MEMBERS' STATEMENTS
Centre Medical De Salaberry
District Health Centre
Mr. Frank Pitura (Morris): Madam Speaker, it is indeed my pleasure to rise in the House today and tell my fellow members about the official opening ceremonies of Centre Medical De Salaberry District Health Centre, opening last Saturday. I had the pleasure of attending, along with the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) and the member for Emerson (Mr. Penner).
In 1994, Manitoba Health approved the construction of a new 14-bed hospital, major renovations and construction of 22 personal care beds to better serve the residents of the De Salaberry health district. The new combined facilities offer a maintenance-free setting, with departments that easily integrate and allow for any future expansion or alteration. There is office space for four physicians and expanded community service office space. Included is a dental clinic that has up-to-date equipment and dental suites to accommodate increased volumes of clients. Very recently the health district board was successful in receiving approval for a salaried-physician program. This program provides for the employment of 2.5 equivalent full-time physicians to serve the health district.
Madam Speaker, it was commendable to see the support that the residents of the district have already shown. The board itself has raised $120,000 and the hospital guild has raised about $125,000. These significant contributions have been generously given by the public, which acknowledges the benefits that the new hospital and personal care home will bring today and in the future.
Madam Speaker, I believe that the opening of this wonderful facility is an example of what can be accomplished when government and community work together. This government is committed to doing just that, and the opening of this facility proves that we are dedicated to working with communities in providing all Manitobans with accessible and high-quality health care.
Winnipeg School Division No. 1
Ms. Becky Barrett (Wellington): Madam Speaker, this morning the member for St. James (Ms. Mihychuk) and I had the honour of attending the Winnipeg School Division No. 1 125th anniversary celebration, the opening ceremonies of a month-long celebration for 125 years of service to the people of Winnipeg.
Madam Speaker, several hundred students, teachers, principals, administrators and supporters of the public school system in the city of Winnipeg celebrated this morning. As well as greetings and other comments, we heard the Elmwood High School band, which was a remarkable band, showing us what can be done with extracurricular activities in the public school system. The Tyndall Park choir made up of Grades 4 and 5 students did an amazing job of not only singing the national anthem but sharing with us several other songs. They were a very well-disciplined delightful choir.
We also heard from a very unique group called the Neebin Nobin Singers, six young women from Children of the Earth, and they did a drum song for us that was quite remarkable.
Madam Speaker, Winnipeg School Division No. 1 has served the city and the students for 125 years. In 1871, 25 students under the direction of Mr. Luxton met for the first time. Since then, the school division has served the community in a number of ways, with unique programs such as nursery school, language immersion and alternative schools such as Argyle and Children of the Earth.
I hope all honourable members will join with us in celebrating, for the month of October, 125 years of public school system in the city of Winnipeg, Winnipeg School Division No. 1, and we wish them another 125 years of good health. Thank you.
Keeping Safe at Work Program
Mrs. Shirley Render (St. Vital): I am pleased to tell the members of the House about a program that our government introduced on September 24 called Keeping Safe at Work. This is a campaign that is aimed at people who work alone or who travel to and from work by themselves and who may be unaware of some of the things that they can do to make the workplace more safe for them. This initiative is primarily focused on women but obviously it can be used for any of us.
The campaign has three parts to it.
First of all, there is a brochure with practical information, such things as what to be aware of, safety tips to consider when going to and from work, what employers can do to maximize safety and a business security checklist.
The second part of the campaign is public information sessions. These are provided by specially trained staff of CIBC and the staff of the Women's Directorate. These sessions can provide assistance in developing a safety plan for every workplace as well as tips on how to conduct a workplace safety audit.
The third part of the campaign is a display portion. These will be posters that can be put up at participating worksites to help create a wider community awareness of this very important issue.
Madam Speaker, Keeping Safe at Work would not have been possible if it had not been for a number of partnerships. These were very innovative partnerships involving both government, CIBC and the police services. CIBC provided the funds and staffing to help in both distributing the pamphlets and the posters and also by participating in the train the trainer sessions at their employment development centre.
