No surprises in NDP throne speech

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This article was published 20/10/2011 (5443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans can be forgiven if they think they’ve heard it all before — because they have.

The Selinger government presented its speech from the throne this afternoon — kicking off the 40th session of the Manitoba legislature — and there were no surprises.

The six-page document — rather slight compared with the 16-page blueprint the government issued last November — is a compilation of the promises and slogans the NDP took to Manitobans’ doorsteps during its successful re-election campaign.

The government pledged to hire more nurses and doctors, reduce class sizes to a maximum of 20 in early grade school years, and hire 100 new police officers to patrol Manitoba’s streets and highways.

It guaranteed Manitoba residents the lowest combined bills for electricity, home heating and auto insurance. It promised to build a new skilled trades and technology centre at Red River College. And it renewed a commitment to building a hydro transmission line down the west side of Lake Manitoba.

“Health care is the No. 1 priority of Manitobans, and our government will never lose sight of this fact,” according to the speech read in the legislative chamber this afternoon by Lt.-Gov. Philip Lee.

Among the government’s health care promises is to make cancer treatment drugs free — no patient deductibles. It also committed to give Manitobans the fastest access in Canada to “world class” cancer screening, testing and treatment. To that end, it promised to hire more specialists to speed up testing and diagnosis.

MRIs will be added in Dauphin, Selkirk and west Winnipeg. Hospital expansions were promised once again in Brandon, Flin Flon and other communities.

The government vowed to build new child care centres and add new spaces to existing centres. It also promised to raise day care worker salaries to attract more people to the field.

The government said it will work with police agencies to expand an electronic monitoring bracelet program that helps track offenders.

The NDP government also promised stable funding for universities. Legislation will be enacted to tie tuition increases to the rate of inflation, while interest rates on student loans will be reduced to prime, and student aid rules will be amended to lessen the debt burden for graduates.

In a press briefing before the speech was read in the House, Premier Greg Selinger acknowledged that the document was a rehash of his party’s 2011 election platform. The NDP won its fourth straight majority Oct. 4, with its highest ever harvest of seats — pending recounts in two constituencies where the party is leading.

“If one of the questions would be, ‘Is there anything new in this speech?’ I would say we gave you the leaks during the election period, the 28 days of leaks,” Selinger quipped.

The premier also said uncertain economic times in the United States and Europe will not delay the province going ahead with its four-year policy plan, which includes the Keeyask and Conawapa hydro-electric dam projects in Manitoba’s North, as both will create jobs and earn the province money in export sales to the United States.

But at the same time he said the province will “find economic efficiencies” to keep the province in a good financial position.

“This is an ongoing process to extract the best value for the dollar in how we use our dollars,” Selinger said. “We will always look for opportunities to ensure that we can deliver our programs more cost-effectively.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca