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Madam Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the public gallery, where we have this afternoon twenty-eight Grades 4 and 5 students from the J.B. Mitchell School under the direction of Mrs. Tina Hellmuth. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Mr. Radcliffe).

On behalf of all honourable members, I welcome you this afternoon.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, first of all, I think all of us want to congratulate the volunteers across Manitoba that have been working tirelessly on behalf of our communities. Certainly I know, as a recipient of much volunteer effort over the weekend, it is really appreciated.

I think this is the worst crisis we have been facing since the northern forest fires of 1989. At that time, the House was not sitting. So we on our side would suggest that the government and ourselves and the Liberals get together to work out a balance between our obligations in this House and our obligations to our communities and constituencies to make sure that we can use--I am sure we can work out the appropriate balance in this Chamber.

Madam Speaker, we were again devastated to see what happened to Grand Forks. I remember listening to the people in Grand Forks about a week ago saying that what happened in Fargo would not happen here in Grand Forks. We are now hearing what happened in Grand Forks would not happen here. The forecasts for the river have gone up one foot in terms of its peak from Thursday to Friday and another potential three feet from Friday to Sunday, less than 48 hours.

I would like to ask the government: Can they advise the people of the province what is the latest flood forecast, and will it be revised at all in the future to deal with this tremendous crisis that we may have in front of us in our Manitoba communities?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I want to, on behalf of the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the government, thank the Leader of the Opposition for his co-operative approach in dealing with this tremendous flood that will have to be dealt with as it approaches the province and the city. I also want to say the Premier and I know four other colleagues at least, the Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Cummings), the Minister of Highways and Transportation (Mr. Findlay), the Minister of Government Services (Mr. Pitura), my colleague from Emerson and maybe others are in fact out on some of the sites, as we speak, to get a first-hand view of what is happening and what has to be done.

I can assure the member as well that we have in place an ongoing reporting system so the public will be reported to on a daily basis. We know that today, for example, when the Premier gets back, if the House so desires to reconvene--I will leave it up to the House leaders to co-operate, to come back into the Assembly to get an update when the Premier gets here. As far as the update of any further projections as to the flood, I am sure that the Minister of Natural Resources at that time would be able to report as well.

I can assure you that the government, many of us having been here through the forest fires, through the flood of 1979--my colleague the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) may have been the only one that was here in 1950, but I say seriously it is that kind of experience that one draws upon to deal with the situation that is out there, and the most important thing is to keep the public informed and to keep the mobility there.

I know, as well, that there are some evacuations taking place today. My colleague the Minister of Health (Mr. Praznik) has the specifics of personal care homes and hospitals out of some of the communities like Emerson and Morris while the roadways are still open, because it is projected that those roadways will be closed, and it would be extremely difficult and not proper to take the kind of action. So the volunteers, as the member has raised, it is a time like this that we get pulled together and do pull together to make sure that life, limb and property to the best of our ability is protected. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, watching, again, a little bit of the television from Grand Forks and the obvious difficulty they were in with dealing with their evacuation of their communities, their most vulnerable, the personal care home, their hospital patients, of course, it was the fire that took place that was even more horrific to deal with in terms of the community.

We know there is now a partial evacuation of Emerson, Rosenort, Brunkild, Lowe Farm, St. Pierre Jolys. Has the government upgraded its contingency plans for evacuations all across both the western and the Red River Valley areas of potential floods, so that we do not have the situation as we have unfortunately seen south of us?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Yes, Madam Speaker, there are plans. As I said, we are proactive in the movement of people, as we speak, to get the people who are most vulnerable out of those facilities. As I say, the Minister of Health has a detailed update. If, again, the members want to assemble when the Premier (Mr. Filmon) gets back to get an update from the Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Cummings) and the Premier, we could do so. I can assure him that we will be moving aggressively to make sure that those who are in situations that have to be moved, that it is done prior to, not after the fact, and will continue to work with that objective in mind and I am sure will be accomplished.

Mr. Doer: Madam Speaker, I wonder if it is possible for all of us to be informed as to what the specific evacuation plans would be, what the contingency plans are. All of us have constituents to represent, friends and relatives to serve. It would be fitting, I think, in light of what we saw in terms of trying to run an evacuation through a television station--looked like to us, watching it over the weekend. It would be, I think, helpful to all members of this Legislature that the contingency plans could be tabled in this Chamber, and all of us could reality-check it from the basis of our own communities, our own relatives. Many of us are working with friends and relatives, and we would all like to be involved in this effort, if you could.

Mr. Downey: Yes, Madam Speaker, those plans would be made available and communicated to the members here. As I said, we are prepared to do it as immediately as possible when the Premier returns and the Minister responsible for Government Services (Mr. Pitura), Natural Resources and all those affected--to put that information. Plus, I recall in 1979, there was a daily update right from the Legislative Building that is in place now to be provided as well, so that the public, everybody is as up to date on the information as is humanly possible.

Mr. Stan Struthers (Dauphin): Madam Speaker, there are very many concerned Manitobans about the flood that is occurring as we speak. One of the concerns and something that is leading to some anxious moments, perhaps, is the communications, and communication is absolutely essential in times like these. As of this morning, PCN lines at Rosenfeld was under water affecting 350 subscribers. The major concern is that emergency calls may not get through to that community.

Can the Deputy Premier request that the public only use phone lines for essential and emergency services during this time?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I can assure the member that we do have professionals in place as it relates to those services that should or should not be used. I know there is also a concern about sightseers and things like that, that it is a matter of making sure that the roadways are cleared for the emergency activities that have to be carried out, the same for communication systems. There are professionals and there will be communications in place to make sure that all of this information as it relates to the activities that have to be carried out, first and foremost, are to protect life and limb of the population of Manitoba, and I thank the member for the question.

Mr. Struthers: Madam Speaker, could the minister indicate perhaps in conjunction with the Rosenfeld situation, what steps are being taken to provide the vital emergency communications reconnect that that community needs now with his provincial government for information that they will need?

Mr. Downey: On details such as that, rather than provide misinformation, as soon as the Minister of Government Services (Mr. Pitura) and responsible for Emergency Measures gets back, I will make sure that information is provided, so that he has it directly from the department and can be provided later on today. I think that, even though this is Question Period, there may be an opportunity later on, as I have indicated, that can give a complete update on those kinds of things so it is helpful for the general public. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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Mr. Struthers: In a general way, what kind of contingency plans does the government have to keep people in all of these communities informed as to what the plans are for evacuation? Maybe the minister can indicate how these communities will be informed of all the details that they need in order not to risk life, limb and property.

Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, under The Emergency Measures Act of the province of Manitoba, there is an authority which is transferred to the municipal directors, leaders and people who are directly responsible for the governing of their communities. There is a process in place. They are well organized. The Department of Government Services and Emergency Measures have a communication link with identified people. As I said at the outset, unfortunately we have had these situations before. I know that they were handled responsibly. We want to make sure that the system that worked again is in place. We had Command Headquarters. There is available on a daily basis the information, and this is where the public media play an extremely important role as well, that that is also a part of making sure the public are informed. It is making sure that they have an interface with the information from Emergency Measures and Natural Resources. That is in place and will be worked actively.

Mr. Gregory Dewar (Selkirk): Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Deputy Premier.

Residents in Selkirk and residents north of Selkirk are very concerned that forecasts that are issued by the Department of Natural Resources seem to be upgraded on an hourly basis.

My question for the minister is: When is the Red River expected to crest in the Selkirk area, and what is the level of the forecasted peak?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I cannot give the specifics of that question, although what I will assure the member is that in the information process that is available, we will make sure that that kind of information is available to the member as soon as it is available.

I think we have to appreciate what we are evidencing, and that is that we have seen a record snowfall and the water coming at us from North Dakota; we are seeing 40-some centimetres in the later part of the winter that is now melting and going into the system; we are seeing an extremely late spring, and all of that now comes together to the point where we have an extensive runoff coming from the Dakotas. At the same time, we have seen warm weather and an extensive melt here, and if they coincide at the wrong time, I think it would be certainly very difficult for those communities.

Again, I think it is, at this point, because of some of the unknowns, hard to say, although I know the department have an ongoing tally on this, and we will get that information as soon as the Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Cummings) is available. I just want to reiterate, Madam Speaker, there is a series of events taking place, that it is a matter of keeping that communication and that linkage available, and we will do that.

Mr. Dewar: Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister for that answer.

Mr. Gregory Dewar (Selkirk): My next question for the same minister: When will the floodway go into operation, and when and how will residents north of the Lockport spillway be notified?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, again, because we are actually in an hour-by-hour situation as it relates to the ministers and my colleague the member for Emerson (Mr. Penner), who are just virtually on the site and coming back and will be here shortly, the operation of the floodway and that type of information will be communicated, what is available and up to date, to the member later today when my colleague gets back.

Mr. Gregory Dewar (Selkirk): What contingency plans--or are they going to be upgrading the plans to assist affected residents in Selkirk and north of Selkirk?

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Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I do know that throughout many communities--and I have been informed by my colleague the Minister of Health (Mr. Praznik) that there is an office in Selkirk, I believe, to update the local communities and the municipalities. Again, as we know, time and time again, these elected people and the people throughout the communities, whether they are service clubs or whoever, come together at a time like this and they have, as I said, unfortunately in the past gone through it. There is a lot of experience out there. It is a matter of making sure that we are all working in a co-ordinated way, and that is that we will assure the member we get him the information as to who specifically the contacts are.

Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): All weekend, again this spring in south Transcona, the residents have been battling flood waters, but this is the worst year ever. The people there are exhausted, they are frustrated, and they want to have some hope that this problem will be resolved once and for all and that the retention pond which was to be cost-shared between the provincial and city governments is not uncertain, that it is indeed going to be approved.

I understand the Minister of Urban Affairs has been having some meetings, as well as perhaps other cabinet ministers, with city officials. I am wanting to ask the Minister of Urban Affairs if, as he indicated on April 8, the UCPA fund in his department would approve the $1.57 million if the city requested it, if this is still the province's position, and if he has any more information of when they can anticipate the new resolution from the city and if it will be on the City Council's agenda on April 30.

Hon. Jack Reimer (Minister of Urban Affairs): I appreciate the question from the member because it is of a concern naturally with this terrible situation that we are having with flooding not only in the Red River but also, as pointed out by the member, in south Transcona. I have indicated to the City of Winnipeg that under the UCPA III funding allocation, we have designated funds that are specifically earmarked towards various categories of capital funding, and the south Transcona funding for the pond, as it is called, is available from that. I have not heard back from the city as to their request to utilize this type of funding towards that. I will be meeting with the mayor in the next few days, and I will specifically bring up that topic again to her.

Ms. Cerilli: The minister is then suggesting that it is now the city's responsibility to approve a resolution to request the money from the Urban Capital Projects fund. If that is the case, does he expect that will happen within the next period of time, so that the construction will be approved in time to occur this summer?

Mr. Reimer: In my correspondence to the mayor, I have indicated to her that the funding is available through that allocation. City Hall's resolution that came forward to me specifically requested a 50-50 cost-shared funding by the province but not from that particular funding. They were wanting the funding to come from a different source. We are of the opinion that the UCPA funding is allocated and specifically earmarked for these types of endeavours, and this is where the funding should come out of. We are willing to participate on a 50-50 cost-shared basis on this. It is just a matter of the city sending a different resolution back to this department so that we can respond in a favourable manner.

Ms. Cerilli: Is the minister suggesting that the city passed a motion requiring the province to use new money for this project that they knew the province would not approve?

Mr. Reimer: Madam Speaker, that is speculative in nature, and I really could not say what was on the minds of the City Council when they were passing that resolution other than the fact that we have indicated that here in Manitoba, in fact, here in Canada, this allocation of funds specifically for a large municipality like Winnipeg, which is the third allocation of over $90 million on five-year increments for capital improvements, is unique. It is totally within the realm of the city to give us recommendations as to how they would like to allocate these funds. We are encouraging them to look at this as the avenue of recourse for solving the problems in south Transcona.

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Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Madam Speaker, my question is to the Deputy Premier.

Over the weekend, like many Manitobans, we watched in horror as Fargo was ravaged by the flooding Red River. I think we all recognize Manitoba is facing the same situation and danger at this time. I am pleased to thank the government for what appears to be strong action in preparation for this flood. I would also like to add a word of thanks to former Premier Duff Roblin whose vision of a floodway has been--[applause] But today it looks like a good investment.

While Winnipeg has a floodway, individual farmers are often left to defend themselves. Compensation for rural flood damages in the past year has created problems between the federal and provincial governments. Can the minister indicate if the problem in this area has been solved?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I think it is important to acknowledge--and also goes back to the question that was asked about the situation in Transcona. Governments, after having gone through the 1950 flood--and again, certainly a credit to Duff Roblin and his government and the vision they had to put the floodway in place. Many colleagues sitting in this room were involved in the ring dike and the building program of raising--my colleague the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) very much a part of it--of building sites following the 1979 flood which again helped considerably to overcome the problems of flood levels to that height. Again Mother Nature is challenging us with the levels that are being presented to us, and I am sure that there again will be decisions that will have to be made by government.

The whole question of compensation, Madam Speaker, is one which has been ongoing. I know in the Assiniboine River Valley, the Souris River Valley, the Red River Valley, traditionally we have had in place under crop insurance a seeded, nonseeded acreage program which basically was in place to cover that. By the way, I should again acknowledge Premier Duff Roblin when he was in. It was under his leadership that the Manitoba Crop Insurance program came into place. So I do believe that is the program that is in place. However, we would hope, and I say this genuinely, the federal government would be a little more co-operative than they were in trying to sort out the differences in the 1995 flood when it came to the compensation for municipalities in 1995 on the Assiniboine River system.

Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Madam Speaker, with the potential for serious flooding, can the Minister of Agriculture tell this House if Manitoba is willing to increase coverage under the Crop Insurance program, as per the letter sent to the minister by his federal counterpart that would see the Government of Canada contribute $1.38 million and the province, $920,000?

Hon. Harry Enns (Minister of Agriculture): Madam Speaker, it would, in the first instance, have been a courtesy if the Minister of Agriculture of the province of Manitoba, that co-partners this program of support to the Manitoba farmers, would have been informed of this decision prior to a public press release that emanated from Minister Goodale.

There are serious complications involved in a decision of this kind, financial ones for the province, which we have not had an opportunity to address, and questions of equity in terms of how other farmers were treated in '95 and '96 who faced a similar situation on the upper reaches of the Assiniboine River. All of those issues, I have to take into account and will. On the other hand, let me also remind honourable members of the House that it is of constant amazement to all of us, the resilience of the Red River farmers who last year under similar circumstances, with much of the Red River Valley under water, managed to get their crop into the ground within the current guidelines of the programs and managed to take off a bountiful harvest. So it is premature at this point to consider any other moves.

Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): To the Minister of Agriculture: Has the minister considered increasing coverage for livestock destroyed by the flood?

Hon. Harry Enns (Minister of Agriculture): Madam Speaker, I would not want to presume on the jurisdiction of my colleague the Minister of Government Services (Mr. Pitura) who administers the Manitoba Disaster Assistance Board's activity, but it is my experience, having had the privilege of having been minister of that portfolio at one stage of my career, that such material losses, damages to buildings, damages to stored hay or to grain, otherwise uninsured items would be favourably looked at by that group that will have, regrettably, a great deal of work to do once the waters subside.

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Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Madam Speaker, my question is to the Deputy Premier and has to do with the ManGlobe project.

The steering committee meeting of July 14, 1995, details the partners of ManGlobe as MTS, a publicly owned company, with a hundred thousand dollars in cash and $385,000 in kind, the provincial government at a half-million dollars, the federal government at $200,000 and Canada Post at a hundred thousand dollars in kind. That is a total of $1.285 million in public funds, at a minimum, in this project. At that time, we were looking at something just shy of a million dollars in private funds, and all but a hundred thousand dollars of that money was in-kind services. Only a hundred thousand dollars was cash. Clearly, this is a heavily subsidized company with very little results and a very highly paid management.

I would like to ask the minister: What have the taxpayers got to show for this public expenditure of $1.285 million?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I think it is time to correct the record for the member for Elmwood. First of all, the communications agreement that was put in place between the province and the federal government was not purely a business agreement but a research and development agreement to develop new communication technology, bring new business opportunities to the province of Manitoba. That was the overall objective of the program. It is an R & D, a research and development project, of which we were a partner with the bank, with Canada Post and with the Manitoba Telephone System.

The member asked a question last week dealing with several issues. First of all, he likes to play with numbers and do what is less than responsible. He made reference to the fact that there were to be 175 jobs. I do not know what research and development project would develop 175 jobs. I believe the more accurate figure would be between 10 and 20 jobs which they were targeting, of which they currently have 10. So it is a research and development project which will in the long term bring new jobs and opportunities to this province, not a direct business loss as would be invested in by Manitoba Telephone System in Saudi Arabia where $29 million was frittered away by he and his government.

Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Madam Speaker, I have a supplementary to the minister, and that is that the minister also wrongly claimed that the Royal Bank was a partner, last week, when both the bank and MTS had bailed out some time ago. I would like him to confirm for the public record that this is in fact true, and I would ask him to release copies of all relevant ManGlobe contracts. I would like to tell him what was actually developed under this R & D program.

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I understand that the Manitoba Telephone System's board of directors resigned his position, but I can also tell him that there is a new additional person with private sector capital that has come to the table with some additional money and some additional skills. I also understand that the Royal Bank are still involved with the project, that they have not withdrawn their money from it.

Again, the member is trying to malign a young woman who was nominated by the entrepreneur businesswomen of Manitoba last year, nominated as the businesswoman of the year. The Financial Post identified her and her company as one of the leading 25 companies in the country that were going to show new ways in the telecommunications business.

Madam Speaker, there are things that may have been able to have been done differently. It is involved with management, but as far as the province is concerned, we have invested in research and development that I believe will in fact help develop the technology that is needed in the telecommunications system.

Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Well, I think the minister will have to admit that this project so far has been a colossal failure, and I am waiting for him to say that.

I would like to ask the minister a final supplementary and that is: Would the minister detail the role that Mr. Michael Bessey played in the development of this project?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I do not accept the premise that this has been a failure. Research and development is the responsibility of everyone. We have invested in research and development for the province of Manitoba. It is still in operation. There is new private capital coming to the table.

I do not know why the New Democratic Party would want to clap when a company is having to make some changes in management. I will take as notice what involvement Mike Bessey had, but I do not believe he had any as it related to the project. I will check and get confirmation of that.

Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): Madam Speaker, last week I asked the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism who got the major contract to market Manitoba. The minister, who actually took the contract to Treasury Board, professed not to have the details. How can the minister, who took the contract to Treasury Board, whose ministry it is, avoid the appearance, at least, of misleading the House when he clearly knew the answer to my question but professed not to know?

Hon. James Downey (Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): Madam Speaker, I did not do anything to mislead this House. When one does not have the complete information, which is important to the House, it is quite within the rules to take the question as notice. That is what I did. My colleague has provided the additional information, and if the member has a legitimate question, I am prepared to deal with it.

Mr. Sale: The Finance minister did not even bother to tell the House. He told the press outside the House.

Madam Speaker: The honourable member, to pose his question now.

Mr. Sale: Will the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism now table the contract with Brown and Biggar?

Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, again, as has been referred to, there were proposals put forward by some 14 companies. There were three short-listed, and two were the successful proposal proponents. The amount was for $140,000, which was less than what had previously been spent on this project. I do not know what more there is to provide to the House, other than the amount and who got it.

I do not know what the New Democratic Party has against women being in business. I do not know what they have against women being in business. This is at least two that they are maligning as it relates to being in business, so I will let them defend their own policies.

Mr. Sale: Madam Speaker, it is monkey business we have problems with.

Will the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson) tell the House whether or not the bid from Biggar and Brown was in fact the low bid and, if so, by how much?

Mr. Downey: As I said at the outset, there were proposals put forward of which the evaluation that was done on those proposals pointed out that the combination of Biggar ideas and the Brown combination was the best proposal for the job that we had to do.

Again, I forgot there was another individual in the female category. It was Bev McMaster with We Care daycare that they just could not continually pound and drummed them out of the province. I think they are going to have to revisit their policies as it relates to women in business.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Health.

People in Brandon have brought to my attention that the government is penalizing women who are afflicted with breast cancer and require a mastectomy resulting in readjustments which can be devastating for many women. This problem can be helped with a proper breast prosthesis, but MHSC coverage is totally inadequate, forcing many women who cannot afford to pay to use substitute prostheses which are homemade and inferior. The result can be increased risk of developing shoulder drop, spinal curvature, balance problems and neck and back problems.

My question to the minister is: Would he look into this and ensure that adequate financial assistance for prostheses is provided to such women?

Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, yes, certainly. In fact, we are in the process of doing that now.

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Mr. Leonard Evans: I thank the minister for that answer.

A supplementary, Madam Speaker: Will the minister acknowledge that prosthesis replacements are not a matter of cosmetics but that the issue is the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of the women who are forced to deal with the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer?

Mr. Praznik: Yes, Madam Speaker, absolutely. I concur fully with the member on that particular statement.

Mr. Leonard Evans: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the minister's response.

My final supplementary to round this out: Will the minister acknowledge that breast reconstruction following mastectomy is a fully insured service and far more expensive than a prosthesis and that therefore it should make eminent sense to the government to provide full coverage as is done with other replacements such as hip replacements and lens implants?

Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, yes, I certainly acknowledge that different treatment for the result of the surgery. Obviously, as the member will appreciate from his days around the executive table of Executive Council, we have a number of things in Health that develop over time in which we pay for procedures or for devices. We do not have an endless budget. It is a matter, though, of working around priorities to look at re-evaluating how we currently do it. I appreciate that the cost of these particular prosthetic devices have risen faster than the support that we provide, and it is time to look at it.

I know the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed), who works with me on many of these issues, has met with that group, and it is an area that I will be considering as time permits in the very near future.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, I have a further question to the Acting Premier on the flood situation and the pending flood situation and past flood situations. Last Friday when I talked about a potential federal pre-election announcement from the federal government, the Acting Premier at that time, the Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Cummings), was fairly optimistic that a positive announcement would be made. The Acting Premier today sounds skeptical about whether announcements will be made or was rather negative about an announcement being made.

I would like to ask: In light of the fact that it only makes sense for the federal government to treat Manitoba the same way as they treated Quebec in the Saguenay floods where 90 percent funding was released to the province of Quebec, notwithstanding whether it was a municipal service or another service, will Manitoba municipal workers and Manitoba municipal services and Manitoba municipal equipment be treated in the past and in the present and in the future the same way as we have a disaster relief for other provinces like Quebec?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for that question. It is a matter of fairness, as has been pointed out by my colleague the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns). It is absolutely true that there were unfair policies carried out in the province of Manitoba where in 1995 the municipalities were denied the claims that they put forward as they related to the use of their own equipment, a practice that for many years had been carried out. We will expect no less treatment than what has taken place in the rest of Canada as it relates to the support for the people of Manitoba and our communities. I can assure him that the Premier (Mr. Filmon) will be and is certainly a strong supporter of making sure that we get that fair and equity play and has been strongly supportive of trying to rectify the past that was presented to us by the federal government.

Mr. Doer: All of us feel this announcement is long, long overdue, and we will await hopefully a final announcement on this outstanding matter.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): We understand some military resources have been called on Friday, but not all the military resources available to Manitoba have been called upon. It makes again a lot more sense to us to have the military resources available to Manitobans to prevent flooding, to prevent disaster rather than after the fact to help us in an evacuation process.

Can the government advise us what is the status? I understand only 100 military personnel were out. To date, what is the status of the military situation, and does it not make sense to use as many resources as possible to prevent flooding rather than after the fact dealing with an evacuation scenario?

Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Prior to answering the question, I can inform the House that I understand that there is a briefing at four o'clock today in Room 68 with Larry Whitney, who is the manager of Water Planning and Development, and Harold Clayton, executive director of Manitoba Emergency Management Organization. If there are other arrangements made for further information from the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the House leaders, I will leave that as part of it.

Again, that is correct. I believe there are 100 military personnel that have been deployed to deal with the situation and that there are something like 600 at this particular time as backup. Again, it is a matter of balance. I know that, particularly when you are facing this situation as the problem is developing, you do not want to burn out all your resources at the initial stage; you want to act appropriately.

The comments the member makes are certainly worthy of consideration. It is a matter of those people who have experience and are professional in dealing with those situations that will be called upon to deploy them as they are needed. Hopefully, it works out that we do not get rain and we do not get a lot of unknowns that could cause a considerable amount more problems to the situation.

I thank the member again for the question, and I am able to put that other information on the record.

Madam Speaker: The time for Oral Questions has expired.