Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, I was really pleased to be present at a function in St. Malo yesterday where there were some 30-odd business people honoured for having started new entrepreneurial businesses in our area in the southeast part of Manitoba.

I was surprised, pleasantly surprised, to read an article this morning called, Manitoba's economy is alive and well, by Martin Cash of the Winnipeg Free Press, and it coincides with what I heard last night from our local entrepreneurs, that the unemployment rate is down, manufacturing shipments of retail sales on mining, agricultural exports and business investments were very strong.

Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing great difficulty hearing the honourable member for Emerson, and I wonder if I might ask for the co-operation of all honourable members who are holding private meetings to do so quietly or in the loge.

Mr. Penner: Mr. Cash, in his column in the Free Press, says that Manitoba is not just doing well, it is becoming an all-star economic performer amongst all the provinces--all-star.

We have heard a lot from the honourable members opposite, especially from the member for Brandon East (Mr. Leonard Evans), about out-migration of Manitobans. Well, the article says that there have only been 33 out-migrations in the first six months of 1996. That compares to 10,000 people migrating out of the province of Manitoba in 1988 when the NDP last held office in this government. I think this speaks very loudly and very clearly about the economic performance based on the economic strategy that this government has set for this province of Manitoba, and we have heard criticism after criticism from members opposite about our record. I think this speaks clearly about the intention of Manitoba's economy and the actions that we as a government have taken in regard to taxation, in regard to deficit reduction and spending.

So I applaud those young entrepreneurs that have taken it upon themselves to create new businesses and jobs for Manitoba based on our economic strategy.

Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River): Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to put on the record and plead with the government to address the concerns facing Manitoba cattle producers, particularly those whose livelihood is being threatened.

Cattle producers are holding their annual meetings at this time of the year. A couple of nights ago the cattle producers in my area had their meeting, and their main concern is the shortage of feed that they are facing. We have raised this issue with the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) and the minister of disaster assistance but have had no response.

Cattle producers who depend on native hay along Lake Manitoba, Lake Dauphin, Lake Winnipegosis are experiencing great difficulty in securing their hay supplies for the winter. Both private and leased land is flooded and is not receding due to the large amounts of water that have come into the area from other lakes and from the Portage Diversion.

With cattle prices half of what they were in 1994 and in light of high costs of cattle operations, many producers are finding it extremely difficult financially to purchase badly needed feed. Coupled with the fact that there is no insurance available for native hay, farmers are now looking for assistance from the Manitoba Disaster Assistance Board.

I urge this government to look at a short-term solution to the problem and that is to help farmers and respond immediately to the problem put forward by farmers to get a hay supply so that they do not have to sell their herd off because they cannot get enough hay. The government also has a responsibility to look for a long-term solution to this problem. A plan has been put forward in previous years, and that is to upgrade the Dauphin River outlet at Fairford Dam.

I would urge this government to recognize the importance of the cattle industry to this province and recognize that they are facing hardship because of decreased prices. But the hardship is much harder because this government will not recognize that, because there is no assistance for them through disaster assistance, there must be a program put in place to help them through this at this time.

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Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): As we all know, this is Small Business Week in Manitoba, a time that we recognize and celebrate the achievements of men and women who drive Manitoba's economy. Today I would particularly like to pay tribute to those people who contribute to small business in the Portage la Prairie region.

In the past 11 months, 46 new small businesses have opened in the Portage area. This growth is partly due to the favourable business climate that this government has been developing over the past eight years.

Some of these small business people were honoured at a luncheon yesterday at the Portage and District Chamber of Commerce. Jacquelyne Henry was a recipient of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Jackie has been a hair stylist in the Portage area since 1986 and this past spring opened her own salon named Head Turnz.

The Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to long-time business people in the community. Ian and Elaine Borland have been servicing the people of Portage since the '70s with their small business, Western Bearing and Auto Parts.

The Company of the Year Award which employs up to 15 people was Sarasue Fashions. Sarah Culbert is the owner and operator of this company that has been in business for nine years.

The Company of the Year Award that employs 16-plus employees is McCain Food Ltd. McCain is currently under a massive expansion that will generate 150 new jobs in the Portage area.

Finally, the Executive of the Year Award was presented to Tom Tenszen of the Portage Daily Graphic. Tom is relatively new to Portage, however has put in countless hours of volunteer committee work for the area.

As an added note, today the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press featured another growing Portage company that just landed a $10-million contract to supply combines to the Ukraine. Western Combine is not only improving the Portage economy with this deal but also is part of a larger effort to improve trade relations between the Ukraine and Canada. On behalf of the honourable member for Portage (Mr. Pallister) and all members here, I would like to congratulate small business in the province of Manitoba.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Today once again I raised questions in this House about the Manitoba Telephone System, and I thought it interesting that the Minister responsible for MTS talked about Saskatchewan, where they have had a very public review of their Crown corporations, with meetings held throughout the province. I want to note for the record, this is the same minister who wrote to many Manitobans back in March saying that that would be the case here in Manitoba. In fact, he said, contrary to some reports, no decisions have been made or will be made about the privatization without public discussion. That was in March.

On April 30, they received the report from the three investment brokers and they made the decision, announced it on May 2 without a single public meeting, and they have not had a single public meeting since they made that announcement. That is one of the contradictions, the many contradictions. The government also said they were not going to sell off MTS. Another contradiction: Yesterday in the House the Premier stated, "What we needed, obviously, from the investment bankers was to know whether or not we could get a fair price for the corporation before we made the decision to go ahead with the privatization."

Madam Speaker, this is the same Premier who in December stated, and I refer members to Hansard, on December 11, that part of the reason for them having the investment brokers brought in in the first place was to get analysis based on that decision, whether to make the decision or not. Which is it? Did the government have the plan to sell it off and they brought the investment brokers in and decided on the price, or were they brought in for the analysis? Either way, at some point in time, the government was not telling the truth to Manitobans, because they were saying various different stories about whether a decision had or had not been made and when it would be made.

The bottom line is that the people of Manitoba deserve a lot better. Right now MTS is spending $400,000 of the people's money trying to go and promote the government's propaganda campaign. Why does the government not do the right thing, stop the privatization of MTS and get the people involved by doing the only right thing, and that is having a vote of the people on the future of the Manitoba Telephone System?

Mr. Gary Kowalski (The Maples): I would just like to put on the record some concerns and comments in regard to recent events in regard to the cynicism of society in general, about people in authority and specifically about police officers.

I remember years ago, when a police officer presented evidence in court, his word was viewed as golden. He was viewed as an officer of the court. A police officer was seen as an unbiased person who gave evidence for the benefit of society, who had no stake in the outcome of the trials and his word was accepted unless there was compelling evidence to the contrary.

We have come now to the point where, unless the police officer is videotaped, his word is not of value. His word itself by some would be perceived not as valued. The word of a police officer is of no more credibility than the people he is arresting. Although, being Liberals, we believe in the rights of individuals, sometimes we have to look at the rights of society in general and whether it is police officers, politicians, priests, anybody who at one time was held at high authority and high respect, society in general is becoming cynical and skeptical about all these people, and I think we are all the losers for it, and it is a concern. Thank you, Madam Speaker.