Money for camera surveillance in downtown Winnipeg and more support for policing were among other promises in Stefansson’s second speech as premier, read Tuesday afternoon in the Manitoba legislature by the new lieutenant governor. Anita Neville. The speech sought to chart a renewed course for a Progressive Conservative government that must turn its fortunes around to win the upcoming 2023 election. Other provinces have “proved that a mixed public-private delivery system works” in health care, and Manitoba has lagged behind, the speech said. “If you look at other provinces … they have a significant private sector component that they contract with within their provinces. We’ve been left behind because there’s been an ideological approach that’s been taken for decades here in our province. We’re overcoming that,” Stefanson said. to reporters at an embargoed briefing before the throne speech was read. Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew is flanked by Union Station MLA Uzoma Asagwara, left, and St. James MLA Adrien Sala on the right. Kinew says the NDP is against moves to privatize the health care system. (Travis Golby/CBC) Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew called the move toward privatization “a mistake.” “It’s going to create a situation in Manitoba where the care you get is not determined by your needs, but by your bank account,” he said after question period on Tuesday. “For the PCs to be moving in the wrong direction in the midst of a health care crisis caused, at least in part, by the cuts they’ve made is not only wrong, but a very cynical conservative ploy to try to undermine public health care and try to propose privatization as the only solution”. The head of Doctors Manitoba says she will withhold her opinion on the plan until its details are clear. “We already have some private facilities in the city, and many of us — for example, myself as a primary care physician — work in a private clinic within the public system, so there’s a lot of mixing that’s already happened over the years.” Candace Bradshaw said. “I think we need to hear exactly what that entails, because that’s news to us right now.”
Surgeries closer to home
The premier said Manitoba has been forced to send some people for surgeries and diagnostic tests out of province as the government works to reduce the huge backlog in those procedures. Manitoba should have more of these providers in the province, Stefanson said. He also said in his throne speech that new measures will financially stabilize Manitoba Hydro, which is heavily in debt, while keeping rates affordable. However, the speech did not provide details, only promising announcements “in the coming weeks.” The opposition New Democrats have promised to freeze rates if elected, but have not said how they will ensure the Public Utilities Board, the independent regulator, approves it. Other measures in the throne speech include developing 1,000 more addiction treatment spaces, a register of teachers so the public can track teacher misconduct and ending a 2016 freeze on operating subsidies for childcare centres. The speech also includes a promise to try to make sure post-secondary institutions meet job needs, but no mention of a controversial plan to link funding to certain performance measures. Stefansson told reporters that the government would take a “step back” from this idea, stating that institutions have been through several challenges, such as the pandemic. “I’m always in favor of performance measures, but I think … as we’ve gone through COVID, there have been some challenges.” The Health Sciences Center is a “good example” of a hospital in need of repair, says the Manitoba government, which is promising a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year investment in hospital infrastructure. (Trevor Brine/CBC) The president of Manitoba’s Canadian Federation of Students says she’s glad to hear the province is backing down a bit from that position. “Students will be relieved,” said Marie Paul Echusou. “That’s not what Manitoba needs, that’s not what Manitoba education needs.” Stefansson said the government may consider incentives to lure students into certain programs. The government made the issue of crime a top priority in its speech to the throne, after making a series of financial commitments on the issue in recent weeks. Both public safety and homelessness were among the top issues for Winnipeggers entering the recent municipal election. The government will contribute additional funding to help police tackle street crime, gang and organized crime prosecutions, the speech said. It will also seek a “renewed and improved camera network system” to increase surveillance of downtown Winnipeg and boost funding for efforts targeting child exploitation. The province also promised to address the underlying issues of homelessness. A homelessness strategy will be launched in the spring and will include funding for not-for-profit organizations helping the homeless, the government has pledged. Proposed support for downtown safety and a homelessness strategy is good news for newly elected Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham. “There are too many people in the city of Winnipeg right now who are struggling with homelessness. We need to help and make sure these people find housing… [and] the support they also need for their lives,” he said. Stefanson would not say which health care facilities would benefit from the new multibillion-dollar funding announcement, but said the Health Sciences Center is “a good example” of a hospital in need of an upgrade. “We see that parts of it are 100 years old,” he said. Marie Paule Ehoussou, president of the Canadian Federation of Students in Manitoba, says students will be encouraged to hear the province is backing away from its plan to link funding to certain performance measures. (Travis Golby/CBC) The Stefansson government also reaffirmed its commitment to continue reducing property taxes for education. The deduction will increase next year from 37.5 percent to 50 percent, which will save the average homeowner $774 in 2023. The government will help farmers recover from a turbulent year in which they faced droughts and floods through a temporary rent reduction on Crown farmland from 2023-25. There is also a commitment to reopen the business loan program through the Community Economic Development Fund to help businesses in northern Manitoba, modernize waste diversion and recycling processes to divert more materials from landfills and hire more conservation officers .
