Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): What is entrepreneurship and how does it work? Well, it begins with a kernel of an idea. The idea grows into a plan and the plan blossoms into a business. This morning, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the grand opening of one young couple's idea. This idea is the newest supermarket in Morden, known as Price Chopper. Lee and Cindy Kowalski believed in themselves. They believed that they wanted to take ownership of their future. With the opening of only the second Price Chopper in all of Manitoba, the Kowalskis have proven that they are part of a new breed of rural Manitobans, Manitobans who recognize that with risk comes reward, that within each challenge lies an opportunity, Manitobans who want to remain and invest in their local communities.
Lee began as the meat manager at the former IGA. He soon moved on to becoming a store manager, and Agora Food, the parent company, offered the Kowalskis a franchise opportunity. After extensive renovations, Price Chopper and its approximately 40 employees threw open their doors.
On behalf of all honourable members, I would like to extend my congratulations to Lee and Cindy and wish them every success in the years ahead. Thank you.
Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): I rise in the House today to pay tribute to the flowering artistic and cultural spirit in northern Manitoba, and more particularly, the Flin Flon region. The challenging economic times have not dampened the creativity of northerners. My wife and I were privileged indeed to experience one of the three performances presented by the Flin Flon Community Choir entitled Flin Flon Remembers.
A packed audience in the R.H. Channing Community Hall was treated to a splendid two-hour extravaganza of music, drama, colour and light. Some 135 choir members, including the Coppertones, were directly involved, and behind the scenes there were many organizers and support workers. The first half of the performance was called the best of the glee club and featured selections from favourite musicals from the past, including Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Music Man, and Annie Get Your Gun.
The second half was named Memories, The Psychedelic Sixties, ending with the finale, Hey Jude and Bohemian Rhapsody. I can only speculate at the endless amount of practice and effort that went into the flawless performances. One could go on and on: inspired directing, professional choreography, dazzling costumes, superb set design, great lighting. The magic worked. The audience was spellbound. [interjection]
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Jennissen: Yes, the people expect this calibre of entertainment in huge cities, New York--
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing great difficulty hearing the honourable member for Flin Flon.
Mr. Jennissen: --Paris, London, Toronto, even Winnipeg, but this was Flin Flon, a very small city in remote northern Manitoba. The performers were volunteers, ordinary people with extraordinary talent. These were our friends and neighbours, and I want to say publicly in this Chamber how very proud I am of those people, how proud I am of northern Manitoba's artistic and cultural community.
A huge thank you to all who made this event the spectacular success it was, and I would like to end by saying, as Ed Sullivan might have said, it was a great show.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr. David Faurschou (Portage la Prairie): Madam Speaker, this past weekend I had the opportunity to take part in the 1998 highway cleanup campaign along with members of the 4-H clubs out of Portage la Prairie. I would like to compliment the Minister of Highways and Transportation (Mr. Findlay) for his continued support of this most worthwhile endeavour. I understand that the member for Steinbach (Mr. Driedger) initiated this program when he was Minister of Highways and Transportation. I would like to compliment him as well.
This year, it is anticipated that more than 3,000 volunteers will be working on this program to help keep Manitoba beautiful. This annual campaign, which began last weekend and concludes the final weekend in May, will raise funds to assist a variety of community projects in rural Manitoba. In fact, last year, 144 of Manitoba's 4-H clubs raised more than $28,000 for their programs in their local community.
I would like to encourage all Manitobans during this weekend and the next to be mindful of these young people who are working so hard to keep our highways clean and to avoid the collected litter on the highways until it can be picked up by the Highways and Transportation personnel. Keeping our province's roadways litter-free and taking pride in our environment is something all of us can and should participate in.
Madam Speaker, I would like to say a big thank you to the 4-H clubs of Manitoba for their work in keeping our roadways attractive and litter-free.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): Madam Speaker, the revelation that the Minister of Justice (Mr. Toews) interfered with the appointment of judges is an extremely serious matter. The Premier (Mr. Filmon) can continue to defend the minister if he wants to, but he is fooling himself if he expects that anyone believes him or his minister. It is quite clear that the Minister of Justice attempted to force a judicial nominating committee to recommend the appointment of a member of the Conservative Party, a person who once ran for nomination for political office, Mr. Glen Joyal. This individual may be a competent lawyer but, for whatever reason, was not chosen by the nominating committee to be on the short list. Only two judicial vacancies existed at the time, but the Minister of Justice is now pretending that there were three. This is despite the fact that the publicly advertised job bulletin did not state a bilingual candidate was required but did state that there were two vacancies to be filled, not three or four as claimed by the Minister of Justice.
It should be noted, in 1993, the judicial job bulletin stated a bilingual candidate was preferred. Today the situation is one where the Attorney General of Manitoba, the chief law enforcement officer for our province, broke the law, their own law which they brought in, I believe, in 1989. The minister politically interfered in the process and is now attempting to cover up what he has done. It is deeply disturbing that this Premier and his government are prepared to accept such behaviour by cabinet ministers.
Over the past few years, this Premier has refused to step forward and act when ministers have acted improperly. Whether it was patronage hirings by the member for Roblin-Russell (Mr. Derkach), the gross incompetence by the member for Fort Garry (Mrs. Vodrey), or the dereliction of duty to the conflict of interest by the member for Kirkfield Park (Mr. Stefanson), no minister has ever been removed or asked to step down by this Premier. With such low standards, it is not surprising that the Attorney General feels he can get away with breaking the law. This same minister has a history of breaking the law when, as Minister of Labour, he told a female casino worker that the strike would last an extra day for every day that the people picketed in front of his home. The minister denies this, but refuses to this day to take a lie detector test. The worker states that she would be willing to if the minister was also tested. If the Minister of Justice, the Attorney General (Mr. Toews) for Manitoba, does not respect the law, how can we expect other Manitobans to respect the law?
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Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, we are witnessing the latest chapter in the decline of the health care system in the city of Brandon under this government. The government has to take responsibility for the current medical crisis in Brandon. It goes beyond the shortage of pediatricians. We have a situation of low morale among doctors--there is a great deal of anger and frustration there--and among medical practitioners. We find that many of them are preparing to leave the city. They are of low morale because of government policies of cuts to the health care system.
The Brandon General Hospital has been cut by $6 million in the past few years. Nurses have been laid off; the hospital is understaffed. The medical equipment is inadequate; it is aging. The hospital building is deteriorating. The fee schedule, as well as those for doctors throughout the province, is about the lowest in Canada. Generally, there is an underfunding of the health care system, and we see a great loss of specialists in the city of Brandon--ophthalmologists, dermatologists, ear, nose and throat specialists and others.
As I stated, Madam Speaker, doctors are leaving; six are leaving this summer, two are retiring, as well, and one of the two existing pediatricians is leaving. Unfortunately, existing practices are being closed to new patients. They are not receiving new patients.
So I believe it is time for the Minister of Health (Mr. Praznik) to take time out to understand the seriousness of the situation, and I would request of him, along with the Minister of Labour (Mr. Gilleshammer), to set up a mediation process to resolve this situation as soon as possible.