Pallister lays out long list of promises during opposition’s ‘alternative throne speech’

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This article was published 13/11/2015 (3976 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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While renewing a vow to reduce the provincial sales tax, Progressive Conservative leader Brian Pallister made several new promises today including allowing teachers to hand out grades of zero.

In speech to 200 invited Progressive Conservative officials and supporters, Pallister said, if elected April 19, he would restore integrity to government by bringing in Manitoba’s first “open government bill,” setting out higher standards for accountability, MLA ethics and government contracting practices.

He said the PCs would also reduce the cost of ambulance fees, establish a physician recruitment program and reduce wait times in hospital emergency rooms through a “dedicated wait times reduction task force.”

“We will make it a priority to bring Manitoban common sense back to government,” he said.

Pallister said a government he leads would establish a frugal tone at the top by reducing the size of the provincial cabinet by one-third. It would also restore Manitobans’ right to vote on tax increases, he said.

Pallister repeated a pledge to reduce the PST by a percentage point to seven per cent during the first term of a Tory government.

In the area of education, he said he would establish a “read to succeed” initiative involving reading labs and mentoring to raise reading levels of all students entering Grade 4 to the highest national levels.

He also vowed to empower parents to evaluate their child’s progress by providing “more meaningful report cards” and allow teachers to “evaluate students fully for their work including giving a zero grade for zero work.”

The Progressive Conservatives would provide “real tax relief” for low-income families, Pallister said, by raising the basic personal exemption and eliminating “bracket creep” on personal income tax.

They would also support urban aboriginal economic development zones in partnership with First Nations to create jobs and economic opportunities, he said.

Meanwhile, Pallister renewed a previous pledge to protect front-line services and the jobs of workers delivering those services.

This was the second consecutive year that Pallister delivered what has been termed an “alternative throne speech” in advance of the government speech from the throne.

The Selinger government’s throne speech is scheduled for Monday.

Pallister was flanked by members of his 19-member caucus and many other nominated candidates as he delivered his address in one of the large committee meeting rooms at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

He made a grand entrance to the packed room holding hands with his wife Esther.