Workers Compensation provided funds for this campaign and Workplace Safety and Health contributed their expertise in ensuring that the information contained in the pamphlet reached a large audience through their workplace WorkSafe bulletins and by placing this material on the Internet.
So once again, Madam Speaker, we are pleased to be a part of an effort to make people involved in keeping themselves safe, to bring everybody in the community involved into this very important initiative. Thank you.
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Dreams of the North Youth Conference
Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): On September 27 I was privileged to attend the opening ceremony and banquet of the Dreams of the North Youth Conference in Cranberry Portage. The opening ceremony, banquet and dance were held in the Frontier Collegiate Institute gymnasium.
Ninety-one students from such diverse communities as Hollow Water, Grand Rapids, Norway House and Flin Flon were in attendance. Live entertainment was provided by Cranberry Portage's own accomplished singer, Ms. Rikki McLean, and the capable young fiddlers from Sherridon, the Kississing Lake Metis Fiddlers under the direction of Mr. Blaine Klippenstein. Mr. Gary Settee was the master of ceremonies.
The next day, Saturday, was a working day, and the youthful participants could choose six out of nine available workshops at Frontier Collegiate Institute. There were workshops on AIDS, on traditional culture, on physical fitness, on staying in school, on gambling, on youth and the criminal justice system, on aboriginal self-government, on planning for post-graduation and on diabetes in northern Manitoba.
It was particularly gratifying for me personally to see two of my colleagues, the honourable member for Rupertsland (Mr. Robinson) and the honourable member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), acting as facilitators for this conference. The member for The Pas in fact is a graduate from Frontier Collegiate Institute.
It was a very worthwhile weekend for our young participants from the North. I thank Frontier School Division in general and Frontier Collegiate Institute specifically for hosting this Dreams of the North Youth Conference. I thank the workshop facilitators and the young participants and their supervisors. I know many travelled long distances and slept on cold gymnasium or school floors.
Also, a big thank you to the key organizers of the conference, Tina Umperville, Gloria Whitford and Gary Wesner. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Police and Peace Officer Memorial
Mr. Gary Kowalski (The Maples): On July 11, 1977, Constable James Kirkwood 21 years of age, was shot and killed in the line of duty. He only had four months on the job when he was shot and killed. This dramatically affected the Ottawa police force. As a result, at his funeral that was held--
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I wonder if I might ask for the co-operation of those members having private meetings to do so in the loge or outside the Chamber.
Mr. Kowalski: At Constable Kirkwood's funeral that was held three days later, the officers of the Ottawa police force decided to have a memorial service the following September. So, on September 24, 1978, a service was held to commemorate the death of Constable James Kirkwood. This has now resulted in an annual memorial service for all police officers killed in the line of duty that is held in Ottawa, and this last Sunday, September 29, the service was held again.
The memorial recognized the 331 peace officers who have been killed in the line of duty in Canada since Confederation. At this year's service, the names of six officers who had been killed since last year were read, and I would like to read their names into the record for Hansard so that in the Manitoba Legislature we recognize the contribution made by these officers.
Those officers were: Killed on November 27, 1995, Constable Odette Pinard of the Montreal police force; killed on February 17, 1996, Patricia Sharber of Saskatchewan, Department of Social Services; killed on April 2, 1996, Constable Michael Gula of the Ontario police; killed on April 29, 1996, Constable André Lalonde of the Montreal police force, and Sergeant Derek Burkholder and Constable Leo Francis of the RCMP.
I know all members of this House join all politicians and all members of the public
to recognize the sacrifice made by these 330 police officers. Thank you.
Committee Changes
Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): Madam Speaker, I have some committee changes.
I move, seconded by the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Agriculture (for this evening at 7 p.m.) be amended as follows: the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed) for the member for Ste. Rose (Mr. Cummings); the member for La Verendrye (Mr. Sveinson) for the member for Morris (Mr. Pitura).
Motion agreed to.