Tories say budget ‘Brandon blind’

The NDP has been accused of unveiling a budget that is “Brandon blind.”

The Tory justice critic, Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen, said the document contains no measure to curtail rural crime.

“It’s scary and I know people are scared,” said the former chief of Brandon police. “People are afraid to go out, people are concerned, and (the NDP) don’t do anything to address this.”

He said additional funding for Brandon Police Service should have been included in the budget.

“They’ve had a very successful cadet program. Let’s double up on that. Let’s give them some money and some commitment to continue that to protect our citizens.”

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he “probably” would have liked to see more things for Brandon in the budget.

“Some of the things that I know that they probably would’ve announced are smaller, and so they’re not as big of a deal to put in the budget. I know right now we’re working on a number of items …” Fawcett told the Brandon Sun.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala said the government “is investing in the strength” of rural and northern communities.

“These communities deserve reliable infrastructure, good jobs and health care they can count on,” he said.

The provincial budget did include $7 million to break ground on the Dauphin Centre for Justice and $4 million for design work and land acquisition for an overpass at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, north of Carberry.

It also lists construction of a K-8 school in Brandon, design work for a new school in Neepawa and a French-language school in Brandon, as well as a number of infrastructure projects across the region.

Other items are: $1.5 million for the RM of Dauphin’s Northgate Trails to position them as a mountain biking destination, $225,000 for the Swan Valley Legion Park revitalization project and $100,000 for the Western Manitoba Women’s Centre in Brandon to increase capacity and expand programs.

The province will also construct a bridge on Highway 5 at Spruce Woods and repave 21.4 kilometres of Highway 2 east of Deleau.

The budget earmarks a $5.9-million increase in municipal funding, $4.5 million of which is part of a two per cent yearly increase in municipal operating funding announced by the NDP when it took office.

The additional $1.4 million will go to other items such as capital grants.

“We need to continue to provide reliable funding to municipalities,” Sala said.

“There were many years there where they were not getting increases,” he said about the previous PC government.

Sala told reporters at the legislature that the Dauphin Centre for Justice project will bring a lot of jobs to the city.

“We made a commitment to invest in that community, and so this is delivering on that commitment,” Sala said.

Premier Wab Kinew has said construction would start this fall.

The total cost of the project is pegged at $142 million, Tuesday’s budget said.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said the budget is generally very fair to the city, especially when it comes to the justice centre and trail system.

“It’s all really good for us, really positive,” he said. “We’ve been looking forward to this project. So just another step in the process of getting it completed.”

Michelle Lemoine, president of the John Howard Society of Brandon, said she’s happy that shovels will be going into the ground for the Dauphin centre.

“Each community needs somewhere for folks to go when they’re experiencing challenges in their lives, and it helps the community feel safe to have a centre like that,” she said.

Tory MLA Greg Nesbitt, who represents Riding Mountain, said the budget is “a lot of rehash of the previous budget.”

He said he would have liked assistance for farmers who pay high fertilizer and gas prices.

The budget said the government will work with Assiniboine College and the regulator to establish a new licensed practical nurse to registered nurse pathway program for rural and northern communities.

The province announced $500,000 to bolster the existing program at Red River College Polytechnic this fall.

The Assiniboine College program has a proposed start date of January 2027.

— Brandon Sun