Selinger’s spring budget passes, new session set for Nov.16

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This article was published 05/11/2015 (3633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Selinger government finally passed the budget it unveiled on April 30 Thursday as the fourth session of the 40th legislature came to an end.

Manitoba MLAs will take 10 days off and begin a new session on Nov. 16, with a speech from the throne. It will be the last address setting out the government’s agenda before next spring’s election.

“We’ll lay out a comprehensive vision for the future of Manitoba,” Premier Greg Selinger said.

The government still hasn’t decided whether it will bring down a budget before the April 19 election.

“We’ll offer a very positive future (for) Manitoba. We’ve done relatively well working through this recession in terms of keeping the economy going. We’ve put a big emphasis on ensuring that people get opportunities for training and jobs. We obviously have a priority on health care still in this province.”

The spring session began later than normal this year due to the NDP leadership convention in March, which saw Selinger barely hang onto his job. Because of the late start, much of the government’s legislative agenda, including passage of its $12.8-billion budget, was delayed until fall.

Selinger cited bills to regulate e-cigarettes, prevent young Manitobans from cyberbullying, and imposing greater penalties for dangerous drivers as some of the session’s legislative highlights.

The province also trumpeted implementation of a promise to invest more than $1 billion in the construction and repair of roads and bridges and flood protection infrastructure.

The e-cigarette legislation, similar to the law regulating the smoking of tobacco, will come into force once the accompanying regulations are written, the premier said.

“It’s a public health measure and it was widely supported,” he said.

Opposition Leader Brian Pallister said the Conservatives did their job in “holding the government’s feet to the fire on important issues.”

Those included questions about government tendering contracts for tiger dam flood control devices and ongoing scrutiny over the construction of the Investors Group Field stadium.

The NDP leadership crisis, which saw five members of Selinger’s cabinet resign a year ago, provided the Opposition with plenty of ammunition during daily debates in the legislature.

Several senior members of Selinger’s staff, who supported leadership rival Theresa Oswald, resigned or were pushed out following the leadership contest.

Pallister attempted to find out how much the former staffers were paid in severance, but he was told he’d have to wait until publicly released reports come out next year — after the April 19 election.

“It’s a manipulation of the information that Manitobans should have,” Pallister said, “and it’s an example of an old tired government,”

Meanwhile, Selinger did not dismiss a rumour Thursday that the government may alter the way the throne speech is delivered this year.

Asked in a media scrum whether there might be multiple voices delivering the speech — usually it is read by the lieutenant governor — Selinger replied: “stay tuned.”

He said Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon, wife of former premier Gary Filmon, will deliver the address, but he didn’t rule out the participation by others.

“I think there will be some innovative approaches on how we deliver that, yes,” he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca