PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

Res. 26--Recycling

Mr. David Newman (Riel): I have a resolution to be moved by myself and seconded by the member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed).

WHEREAS the government of Manitoba has demonstrated a solid commitment to the provision of recycling services for Manitobans and the reduction of waste by 50 percent by the year 2000; and

WHEREAS recycling has been proven to have unmistakable positive effects upon the sustainability of our environment; and

WHEREAS Manitobans have a right to clean and healthy communities now and in future years; and

WHEREAS the principle of "distributor responsibility" was recommended as a key element of Manitoba's waste reduction strategy by the Recycling Action Committee; and

WHEREAS the objectives of the Stewardship Program are to maximize the reduction, reuse and recycling of designated products and materials; to hold distributors of products and materials with the potential to become waste in Manitoba responsible for the costs of managing those wastes, and to provide stable, long-term funding commitments to support municipal recycling programs.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba applaud the efforts of the government of Manitoba to ensure the future sustainability of Manitoba's resources; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly urge the government of Manitoba to continue with its existing commitment to the Product Stewardship program.

(Mr. Marcel Laurendeau, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair)

Motion presented.

Mr. Newman: It is with a considerable amount of pleasure that I stand to move this resolution. My background in the world of law included, during the last three years of my career in private practice, an involvement in part as an educator in environmental matters, particularly of the management community, but also of consumers and the general public. Before coming into elected office, I had a very positive impression of the initiatives that had been formulated by this government.

The sustainable development of this strategy of this province is a long-term and, I submit, model approach which is the envy of many other jurisdictions in the world far beyond Canada. Wherever I was in Canada, wherever I was in the world, I always took great pride in the initiatives here and the leadership shown in an area which is fraught with complexity and demands the highest knowledge that human beings can muster, objective information and mature decision making in order to be the sorts of stewards of our environment which we as human beings in this world have a responsibility, I would submit again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is the responsibility that human beings have on this Earth.

Economic development is something which is a Siamese twin to protection of the environment. Neither can be separated from the other. The survival and enhancement of life of all kinds on earth depends on a harmonized approach to both. The concept of sustainable development attempts to achieve precisely that.

This resolution is a component of the sustainable development strategy and one that has advanced again as a model for other jurisdictions in the world, has advanced to a stage where there is implementation, a specific goal and the implementation is moving towards that specific goal at a pace which has considerable merit.

This resolution deals with that aspect of waste minimization. It deals with the goal of sustainable development. Behind that goal in that specific area are a number of principles and guidelines which have been put together in literature which I commend to all members of this Legislature to read and understand.

One of those is towards developing a sustainable development strategy for Manitobans; another is the feedback on that, What You Told Us, principles and guidelines, Towards a Sustainable Development Strategy for Manitobans, and the specific workbook which deals with this issue of this resolution, Solid Waste Minimization and Management, which was just released this July.

The background to these sorts of documents coming into being is a long and deep one involving considerable consultation throughout the province, something that is difficult to achieve in other jurisdictions. We in this province find it challenging but doable, and this has been a good, practical example of how well co-operative efforts can work. When we put the trust and faith in the individual human beings in this province and their groupings, it is amazing the positive results that can come out, which, as I say, are deserving of pride in an international way.

The specific resolution on recycling has a background to it, and I will share that with members of this House. The Recycling Action Committee was established in June '89 to make recommendations to the Minister of Environment on how the province could meet a goal of reducing the amount of solid waste generated in the province by 50 percent by the year 2000. This was a specific goal. It is still there.

The committee's action plan was published May 1990, following an extensive public consultation process. The report identified 56 recommendations, including the concept of distributor responsibility.

The WRAP Act was promulgated August 1990, formerly a signing responsibility for waste reduction to distributors and manufacturers of products with a potential to become waste. The WRAP Strategy Report was released March 1991, outlining the process to be undertaken to establish a recycling and waste reduction infrastructure in Manitoba.

The beverage container and packaging regulation was the first regulation enacted under The WRAP Act in 1992. This regulation set targets for the beverage industry to attain and establish penalties for nonachievement. Penalties for 1995-96 were waived due to beverage sector commitment to the stewardship initiative.

Since 1990, over $5 million has been invested in a 190 recycling and waste management projects throughout the Sustainable Development Innovations Fund. A key focus in developing Manitoba's recycling infrastructure was the promotion of regional recycling networks in which municipalities and community groups can share resources and market recyclable materials co-operatively.

The Used Tire Management Program was initiated in May 1993, providing recycling credits to tire processors manufacturing products from used tires.

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In July '93, the Province of Manitoba entered into negotiations with the Canadian Industry Packaging and Stewardship Initiative, an association of major Canadian manufacturers, brand owners, retailers and beverage companies to establish an industry-lead province-wide program to support municipal recycling efforts.

In April 1994, negotiations were terminated with CIPSI. Outstanding issues included the level of financial liability to the municipal governments, level of accountability control, available funding from industry.

Amendments to The WRAP Act were made in July '94 in order to proceed with the establishment of arm's-length preparations to manage waste reduction plans and administer funds.

The Manitoba Product Stewardship program was launched in June of 1994. The program provides funding support to municipal governments to cover up to 80 percent of the net cost of multimaterial recycling programs and will support market development for recyclable materials in the province.

A multistakeholder implementation committee was established August 1994 to assist the Department of Environment to design and implement the MPSP. A 2-cent WRAP levy was introduced on beverage containers supplied in Manitoba in January 1995. All revenues collected are administered by the multimaterial stewardship board. The multimaterial stewardship interim measures, regulation and the tire stewardship regulation were enacted March 1995, establishing both the multimaterial stewardship board and the tire stewardship board.

The workbook I referred to earlier on solid waste minimization and management was issued for comment July 1995 by the Manitoba Round Table on Environment and Economy. This strategy will be incorporated into the province's sustainable development strategy.

This background shows the effort in an evolving way that has to be utilized, has to be gone through, to move forward. That effort has been undertaken and now we are at a stage where this program is generating not only economic development and economic benefits, but has also involved municipalities to an extent which is very significant because of the incentives that have been offered.

The waste generation in the province has decreased by 20 percent since the introduction of The WRAP Act in 1990. In 1989, each person in Manitoba was producing one tonne of waste. In 1994, this has decreased to .8 tonnes per person.

Community-based efforts have formed the foundation for recycling in Manitoba and will continue to play an important role in future developments. Over 200 organizations and businesses are involved in collecting and recycling materials from the waste stream. Changes are occurring as a result of new investment out of the Manitoba Product Stewardship program. Recycling efforts are shifting from a volunteer-based system to a market-based system providing for improved business opportunities.

Since 1990, over $5 million has been invested in 190 recycling and waste management projects through the Sustainable Development Innovations Fund. This investment has supported the development of Manitoba's recycling infrastructure--I emphasize the word "infrastructure"--while the stewardship initiative was being developed.

The goals of Manitoba's Waste Minimization and Management Strategy released for public discussion in July 1995 are: to promote waste reduction, maximize the reuse of goods and materials and enhance opportunities for recycling throughout the province; to promote reduction in the amount of resources used and generated in the manufacture and distribution of products; to enhance awareness and understanding of the need for waste reduction, the potential for the reuse and recycling of products and by-products and the cost of waste disposal; to promote the development of sustainable recycling and waste management industries.

Manitoba has moved forward in supporting these goals through the implementation of the Manitoba Product Stewardship Program and other stewardship initiatives to establish a sustainable collection and recycling infrastructure in the province. Product stewardship means that industry must take more responsibility for the environmental impact of the packaging or product they sell. This responsibility includes: designing packaging and products using the three R principles, reduce, reuse, recycle; developing partnerships to divert materials from landfills; purchasing recovered materials and using them to make new products and ensuring that packaging and products are handled properly if they need disposal.

In the case of recycling, it was clearly identified that Manitobans felt that the costs of recycling should be covered, not through taxation and public money, but instead incorporated in the prices of the things we buy. The Manitoba Product Stewardship Program was established to provide up to 80 percent funding assistance to municipalities for the operation of recycling programs. This fund, which is operated by a stakeholder board independent of government, uses the levies that are collected from the sale of beverage containers.

There has been a great expansion of municipal recycling efforts throughout the province. The board is responsible for administering the revenues raised by the 2-cent WRAP levy on beverage containers. All revenues raised are dedicated to supporting waste reduction efforts in Manitoba. Since introduction of the beverage container levy in January 1995, over $3 million has been collected. Manitoba municipalities have made tremendous progress implementing recycling systems. This has been achieved without mandatory requirements to establish recycling systems. Participation in the MPSP is voluntary.

In conclusion, the MPSP has provided the necessary incentives to encourage 97 municipalities, including the City of Winnipeg, to initiate or expand recycling efforts. This includes 70 percent of municipalities with a population greater than 5,000. When these systems are fully implemented, comprehensive recycling systems will be available to over 80 percent of Manitoba households. In addition, two First Nations communities have also registered with the program. It is noteworthy that this program is working, and it is having an impact which has resulted in tangible, positive, immeasurable gains in this challenge under the Sustainable Development Initiative.

This resolution, I submit, should be supported by all members of this Legislature because it is for the benefit of us all on the short and the long term.

Thank you for listening.

Mr. Gregory Dewar (Selkirk): Mr. Deputy Speaker, first of all, I want to begin by thanking the member opposite for bringing forward this resolution, sponsoring this resolution. It is very seldom that the government has over the years brought forward any resolutions on the environment, which I think is probably a very sober testimony to this government's concerns regarding the environment. The only ones, in fact, who have brought forward environmental resolutions are from this side of the House, whether it is the Red River cleanup--and I brought that one forward, a private member's resolution, and it was debated here in the House. The government at that time, they had a chance to demonstrate their commitment to the environment in a very tangible way by supporting that resolution, bringing it to a vote.

Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Selkirk might not be aware, but we are dealing with Resolution 26 which was brought forward by the honourable member for Riel (Mr. Newman), not the member's resolution which was brought forward last year. The honourable member for Selkirk, to continue.

Mr. Dewar: He was calling for our support, and I was just demonstrating in the past where the government would not support some of our resolutions. Whether it is the sensitivity which is demonstrated today by the Premier (Mr. Filmon) when it comes to First Nations and the establishment of provincial parks, the lack of leadership of this government concerning waste management--and the member across mentioned the issue of waste management, saying the capital region or the proposed BFI landfill site in Rosser. In fact, this government has shown no leadership so far in the issue of waste management, but getting back to this particular resolution--[interjection]

Well, the member for Inkster (Mr. Lamoureux) is raising some comments about recycling. I would say, well, the Liberals are very good at recycling. They recycle all the policies brought forward by our party. They get their photocopiers running, and they pump out that stuff, recycle all of our ideas. That is basically the whole philosophy for the Liberals behind the issue of recycling.

We feel that the program is long overdue. I would suggest that the only reason the program was announced was the fact that there was a provincial election on the horizon. The government knew that they had no credibility on the issue of the environment, and so, just prior to the election, they rushed this program forward. They needed to green its image before it faced the electorate, so they brought the program forward in January of this past year. They started to collect the 2 cents levy, as it is called, with no board of directors, no mechanism to report in place. They rushed this program through, as I stated earlier, because of the election.

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We on this side of House raised concerns that this government is receiving close to $400,000 per month from the levy. We were concerned that they were going to take this money and put it into another pre-election slush fund, like they did, of course, with the lottery fund. They took that $200-some-odd million, hid it away, and it is only because the Provincial Auditor reported it that Manitobans discovered that, well, they are using it to balance their budget.

There are many Manitobans who were paying for this program for many months. They were actually paying for a program that did not exist. We also raised the fact that this government is using this 2 cent levy as a tax grab. They will realize close to $300,000 per year, as will the federal government, because of this program. This is the administration that has claimed in this House that they do not tax, but here is another example of this government sneaking in a tax on the citizens of the province.

One day the minister says he was offended by this action and the next day, of course, he backtracked on that issue. I have a receipt here from Canada Safeway where an item was purchased and there was the enviro levy of 2 cents on that item, and that item was then taxed. The enviro levy was taxed realizing revenues for the members opposite, close to $300,000 a year from this sneaky little Tory tax. [interjection]

The members opposite asked me to table it. Well, if they want a copy of it, just go to your Canada Safeway and buy a product, and you will have an example right in front you. If you wish you can get this if you want from any Safeway store in the province, a clear example of a tax by the members opposite.

The previous speaker mentioned in his speech the fact that the government decided to waive fines imposed upon soft drink companies here in the province. It has been estimated that that could be up as high a million dollars, a million dollars that this government will not collect from its corporate friends. We hear, in this House, the government stand up day in, day out, say they have no money for emergency wards, they have no money for food allowance for individuals on social assistance, but here is an example for the members opposite to realize some additional revenues by simply forcing the companies that have not met their waste reduction targets, and they were penalized by the government to meet those penalties.

I want to quote from a press release issued by the government, July 31, 1992. I quote: Cummings said, if targets are not met, distributors will face financial penalties.

They were penalized $863,000. That amount has probably gone up now to well over a million dollars, the big soft drink companies here in this province. The government has not gone after those companies to collect those fines from those companies.

It could be perhaps that those companies have a very special relationship with the members opposite. If you were to look and I have, I received information regarding political contributions to the Progressive Conservative Party. Since 1988 to 1992, Blackwoods Beverages, which manufactures Pepsi-Cola products, and the Coca-Cola Bottling company have donated close to $16,000 to the members opposite. They have a very special relationship with the beverage industry, I would suggest. That may be one of the reasons why they have not been very aggressive in trying to realize those penalties, to collect those penalties from some of these big beverage companies.

Someone also argued that a former employee from the Premier's Office, who is now a private consultant, had something to do with it as well, but I will leave that to the imagination of the members opposite. We do not want to be completely negative on this side of the House, we want to bring forward some suggestions.

In 1989, the NDP established a task force on the environment, and one of the reports dealt with the issue of recycling. They recommended at that time, in 1989, that there be a reduction of 75 percent of waste reduced by the year 2000. The government's goal is 50 percent based on 1988 figures. Our recommendations were up to 75 percent.

Canadians recycle on average only 2 percent of the waste compared to the United States, which recycled 10 percent, and the Japanese recycled between 50 percent and 60 percent of their waste. It is my understanding that in Japan waste disposal sites are illegal. At that time, we proposed that Manitoba use a phase reduction of 25 percent by 1993, 50 percent by 1996 and 75 percent by the year 2000.

I would assume the government is on its way to meeting its targets, and we hope they are. We hope they do reach that 50 percent by the year 2000. It is in the best interest of all of Manitoba that they do meet that goal.

As well, I want to offer some ways to them, offer some suggestions to them to meet that goal. One of them is the substitution of renewable resources for nonrenewable resources, an aggressive move to what is called the four Rs of Recycling and that is reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. Now the Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings) knows, and I have met with the individual, and I believe the Minister of Environment has met with a group of individuals here in Manitoba, who have a proposal which they claim can recycle 80 percent of the waste that finds itself into Manitoba's landfill sites--80 percent.

They have also expressed to us that the minister, the government has not taken their proposal seriously. Eighty percent of the waste can be recycled according to their proposal. It is a proposal of a plan that is currently in use in certain jurisdictions in the United States, and I believe in Minnesota and apparently it is quite successful.

I think the government should look at that issue very seriously. The Minister of Urban Affairs (Mr. Reimer), he is the one that has to deal with the City of Winnipeg. The city of Winnipeg of course creates the most waste in our province. I attended the CEC hearings on waste management in the capital region. I attended those hearings, and they were quite interesting. I learned a lot about waste management in general. I think the Minister of Environment--of course, he was not there. The Minister of Urban Affairs (Mr. Reimer) did not participate in that either. It is a big issue. It is an issue that requires some very serious solutions. [interjection]

Well, you could talk to your colleague the Minister of Environment, he apparently has met with the individuals, and they have explained the program to him. It is simply a far more aggressive recycling program, recovery program, where they would bring the waste forward and, as explained to me, it would simply go down a conveyer belt. All the things would be taken off of this belt and put into certain compartments, and then they would find a use for them. Paper, of course--glass would be crushed and used for different purposes. So there are a number of different ways that this program can be utilized through Manitoba.

I also would suggest that the government establish an environmental auditor to provide an assessment of the program in reducing waste and meeting the government's current goal, which they have not. The auditor, I would argue, should report back to this Chamber so members have a chance to look at the auditor's statements, to as well question the government to ensure that the government was meeting its goal, which we have not been able to do at this point. They have not offered us a statement yet as to whether or not they will be meeting that goal by the year 2000.

Here is another suggestion: a government procurement and contract compliance policy which favours purchase of material using recycled contents. I would think, as well, a more aggressive conservation and recycling awareness program, we have not seen that yet. The city of Winnipeg, now they will be having curbside recycling, but that will only reach 30 percent of the residents of the city of Winnipeg, yet they have been paying this 2-cent levy since January 1. The government has collected millions of dollars, but only 30 percent of the city of Winnipeg residents will now have a chance to use that recycling program.

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Overall, I realize we must change our thinking on the whole issue of waste management, and that deals more, I think, with our consumer-based society. Generally it is cheaper for manufacturers to use lots of materials and so thereby they cater to our culture of convenience and of consumption, planned obsolescence, rather than to spend the time redesigning their products for efficiency, durability and repairability. Consumers, of course, have had very little incentive to save the goods they buy instead of throwing them away after one use, and we all know this.

We all realize this. You go to McDonald's and you get a bag and the thing is just there for once. You only use it once. We have to learn, I suggest, to depend on fewer virgin resources and thereby encourage development of secondary industries, reining in consumption by redesigning goods, services and communities. In fact, the environmental cost of waste disposal, and we know this now and we are seeing it again here in the province, whether it is toxic emissions or the poisoning of ground water by landfills, it must be stopped, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member's time has expired.

Mr. Mervin Tweed (Turtle Mountain): Mr. Deputy Speaker, certainly my experience here has been that the longer I stay quiet, the quieter the House will get. So I am prepared to wait you out, on my side also, I might add.

I am pleased to stand and speak in regard to the resolution put forth today. I would like to just bring to the attention of the people in the House I guess who at some time will maybe read this, but the people of rural Manitoba have long been recyclers. I think some mention has to be made about the fact that I can remember growing up as a child, living with my family and also very close to an aunt and uncle who lived on a rural farm, and there was not anything that we did not recycle. Anything that came home in a box, a tin or a bag or any kind of a wrapper, we always found another alternative way to use it again until it was basically, I guess, garbage, but garbage is not the right word because of the idea that it was a recyclable refinished product.

I can think of a couple of examples that I have had that I can remember. One was the tins they used to bring the tea home in, and after the plastic bag in the bottom of the tin was empty we would quite often use the plastic bags to store things to keep them dry if they were going into the freezers or into the deepfreezes. Then eventually when they were taken back out again we would put those same plastic bags on our feet and they would keep us warm for a couple of days until they basically had worn themselves out. We found that it was a very economical way, and also, at that point in time, I guess we did not realize that we were on the leading edge of technology as far as the recycling.

I certainly, by reading today's resolution and listening to the speeches that have so far come forth on it, think we are all in agreement that recycling is a very positive aspect of our communities and is something that on both sides of the House we have to encourage and promote.

I think also that coming from an agricultural background I think that probably the farmer can be held up in light to pretty near anybody in the world as probably the No. 1 recycler and the original recycler.

We were speaking last night, and I know some honourable members opposite were at the same meeting, where just as an example, Can Agra, that is coming to Ste. Agathe, made their announcement. They are using the recycling idea and taking every available product that is produced and generated from the waste and trying to recycle it into something else that is profitable, that is beneficial to the communities, that creates jobs. The list is endless of the things that we can do.

Again, getting back into the farm idea, and it has been tradition that after the crop comes up, the harvest is done and the silage or the stalk is worked back into the ground, again, another form of recycling. A lot of people with animals tend to spread the waste that is there that produces a little benefit to the land. I do recognize that there are some things that we have to consider when doing this as far as the environmentally friendly aspect of it, but I do think that, again, farmers are the people that have led the way, and it should be recognized by everyone that this is the way they have gone for years. Now, as governments and as people, we are becoming more and more aware.

It is not unusual when you see--and, again, coming from rural Manitoba to the city, I am very pleased when I see the recycle boxes out in the communities. I think it is a real positive step for people to become very concerned with the waste and the disposal of waste and the secondary uses that waste can be generated into. I think again back to my childhood, the only thing that was left when we were done with an orange was the seed, and they tried to plant that in the backyard and get it to grow. It was pretty well 100 percent used.

In recognizing the fact that recycling is now a very important issue with government and with the people of Manitoba, I think that also the things have changed in the sense that some of this has to be looked at as far as: How do we finance it; how do we maintain and how do we make it better; and how do we make it grow so that more people will use it and more people will benefit from it?

As noted earlier by the honourable member for Riel (Mr. Newman), the Manitoba Product Stewardship program was launched in June of '94, and it provided funding support to the municipal governments to cover up to the 80 percent of the net cost of multimaterial recycling programs. It encouraged and it was an incentive for all municipalities and all people of the province of Manitoba to get involved. The incentive was there financially for the municipal governments and local councils to take a real interest, and I think a lot of those interests were led by individuals in the community who had a real belief in recycling and a real desire to get more people educated and also more people into the program.

The 2-cent WRAP levy was introduced on beverage containers applied in Manitoba in 1995, and all those revenues collected are administrated by this multimaterial stewardship board. So, therefore, we are definitely, I guess, asking people to pay a little bit towards the cost of the recycling, but we are also asking them to contribute and learn and benefit from the program that is being made available to them by those additional costs. The workbook on Solid Waste Minimization and Management was issued for comment in 1995, and the strategy will be incorporated into the province's Sustainable Development Fund.

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I think that the real idea behind recycling and getting people educated in recycling and getting them to understand the benefits is the fact that what we can do is try and decrease the waste that is generated by the people of the province. Since 1990, we have seen a waste generation decrease of approximately 20 percent. It just astounds me when I look at some of these numbers that in 1989 each person in Manitoba was producing one tonne of waste. In 1994, that has decreased to .8 tonnes per person, and I believe that that is a positive step for Manitoba and also will be a positive step for the future of Manitobans, because we are taking responsible steps and we are taking action to benefit all people of the province.

I think that some of the things that I have heard discussed today is in fact that we have levied some costs on the people who are producing the recyclable material or the material that we are using. I think that is the way to go.

If people are producing the waste and we have to set up a system to deal with it, then I believe that they should pay some, the consumer should pay some and obviously the government is contributing its share.

Since 1990 over $5 million has been invested in 190 recycling and waste management projects. Again I think that this speaks very well for the province of Manitoba. People are becoming educated. People are becoming knowledgeable, and they are promoting it.

Getting back into my own personal situation, our family is very cognizant of the need to recycle. It is something that you do not understand until your family brings it home to you.

An Honourable Member: Recycling cars.

Mr. Tweed: The honourable member mentions about recycling cars which is something that in my profession before here I would like to suggest that the company that we dealt with were making cars of 80 percent recycled goods. I think they have made some big steps in promoting the recycled portion of it.

The goals of the Manitoba Waste Minimization and Management Strategy released for public discussion in July of 1995 were to promote waste reduction, maximize the reuse of goods and materials and enhance opportunities for recycling. I firmly believe that those things are happening.

We have seen a reduction in the amount of waste that is now being produced. We have far more people in the province of Manitoba reusing goods and materials, and we have certainly seen a growth of the recycling industry in the province and probably Canada-wide.

One of the other objectives was to promote reduction in the amount of resources used and generated in the manufacture and distribution of products. Again I think that has been a successful strategy. One of the other recommendations was that we need to enhance awareness and the understanding of the need for waste reduction. Again it is something that once people become aware of it and are brought to light, it is like anything else. When you recognize that there is a need, then it is easier to promote as a government or as an individual.

One of the other things was to promote the development of sustainable recycling and waste management industries. I believe also that that recommendation is definitely on its way. There have certainly been some initiatives to establish a sustainable collection and recycling infrastructure in the province.

Product stewardship means that industry must take more responsibility for the environmental impact of the packaging and products that they sell. It would include designing packaging and products using the three principles: reduce, reuse, recycle. We have to develop partnerships to divert materials from landfills, purchasing recovered materials and using them to make new products and ensuring that packaging and products are handled properly.

In the case of recycling it was clearly identified that Manitobans felt the cost of recycling should not be covered through taxation and public money but instead incorporate it into the things that we buy and sell. The Manitoba Product Stewardship program was established earlier this year to provide the 80 percent funding, and it is operated as a stakeholder board independent of government use.

Something else that this has encouraged and again speaks more directly to my issues is the fact that the municipalities and the rural councils that are promoting the recycling efforts. I am not sure of the numbers, but I would think in pretty near every community that I represent in Turtle Mountain I am sure that there are recycling activities going on. I think it is only in our best interest to encourage them.

In closing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to suggest to you that I do support the resolution put forth by the honourable member for Riel (Mr. Newman), and I think that we as members of the government and members of the House have to agree on a policy and put forth to the people of Manitoba and ask that you support it. I think it is something that we can all agree on. There are a few fine details that I am sure we are always going to have discrepancies, but it is something that we could probably pass together.

The MPSP has provided all the necessary incentives to encourage, and now I do have the number. There are 97 municipalities including the city of Winnipeg that are initiating or expanding recycling efforts. When these systems are fully implemented, comprehensive recycling systems will be available to over 80 percent of the people in the province of Manitoba.

In addition, two First Nations communities have also registered with the program. Should market prices falter for specific materials, the stewardship program will be there to provide the stability to ensure that the cost of the program does not fall back to the municipal governments.

Other stewardship initiatives and something that I have become more involved in is the Manitoba tire stewardship program, Used Tire Management Program, that was established in May of 1993. It is setting the example for other tire stewardship programs in Canada. The program provides recycling credits of up to $2.50 per tire to registered processors that recycle scrap tires into new products. I believe Manitoba is one of the most successful in that sense with the company--

Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member's time has expired.

Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is almost entertaining to hear these resolutions come to the floor of the House. I mean, we heard some real doozies. I think there was one on youth crime a little while ago, one on maintenance enforcement. The government and these backbenchers come in here and they give these self-congratulatory messages, and every time when they are finished, they think: Geez, I do not think we should have done that. Quite frankly, we got a little embarrassed. Our record really was not as good as I think we had imagined.

Here is another one of those resolutions. I think actually this resolution, like so many others that we hear, make a fool of this government.

I know that the remarks of the member for Riel (Mr. Newman) were very interesting in that he had heard outside of this House and before he became a member of how good the government's record was on environmental protection and sustainability. I think he did what I hope not many other Manitobans have done, and that is base their thinking of this government's record on certain documents produced, because the written word of this government and the track record of this government are two entirely different matters.

It really is almost entertaining to read the first RESOLVED clause, which says that the government of Manitoba should be applauded on its efforts to ensure the future sustainability of Manitoba's resources. I mean, here is the government, when every time in this Chamber we raise real concerns about sustainable development of our resources, this government will start chattering from its benches, oh, you are against jobs, and that alone speaks louder than any of the documents ever produced by this government, and by the way, I have seen some good documents myself. There is some good stuff written down, but those words have never been endorsed by the members opposite, and time and time again we hear them: oh, you are against jobs, you are against jobs, there you go again.

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You know, it is really unfortunate, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that with such an important issue, a moral issue such as this, the government should be endorsing any concern about sustainability, whether it comes from this side of the House or from the Liberals or any quarter in this province.

Well, I also was very heartened by the remarks of the member for Selkirk (Mr. Dewar), because I think in seven minutes he put forward more ideas about sustainability than we have seen from this government in seven years. Well, I first want to talk about the issue of--[interjection] Come on, I have only a few minutes.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the second part of the RESOLVED deals with the recycling program of the government. Well, the recycling program is, in general, commendable, but there is a lot at stake in ensuring that Manitoba have a comprehensive and effective recycling program. To succeed, the government had to do two things: It had to be fair, and No. 2, it had to competent, and on both of those counts the government has failed. I mean, after years of bungling and dithering, while we had the worst recycling record here in the City of Winnipeg in all of Canada, and I understand actually in all of North America--I have seen statistics to that effect--this government fell down again and again.

I want to then talk, though, about what occurred when finally the WRAP program was introduced, I mean finally after all of these years. First of all, the program put an onus on taxpayers to fund 20 percent of recycling initiatives. I cannot understand why the government would require the taxpayers to fund recycling. Second of all, there was no guarantee, given that 20 percent, that the taxpayers would not be on the hook for more in future times. The government went about this recycling program through regulation not through legislation, and once again we see this continuing power grabbing by executive governments, a continual turning the back on legislative authority.

While that is, I think, problematic in itself, it also causes concern for the municipalities. Yes, it is 80 percent-20 percent right now; 80 percent to be paid by the municipalities and 20 percent by the taxpayers--80 percent, I am sorry, by the consumers and 20 percent by the municipalities, but what will happen down the road? Municipalities are concerned about getting into recycling projects without a long-term commitment in legislation.

Now, this was a real doozie. You know, the Minister of Environment (Mr. Cummings), when he was confronted with the fact that it was the consumers who were being assessed the 2-cent levy on each beverage container by a direct levy, the minister said--I am quoting the minister, and I hope that this quote is accurate; I trust that he will correct it if is wrong. He said, quote: Somebody is blowing smoke when they say they have to pass on a 2-cent increase, given those kinds of margins for marketing.

In other words, the minister said, this is terrible; I mean, how can the likes of Coke and Pepsi be passing on the 2-cent levy directly to consumers? That is what he said. Now that was on Thursday. Now, what did he say by Friday? I am just quoting from the Winnipeg Free Press, and this is January 28: On Thursday, Environment minister Glen Cummings lashed out at retailers, saying he was offended. They are breaking out the levy separately and charging sales tax on top.

I will get to that in a minute about sales tax, but then they quote Jim Leishman [phonetic] of Coca-Cola and denied there was any commitment by the soft drink industry to swallow the levy. Mr. Leishman [phonetic] is quoted as saying: Right from the beginning, it was clear that we were going to pass that levy along.

Well, whom are Manitobans to believe, the industry that was involved in these negotiations and involved in the discussions in the creation of this program or the minister?

Now, there is, on top of the 2-cent levy being paid for directly by consumers, the PST and the GST, which my colleague spoke about. Now, we estimate that roughly $300,000 a year will be received by the provincial government alone with that tax grab, and the federal government will receive a same amount. Well, to me, this is a tax on a tax. I understand there is a term; it is called "cascading." I think this is wrong. I think it could be illegal, and I have not done the legal research on this, but I will tell you what, it is offensive. It is offensive to be charging a tax on this levy.

Now, the minister, he had a few interesting things to say about that. The minister said, and I quote: The levy itself is not a taxable item. There is no intention on the part of the government to earn revenue on it.

He said, I am offended the way the retailers are choosing to display this. Oh, he is offended; he is really offended by this. Well, it is interesting, you know, because Canada Safeway, for example, and Foodfare, which have both charged PST and GST on the levy, along with other retailers, did so only after checking with the minister's department. Paul McKinnon, from Foodfare on Henderson Highway, said: They said that is the way it is supposed to be done.

Whom are we to believe, the retailers who are being told one thing by the Environment department or the minister when he is in front of a microphone?

Now, we are listing some doozies here, but this really is the king. This is it. Who paid for the start-up of the WRAP program? Who paid for the start-up of the recycling program? The minister would like people to believe, the government would like people to believe that it was them, somebody else--retailers, manufacturers.

While Manitobans, while consumers were paying $400,000 a month on the 2-cent levy, this government was talking to their friends, the likes of Coke and Pepsi, relieving them of over $1 million in penalties that were assessed against them for their failure to meet recycling targets.

Now, this is not just an isolated incident, Mr. Deputy Speaker. This is an integral part of this government's ideology, of its approach. Ding the taxpayer, ding the consumer, but their friends--and my colleague here from Selkirk (Mr. Dewar) spoke about the apparent relationship between this government and the likes of Coke and Pepsi and about the involvement of former senior officers with the Premier's office and what advice or what lobbying may have taken place. Manitobans find it disgusting. What a message that is to Manitobans. What a pitiful, pitiful sight that was.

Now, we have sent two letters to the Provincial Auditor and we have detailed seven specific questions that we need answers to, to find out about mainly the forgiveness of those penalties against the likes of Coke and Pepsi. We look forward to the responses to that, and the government has not heard the last of it.

Now, I want to just speak briefly about how this program was administered. Was it done competently? Well, we heard from not just consumers but from the industry, we did not know what was going on. The government never told us anything. They never gave us the directives we needed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. The hour being 5 p.m., time is expired for this half of private members' hour. When this matter is again before the House, the honourable member will have three minutes remaining.

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Res. 27--Seasonal Jobs Strategy for Post-Secondary Students

Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Brandon East (Mr. Leonard Evans),

WHEREAS the cost of post-secondary education in Canada is currently prohibiting many Manitobans from receiving the education they need; and

WHEREAS students need consistent, useful employment during the summer to help pay for the mounting costs associated with a post-secondary education and gain valuable work experience; and

WHEREAS youth unemployment rates are higher than those of the population as a whole, while financial assistance to students is not keeping pace with costs; and

WHEREAS youth employment programs such as CareerStart, the Northern Youth Jobs Corps, Partners With Youth and STEP have been cut back or eliminated; and

WHEREAS a seasonal jobs strategy would benefit students from rural and northern Manitoba who face increased post-secondary education costs; and

WHEREAS students must increasingly choose part-time studies so that they may take employment to finance their education, increasing their time in colleges and universities and putting great stress on their studies; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has failed to realize the important link between post-secondary education and training and a revitalized economy.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba urge the provincial government to consider developing a more proactive seasonal jobs strategy so that post-secondary students can find meaningful employment to enable them to meet the increasing costs of post-secondary education and so that students can gain practical experience to assist them in finding work after graduation.

Motion presented.

Ms. Friesen: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am glad to rise to speak to this resolution today. It is not the first time that I have submitted a resolution to this House dealing with a similar issue, but I find that in fact it has not lost relevance at all, but that in fact it deals with an issue which is very close to the hearts of many of my constituents and I am sure many of the constituents of other members of this House.

Thousands of Manitobans, and I say that advisedly, thousands of Manitoba students have been unable to find work that enables them to pay their university fees, and that is one of the issues that I wanted to stress, that that relationship between the ability to earn one's university fees and the level of pay which is available in minimum wage jobs or jobs which are part time or of very short duration, that students are finding it increasingly difficult to gain access to university or to have the money which would enable them to enter university in the first place.

We have seen over the last few years youth unemployment levels ranging from 17 to 20 percent. At the moment this year they are down below that but I think, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that many of the students whom we are seeing in universities and colleges these days are also taking on an increasing burden, not just of part-time work but of full-time work, to meet the costs of living during their studies and also to afford the enrollment fees and the cost of books and supplies.

It is, I think, a very sad comment on our society that we are seeing a great drop in the number of students who are coming to colleges and universities. Manitoba has always been at the bottom of the list in the number of students who move on to post-secondary education. We have a relatively similar level or proportion of students who go to universities, or we have had until the last couple of years, but we have always had a very small proportion, a tiny proportion in fact of students who go on to community colleges, and that is not the basis for a sound economy nor for an open society, and I think it is something which every government of this province should make an important priority.

We have to find ways to meet the kind of targets for students in post-secondary education that we see in the provinces where economies are booming. If you look at Alberta, if you look at British Columbia, if you look at Ontario, you will find that there is a much higher proportion of students, of young people, who have the opportunity to take some aspect of post-secondary education. That is something which Manitoba has fallen down on. It is something which the Roblin report recognized. It is something which this government has taken no steps to address.

During the course of the last few years, under the auspices of this government, the number of students who have been entering university has been dropping, and it has been dropping at a much faster rate than it has across the country. One of the reasons for that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I believe, is the absence of part-time work and the absence of seasonal job strategies directed at students in Manitoba.

We have seen this government in the last few years make a number of dramatic policy changes which have had great impact upon students. One of these has been the cutting of every youth employment program with the exception of the Green Team. That has had an effect upon the kind of jobs that have been available to students.

Students now end up in short-term work which does not provide them with the $2,000 to $3,000 that they need just to pay their fees, let alone the cost of books, let alone the cost of living away from home as they must do if they come from rural and northern areas. So the loss of those job and career preparation programs I think has been significant.

I mentioned that the government has kept the Green Team and I applaud them for that. I have seen benefits from the Green Team in my constituency, and I know that many members, particularly on that side of the House, perhaps have seen a great many members of the Green Team in their ridings, and I am sure that their work has been most impressive.

But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is not enough, and it has not been enough to enable students to attend university, given the rising cost of fees. There simply is not the relationship that there was in my time, even perhaps in the 1970s and '80s, between the amount one can earn in a summer and the size of fees and the cost of books.

So I urge the government to reconsider the cuts that they have made in youth employment programs, and I urge them to consider what the impact of that has been upon enrollment at universities. I do not expect from this government much active response or movement on that level, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because it is my belief that this government wants to shrink the university enrollment. It actually wants to see a smaller university section, and it wants to do this without increasing the number of places available at community colleges.

It has a direct recommendation from the Roblin report, one that I support, that indicates that the government should double the number of programs at community colleges, but in fact that is not happening. The waiting lists at community colleges are indeed growing again. The number of programs has not changed very dramatically and it certainly is not getting anywhere near the doubling that Roblin so very sensibly suggested.

To shrink the universities as they are doing by I think reducing the opportunities to students, by reducing the funding for universities, is a very, very dangerous step for the economy of this province. Any government which does not recognize the importance of universities to its international position is one which I think has not grasped what is meant by the phrase that is so often tossed about, particularly on the other side of the House, of the new global economy.

The universities of Manitoba are one of the windows of the world for this province, but how has this government treated that international role? Well, two years ago they began the process of reducing the number of visa students or international students in this province, and they did it very successfully. We warned them what would happen when they did it, and in fact it has happened and the number of students who are now coming internationally to Manitoba universities is really becoming almost negligible. There are very, very few students.

In the Faculty of Science, for example, at the University of Manitoba, I believe that there are, in first year, 12 international students in the Faculty of Science. This is a drop which has not occurred in Saskatchewan. It has not occurred in Calgary. These are the universities which we are competing with, and it seems to me that any government worth its salt, any government with half a brain would see that those universities and those international students are the ones who are going to be your ambassadors, your contacts, your boosters, to put it in the language of this government, around the world over the next 10 or 20 years.

I was struck when I was making some enquiries about the transition in international students by something that somebody at the university said to me about the--

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Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order, please. Can I ask those members who are wanting to carry on this conversation to do so in the loge. I am having trouble hearing the honourable member for Wolseley.

Ms. Friesen: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was having trouble hearing myself as well with the constant rumble on the other side.

One of the stories that I was struck by came to me the other day at the university, when I was asking about the visit of the delegation from India that appeared in this House a couple of weeks ago. Now, that delegation consisted of the Speaker of the House of essentially the subcontinent, a very important nation to any government which is looking for market. I asked, incidentally, had they been to the university? At the University of Manitoba, we have Sanskrit scholars. We have in fact the president of the Shastri [phonetic] Institute, which is the major academic exchange body between Canada and India, which sends students on a continual basis and brings visiting teachers, whether it is in health care or in co-ops. That is just to mention two that I have heard over the last few years.

But those people were not taken to visit the universities. They were not shown the research facilities; they were not shown the scholars that we have who have constant contact with India, who are there on a regular basis, who send students. What a waste. What a narrow perspective upon research and universities and the role of this province. So that shrinking of the university, the diminution of visa students and international students, the decline in enrollments at the universities, which I believe is partly as a result of the declining opportunities for young people to find the fees, to me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that speaks of a tremendous lack of vision.

As I was mentioning this to people at the university and saying, look, would that not have been a wonderful opportunity for both the universities and the government and for the Chamber of Commerce, who also jointly supported that visit?

I was told of an interesting story, perhaps it is apocryphal, but it certainly rings true to me, and that is of the president of the University of New Brunswick, who says, and he does it in a mocking, I think, half complaining, half mocking manner, that so much of his time is taken up by the Premier of New Brunswick phoning him to come and meet delegations. It takes so much of his time.

Has this Premier ever called any of our universities to meet delegations that are coming to Manitoba? Is there that sense that at the universities, in our students, in our international connections and in the kinds of research facilities and agricultural research, health research, are the many kinds of research for which our universities used to be important, have been famous in the past? Where is the government's recognition that that is significant?

And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is with I think great concern that I offer that to the government as a suggestion. I am almost afraid to do so, because any suggestion that comes from this side of the House I think probably makes it automatic, axiomatic perhaps, that this government will not pay any attention and will take the opposite.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think what we are seeing in universities in Manitoba is a return to the 1920s, and I draw this to the attention of the government with great concern. In the 1920s very few people went to universities. They were the purview, the place of the elite. Many of you will perhaps remember it. How many of the members of this House had parents in the 1920s, and I expect that is the common age of most of us, who were able to go to university? Well, I can see that there is one. Well, my parents were not. I would bet that the majority of people on both sides of the House are the first generation of their families to be able to go to university.

Why is that? It is because there were two really major expansions in university positions in Canada, and after 1945 returning veterans had the opportunity to go to university. What that did was to begin the process of opening up and democratizing universities.

In the 1960s it happened again with the expansion of bursaries and with the opening of universities and, of course, the expansion of jobs for young people in the 1960s as well. That was the point at which I was then able to go to university, as I suspect those many members of the House who did have that opportunity were.

In the 1980s and early '90s, it became increasingly more difficult in part as a result of federal withdrawal, and of course we are seeing the intensification of that now, but also because provinces, some provinces, not all provinces, and I will exclude from this British Columbia and to some extent Alberta and to some extent Ontario, began to dramatically withdraw their support from universities and from students.

There are many ways that the government has of creating seasonal job strategies. One is their own programs that they have cut that I have already mentioned. A second one, of course, is to urge the federal government to reinstate some of the jobs that the federal government has withdrawn over the last five or six years. Programs such as SEED, such as CHALLENGE, I think, provided work for students.

One of the most important ones or, I would say, perhaps most valuable ones that I have found was a federal-provincial program of a number of years ago called the work-study program. When I was provost of University College I took advantage of that program to find work for students to create a daycare centre which now employs full time, I believe, two or three people and which continues to provide care on a part-time basis for many, many children.

I know my colleagues found work for students in laboratories which gave them both references and experience in their areas. I think that those are the kinds of programs that a government that had a sense of the economic and international position of universities and which wanted to give its young people a sense of hope--because I warn the government now that that is disappearing in Manitoba. Students do not have hope. They do not have an anticipation that they have a place in their university. That is one of the great sadnesses I find as I go from door to door and as I talk to my own constituents and indeed to my own students. I warn the government that that is in fact a very, very serious condition.

We have universities and students that we could be proud of, and I think the government has a very important responsibility to address that both through the institutional funding and through the funding of students to make those universities and colleges open and accessible to all.

Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to be able to address this Assembly on what I also feel is an important topic, that is, seasonal jobs for our post-secondary students.

I would just like to preamble with the comment that I personally, and we have three children of our own, two who have gone through the university process, one who is in high school right now, but they do not share the doom and gloom that I am hearing. I believe they are very positive about the vocations that they have chosen and are involved in. Further to that, in going through the university process through the years, they were able to earn the dollars that they needed in order to be able to go to university and to college.

I also intend to show though that our government has not been negligent in assisting and helping those who are in the post-secondary schools. So, again, I want to re-emphasize the fact that I do not share that gloom that I hear about our students.

I believe that our students are mature. They are making choices as to the routes that they want to go and proceed with in their years after high school. Their decisions to go to university or to colleges are made by themselves. They need to determine what their interests are.

This government has recognized that these are difficult times for our post-secondary education students and, with the Liberal federal government poised to cut an additional $240 million in transfer payments, more difficult decisions will need to be made.

As the father of a young man who attended college, I am very much aware of the sacrifices that need to be made and the challenges that our young people face as they strive for higher levels of education.

That is why I am particularly proud of the way this government has moved to ensure that our young people have adequate access to seasonal jobs that will provide both the wherewithal to continue their education, as well as the experience to enhance their employment potential upon the completion of their post-secondary training.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, it should be noted, however, that our government has not only worked towards increasing the availability of seasonal jobs for students, it has strived to increase the amount of jobs available in general.

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Recent statistics and announcements have shown that Manitoba has some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, and that we are attracting new large-scale businesses to this province.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, members of this Chamber should realize that this government's endeavours to attract new industry and stimulate economic activity in Manitoba has increased the ability of students, as well as the job market as a whole, to gain employment at any time of the year.

This resolution does, however, allow me the opportunity to outline specifically many of the strategies towards youth employment my colleague has and will be speaking about and will have the opportunity to mention in the next discussion.

It is important to note that these strategies are not just limited to one particular department or in fact to one level of government, rather they are broad-looking measures designed to ensure that the young people of this province are able to find gainful employment during the months that they are not involved in their regular studies.

One such program is Manitoba CareerStart. Manitoba CareerStart, as described, ensures that there is co-ordination with the federal government and the summer employment programs under their jurisdiction. This is a recognition that the education of our young people is a resource that will benefit not only the province of Manitoba but indeed the whole of Canada.

As such, this program ensures that the provincial and federal levels of government work together in an efficient and effective manner to ensure that students in this province have access to quality summer employment.

Manitoba Youth Works, as noted, is a collaborative effort between the province through the Department of Education and Training and the City of Winnipeg. Again, this is an example of how our government is reaching out to other levels of government in an effort to ensure adequate seasonal employment for Manitoba's students.

Therefore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this government has shown its initiative and desire in creating seasonal jobs for our post-secondary students, and it also actively sought the co-operation from all levels of government to ensure that this important need is met.

The members of this Chamber should also be aware of another program this government counts among those in its seasonal job strategy and that is Partners with Youth. This valuable project is designed to encourage community improvement projects, as well as to provide valuable work experience for the youth of Manitoba. This program is a jointly funded effort by Manitoba Education and Training, and Rural Development.

Partners with Youth provides grant funding, two sponsors including municipal governments and agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations to hire youth, ages 16 to 24, and to initiate projects which provide a lasting benefit to the community. This program goes beyond providing economic benefits to Manitoba students. It helps to instill in its participants a sense of pride in their community and province and encourage them to work towards its improvement.

(Madam Speaker in the Chair)

I believe that this program helps create an awareness in our young people of the difference individuals can make in their communities and in the lives of others. Therefore, the returns that Partners with Youth provides are greater than those measured throughout employment numbers. This program helps develop well-rounded, community-minded young Manitobans, a truly invaluable resource.

Partners with Youth supports projects within four categories. The first category is environmental. These projects include those that promote environmental improvement and awareness within the community. I feel that this is a particularly valuable part of the Partners with Youth program, as it teaches our young people, the future leaders of Manitoba, the importance of respecting and maintaining our environment.

A second category eligible for its support under the Partners with Youth program is business and community development. These are projects that provide for improvements to a fiscal structure or for the development of resources for ongoing use of the business or community.

Then tourism, another category eligible for the $2,000 per participant grant. Members of this Chamber know the importance of tourism to the economy of this province. Our government has not only recognized this fact but has through programs like this endeavoured to educate the young people of Manitoba about the importance of bringing tourists to visit our beautiful province.

Partners with Youth also provides for the hiring of young people in the areas of marketing. This would include projects that promote a new product or service or market a community feature. Madam Speaker, through the Partners with Youth program, our government has been able to provide summer employment for many Manitoba students. Four hundred and fifty students for 1995-96 will be funded through this initiative. However, of equal or greater importance, this program has also instilled many qualities in the participating students that will serve them well as they take on the leadership roles in our province.

A further component of Partners with Youth is a program called Young Entrepreneurs. Young Entrepreneurs is designed to encourage youth to start up their own full-time businesses through the provision of a grant up to $4,000 to help defray business start-up costs.

Madam Speaker, I would submit to you that starting up a business does involve some money, it is a risk, and we as a government are prepared to encourage that and to enhance that. This is especially exciting, I believe, because it provides the means to our young people's entrepreneurial spirit and keeps young Manitobans with fresh and innovative ideas in our province.

In return these young people create the business that drives the province's economy and employs our labour force. Perhaps past benefactors of the Young Entrepreneurs program will be the employers of a generation of future students, thus making the circle complete.

Through the Partners with Youth program, Madam Speaker, this government has shown that it has a priority of creating employment opportunities for its young people and, through those opportunities, creating a group of future leaders with community values and appreciation.

Urban Green Team is another important part of this government's seasonal job strategy. This program represents a partnership between Manitoba Education and Training, and Urban Affairs. This initiative is designed to create summer employment opportunities for youth ages 16 to 24 by encouraging local sponsors to initiate environmentally focused projects, and through Urban Green Team, nonprofit sponsors of projects receive $6.35 per hour plus mandatory employer-related costs plus up to $500 per project for capital and support costs.

In 1995-96, this program will approve approximately 675 positions. This represents 675 students who will find summer employment and develop a greater appreciation and knowledge about the environment. These are both solid job skills as well as worthy values to possess.

In the same vein, REDI Green Team provides salary and capital support funding on a cost-shared basis to rural municipal governments to allow them to initiate municipal park and facility maintenance and upgrading projects. This seasonal job initiative is a partnership between Manitoba Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources and is targeted to rural youth 16 to 24 years of age.

Madam Speaker, the home-town component of this program provides 50 percent support of wage costs to a maximum of $3.30 per hour and capital and support costs to a maximum of $250 for the approved project. These programs that I have outlined today, Manitoba CareerStart, Manitoba Youth Works, Partners with Youth, and Urban and REDI Green Team are all a part of this government's seasonal job strategy. They are in response to the challenging times that today's post-secondary students face and are part of this government's response to the federal funding cutbacks to education that it faces. Yet these programs are about more than jobs. The strategy is also about creating young people who have a knowledge and a respect for Manitoba's businesses, economy, environment and the future. These programs are about providing the young people of Manitoba with the skills needed to succeed in and out of the workplace.

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I believe that this government has implemented a seasonal job strategy that will create, not only productive workers, but also productive, community-minded citizens. The cutbacks to transfer payments that our province faces from the federal government require that we work together to ensure that our students continue to have quality post-secondary education as well as the means to obtain that quality education. Our government created its job strategy in partnership with the community, in partnership with the departments and in partnership with other levels of government. It represents a comprehensive, thorough and effective way of providing seasonal employment to the future of this province.

This government has faith in the ability of its young citizens to compete in an increasing technological world. Through the programs we have described here today, it is clear that this government is dedicated to providing young Manitobans with the means of obtaining the skills needed in today's work environment and to keep Manitoba strong through the next century.

Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I am glad, in a way, that this motion has been put towards the House, even though I find it plods somewhat in a few of the WHEREASes and the conclusion that it draws, also somewhat flawed. I am glad that it is here because it does give us the opportunity on this side of the House to indicate the importance we feel attached to this particular topic and to outline some of the very proactive measures that have been put in place by this government, not just by the Department of Education, but indeed by other departments as well, to ensure that Manitoba students have opportunity for seasonal jobs to assist them, not just in preparing a financial backing for continued studies, but also for some degree of relevancy in the type of work that is done as part of their training.

Madam Speaker, we know that we have an extremely good record of achievement for students finding summer employment, in particular, in Manitoba, much better than the national average, and we are pleased to indicate some of the things we have done to assist in ensuring that we continue to maintain a very viable place in the nation.

We have a number of strategies and programs in support of youth employment. One that I myself had some ability to initiate when I was Minister of Urban Affairs was the Urban Green Team, which has been responsible for the employment of hundreds of Manitoba youth in the city of Winnipeg, dovetailing very nicely with again hundreds and hundreds of jobs in rural Manitoba for the Rural Green Team. That particular initiative was one that not only enabled students to find summer employment but had an added component in that because it was a partnership between Urban Affairs, and Education and Training and because it was working in conjunction with nonprofit sponsors, it enabled a number of wonderful things to happen, and it has been well touted throughout the city, a marvellous program, greatly appreciated--well, I am specifically talking about Urban Green Team at the moment, although certainly the Rural Green Team has done a number of things like that for years.

But this second year of the Green Team was very successful, because we found that the number of students employed doubled. We had close to 700 students in that program alone. The beautiful thing about it was of course that nonprofit sponsor groups in the community were able to identify projects, so you had the whole community involved. You had groups identifying projects, one that I can speak to involving the constituency of my honourable friend the member for Kirkfield Park (Mr. Stefanson).

Some constituents in our particular area brought forward a project involving Sturgeon Creek, and the environmental aspects of that project were exemplary. That was a marine biologist in a little community called Woodhaven who came up with the idea for the waters in Sturgeon Creek, applied to the Urban Green Team, was able to hire summer students who then worked with him on water purification and fisheries and so on and learned a tremendous amount of really good information, were paid, contributed to the community, and the nonprofit group also received the benefit of doing something very worthwhile for the community.

So that type of program does more just than give summer employment, although it made a tremendous number of jobs made available for Manitoba students, and that was for youths aged 16 to 24. The projects were all environmentally focused projects, which was important to us because we were the first government in Manitoba to focus on the environment. We developed the Sustainable Development branch, the first time in the history of Manitoba that any government has been far-seeing enough to do that. Others have talked the talk; we walked the walk. We put sustainable development in when the Brundtland Report came out as an initiative that permeated all of government up to and including the opportunities to be made available for youth employment. So that was a very good thing that happened.

The REDI Green Team, which is the rural Manitoba component of that, represented a partnership between Manitoba Rural Development and Natural Resources, and, again, hundreds of jobs for students in the summer, this last summer about 400 jobs through that project. It had what we called a home-town component. Again, the neighbourhood was involved, so it was not just students doing a nothing job that had no meaning, such as you used to get under the Jobs Fund. These were real jobs that had identified need by the community, by the people who live in the community, who identified projects, got approval through proposals and were able to hire students through Green Team work.

In rural Manitoba we called it the REDI Green Team. In Winnipeg we called it the Urban Green Team--a very, very good program. In fact, I am sure the members opposite will be grateful for this program, because many of their constituencies benefited from it. Indeed, many of the members opposite would phone us to see what process they needed to follow to take part in this program.

The member for St. Boniface (Mr. Gaudry) was one. Members opposite will know which ones they were who came seeking to have their own constituents be part of this program as well. It was well accepted by all constituencies. We also had the Young Entrepreneurs program, which was a component of Partners with Youth. That is designed to encourage young people to start their own businesses. A very exciting project, to see applications coming in with a comprehensive business plan developed, designed to encourage youths to become self-employed, independent and to help them with grants of up to $4,000 to help defray their business start up costs. In this sense, they were literally creating their own jobs and making opportunity to in turn, not just be looking for a job for themselves but creating jobs for themselves and others, a very good project, again, very well received, very highly thought of.

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The CareerStart program, which ensured co-ordination with the federal government and the summer employment programs under their jurisdiction, co-operative effort, again, co-operation between departments, co-operation with other levels of government.

Manitoba Youth Works, a collaborative effort between the City of Winnipeg and the province and through the Department of Education and Training.

Partners with Youth, I referred to one of the components of that a few moments ago. Again, that is jointly funded by Manitoba Education and Training, and Rural Development and that is through the Rural Economic Development Initiative. Partners with Youth, again, encourages community involvement and the community improvement projects have provided very valuable work experience for the youth of Manitoba.

There are four categories of eligible projects that are being supported, the environmental, and, again, as I said earlier, this government is the first government in Manitoba to put an all-pervasive sustainable development initiative through all areas of government. The environmental projects are ones that we particularly approved. Those projects that promoted environmental improvement and awareness within the community were good opportunities for students, as well, of course, the business of community development. We are not ashamed on this side of the House to say that we support business, because we feel that business is very integral.

We heard today the opposition asking us to support having people here who could receive training for the garment industry. That is business. It is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. We have always appreciated that here on this side of the House, and so business community development projects that provide for improvements to physical structure or for the development of resources for ongoing use for business in the community, we think are good things, not bad things.

We encourage our youth to learn about business and to want to be employed by business or to begin businesses themselves. We also had a component there for tourism, with projects that promoted and supported tourism in Manitoba and for marketing, and projects that promoted a new product or service or marketed a community feature. These are creative jobs. These are jobs that have some ability to prepare a young person for a future life. They are not simply make-work jobs that were made up for the course of the summer. They are jobs that have real meaning and purpose.

The approved project sponsors under this project were provided with a grant of up to $2,000 per youth involved in any position that was created. There were 450 positions funded under this program under the Partners with Youth program this summer, so that was another one that had in the hundreds of youth employed.

Manitoba Youth Works, Madam Speaker, was a comprehensive strategy to integrate youth social assistance recipients of 18 to 24 years of age into the provincial labour force, again, part of our Welfare to Work initiative, moving people from welfare to work, in this case, specifically targeting those young people who have not yet become entrenched into that welfare mentality but rather giving them a hand up to break them of that cycle and get them into the provincial labour force.

The program will pilot new approaches to promote an early transition from social assistance to work, by offering young adults training and employment opportunities and realistic work experiences. It is expected that about 200 young social assistance recipients will participate in this program in the '95-96 year, and that number we see growing as the youth work grows. That will become a co-operative partnership once it is fully up and running between the City of Winnipeg and the Department of Education and Training.

Youth Info.Works is a special component of CareerStart, which is designed to provide training opportunities for youth in information technology. Those benefits include work experience in information technology. We would provide a $2 wage incentive for employers and financial benefits for the youth, and about 200 positions there will be achieved in this fiscal year. Preliminary indications are that employers are pleased with this program.

We have CareerFocus. We have CareerStart. Three thousand four hundred positions were approved for the '95-96 year under CareerStart, a very large number, into the thousands now, not just 700 but into 3,000 figures that develop work-related skills that are of benefit to the community. We pay particular consideration to youth with special needs.

I guess, Madam Speaker, the most important thing that we have done, and I could flesh out these a little bit more if I have a bit of time, but, in the event that I run out, I wanted to conclude with the point that the most important thing we have done is create jobs in the private sector. We now have some 14,000 more people employed in Manitoba today than were employed last year. The economy is growing. We have high-demand sectors where they are crying for people to work. We are searching to find people and to train people to work in the trucking industry, in the garment industry and in the fashion industry and a number of other industries. We know now that the supply of jobs out there is greater than it was, and that is a direct result, I think, of things we have done with our initiatives to spur and strengthen the economy.

The best thing we can do is to create a climate where jobs become created not by government but by the private sector. In the meantime we are filling in an awful lot of government jobs for young people to prepare them financially for the academic year ahead.

Madam Speaker, I am seeing the light blinking, and I am assuming my time is up. I thank you for these few moments, and I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate.

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak in support of this resolution, the one proposed by my honourable colleague from Wolseley.

I want to make the point that, in speaking, I speak as a parent, as a former university teacher and as a former student, of course. I like to think of myself as someone who is dedicated to post-secondary education.

Also I am pleased to speak today because, as the MLA for Osborne, I represent an area that is rife with students. The Osborne constituency, as I am sure many of you know, is strategically placed between the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba so that Osborne has many students who attend both those institutions and, as well, many students who attend Red River Community College.

I guess I want to make the point that education is an important concern for Osborne and certainly one of my concerns. During the provincial election in March and April of 1995 when I went through Osborne and went from door to door and, more often with students, from apartment to apartment, I found that students too were extremely concerned about their education. They were extremely concerned about their job prospects. Jobs were an important issue for students. They were anxious, they were worried, they were worried not only about jobs for that forthcoming summer but, of course, they were worried about the long term and jobs for their future.

Before really addressing the resolution I wanted to congratulate the member for Wolseley on the clarity of her resolution. The recent education resolutions that I have read have been so steeped in abstraction and imprecision and highly elusive rhetoric that I have found them very difficult to wade through. It seems to me they have been written in that kind of language that flies away from its meaning. So I am very pleased to read this concise, clear resolution, which seems to me to be founded on sound Aristotelian logic. So, congratulations to the honourable member for Wolseley on her resolution that I certainly support.

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The resolution mentions the prohibitive cost of education. I think that the member for Wolseley has already talked about the fact that the prohibitive cost of education is preventing more and more of our students from attending post-secondary institutions, whether it be university or institutions like Red River Community College. Behind that, of course, lies the fact that what we are creating is a system where greater numbers of young people will never attend post-secondary education which seems very regrettable since we live in an age when we know that post-secondary education is more and more necessary. I believe that there is a very direct link between obtaining some post-secondary education and going on to earn a livable income.

One of the things that students told me when I was going from door to door was that the average cost of an Arts program at the University of Manitoba was $2,500, and indeed that seemed to me to be a prohibitive amount of money. When I attended university 20 years ago, a little bit more, I paid $425 for my tuition, so the current basic fee for a full Arts program is almost six times what it was in the 1970s. This seems to me, well, we have used the word "prohibitive" and it certainly underlines the point that obtaining a post-secondary education is increasingly prohibitive.

One of the things that I have only begun to learn since I was elected to this House and since I have begun dealing with constituency questions on a day-to-day basis is that getting a post-secondary education is very, very difficult these days. In fact getting a post-secondary education is almost impossible, and when I was a student it was not. It was simply a matter of working for a summer, paying your tuition, maybe getting a little help from the Canada Student Loans and attending university. One of the other points about tuition fees, and I believe this is particularly the case at the University of Winnipeg. Tuition fees are rising and at the same time that they are rising, funding to universities and other post-secondary institutions is declining, and so that university tuition fees form a larger and larger part of the operating budget. As I said this is certainly the case at the University of Winnipeg and one wonders where it will all end.

I think that the students of Manitoba are currently feeling squeezed between the meanness of the Tory government and the meanness of the federal Liberals. We all know that the cuts in transfer payments will affect post-secondary education.

Back to the question of prohibitive costs. Prohibitive costs are made more prohibitive, of course, by unemployment rates. The unemployment rates are also prohibitive and contrary to what the Minister of Education (Mrs. McIntosh) was telling us, when I was going door to door in my constituency I did not hear that employment was available. In fact, I was hearing just the opposite.

Financial costs are not then keeping pace and student assistance is not keeping pace. I think we are all aware in this House of the uncertainty of student assistance and I hardly need add, but I will anyway, the inability of the student assistance office or its refusal to really answer the needs of students these days.

As the critic for the Status of Women, I also want to make the point that the prohibitive costs are even more staggering for women. As many of you probably know, women earn approximately 72 cents for every $1 earned by their male counterparts, and this is the best-case scenario. In fact that is--as I say, that is the best. It is usually a lower amount of money so that the inability of women to find employment coupled with the prohibitive cost of education really puts them in double jeopardy.

So I would like to suggest that not only is education a Status of Women issue, but employment for women students is a Status of Women issue. I think I would like to point out here too that women frequently have more expenses than their male counterparts. For example, women frequently have to pay for day care. With more and more single parents, I think that the need for day care, and to consider day care and the costs connected with it as important, and providing employment for women is extremely important. So women have other issues besides simply paying their tuition fees.

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

Point of Order

Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Sturgeon Creek): Madam Speaker, I believe that the honourable member is supposed to be speaking on seasonal job strategy for post-secondary students. I have been listening attentively to her remarks and she is talking about women in the workplace. I think it would be in order for you to remind her of relevance to this subject.

Ms. McGifford: It seems to me that women are also affected by seasonal unemployment, and certainly women students require seasonal employment. I am simply, in my capacity as the critic for the Status of Women, pointing this out, pointing out the special needs that this group needs. I think to not do so would be highly irresponsible and certainly would not be responsible to my critic area, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. On the point of order by the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek, the honourable member does not have a point of order. It is clearly a dispute over the facts.

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Ms. McGifford: Madam Speaker, I have just two quick points that I want to make before ending, and one is to stress the prohibitive costs for northern and rural students and their particular need for seasonal unemployment programs. Not only do they have to come into the city, either Winnipeg or Brandon, and rent apartments and appoint apartments but also deal with personal dislocation, so I think it is extremely important.

I also want to address the issue of the loss of graduate students due to the lack of seasonal employment. Graduate students are extremely important to the whole continuity of the academic world. Without the best graduate students, we cannot maintain the high standards that we would like to in our province. Without employment for these students they are going to leave. In fact, they are leaving.

With that I would like to say that I once again support the member for Wolseley's (Ms. Friesen) resolution and that we do need to consider developing a proactive seasonal job strategy posthaste. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. McAlpine: Madam Speaker, I am really pleased to be able to rise and put a few very short remarks on the record. Really listening to the members from the opposite side there, I think that we all have to, and I never heard any of this, but listening to remarks that were made from the other members, but I think that--

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

When this matter is again before the House, the honourable member for Sturgeon Creek will have 14 minutes remaining.

The hour being 6 p.m. and as previously agreed, this House will reconvene at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday).