Madam Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the Speaker's Gallery where we have with us today senior elected and government officials from Ukraine participating in the Canada-Ukraine Legislative Co-operation Project: Mr. Chechetov, Mr. Nehoda, Mr. Reznyk and Mr. Sholomytski.

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

Also, seated in the public gallery this afternoon, we have 23 students from Sun Valley School under the direction of Mademoiselle Yvette Couture. This school is located in the constituency of the Minister of Family Services (Mrs. Mitchelson).

Additionally, we have twenty-seven Grades 5 and 6 students from the Centennial School under the direction of Ms. Dianne Moroz. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak).

Also, fourteen Grade 6 students from the Duke of Marlborough School under the direction of Mrs. Pam Doyle. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Rupertsland (Mr. Robinson).

Also, 20 students from Red River Community College Training Centre in English as a Second Language under the direction of Ms. Lorna Hiebert. This group is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Broadway (Mr. Santos).

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

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Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, my question is to the First Minister. Regrettably, between 1991 and 1995, it is reported that property values for downtown office space have declined by some 20 percent. Over the weekend, a consultant's report was endorsed by business and community representatives to breathe new life into downtown Winnipeg and calls on a number of measures to do that, one of which is to tear down the barriers that were erected at Portage and Main. I would like to ask the First Minister whether he endorses this plan, and what support will he give to the City of Winnipeg to tear down those barriers and make our community more user friendly.

Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, last time I checked, the responsibility for that kind of action was solely and squarely within the jurisdiction and authority of the City of Winnipeg. The City of Winnipeg, I know, is vitally interested in ensuring that its downtown area is revitalized, strengthened, and I would say that I have great confidence in their ability to do that job. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I do not try and always interfere in the workings of other levels of government for my own political gain. I believe, if the member opposite has nothing of criticism or of compliment to be saying with respect to the actions of provincial government, then maybe he should run for the mayoralty next time around.

Mr. Doer: Thank goodness we took an opposite view, and we were involved with the city and the federal government to develop The Forks and The Forks site for all Manitobans. Perhaps the Premier should examine the fact that he does have a Minister of Urban Affairs, and presumably he has sworn that individual in to do something on behalf of the city of Winnipeg.

I would like to ask the Premier whether his thin-skinned answer here this afternoon is due more in fact to his voting record at the City of Winnipeg, where he voted to erect the barricades in 1976 on two occasions, and then, when he was called to withdraw those barricades and let the people participate in this famous, historic corner, he voted with his friends, the back-room coalition, the gang at City Hall, the ICEC, and he voted against the people. Would it be that his thin-skinned response today in terms of lack of leadership is more to do with his past biases rather than the future of what is best for Winnipeggers and downtown Winnipeg?

Mr. Filmon: No, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Doer: That is the first straight answer I have gotten from the Premier for a long time. I thank him for that response.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, the report in the business community joined with Tourism Winnipeg, Winnipeg 2000, the Chamber of Commerce and a number of other groups a couple of weeks ago which recommended that we take a downtown view for future development. This group again says that we should have a downtown-first location policy for facilities in the city of Winnipeg.

I would like to ask the Premier whether he will overrule his Minister responsible for Lotteries and have the investment, the $50-million capital investment that is being planned by this government to go out of downtown and into the suburbs. Will he practise the policy of downtown first and start doing something about our downtown situation here in Winnipeg?

Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, you know, the difficulty that we have with the suggestions that continuously are brought forward by the Leader of the Opposition is that he lives life in eight-second clips. He never looks at anything on a long-term basis; he never looks at anything in terms of the whole broad basis. To suggest--[interjection]

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

The honourable First Minister, to complete his response.

Mr. Filmon: To suggest that the solutions to revitalizing downtown Winnipeg are a quick hit like having a casino there belies totally the complexity of the problem and the challenges that are faced. That is why, when you look at life in eight-second clips as the Leader of the Opposition does, you ignore the fact that there needs to be a great deal more work and effort being put in co-operatively by partnerships of all sorts. The fact of the matter is that the consultant that was brought in by The Forks and North Portage to look at and evaluate the circumstances of downtown Winnipeg said that a casino is not going to solve any problems in downtown Winnipeg, that locating the casino in downtown Winnipeg will not mean one dollar more business for the enterprises that are involved in downtown Winnipeg and will not do anything to revitalize it.

But, you see, Madam Speaker, this is what the Leader of the Opposition looks for, is all those kinds of simplistic answers that are readily attainable and immediately applicable and wrong nine times out of 10. We have to look at a whole variety of issues, and this government will continue to support downtown Winnipeg, will continue to look at long-term issues that can be implemented and that can in fact enhance the downtown area of Winnipeg. That is what we will keep working on, not the quick fixes that the Leader of the Opposition always seems to find.

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Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): To the Minister of Justice. The minister has denied that his department is a culprit in the Bauder sex assault case, but in the transcript at the Provincial Court hearing which we have now obtained, when defence counsel told the judge, and I quote: There became consensual relations, sexual relations, and there is no suggestion at any point in time that these relations were anything but consensual, or this was an entirely consensual matter, or Mr. Bauder did not use his position in any way to force the complainant.

I asked: Did the Crown say anything? No, no objection whatsoever. No argument on relevance, no alternative version even, just as in the Court of Appeal, we understand.

My question for the minister: Is it now the government's policy that the perceived conduct of child victims should now be relevant in sexual crimes against them? Because that is what it appears the government's position is in the courts.

Hon. Vic Toews (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Madam Speaker, the member for St. Johns is incorrect. He is putting incorrect information and certainly misleading information on the record. If one reviews the entire transcript at the provincial judges level, it is clear what the Crown's position is. It was then the defence to indicate what their position was, and there was a very clear position taken by the provincial judge in respect of the issue of consent. There was no opportunity, nor was there any requirement for the Crown to correct anything. The Crown's position in respect of this individual, this victim, was made perfectly clear on the record, and when you go to the Court of Appeal, the factum--again, the member for St. Johns is misleading this House--specifically indicates that the Crown, in response to the position of the defence--and it was the defence in each of these cases. The defence indicated that it was consensual; the Crown's specific written position was that this individual was the victim of a person who was taking advantage of a position of trust.

Mr. Mackintosh: Would the minister, with that nonsense that he has just put on the record--because the transcript speaks for itself. There was absolute acquiescence by the Crown in this miscarriage of justice.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for St. Johns, to pose his supplementary question now.

Mr. Mackintosh: Will this minister not face up to the fact that there are serious, serious shortcomings in his department, especially when he gets a letter from the mother of the victim here who says, and I quote: We have some serious and grave concerns about the way in which the prosecution was handled. And this was the primary factor in the eventual outcome of the case.

Will he not face up to reality?

Mr. Toews: Madam Speaker, I have had occasion to speak to many prosecutors over the last number of days, and one of the concerns that they raise is why is this member continually slamming them for their professional work. I stand beside what my prosecutors did in that case. I want to indicate that our criminal justice system indicates that these people have independence in terms of the decisions that they make, and it would be highly improper for me as the minister to interfere in the decisions that they make. Nothing this member has indicated demonstrated that these people have done anything less than their professional duties, and this member, who probably does not even know how to prosecute a parking ticket, should take a lesson from those prosecutors who for years have been out there defending the public of Manitoba.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader): Point of order, Madam Speaker. Beauchesne is very clear that answers to questions should relate to the matter raised. The member for St. Johns raised a question based on a letter received from the mother of the victim. I would appreciate if you would have the minister respond to these concerns without the kind of low-level personal insults that we saw in that answer. The mother, at least, deserves a straightforward answer.

Madam Speaker: The honourable Minister of Justice, on the same point of order.

Mr. Toews: On the same point of order, Madam Speaker, I fully appreciate that members have the right to raise legitimate questions. However, in the past there have been some very specious questions which have had the effect of impeaching the integrity of people in my department, professional people who work hard for the province of Manitoba, and it is that member who should apologize to the prosecutors in the Attorney General's department.

Madam Speaker: On the point of order raised by the honourable member for Thompson, there is no point of order. It is clearly a dispute over the facts.

Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): Would the minister not do as we are seeking, and that is to provide support for those hard-working and excellent Crown attorneys? Give them the resources they need to do the job, particularly given the words of the mother of the victim who writes to me last week and says this: I am certain that if they--and that is the Prosecutions branch--would have done their job that the Court of Appeal would not have reached the verdict that they did, and there may be no reason to appeal it to the Supreme Court.

Would he not support his own Crown attorneys?

Hon. Vic Toews (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Madam Speaker, day in and day out I support the prosecutors against the frivolous kinds of attacks by the member for St. Johns.

Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): Madam Speaker, on May 14 I wrote to the Minister of Health on behalf of my constituent Paul Reimer to inquire when Entocort, a new medication to put Crohn's disease into remission, would be covered under Pharmacare. This new medication will cost $96 per month after the first month, which is a lot of money when you are on a disability pension of $834 a month.

I want to ask the Minister of Health, given that this medication was approved and available to the public on April 2, 1997, if this minister will confirm that this new drug will be on the drug formulary for new medications covered under Pharmacare which is to be released shortly, within a month, if this medication for Crohn's disease will be on that formulary.

Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, I hope that I will be able to do that. The exact specifics I will get for the member. As she has correctly identified, it is that time of the year when we do prepare the new formulary. That has been done already, and I will check the specifics on that particular item. There are many, many items that change and are added to that particular formulary at this time of the year. I may just add for the member's information that we are in fact exploring now, for just the reason she has identified--the length of time that it does take to have product added to that formulary--a much faster process that will involve many reviews throughout the year so that people will not have to wait significant lengths of time for new drugs to be added. So I thank her for her comment.

Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): I want to ask the minister to confirm: When will he be releasing this new drug formulary for Manitobans to ensure that the most up-to-date medications will be on it? Will he tell the House today when will he release the formulary, which he has in his possession right now?

Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, I believe the approvals of the changes took place by cabinet last week, so it is in the administrative process to be released. We have in fact changed the method by which we communicate. Because so many pharmacies are now online, we will be proceeding with a faster electronic notification method as opposed to the publishing of the large areas in the Gazette. It speeds the process.

We are also going to be moving to a number of times during the year when we will be making those revisions and changes to deal with just the issue that she has flagged. I would suggest, if she wants the specifics on this drug, I should be able to provide her that information later in the day, just to give her the confirmation she is looking for.

Ms. Cerilli: What I asked the Minister of Health for is a date when he is going to release the formulary, which I understand he has in his office right now, and I want to know if this medication for Crohn's disease will be on it. I understand he is going to get me the specifics on that drug, but I want to know now when is he going to release the drug formulary, which will include a number of different drugs.

Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, two specific points. Just to confirm, I do not have it in front of me, so I would not want to put false information on the floor of the House, but I will get her the confirmation that she is looking for in a timely fashion. With respect to the formulary, as I have indicated, it was approved--those changes to the formulary were approved by cabinet last week, and they are in process now administratively through the system. They will be done, I imagine, very, very shortly. It is my first experience going through this, so I cannot offhand tell her on what specific date, but they have received approval. They received approval last Wednesday at cabinet, and now it is an administrative matter working itself through to publication. So I imagine whatever number of days it takes for that to happen, it will happen very closely. I cannot give her an exact date, but it is in process. It has been approved.

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Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, last week the provincial Ombudsman told the media that the backlog in his office was close to a year. Yet this office will soon assume responsibility for two complex new pieces of legislation, The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and The Personal Health Information Act. Clearly, the latter act is vital legislation which should protect us from SmartHealth.

I want to ask the Minister of Health, who knows that his complex and controversial legislation will tax the Ombudsman's office still further, what steps he is taking to assure Manitobans that their complaints will be handled before the next century.

Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, if the member would like to assist the Ombudsman in solving that individual's backlog now, she could play a very big role in it by going to her caucus meeting tonight and suggesting that her colleagues attend LAMC meetings so that the LAMC could provide those resources. Right now the holdup is with her and her colleagues.

Ms. McGifford: I think the Minister of Health well knows there is no agenda.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Osborne was recognized for a supplementary question that requires no preamble.

Ms. McGifford: Madam Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Health, who knows that Manitoba is the only province in Canada which will have all personal health information online, to explain how the overworked and understaffed Ombudsman's office will provide the expertise in health care records management and computer security, and if he is so worried about the LAMC, perhaps we could have an agenda and meetings scheduled.

Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, with respect to new responsibilities for that office, both the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship (Mrs. Vodrey) and myself clearly recognize that more resources will have to go in to properly staff that office, and we are committed to see that happen.

With respect to the current backlog of work in that office, I think we have heard the case very clearly today in the words of the member for Transcona (Mr. Reid), who is holding that office--the members in the New Democratic Party--holding the good work of the Office of the Ombudsman to ransom to advance one of their own agendas. So the members opposite must clearly accept--given the fact that their agenda was said here in the House today by the member for Transcona--responsibility for that and not try to evade responsibility for their actions.

Ms. McGifford: Madam Speaker, I wish the Minister of Health would answer my questions instead of dealing cheap political tricks.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Osborne, with a final supplementary question.

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, is it not time to admit, in view of the overworked Ombudsman, the need for expertise, the limitations on the Ombudsman's office and the laborious and expensive court appeal process, that what this legislation cries out for is an information and privacy commissioner?

Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, this is not a joke. This is a serious business. The only joke in here is how the New Democratic Party, holding up resources for the Office of the Ombudsman, then can use that as an argument to say we should not give them some additional work with resources.

Madam Speaker, if the Office of the Ombudsman is unable to do its work today, it is because of members of the New Democratic Party holding up the . . . The Minister of Culture (Mrs. Vodrey), this Minister of Health, with our Treasury Board will make sure that the resources to do the work that is required under the privacy legislation to properly protect the privacy of people's health information will happen, but New Democrats have to maybe once, maybe for once accept some responsibility for their actions.

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Government Services. Next to the Louis Riel statue, one would argue the centrepiece at the back is the first-class multihundred-thousand-dollar water fountain that this government built a couple of years back. The problem is that it has not been working very well. We have seen tax dollars going down the drain as they have been unable to turn on the tap.

My question to the Minister of Government Services: When does this minister predict that they are actually going to be able to turn on the water fountain? Will we be able to see it before the summer gets underway?

Hon. Frank Pitura (Minister of Government Services): I am informed by my staff that the fountain and all the problems that existed with it at the beginning have now been worked out. The fountain will indeed be operating in due course and give Manitobans and the tourists of Manitoba something to enjoy.

Mr. Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, I take it "due course" means prior to the snowfall, I trust, I hope.

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): My question to the Minister of Government Services is: Back in April I asked him the question about the smoking lounge. He said that he was going to establish this wonderful committee that would come back and quickly respond to what was going to be happening. Is he going to continue to allow a double standard inside this building and outside? Will he stand up today and say no more smoking in the members' lounge?

Hon. Frank Pitura (Minister of Government Services): In response to the member's question, the Department of Government Services was approached by LAMC to investigate the smoking issue with respect to the members' lounge, at which point my department has looked into some alternatives for smoking, and that report is ready to go forward to LAMC for their discussions the very next time they meet.

Mr. Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, I am wondering if the minister then will share with us--as he will argue the NDP are being irresponsible on this issue, I would ask the minister to take responsibility and indicate to this House, does he believe it is time that the Manitoba Chamber joined chambers across this country and say that it is not appropriate to allow smoking beside the Chamber while at the same time disallow smoking in other public buildings outside of this Legislative Building.

Mr. Pitura: Without belabouring the issue, I think that overall the government of Manitoba would like to continue to move towards the smoke-free environment within all the government buildings. However, I would point out that the smoking members' lounge, the members' lounge across the way, is under the purview of the Legislative Assembly Management Commission, so it would be up to that committee to decide as to whether or not they would accept the proposal from Government Services. As I mentioned earlier, as soon as the LAMC is prepared to meet and have a legitimate meeting, we will be prepared to put that forward to LAMC.

Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): The Workplace Safety and Health Act states under the stop-work warning, Section 26(2), that the officer of Workplace Safety and Health Branch can issue that warning when it "involves or is likely to involve a serious risk" to the workers working in a particular workplace. In 1991, August, Canadian Corrosion Control was issued a stop-work warning, and then at the end of September of that same year, 1991, the company was still not in compliance with the stop-work warning and workers' health and safety were at risk.

I want to ask the minister responsible for Workplace Safety and Health why his branch did not issue a stop-work order for that particular company considering that they had not complied and that workers' health and safety were at risk.

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Hon. Harold Gilleshammer (Minister of Labour): I point out to my honourable friend that he should be familiar with this legislation. It was brought forward by his party when they were in government, and the primary focus of the legislation is to provide education and persuade employers to provide a safe workplace.

Secondarily, there is a role for prosecution and enforcement. In this particular case there was a stop-work warning that was complied with, and that brought an end to the matter.

Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I want to ask the Minister of Justice, who, when he was Minister of Labour, stated that the appropriate individuals and corporations are named when a recommendation goes from the Workplace Safety and Health Branch to the Department of Justice. I want to ask the Minister of Justice why his department put a stay on prosecutions against Canadian Corrosion Control in June of 1995 when that particular company went bankrupt, and why did the Justice Department not take steps against the owners of that company.

Hon. Vic Toews (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I would refer my colleague from Transcona to the report that was issued out of Saskatchewan by two very prominent ex-prosecutors, Mr. Earl Wilson, Q.C., and Mr. Peter Martin, Q.C., who went to law school here, graduates 1976, two of the finest prosecutors that Alberta ever produced and who were hired by the Saskatchewan NDP government.

He talks very clearly about the issue of the independence of prosecutors and basically indicates that the independence of prosecutors must mean that prosecutors must remain free to reduce charges, stay prosecutions or negotiate plea bargains in which the offender may be prosecuted for a less serious crime or receive a lesser sentence. The independence of prosecutors to make decisions is something that political people, including the Attorney General, should not interfere with.

Mr. Reid: I want to table a list that the minister has supplied me, prosecutions and cases before the court when he was Minister of Labour, showing that not one company owner or manager was ever listed in the prosecutions of that particular year. I want to ask this Minister of Justice why his department does not have a zero tolerance policy when serious injury or death occurs as a result of a workplace accident and why owners themselves are not listed along with the company names in these particular prosecutions now through his department, allowing people to escape prosecution because of his actions. [interjection]

Mr. Toews: Madam Speaker, the member for Wellington (Ms. Barrett) asks who I am trying to protect. I am trying to protect the people of Manitoba.

The issue that he should be looking at is indeed the act that the NDP passed--and if you look at this designer of that act, the policy person behind that act, one Victor Rabinovitch, who indicated that the purpose of The Workplace Safety and Health Act that the NDP were bringing in was not to prosecute, it was to educate.

So this government has brought in legislation to toughen up some of the fines, but if they want to ask why more prosecutions have not been done under that act, maybe they should look at the policy that they themselves implemented and that we have carried out, I would say, in a much better way than they could have ever carried it out.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, over the weekend the Minister of Finance was glowing over the results of the labour force survey for May which was recently published showing 12,200 more jobs than in May of 1996. However, the gains were essentially made in the low-wage service sectors, while Manitoba actually lost 5,400 jobs in the higher-wage sectors of manufacturing, construction and utilities. Can this minister explain why we are losing thousands of jobs in the high-wage industry sectors of this province?

Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Well, first of all, the member for Brandon East makes a terrible assumption that jobs in the service sector are low-paying, low-skilled kinds of jobs. I assure him they are not, and all he needs to do is go to many Manitoba businesses in information technology and other areas, and he will find that they are good jobs, well-paying jobs and so on.

I am glad that he finally recognizes the strong performance of Manitoba's economy in terms of jobs. In fact, even more important than the statistics that he put on the record today is, for the first five months of 1997, there are 16,400 more jobs in Manitoba today, the best record in all of Canada. What is even more important is in the private sector there are actually over 19,900 more jobs created during that same period, and probably the best news of all is that 80 percent of those jobs are full-time jobs. Nearly 13,000 of those jobs are full-time jobs, again the best performance in all of Canada right here in Manitoba.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): A supplementary: I note the province of Saskatchewan has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, 5.6 percent, lower than Manitoba. Can the minister--

Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable member for Brandon East, to pose a supplementary question now.

Mr. Leonard Evans: Can the minister explain why we lost 2,900 manufacturing jobs since May of 1996, while manufacturing jobs continued to increase in Canada as a whole?

Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Madam Speaker, during that period of time there were some adjustments, some closures taking place, some related to the flood here in Manitoba during that period, but I think what is most important of all--and I know the member for Brandon East always says: Well, do not only look at things in the short term, look at them in the long term. If you look at the period from 1992 to 1996, the last four years, there are 8,600 more manufacturing jobs in Manitoba, one of the best performances in all of Canada. So, again, over the long term here in Manitoba, manufacturing jobs are performing amongst the best in all of Canada.

Mr. Leonard Evans: Can the minister explain why there are fewer jobs in manufacturing in Manitoba today than there were in 1988 when this government was first elected? Why has the manufacturing sector declined over the term, the whole term of this government, fewer people in manufacturing today than in 1988?

Mr. Stefanson: Madam Speaker, again, I think what has been happening, certainly across Canada, is there have been some adjustments in the manufacturing sector. There have been adjustments in terms of technology. I know the members of the NDP are still in the dark ages. They do not realize that technology is taking place and is taking place in Manitoba businesses and Canadian businesses, so there are some adjustments. But I encourage the member for Brandon East. He always says: Do not look at one month's statistics, let us look over the longer term. Well, let us look at the period 1992 to 1996, and the job growth in Manitoba in the manufacturing sector is amongst the best in all of Canada.

But, on an overall basis, the single most important thing to Manitobans is jobs, and Manitoba for the first five months of 1997 has the best job growth in all of Canada. We have the best job growth in private sector jobs in all of Canada. We have the third-lowest unemployment rate in all of Canada. We have the second-lowest youth unemployment in all of Canada. That is excellent news for all Manitobans in terms of job opportunities and the performance of Manitoba's economy.

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Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Madam Speaker, my question is to the Premier (Mr. Filmon).

This morning the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs justified child labour by quoting Margaret Thatcher and by saying, quote: In Pakistan the only way a family might eat is if that child or a number of children of a family were out doing some work.

Does the Premier agree with this statement by the Minister of Consumer Affairs?

Hon. Mike Radcliffe (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs): Madam Speaker, I would like to put on the record in this Assembly, as I did on the public airwaves this morning, that the Government of Canada and in turn our government ought not to seek simplistic solutions with regard to international trade and that if in fact we are dealing with foreign nations where there are less than satisfactory child labour laws, then the role and philosophy that our Canadian government has used--for example, with the nation of Cuba, whereby if we trade with them, if we talk to them, if we do not exclude them, we can have far more impact than if we just cut them off and put them in a little ghetto and forget about them. So, therefore, ongoing communication and education has got to be the key to help solve these world problems, which in no way do I attempt to diminish.

Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood): Madam Speaker, my supplementary to the Premier is this: Given that requiring the country of origin labelling on products would allow consumers to know where the products were made by child labour, would this Premier, unlike his Consumer Affairs minister, stand up and condemn that child labour is unacceptable?

Hon. Mike Radcliffe (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs): Madam Speaker, I repeat for the benefit of the member opposite that I do condemn and I believe that every right-thinking person in this country would condemn inappropriate use of child labour in any nation, be it in Canada, be it abroad. I can assure the member opposite that this is an issue that was raised today to me, and I am prepared to research it and see if this is something that would be appropriate to institute in Manitoba. This is not a knee-jerk reaction such as perhaps my honourable colleague across the way would want to indulge, but it is something that should be considered. However, I must reiterate for the record that I do not accept any of the preamble or the implications that this government or this nation in any way condones the abuse of children.

Madam Speaker: Time for Oral Questions has expired.