. Economic development is not an end in itself, but is essential to creating jobs. Those jobs, the dollars that are coming in from that, we need those to sustain our health care, to sustain education, to sustain social services and, indeed, the high quality of our life here in Manitoba.

The throne speech of the Sixth Session of the Thirty-fifth Legislature of the Province of Manitoba shows this government's commitment to helping to ensure that Manitobans have a prosperous economy and a prosperous life in this province. Thank you.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): I move, seconded by the member for Broadway (Mr. Santos), that debate be adjourned.

Motion agreed to.

Mr. Speaker: Is it the will of the House to call it 12:30? [agreed]

The hour being 12:30, this House now adjourns and stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. Monday.