Thursday March 16, 1995

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA

Thursday, March 16, 1995

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

PRAYERS

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

PRESENTING PETITIONS

Communities' Public Education

Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Eva McFarlane, George McFarlane, Sam Umpherville and others requesting the Minister of Education and Training (Mr. Manness) to reconsider the funding model to ensure that Thompson and other communities in this province are able to maintain quality public education.

Physical Education in Schools

Mr. Clif Evans (Interlake): Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Carla Cameron, Donna Marcyniuk, Roberta Stocki and others requesting the Minister of Education (Mr. Manness) to consider maintaining physical education as part of the core curriculum from kindergarten to senior high.

READING AND RECEIVING PETITIONS

Physical Education in Schools

Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr. Maloway). It complies with the privileges and the practices of this House and it complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?

An Honourable Member: No.

Mr. Speaker: Dispense.

The petition of the undersigned citizens of the province of Manitoba humbly sheweth that:

WHEREAS the proposed changes to the Manitoba curriculum would have no physical education required for students after Grade 8; and

WHEREAS the social, intellectual, emotional and physical benefits of physical education have been proven through extensive research; and,

WHEREAS requiring physical education for high school sends a message that physical activity is important for life and encourages high school students to make life choices to stay active and it fits into a preventative health strategy; and,

WHEREAS many parents, students, medical professionals and educators, health and recreation specialists are urging that physical education be increased in schools.

WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Minister of Education to consider maintaining physical education as part of the core curriculum from kindergarten to senior high.

Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr. Lathlin). It complies with the privileges and the practices of this House and it complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?

An Honourable Member: No.

Mr. Speaker: Dispense.

WHEREAS the proposed changes to the Manitoba curriculum would have no physical education required for students after Grade 8; and

WHEREAS the social, intellectual, emotional and physical benefits of physical education have been proven through extensive research; and,

WHEREAS requiring physical education for high school sends a message that physical activity is important for life and encourages high school students to make life choices to stay active and it fits into a preventative health strategy; and,

WHEREAS many parents, students, medical professionals and educators, health and recreation specialists are urging that physical education be increased in schools.

WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Minister of Education to consider maintaining physical education as part of the core curriculum from kindergarten to senior high.

Public Housing Rent Hikes

Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to the authorities and practices of the House, I must now report that I have examined the petition of the honourable member for Radisson (Ms. Cerilli) received on March 13, 1995, and find the petitioners have not complied with the said authorities and practices in the following respects: A petition cannot call directly on the government to take some specific action. Instead, in this case, it should call on the Legislative Assembly to request the government to consider taking the action mentioned. In addition, this petition is not addressed to the Legislature of the province of Manitoba as required by Appendix A to the rules of this House and Beauchesne's Citations 10.17 and 10.l9.

The petition is therefore out of order.

Physical Education in Schools

Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr. Lamoureux). It complies with the privileges and the practices of this House and complies with rules. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?

An Honourable Member: No.

Mr. Speaker: Dispense.

The petition of the undersigned residents of the province of Manitoba humbly sheweth:

THAT in July 1994, the Minister of Education introduced an action plan entitled Renewing Education: New Directions;

THAT this report will make physical education an optional course in Grades 9 to 12;

THAT the physical education curriculum should be regularly reviewed to ensure that it meets the needs of students;

THAT the government is failing to recognize the benefits of physical education such as improved physical fitness, more active lifestyles, health promotion, self-discipline, skill development, stress reduction, strengthened peer relationships, weight regulation, stronger bones, reduced risk of health diseases and improved self-confidence.

WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly urge the Minister responsible for Education to consider reinstating physical education as a compulsory core subject area.

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Communities' Public Education

Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr. Ashton). It complies with the privileges and the practices of this House and complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read? Yes?

An Honourable Member: Read it.

Mr. Speaker: The Clerk will read.

Mr. Clerk (William Remnant): The petition of the undersigned citizens of the province of Manitoba humbly sheweth that:

WHEREAS funding for public schools by the provincial government has been cut twice in the past three years; and

WHEREAS provincial funding for the school district of Mystery Lake has dropped by nearly $2 million over the same period, more than 10 percent; and

WHEREAS funding for private schools has increased by over 110 percent under the same provincial government; and

WHEREAS Thompson was faced with a 48 percent increase in the education support levy tax as a result of reassessment in 1993, resulting in $500,000 leaving our community; and

WHEREAS the Thompson school district is now faced with a massive $1.8-million deficit equivalent to a 48 percent increase in local school taxes; and

WHEREAS unless the minister reviews this funding the Thompson school district will be forced to consider both a $500,000 tax increase and severe program cuts totalling over $1.3 million.

WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly request the Minister of Education and Training (Mr. Manness) to reconsider the funding model to ensure that Thompson and other communities in this province are able to maintain quality public education.

TABLING OF REPORTS

Hon. Harold Gilleshammer (Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship): Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table the 1993-1994 Annual Report of the Manitoba Arts Council.

Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister of Environment): I would like to table the 1993-94 Annual Report of the Clean Environment Commission.

Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the Quarterly Financial Report for the Nine Months, April to December, 1994.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Department of Health Capital Program

Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Mr. Speaker, I have a statement to make to the House.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the 1995-1996 Capital Program for the Department of Health. This is my second capital program as Minister of Health, and I am pleased to announce that the themes of my leadership and that of our government have remained strong and healthy.

We continue to actualize the principles of Quality Health for Manitobans: The Action Plan and the principles of universality and accessibility of the Canada Health Act.

Funds have been allocated to the revitalization and refurbishment of rural health care systems guaranteeing rural Manitobans with sustainable and accessible services to the continued restructuring of urban, rural and northern facilities to address the changing methods of delivering care. This is to accommodate shifts to outpatient surgery, install state of the art equipment for patient care, diagnostics and treatment.

Personal care home beds continue to expand in number within a plan for equitable dispersion of resources throughout the province, and significant capital has been made available to modernize our older care facilities to modern concepts of care that are in keeping with the changing nature of the residents we serve.

This capital program reflects the priorities, concerns and needs expressed to me by thousands of Manitoba patients, professionals, health care students, board members, researchers and special interest groups across this province. As Minister of Health, I have been honoured in many meeting rooms, large boardrooms filled with professionals arguing their cases for resources, community halls filled with concerned and committed citizens seeking stability in their local health care system, banquets, small dinners, and, of course, the comfort of my own office in the Legislative Building.

I have engaged in discussion, debate and listened to a variety of competing wishes. In this forum and with the support of my colleagues in cabinet and most particularly my friend the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson), I am proud to announce a robust and balanced capital program for 1995-96.

More specifically, Mr. Speaker, Schedule I, Projects in Construction total $180,957,000. These projects provide for the construction of two rural hospitals, St. Pierre and Stonewall, three personal care, long-term care facilities in Winnipeg and five personal care home facilities in rural Manitoba. It also prepares the site for the expansion of the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation and numerous maintenance repairs and modernization projects.

Mr. Speaker, this capital program brings total construction of beds to well over 1,000 since the election of our government in 1988.

Schedule II, Projects Approved for Construction, totals $191,884,000. These funds provide for a 25-bed acute psychiatry project at Brandon General Hospital, as well as a free-standing facility for child and adolescent services. In addition, Phase I of the Brandon General Hospital redevelopment provides for the replacement and expansion of the Westman Laboratory. The powerhouse and the maintenance shops will begin construction this fall. This schedule provides for the construction of a Red Cross blood transfusion facility and prepares the site for the construction of the William Avenue project at the Health Sciences Centre.

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The William Avenue project will be the largest single project in the history of the department's capital program and will provide for the replacement of the adult and pediatric emergency, surgery and intensive care services of the Health Sciences Centre. These funds also replace and maintain rural hospital projects in Thompson, Central, Interlake and Westman regions and continue with personal care home development in five of the eight health regions: Westman, Interlake, Central, Eastman and Winnipeg.

Schedule IV, Approved for Architectural Planning includes projects totalling $306,474,000; the design of three rural hospitals, five urban personal care homes and five rural and northern personal care homes dispersed from Flin Flon and The Pas in the North to Notre Dame, Altona and Shoal Lake in the south.

This capital program provides funds to assist hospitals with their fiscal targets, providing funds to install efficient systems that support the provision of care or move care to less costly but effective delivery models. Every region of the province will benefit from this program, and every aspect of our delivery system from community health centres to the highest level of complex technologically sophisticated care is supported in this document.

Mr. Speaker, the 1995-96 capital program of the Department of Health is a testament to our commitment to the infrastructure of our society, to our strong economy, our ability to set appropriate priorities amongst articulate and competing interests and our commitment to provide service and resources to all Manitobans wherever they may live.

I am very proud to present this capital program to my colleagues in the House, a program that reflects our values, our commitment and our leadership in a complex environment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity of replying to the minister's statement. I do not recall in the past that ministers have stood up and made statements regarding the capital programs but, then again, these are interesting times with respect to potential events that may occur in the next few days. So I can understand that.

While the government announces a massive capital program, they have done more in their seven years in office to destroy the human capital program in the health care sector than any other government, and I think that the government ought to have spent some time and spent some attention with respect to the human capital program, Mr. Speaker, as they have spent on this capital program.

Three years ago in this Chamber we raised questions about the deficiency of some of the operating rooms at Children's Hospital and the Health Sciences Centre, and there was nary a word from members opposite who in fact accused us of misleading this House or attempting to do that. Now we see that the project, the $113-million capitalization of the William Avenue project, which has been before Treasury Board now for eight or nine months, has all of a sudden materialized days before a provincial election.

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The dilemma and the problem with this government is, quite frankly, they do not have a consistent plan or approach to health care. They have 102 committees studying health care and they leave that information secret. But now, days before a provincial election campaign, we have dropped on us a massive capital plan for the province of Manitoba, at the same time when they have studies like Bell-Wade that says, well, we should maybe have adult psychiatry moved back to St. Boniface after we have decided in our previous plan to have adult psychiatry over at Health Sciences Centre, after we have closed beds and after we have built a $45-million structure. There is only one word for it--inconsistent.

It is very difficult on short notice to deal with all of the projects in here, Mr. Speaker, but it is pretty clear to members on this side of the House that this government plan is an attempt to try to show the public of Manitoba that they are actually doing some building, quote, in the area of health care, and after seven years of tearing down the system and cutting and slashing, they are finally moving along to perhaps put something back in the system.

I warn members opposite, we have said consistently now for four to five years that it is too late in the process, that they should have looked at the people resources. They should have looked to improving the quality of care in the health care system a long time ago, and now close to the election campaign, we have thrust upon us--and just by way of example, Mr. Speaker, the members talk about the expansion of the Brandon Hospital to allow for the psychiatric centre. This is way behind schedule. Their plan is two years out of date, and now days, again, before the Premier (Mr. Filmon) takes his walk to see the Lieutenant-Governor, they say they are now going to be building something.

They say to the people of Manitoba, trust us, we are now going to build something. Trust us, we are now going to improve your capital facilities, at the same time when the largest capital project ever undertaken in this province in health, $150 million for a computer system, is not even mentioned in here. It is not even touched upon in here, and they refuse to table the contract. They refuse to table their studies, and in a five-year plan, Mr. Speaker, I find it surprising that they refuse to table and provide information on what will be the largest capital plan, $150 million to the Royal Bank to build a computer system.

I think members opposite ought to provide all of the information, table the secret committee reports, table all of the reports that are there, table the Royal Bank contract, and then we can look at all of this and see if there is, in fact, some kind of semblance of a plan for order and direction in the health care system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood): Mr. Speaker, I think I will limit my comments to the information that the minister has given us in this capital program and save my comments on the health care system in general for my speech this afternoon.

Let me start with some of the positive comments. Again, this is on very short notice so just briefly, given what we have heard the minister comment on this afternoon, we are certainly pleased that we are seeing more personal care home beds that are to be developed here in Manitoba. We have consistently called for that since 1988. It will be interesting to know where, in fact, those personal care home beds are placed. I know that every community in Manitoba may want to see a personal care home in their community, but we hope the decisions made as to where the personal care home beds will be will be based on need in the community and not based on who the MLA is for that particular area. I hope we have moved away from that in politics.

As well, I am pleased to hear that the acute psychiatric beds at the Brandon Hospital are going forward. That is a very, very important component of the transition of the move from the Brandon Mental Health Centre to community services in Brandon. We are pleased to see that this is moving ahead. It is going to be an important component. Again, we support that move from the institution of Brandon Mental Health Centre to the community and also to ensure there is more up-to-date acute care services which will be provided in Brandon, unlike the New Democrats who want to see that facility left open and, in fact, want to move back in terms of where we are going with mental health in this province.

What I have not had a chance to see in this schedule, and I would wonder and I would be interested in the minister's comments on this, I am a little skeptical about the area that talks about Schedule IV and the projects that are approved for architectural planning. I am skeptical of that because many of the projects that get approved under architectural planning oftentimes do not come to fruition as indicated in the timetable.

One example is, of course, the architectural plans which were approved to move ahead for better facilities of Cadham Lab to assist Dr. Markesteyn, to assist the medical examiner's office. Those were scrapped in a former capital plan. I do not know if they are in this one or not. I would hope that they would be, because certainly I think the Department of Health, this minister and this government should be listening to their own staff in the Department of Health when they see a need for expansion of those services.

I would leave my comments at that. I do find it very interesting how quickly things can happen in terms of presentation of capital plans when we know an election is only a few days away, because it is usually very difficult to get these capital projects. We usually get it at the end of the Estimates. So we are very pleased that this year we are able to get this capital program ahead of time. Thank you very much.

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INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill 16--The Maintenance Enforcement (Various Acts Amendment) Act

Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson), that leave be given to introduce Bill 16, The Maintenance Enforcement (Various Acts Amendment) Act; Loi sur l'exécution des ordonnances alimentaires - modification de diverses lois, and that the same now be received and read a first time.

Motion presented.

Mrs. Vodrey: Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to introduce for first reading our government's maintenance enforcement legislation, which is designed to enhance Manitoba's ability to collect maintenance payments. This government's approach reflects the fact that the end of a relationship does not release an individual from their obligation to support their family.

The proposed amendments before this Legislature will substantially strengthen enforcement efforts, will provide invaluable information on the location and the assets of delinquent payers and help us to get more money into the hands of children and families. The proposed initiatives before this House to expand our enforcement powers are: suspending and refusing renewal of driver's licences and motor vehicle registrations; reporting delinquent payers to the Credit Bureau; attaching pension benefit credits; attaching jointly held monies; permitting garnishing orders for monies other than wages to remain in effect indefinitely; increasing the maximum jail term to 90 days from 30; and raising the maximum fine to $1,000 from $500.

Mr. Speaker, this government is taking significant steps to force those individuals who are defaulting on maintenance and support payments to live up to their obligations. Thank you.

Motion agreed to.

Introduction of Guests

Mr. Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the attention of honourable members to the gallery, where we have with us this afternoon from the Linwood School forty-five Grades 5 and 6 students under the direction of Mr. Ed Hume, Mr. Will Peters and Mrs. Bonnie Christianson. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine).

On behalf of all honourable members, I would like to welcome you here this afternoon.