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This article was published 11/09/2019 (1365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Promising an ambitious fall agenda, Brian Pallister says he’s negotiating with the Opposition NDP to reconvene the legislature this month.

“What I’d prefer to see is that we come back sooner rather than later,” Pallister told reporters on Wednesday, a day after winning a second majority government.

The premier said he will unveil a “100-day game plan” next Wednesday for government departments, Crown corporations and other government entities.

“There’s a variety of projects that we have underway that I want to move ahead on ambitiously,” he said.

He said he will issue new mandate letters to all government departments and Crown corporations in the coming week.

Saying he is concerned about “increased criminal activity,” Pallister also said he will request that the Manitoba Police Commission provide recommendations to government on how to make downtown Winnipeg safer.

He also said the government will host a job summit on Oct. 3 that will kickstart a Progressive Conservative campaign promise to create 40,000 person years of employment within four years.

Appearing relaxed as he fielded reporters’ questions on a wide variety of topics for close to 20 minutes, Pallister would not say when he would name a new cabinet or replace Crown Services Minister Colleen Mayer, who lost her St. Vital seat on Tuesday.

“You’ll be the first to know,” he said.

He said negotiations are underway with the NDP on the date for reconvening the legislature. There is still leftover business from the previous legislature to deal with, including passage of the 2019 budget.

Once that’s dealt with, there will likely be a break and then a throne speech, the premier said.

Before the election was called, MLAs were scheduled to resume sitting on Oct. 2.

Asked about a PC campaign promise to order further cuts in management positions in government organizations, Pallister said Crown corporations, such as Manitoba Hydro, would not be immune from such measures even though they had complied with similar orders in the past.

“Knowing Brian Pallister’s record on honouring agreements it’s no surprise to see him renege on this issue, but the Manitobans I know believe a deal is a deal.”– NDP Leader Wab Kinew

Recently, Hydro president and CEO Jay Grewal sent a memo to her staff seeking to assure them that they should not fear a new round of mandated cuts.

But Pallister said Wednesday that there’s more room to trim at the top at Hydro. “Yeah, absolutely. There’s no doubt of that,” he said.

On another topic, Pallister said his government plans to end future election expense rebates for parties and candidates. This follows recent amendments to reduce such rebates that were agreed to by the government and the Opposition.

“Knowing Brian Pallister’s record on honouring agreements it’s no surprise to see him renege on this issue, but the Manitobans I know believe a deal is a deal,” NDP Leader Wab Kinew said in a statement responding to the rebate issue.

Meanwhile, Pallister didn’t directly respond to a question Wednesday about whether he plans to serve out a full four-year term.

There’s been speculation that he will retire before his term is up, once the budget is balanced.

“I’m pretty healthy. I enjoy this job. I have never been more enthused at the prospects of making a difference. That’s why I got into public life in the first place…,” he said.

He dismissed the issue as idle speculation among political columnists.

“If you’ve got a source that says I’m leaving, tell me about it,” the premier said. “I’m interested in knowing who’s saying it because it’s not me.”

— with files from Jessica Botelho-Urbanski

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca