MPIC—Speed Kills Message

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, today the Manitoba Public Insurance, the Manitoba Road Safety Coordinating Committee, Autopac agents and law enforcement officers throughout the province are joining together to remind Manitoba motorists that speed kills. This weekend MPIC is launching television, radio and print advertising carrying the Speed Kills message. Law enforcement efforts throughout the province will be stepped up, and in Winnipeg, members of the Sargent Park Parking Patrol will join the road safety partners to help spread the message.

Every year speed is a contributing factor in 22 deaths and 1,500 injuries in the province of Manitoba. MPI, the Manitoba Road Safety Coordinating Committee, Autopac agents and law enforcement officers throughout the community, programming education and enforcement are working together to prevent Manitobans from breaking speed limits. By driving roadwise and following speed limits, Manitobans can prevent the unnecessary and tragic deaths and injuries caused every year in our province by speeding. We remind Manitobans that the chance of death or serious injury doubles for every 15 kilometres over 80 kilometres an hour. The faster a vehicle is going, the less time the driver has to react to an unexpected event. Excessive speed is one of the most common factors in fatalities, injuries and collisions in Manitoba, second only to alcohol.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to see so many of my colleagues wearing Speed Kills buttons today. By wearing this button, you are joining with Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation, the Manitoba Road Safety Coordinating Committee, law enforcement officers throughout the province, Autopac agents and the Sargent Park Parking Patrol as we remind Manitobans to be roadwise.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Madam Speaker, at the outset I would like to first of all wish everybody in the Orthodox Christian community a very happy Easter. This is Good Friday for Orthodox Christians and I know, certainly in our household, we look forward to the Easter weekend and, in our case, the Greek tradition of lamb on Easter Sunday. So I would like to wish everybody in Manitoba, many Orthodox Christians, a very Happy Easter.

I would like to put on the record, too, some comments on the Speed Kills campaign of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation. I would like to acknowledge, by the way, the fact that this is one of the reasons we are so proud of MPIC in our caucus, one of the lasting legacies of Ed Schreyer who saw, when he brought Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation into this province, the advantages of having a publicly owned corporation that could provide not only inexpensive automobile insurance rates but also a mandate to promote safety, road safety, a socially responsible mandate that you would never see with private insurance companies. And I say, Madam Speaker, I take great pride in seeing the fact now that Ed Schreyer’s legacy, nearly 30 years afterwards, is now something that is accepted by all Manitobans, that even Conservative members stand up with pride and talk about the great kind of campaigns brought in by the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation. MPIC has once again demonstrated its leadership. It has proven statistically, as the member outlined, the fact that one of the areas where we can make a difference in terms of road safety is in terms of keeping our speeds at safe levels. I say this because MPIC has been very active in this. In campaigns against drinking and driving, it has been very good.

I am very proud of MPIC and that great legacy of Ed Schreyer and the NDP. Thank you.

St. Norbert Community Centre

Mr. Marcel Laurendeau (St. Norbert): Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure today to rise in the House and speak about a very special occasion in the St. Norbert constituency, as 1999 marks the St. Norbert Community Centre's 50th year of existence. That represents five decades of providing excellent service to our community in contributing and enriching quality in the life of the neighbourhood.

The St. Norbert Community Centre has consistently demonstrated community leadership and has provided a wealth of activities for residents and visitors alike. These include hockey, ringette, soccer, baseball, and it also serves as a gathering place for events of local interest. The St. Norbert Community Centre produces a valuable newspaper that keeps area residents informed about coming events.

It is our government that has been recognizing community centres across this province. I would like to congratulate our government on their success in this endeavour, because it is with this type of support to our local communities that governments will see an enrichment of a community through their community centres and the activities that the children have for tomorrow.

I would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the dedicated volunteers who work hard to ensure the success of the St. Norbert Community Centre. They are absolutely invaluable, and our community is enriched by their local efforts.

Fifty years is a short period of time, and I still remember the days when I first started skating there. It was not 40 years ago, but we used to have a little pot-bellied stove in the middle of the first shack we had. I think it was about 40 years ago actually. Jim is getting close. I am not quite as old as some of the members in the Chamber.

* (1050)

An Honourable Member: I think he just called you an old man.

Mr. Laurendeau: I think so.

So, Madam Speaker, on their 50th birthday celebrations, I wish them a happy birthday.

Frontier College

Ms. MaryAnn Mihychuk (St. James): Today it is my pleasure to rise and give congratulations to Frontier College, which is celebrating 100 years of service to our community with its 100th anniversary. Last night I had the pleasure of attending the celebration with my colleagues Oscar Lathlin and George Hickes, and we had the pleasure of seeing our mayor, Glen Murray, in attendance as well.

Madam Speaker, Frontier College is an example of what can be done in very tough times. In the early years, teachers and volunteer teachers went out and worked all day in mining camps, logging camps, to reach out to Canada's frontiers. Today our frontier is a different place. Today our frontier is in the inner cities of many of our cities. Today our frontier is here in Winnipeg. One of the programs that Frontier College has started here in Winnipeg is Beat the Street, and that is why we were honouring Frontier College and Beat the Street here in Manitoba. It opened in Manitoba in 1987 in Winnipeg and has been extremely successful.

Literacy is so fundamental to the empowerment of all people, in particular those people who were not successful in the education system. One in four Canadians, over 187,000 people in Manitoba, cannot read a simple brochure. At least half of these people went to high school and one-third graduated. One person in three who started school in Manitoba will not graduate, and unfortunately we think that is climbing. In some native communities, nine out of 10 people who start school will not graduate. That is why we celebrate the work of Beat the Street, Frontier College, and all of those community programs such as the two that I have in St. James, Stevenson-Britannia and the program that I started at Orioles Community Centre, who reach out to provide adult literacy to our communities. Thank you.