What to expect in throne speech when legislature returns

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This article was published 09/11/2017 (2907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans can hope to find out more in the Nov. 21 throne speech about how legal retail cannabis will be handled in the province. Or, at least, find out when they can expect to know more.

In the throne speech, Premier Brian Pallister will lay out the Tories’ legislative agenda for the next session.

Details of legal cannabis and Pallister’s carbon-pricing green plan — and Ottawa’s reaction to both — should be prominent in the next session, which should again be dominated by austerity, deficit reduction and spending controls throughout every corner of government.

On cannabis, Pallister has not yet addressed questions such as the age of majority for buying pot, the price, usage in public places, advertising, and how many grams an individual can legally possess.

Just this week, Manitobans learned the province will let the municipalities decide whether they will allow cannabis to be sold locally — using the same authority that lets councils set Sunday shopping rules.

In one swift move, Pallister handed next fall’s municipal council elections the first province-wide hot-button issue in ages: did the incumbent vote yes or no on cannabis sales?

When the house resumes later this month, is there anyone who thinks Manitobans won’t see further signs of serious austerity heading into the next budget a few months from now?

The intricate, detailed impact of the Pallister government’s overhaul of the health-care system will be a daily occurrence well into 2018, although the blueprint is already out.

And while the K-to-12 and post-secondary education systems shouldn’t hold out much hope of getting much of an increase, if any, in operating grants in the next budget, the planned comprehensive review of the public education system is still a year away.

Thursday was the final day of the legislature session, but opposition MLAs expected to be sitting overnight into today to handle all the business still outstanding.

Pallister was to meet with reporters tonight to discuss the session, after its official completion.

Key bills expected to pass with the overwhelming Conservative majority Thursday night or in the wee hours of today include: eliminating the freshwater fish marketing board, election regulatory changes, the omnibus red-tape reduction bill, increased tuition, the local vehicles-for-hire legislation (commonly called the Uber bill) and legislation on assisted dying.

The government has yet to proclaim Bill 28 (public-sector wage control) and Bill 29, which significantly reduces the number of bargaining units that represent health-care workers.

The Tories have left sitting on the order paper the introduction of Bill 41, the Government Notices Modernization Act, which is believed to be the elimination of the requirement to place legal notices in local newspapers.

And the NDP is asking why the province has not moved forward with Bill 37, the Concussion in Youth Sport Act, which was tabled with considerable fanfare. It is one of those rare bills which would have multi-party support, but would also likely draw speakers offering ways to improve it.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca