Blueprint focuses on curbing spending, helping vulnerable children and finishing Lake Manitoba flood outlet

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/11/2016 (3289 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservatives’ second throne speech in six months offered a lot more substance than the first, which was largely a repeat of party campaign promises. Here are five takeaways:

The Progressive Conservative government is keen on controlling public-sector spending. The Tories promise to table legislation this session to keep a lid on wage increases. Balancing the province’s books remains a long-term goal. The government has said it could take up to two terms in government — eight years — to achieve it. At the same time, Premier Brian Pallister has promised no major tax increases; in fact the throne speech promises to introduce legislation requiring a referendum before increases can be made to the PST, income tax or the payroll tax. The Tories continue to promise a one-point reduction in the PST by the end of their first term.

The obsession with controlling costs is probably why some of the Tories’ expensive campaign promises barely got a mention. There was no mention, for instance, of a plan to “fast-track the construction of 1,200 personal care home beds,” as promised. As well, the government did not say — even in a general way — how it would keep its promise to spend $1 billion on infrastructure annually. While it announced $500 million in road spending last week, there were scant details in the throne speech on where the other half billion would be spent. One project definitely on the government’s radar is the completion of flood outlet channels for Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin, which the PCs call the largest construction project since the expansion of the floodway. It’s difficult to tell from the throne speech how much progress the government expects in the coming year.

The government appears to be spending considerable time thinking about ways to improve the lot of vulnerable children. In the aftermath of all too many tragedies within the province’s child welfare system, the government has promised to develop a “comprehensive plan” that will result in fewer kids in care, better co-ordination of services and better information sharing between agencies. Legislation will be introduced to reduce “bureaucratic red tape” that delays support services to children in care. A bill will be tabled to enhance the independence of the children’s advocate and to increase accountability within the province’s child welfare services. As well, the government plans to reform the province’s Employment and Income Assistance program to improve “the circumstances of our youngest citizens.”

We should know soon how the province will protect Manitobans from adverse effects of Ottawa’s plans to legalize marijuana. Legislation and regulations are promised that will “protect children and youth from exposure to marijuana and its use, minimize harm to users and address the dangers of drug-impaired driving.” The initiatives will follow months of work on the issue.

The Tories will spend more time studying such thorny health issues as long wait times and rising costs before much action takes place. The long-promised wait-time task force is yet to be established. A comprehensive assessment of Manitoba’s health system has just begun. Meanwhile, work is underway “through a consultation process to identify the best path forward” for the self-regulation of Manitoba’s paramedics — something the Tories used to blast the NDP for not carrying out.

— compiled by Larry Kusch and Nick Martin