Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): This evening the Morden Area Foundation will be honouring Dr. Henry Friesen, president of the Medical Research Council of Canada. Dr. Friesen is an internationally known Canadian medical scientist and educator. He is widely known for directing research and clinical trials into the effectiveness of using human growth hormones to stimulate the growth of very small children in a hormone-deficient state. Perhaps his most important scientific contribution has been the discovery of the human hormone, prolactin, and the development of a simple blood test to identify patients with tumours that secrete excessive amounts of the hormone.

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As a result, many thousands of women and men with disorders of reproduction related to prolactin have been successfully treated. As well, more than 90 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from medical centres around the world have been trained in his laboratory. Many of these are now in leadership positions in medical research in Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe.

The purpose of honouring Dr. Friesen is to raise money for the Morden Area Foundation. The community foundation provides a unique opportunity for residents, former and present, to invest in their community. This local investment can take the form of senior and youth programs, scholarships, environmental and social programs, heritage programs, arts projects and cultural activities.

So I would like to thank Dr. Friesen and the Morden Area Foundation for the work they have done and continue to do. Thank you very much.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, the Brandon General Hospital is presently experiencing a funding shortfall--

Madam Speaker: Order, please. I wonder if I might ask those members having private meetings to do so quietly or move to the loge or outside the Chamber.

Mr. Leonard Evans: The Brandon General Hospital is now experiencing a funding shortfall of $2.4 million. This is for the 1996-97 fiscal year. This is a direct result of funding cuts by the Department of Health of $1.62 million plus cost increases because of inflation as well as the requirement to reinstate salary levels to the pre minus-2 level, even after management initiatives to cut expenses by $279,000. Therefore, the bottom line is still a major funding shortfall of about $2.4 million.

BGH is still looking for other cuts. If they were successful in finding another $849,000 in cuts, they will still be short by $1 million to try to maintain adequate services, but with these cuts, the hospital really has very little room to maneuver in future. The Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) should realize that this major shortfall in funding will cause the quality of health to suffer in the Brandon area. Further, it means that there may be medical beds that are cut and a loss of speech therapy services, for example.

The cuts to the Brandon General Hospital have totalled $7 million since 1990-91, and there does not seem to be any end in sight. At the present time the funding reduction thus far has meant a loss of 120 full-time positions and 40 beds have been eliminated. One of the biggest concerns is that the nursing staff is particularly overworked and the staff morale is generally down. Thank you.

Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): I would like to tell all honourable members about an event that took place last Friday. On October 11, I had the pleasure of participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the opening of phase 2 of the Stony Mountain School outdoor ecological classroom and green space. The students, the staff and the Stony Mountain Home and School Association this summer undertook a project to develop an outdoor ecological site on the south side of Stony Mountain School.

The Environmental Youth Corps sponsored by the provincial Department of Environment issued a grant to the school last year totalling $5,000 for this project. The most impressive part of this project was the fact that, under the guidance of a qualified landscaper, many of the students participated in the construction of the ecological site. Last October, phase 1 of the project was completed where the old gravel walk was removed, trees and shrubs were planted to provide a natural habitat for birds and the front of the school was resoiled.

Only a year later the students were able to develop a playground area and to add some more trees, shrubs, picnic tables and benches at the back of the school. A parklike atmosphere has been created for the students and families of the Stony Mountain community using the structures and neighbouring recreation area. The playground will now be used for both pleasure and outdoor education classes.

I would like to congratulate all the participants of this project, especially the students of Stony Mountain School for their outstanding work. The students take great pride in their commitment to this undertaking for both the construction and the maintenance of this project and for addressing environmental concerns related to protection, enhancement, rehabilitation, conservation and resource management. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): The Winnipeg Presbytery of the United Church wrote in their brief on Bill 36: "As a covenant community, the people of Israel were called to live with justice. Justice means sharing resources with all members of the community, . . . . The needs of the poor must have priority over the wants of the wealthy; the freedom of the dominated have priority over the liberty of the powerful; the participation of the marginalised must take priority over the preservation of an order that excludes them."

Another church group, St. Matthew-Maryland, wrote that effective May 1, 1996, city social assistance rates, after rent, were reduced to $175. The job search requirements are a quarter of an individual's income for the month. A bus pass alone is a quarter of that $175. Since the May cuts, a phone has become a luxury.

The Oblate Order, Justice and Peace, a Catholic order, wrote: In the midst of the controversy that surrounds many changes made to our system of social services, we remember a thought-provoking parable given to us by Jesus. It is about a rich man who, living the good life, ignored the needs of the poor man, Lazarus. Today we are here to speak for many Lazaruses in our province.

Madam Speaker, Marlene Vieno, a real person, a person whose face and life and story spoke to the hearts of the NDP members on the committee, if not to the others, wrote: I want you to know that I have had to survive an impoverished lifestyle since birth. I have been through every mill of pain, abuse, traumatization you can think of, but I am a survivor. What you do not comprehend, simply because you have not had the experience, is how depressing and traumatically we are affected as those who are poor.

She goes on to challenge you to try surviving on an income of $38 a week to cover food, laundry and household items.

Madam Speaker, I saw the face of Raymond Blue, a man with no teeth, waiting eight months on welfare simply to get his dental needs met. I saw the faces of aboriginal people who are full-time, low-income workers who have said that they cannot survive on the pittance that they are given over and above their allowance.

The real people of this province were there. I wish the government of this province would have listened to them. Thank you.

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Mr. Gary Kowalski (The Maples): I rise to make a statement in regard to the announcement in Ottawa about the state of the finances of the country and Paul Martin's reduction of the federal deficit. Now, although Mr. Martin deserves credit--you know, in spite of us constantly being reminded in the House that we are in the same party, I would remind members also that I do not sit in the federal caucus.

I do want to congratulate the federal Minister of Finance for reducing the deficit; however, he cannot take full credit for it. I think there are many Canadians who have contributed to the effort, amongst them the 9.2 percent of the workforce who are unemployed. They have contributed to the lowering of the deficit. In addition, there has been a certain amount of offloading to the province who, in turn, offloaded to either user fees or to school boards or city councils and who, in turn, offloaded to user fees. In the end, it is always the taxpayer.

So the people who deserve the credit for the reduction in the federal deficit are the taxpayers of Canada and the unemployed of Canada. We congratulate Paul Martin for the reduction of the federal deficit, but we call upon him to put a higher priority into lowering the unemployment rate in Canada, and I am sure all members of this House support that. Thank you very much.

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): I move, seconded by the member for Broadway (Mr. Santos), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments be amended as follows: Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak) for Burrows (Mr. Martindale); Swan River (Ms. Wowchuk) for Osborne (Ms. McGifford); Thompson (Mr. Ashton) for Crescentwood (Mr. Sale) for Tuesday, October 15, 1996, for 7 p.m.

Motion agreed to.

Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine), that the committee change of the member for Steinbach (Mr. Driedger) for the member for Emerson (Mr. Penner)--this was for Law Amendments for Friday, October 11, at 9 a.m.--be rescinded.

I move, seconded by the member for Morris (Mr. Pitura), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments for Friday, October 11, at 9 a.m. be amended as follows: the member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau) for the member for Arthur-Virden (Mr. Downey).

I move, seconded by the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Public Utilities and Natural Resources for Friday, October 11, 1996, the 10 a.m. sitting, be amended as follows: the member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau) for the member for Emerson (Mr. Penner); the member for Niakwa (Mr. Reimer) for the member for Riel (Mr. Newman).

I move, seconded by the member for River Heights (Mr. Radcliffe), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments--this is for the Tuesday evening, 7 p.m. sitting, October 15--be amended as follows: the member for Brandon West (Mr. McCrae) for the member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau); the member for Morris (Mr. Pitura) for the member for River East (Mrs. Mitchelson); the member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine) for the member for St. Vital (Mrs. Render) and the member for Emerson (Mr. Penner) for the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed).

Motions agreed to.