Fifteen highlights from the throne speech

New health-care staff-to-patient ratios, a crackdown on meth and a bill to stop “unfair” rent increases are among the province’s priorities in the next legislative session.

Tuesday’s throne speech offered tidbits of what to expect during the majority NDP government’s third year in office, but details will be announced in the coming months.

Here are 15 key takeaways from the speech:

Staff-to-patient ratios

Manitoba will legislate staff-to-patient ratios in “priority areas” of health care to improve patient and staff safety.

A committee spent months developing proposed ratios by looking at B.C.’s legislation as an example.

Kinew said the province will eliminate mandatory overtime for staff, starting with front-line nurses, and create a patient safety charter.

Short-term sick notes

Legislation will be introduced to eliminate employers’ requirements for workers to provide sick notes for short-term absences from work.

Doctors Manitoba has said eliminating sick notes would free up 300,000 visits to doctors for medical concerns, or the equivalent of adding 50 physicians.

New energy turbines

Three new dual-fuel combustion turbines at a site near Brandon will add 750 megawatts of power amid soaring demand.

Kinew said the $3-billion facility will burn natural gas, but it could transition to renewable methane or hydrogen in the future.

The project might “go bigger” than 750 megawatts, he said.

High grocery costs

A new internal study will try to find ways to help cut grocery bills, while Manitobans grapple with the high costs of living.

“My hope is that were going to take this study to understand what is driving grocery prices in Manitoba, so we that we can come back to you by the spring budget with some concrete steps,” Kinew said.

More child-care spots, schools

The province is pledging 402 more child-care spaces in River East, Pembina Trails and Seven Oaks in Winnipeg and Brandon.

The speech repeated the plan for four new schools, with construction starting this winter.

The province had announced new schools in Devonshire Park and Prairie Pointe in Winnipeg, West St. Paul and Brandon.

Rules to halt “unfair” rent increases

Kinew promised new rules to stop “unfair” rent increases and strengthen renters’ rights.

“When we introduce this bill, I’m thinking it’s going to be a good balance of ensuring landlords are going to get what they need to be able to keep up the investments (in their properties), but you, the person paying the rent, are going to be able to have greater clarity that we’ll have something closer to real rent control in Manitoba,” he said.

Carberry-area overpass

An overpass will be built at highways 1 and 5, just north of Carberry, where 17 seniors were killed in a crash in June 2023.

The project will cost more than $100 million, Kinew said.

Next year, the province will start work on twinning the Trans-Canada Highway from West Hawk Lake to the Manitoba-Ontario boundary.

Business security rebate

Manitoba is introducing a new $2,500 security rebate for businesses in December amid concerns about shoplifting, vandalism and threats,

Homeowners can apply for a $300 rebate.

A provincial spokesman said the business rebate will have a $10-million fund, while the pool for home-related rebates is $2 million.

More machete regulations

A new law will ban dangerous weapons, including machetes, from public spaces such as parks and buses.

The government had passed legislation that applies to the sale of long-blade weapons. Kinew said the province will go a step further and target online marketplaces.

“I think there are some additional areas that we want to make sure there is regulation — Facebook Marketplace being one example,” he said.

Post-wildfire review

The province has promised a comprehensive review of the worst wildfire season in 30 years. Two people died, dozens of homes were destroyed and 35,000 people were displaced.

Recommendations will address wildfire awareness and education, prevention and preparedness, and air quality.

More paramedics

Manitoba announced 14 training seats in a new direct-entry program for primary care paramedics at RRC Polytech.

The province said it will hire every student in the first fully enrolled class of advanced care paramedics.

Online patient portal

An online patient portal will give Manitobans access to their lab results and immunizations.

It is expected to launch in 2026, along with digital health cards that patients can show to health-care staff on their smartphone. The digital cards are optional.

Supervised drug site

Subject to federal approval, the province plans to open a supervised drug consumption site in Winnipeg in January, after residents’ opposition forced the government to abandon a proposed location in Point Douglas.

Kinew wouldn’t reveal the location, but said it is west of the proposed Point Douglas site (200 Disraeli Fwy.), and west of Main Street.

“Everyone in Manitoba who drives up Main Street — Higgins (Avenue) and Main — it looks terrible,” Kinew said. “It looks like there’s this humanitarian crisis going on, but we also know there’s a bunch of the service providers there… so that seems like the area to locate this.”

Meth “sweep”

A new task force that includes Winnipeg police and RCMP officers will be set up to do a “targeted sweep” of the meth trade.

The province will work with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak to buy a scanner for a northern airport to help prevent drugs from being smuggled into First Nations.

 

Manitobans honoured

The throne speech honoured several Manitobans.

A bridge on Provincial Road 311 will be named for Sue and Richard Nowell, who died in a wildfire near Lac du Bonnet in May.

The speech acknowledged Marina Simard, 18, who died in a mass stabbing in Hollow Water First Nation in September, and RCMP Cpl. Brianne Bartmanovich, who was injured in a crash that involved her attacker, who was killed.

The province will fund a new scoreboard and bleachers at Sisler High School to honour Darius Hartshorne, 17, who died after he was injured during a football game.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca