What people are saying about Manitoba Budget 2023

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This article was published 07/03/2023 (914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“I’m having a hard time patting them on the back for finally putting the funding into health care that they have consistency and deliberately denied over their term, and it’s a shame it took until the end of their second mandate to do that.”

— Darlene Jackson,
Manitoba Nurses Union

“For so long in Manitoba, we have not been competitive. All the other jurisdictions have been making adjustments, whether it’s on personal income tax rates, whether it’s on payroll taxes… Today was a big step, and it was a bold step for Manitoba to take to get us back in that game.”

— Chuck Davidson,
Manitoba Chambers of Commerce

“This is disappointing because the government had a chance to put more money into the public education system and they took a pass. The dollar amounts that were announced were already things we knew about previously.”

— Nathan Martindale,
Manitoba Teachers’ Society

“I would’ve really liked to hear a commitment to staffing the civil service and the public service. We didn’t hear that. We heard sectors here and there, and it’s a baby step and a Band-Aid for the problem; there’s a whole 11,000 workers in the civil service that are all working short.”

— Kyle Ross,
Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union

“Financing universities should not be about the students, it should come from the government so our position at MOFA is a cap (on tuition increases) is a good thing… This year, the 11 per cent is certainly a good step compared to the last few years… If the funding would have kept up with inflation since 2016, we would still need an extra $50 million.”

— Patrick Noël,
Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations

“People are struggling across Manitoba; we’ve seen public services cut, slashed, for eight years… and in this pre-election period, Manitobans can’t be bought.”

— Gina McKay,
Canadian Union of Public Employees

“We’re seeing a billion dollars in tax cuts that will largely benefit wealthy Manitobans and corporations, instead of doing what Manitobans have said they want. They want reinvestments in public services, they want our health-care system to have more investments, they want things to be fixed.”

— Kevin Rebeck,
Manitoba Federation of Labour

“Taxpayers should welcome the tax relief. The increasing of the basic personal amount is really going to help those families who are currently struggling with inflation, especially at the lower end of the spectrum.

— Gage Haubrich,
Canadian Taxpayers Federation

“Not only is the operating grant funding going to be increased, which the province has announced before… but there’s indications today, too, there will be a change in the capital grant funding, and that’s also important.

“The City of Winnipeg has a $6.9 billion infrastructure deficit, so we do need to make investments in the city’s infrastructure.

“What’s key, ultimately, though, will be the details of this budget, and over the next few weeks our staff and provincial staff will work together to understand the details of the announcements today.

“Long-term, the City of Winnipeg really needs a new funding formula — one that’s based on growth, one that’s predictable and one that really incentivizes the City of Winnipeg to really invest in our economy.”

— Scott Gillingham,
Winnipeg mayor

“I think it’s a very positive budget any time you can put more money in the pockets of the residents. It’s definitely going to benefit municipalities in the province as a whole.

“We saw the strategic investment project funds start to thaw — we’ve got a 17 per cent increase there, which is roughly $23.4 million.”

— Kam Blight,
Association of Manitoba Municipalities

“I’m pleased on the tax front. These were things that we were looking for, specifically the movement on the basic personal exemption, adjustments to the tax brackets themselves — those are very welcome announcements.

— Loren Remillard,
Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce

“My major concern when it comes to health care is it looks like once again, we have a government focused on big tax cuts for some of the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the province, and health care is being left to the wayside.

— Thomas Linner,
Manitoba Health Coalition

“It’s promising to see there’s $51 million in… new funding that is in addition to the previous investments that were made.

“We definitely have to utilize those investments wisely, but I feel like we’re headed in the right direction. There’s a lot of work ahead of us.”

— Jason Whitford,
End Homelessness Winnipeg

“Hearing a number like 9.2 per cent increase in funding for health care is a good thing, but No. 1 on our mind right now, as physicians, is our physician shortage.

“Our analysis shows us that back in 2017… $1.6 million in physician recruitment and retention (was cut), and it’s never been recovered.

“What we can see today shows us that this is continuing to be frozen at that level. Physicians are struggling right now. We need to address the shortage.”

— Dr. Candace Bradshaw,
Doctors Manitoba

“We’re still missing the biggest part, which is the investment in human resources of allied health professionals. We have 6,500 members who have been without a contract for five years.

“We heard during the release today that these heroes, as they were called, worked through the pandemic tirelessly, but these heroes in our organization haven’t had a contract for five years throughout that. It’s time for this government to make things right and give them a contract.”

— Jason Linklater,
Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals

“Students continue to experince hardship in Manitoba and the government refuses to acknowledge that many of us are some the most vulnerable in society…Students are demanding a significant reduction in tuition, the reinstatement of international student healthcare, a student aid program that works for them, and more. Budget 2023 is a missed opportunity.”

— Marie Paule Ehoussou,
Canadian Federation of Students’ chapter in Manitoba