Wednesday, June 5, 1996
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Wednesday, June 5, 1996
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING PETITIONS
Teachers--Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review
Mr. Gary Kowalski (The Maples): Madam Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Moses Garaba, Raymond Sokalski, John D. Clark and others urging the Minister of Education (Mrs. McIntosh) to recognize the true value of teachers and reject the recommendations made in the 1996 paper entitled a report of the Teacher Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review Committee.
Home Care Services
Mr. Gregory Dewar (Selkirk): Madam Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Maureen Crognoli, F. E. Chester, Betty Lincoln and others requesting the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) to consider reversing their plans to privatize home care services.
Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): I beg to present the petition of Inge Kirchhoff, Ed Timmerman, Gilles Beaudry and others requesting the Premier and Minister of Health to consider reversing their plan to privatize home care services.
Teachers--Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review
Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Madam Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Tracy Fehr, Lorraine Kroetsch, Linda Warkentin and others urging the Minister of Education (Mrs. McIntosh) to recognize the true value of teachers and reject the recommendations made in the May 1996 paper entitled a report of the Teacher Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review Committee.
READING AND RECEIVING PETITIONS
Home Care Services
Madam Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member for Broadway (Mr. Santos). It complies with the rules and practices of the House. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
THAT on at least six occasions during the 1995 provincial election, the Premier promised not to cut health services; and
THAT on December 16, 1995, a plan to privatize home care services was presented to Treasury Board; and
THAT this plan calls for the complete divestiture of all service delivery to nongovernment organizations, mainly private for-profit companies as well as the implementation of a user-pay system of home care; and
THAT previous cuts to the Home Care program have resulted in services being cut and people’s health being compromised; and
THAT thousands of caring front-line service providers will lose their jobs as a result of this change; and
THAT profit has no place in the provision of vital health services.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) to consider reversing their plan to privatize home care services.
Madam Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member for Wellington (Ms. Barrett). It complies with the rules and practices of the House. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
THAT on at least six occasions during the 1995 provincial election, the Premier promised not to cut health services; and
THAT on December 16, 1995, a plan to privatize home care services was presented to Treasury Board; and
THAT this plan calls for the complete divestiture of all service delivery to nongovernment organizations, mainly private for-profit companies as well as the implementation of a user-pay system of home care; and
THAT previous cuts to the Home Care program have resulted in services being cut and people’s health being compromised; and
THAT thousands of caring front-line service providers will lose their jobs as a result of this change; and
THAT profit has no place in the provision of vital health services.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) to consider reversing their plan to privatize home care services.
Retention of Hogs Single-Desk Selling
Madam Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member for Dauphin (Mr. Struthers). It complies with the rules and practices of the House. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
WHEREAS the provincial government announced its intention to move to an open marketing system for hogs in Manitoba without consulting producers as it promised during the last election; and
WHEREAS a majority of hog producers support single-desk selling under Manitoba Pork, the marketing board; and
WHEREAS the hog industry in Manitoba has doubled under an orderly marketing system; and
WHEREAS processors who will contribute to Manitoba’s value-added industry have publicly expressed their preference for orderly marketing because it is easier to deal with one agent rather than 2,300 producers.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba request that the Minister of Agriculture consider reversing his decision and retain a system for orderly marketing of hogs in Manitoba under Manitoba Pork.
Teachers--Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review
Madam Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member for The Maples (Mr. Kowalski). It complies with the rules and practices of the House. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?
Some Honourable Members: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
THAT the May 1996 report of the Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review Committee is a direct attack on the collective rights of all teachers and consequently will negatively affect the quality of education in Manitoba; and
THAT by pursuing the direction and recommendations suggested by this report teachers will be stripped of any powers they have with regard to collective bargaining; and
THAT teachers by educating our youth to compete successfully in the knowledge based economy of the 1990s are generators of wealth; and
THAT any changes to the teachers' compensation process only be undertaken with the idea of improving the present system and not by attacking teachers' ability to bargain.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba urge the Minister of Education (Mrs. McIntosh) to recognize the true value of teachers and reject the recommendations made in the May 1996 paper entitled Report of the Teacher Collective Bargaining and Compensation Review Committee.
Home Care Services
Madam Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member for Point Douglas (Mr. Hickes). It complies with the rules and practices of the House. Is it the will of the House to have the petition read?
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
THAT on at least six occasions during the 1995 provincial election, the Premier promised not to cut health services; and
THAT on December 16, 1995, a plan to privatize home care services was presented to Treasury Board; and
THAT this plan calls for the complete divestiture of all service delivery to nongovernment organizations, mainly private for-profit companies as well as the implementation of a user-pay system of home care; and
THAT previous cuts to the Home Care program have resulted in services being cut and people’s health being compromised; and
THAT thousands of caring front-line service providers will lose their jobs as a result of this change; and
THAT profit has no place in the provision of vital health services.
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba may be pleased to request the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae) to consider reversing their plan to privatize home care services.
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PRESENTING REPORTS BY
STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Standing Committee on Law Amendments
First Report
Mr. Peter Dyck (Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments): Madam Speaker, I beg to present the First Report of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments.
An Honourable Member: Dispense.
Madam Speaker: Dispense.
Your Standing Committee on Law Amendments presents the following as its First Report.
Your committee met on Monday, June 3, 1996, at 7 p.m. in Room 255 of the Legislative Building to consider bills referred.
Your committee has considered:
Bill 35--The Child and Family Services Amendment Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur les services à
l'enfant et à la famille
and has agreed to report the same with the following amendment:
MOTION:
THAT the proposed subsection 19(7), as set out in subsection 4(3) of the Bill, be amended in the part preceding clause (a) by striking out “has information” and substituting “, in the course of conducting an investigation or carrying out other duties, obtains information”.
Mr. Dyck: I move, seconded by the honourable member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed), that the report of the committee be received.
Motion agreed to.
TABLING OF REPORTS
Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister charged with the administration of The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act): Madam Speaker, I would like to table the Annual Report of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation of 1995, and the first quarterly report for the three months ending May 31, and I table this on behalf of the Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson).
MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS
1996 Summer Olympics
Hon. Jim Ernst (Minister responsible for Sport): I have a statement for the House.
Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure as the Minister responsible for Sport to rise before the House to recognize those many Manitobans who have been selected to compete in the 1996 Summer Olympics next month in Atlanta.
It is the dream of every aspiring amateur athlete to compete in the Olympics. Only a select few have that opportunity. When you take into account there are more than three million registered competitive athletes in Canada and an estimated 15,000 Canadian athletes engaged in high-performance sport, these Manitobans have indeed distinguished themselves. Through their hard work, intense training and dedication, they will realize their Olympic dream and provide others with encouragement and confidence to compete to achieve their goals and to excel.
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We strive toward providing a quality sport experience for all Manitobans and enshrine characteristics into a sports system that is athlete-oriented and respected. We look at these athletes as leaders and role models.
Those athletes we recognize today include Angela Chalmers in athletics; Jamie Dawson in badminton; basketball player, Andrea Hutchens; Tanya Dubnicoff and Clara Hughes in cycling; Ewan Beaton and Niki Jenkins in judo; rower, Colleen Miller; shooters, Jason Caswell and Clayton Miller; softball players, Juanita Clayton, Karen Doell and Debbie Sonnenberg; swimmers, Shannon Shakespeare and Riley Mants; and volleyball players, Wanda Guenette, Janis Kelly, Michelle Sawatsky and Christine Toews-Stark, along with Coach Mike Burchak. There are also six other athletes: Theresa Brick, Daryl Fillion, Byron Goodwin, Christian Weber, Alanna Yakiwchuk and Henry Klassen who are still in the qualification process in the sport of athletics.
Add to that list more than 20 others who will be going to the games as officials, trainers, medical and support staff. Manitobans representation is unprecedented in that we may comprise almost 10 percent of Team Canada '96 taking into consideration that we have only about 4 percent of the country's population.
As well, we have a number of Manitobans who as disabled athletes will be competing in the Paralympics which will be held in Atlanta immediately following these Olympics. These athletes include Nick Cunningham and Colin Mathison in wheelchair track; Jared Funk and David Tweed in wheelchair rugby; Joe Johnson in wheelchair basketball; Glenn Mariash in wheelchair shooting and Lance MacDonald in blind lawn bowling.
I will ask all members to join me in recognizing the achievements of these fine Manitobans in extending best wishes to them as they head to Atlanta. Thank you.
Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): I want to join the minister and add the voices of this side of the House to congratulating all those athletes who have qualified to represent Canada in the Olympic Games in Atlanta. I also want to extend congratulations to all the coaches, the volunteer officials and others who will be working with the team to support them in their efforts in Atlanta. I also want to give special recognition to, for the first time, the Paralympics which will be part of the same celebration in Atlanta for disabled athletes. That is a historic event and it deserves special recognition.
I want to also give our good wishes to those athletes still in the process with track and field in their qualifying events to join those other athletes in Atlanta.
I want to also though, draw attention to the incongruence of this minister bringing forward this statement at this time and talking about the leadership of these athletes and the benefits that they gain from participating in athletics because all of these athletes started off in the playgrounds, in the schoolyards, in the gymnasiums of the schools in Manitoba, and all of them had the attention and the support of physical education teachers and coaches through the school system in Manitoba. I want to recommend to the minister and to this government that if they want to continue to see the success of Manitoba athletes, they have to give attention to the physical education programs in this province and not as they are doing now cut back on those programs.
The support the sport programs in Manitoba receive from physical education teachers and from the school programs cannot go under recognized. We cannot take for granted that the teachers of physical education in this province go a long way in supporting the elite programs that have developed such successful athletes that are part of the Canadian Olympic team. So if the provincial Minister for Sport (Mr. Ernst) wants to continue to see successful Manitobans as part of our Canadian team, they had better reconsider their policy on physical education and support physical education and coaching through the high schools and other schools in Manitoba. Thank you.
Introduction of Guests
Madam Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the gallery where we have with us this afternoon sixty-five Grade 5 students from Southwood Elementary School under the direction of Mr. Abe Friesen. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Driedger).
Also, we have eighteen Grades 7, 8 and 9 students from Rock Lake School under the direction of Lynden Warkentin. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Turtle Mountain (Mr. Tweed).
On behalf of all honourable members, I welcome you this afternoon.
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