This is about providing a better framework for accountability in Manitoba: Gerrard

Winnipeg – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard today introduced a bill that would bring a higher level of accountably to three Manitoba Crown Corporations by ensuring that all board members are publicly interviewed by a committee of the Legislative Assembly before being appointed to the board of the Liquor Control Commission, Manitoba Lotteries Corporation or Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPIC).

“This is about ensuring accountability because crown corporations belong to all Manitobans and should be accountable to all people of this province, not just to the NDP,” Dr. Gerrard said. “There are some major problems that exist, for example with MPIC, and in my view this initial screening process will help clean this up.”

Dr. Gerrard raised two specific issues in regards to MPIC, the high cost of motorcycle insurance and the need for improved safety measures when it comes to children.

According to the MPIC insurance and registration estimate the cost to insure a 2000 Harley Davidson FXRT Tour Glide is $2,117 while the cost to insure a comparable motorcycle in Saskatchewan is only $917.

“There is huge discrepancy in the cost to ensure motorcycles between Manitoba and the rest of Canada,” Dr. Gerrard said. “In a time of global warming, the government should be encouraging the use of alternative, environmentally friendly modes of transportation not discouraging them.”

Dr. Gerrard hopes that a publicly screened board of directors would be able to delve into the reason for the inflated cost of motorcycle insurance in Manitoba, and help to increase motorcycle safety and make riding more affordable.

Dr. Gerrard then referred to the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, published on September 3, 2008 which investigated the correct usage of child restraints in Manitoba and revealed that a staggering 70 per cent of restraint systems were used improperly.

“From booster seats to helmets, these are crucial in protecting children and I will continue to push the government on mandating these important protective gears to ensure the safety of all our children,” Dr. Gerrard said. “Individuals appointed the board of MPIC should put child safety front and centre.”

According to the study, motor vehicle crashes are the biggest killer of children and child safety is one of the most important issues in today’s society.

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Maintains the status quo of a Tory designed and NDP run system rather than what is needed: Gerrard

Winnipeg – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard called the long awaited RHA Review Report a major disappointment and stressed the need for critical changes to ensure optimal results from the public health care system.

“This report recommends maintaining the status quo and the status quo is not good enough,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “In order to save, preserve and enhance our public health care system we need to make major changes to get it working properly rather than just maintaining the status quo.”

While the Review talks about accountability, it fails to recommend making the fundamental change needed to achieve accountability –moving from global budgets to budgets based on services delivered.

“Very little in this report acknowledges the fundamental change that is needed to move from a Tory/NDP RHA system based on long wait times to what is needed – a system where Manitobans can get the care they need when they need it,” Dr.Gerrard said.

Furthermore the report fails to:

• recognize the fundamental importance of putting patients and their primary care givers first.  The report continues the present bureaucracy centred system, rather than a patient centred system.
• recognize the importance of having specialist services organized on a provincial basis, resulting in a continued fragmented care approach to specialist care.
• discuss and implement a province-wide process for reporting and investigating medical errors and ensuring changes are made to processes to prevent future medical errors.
• adequately address and plan for wellness prevention initiatives – and to have provincial leadership in an effective way rather than a fragmented approach which varies from one RHA to another
• emphasize the importance of putting Jordan’s principle – the child or the patient comes first, and implementing change to ensure this.

“Sadly I expect there will be continued suboptimal health care services for aboriginal people in Manitoba,” Dr.Gerrard said.

Manitoba Liberals submitted a 32 page written document to the RHA Review Committee outlining seven key problem areas in the RHA system and providing solutions to fixing the health care problem in Manitoba.  The entire document is available on the Manitoba Liberal website at http://mlp.manitobaliberals.ca/

“Unfortunately this report provides nothing for Manitobans in way of overhauling the ailing health care system,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “Manitoba Liberals are extremely disappointed and will continue to hold the government accountable on health care issues in the province.”

Liberal quick access to quality health care bill is crucial

Winnipeg – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today highlighted the importance of improving patients’ rights and pointed to Liberal Bill 220-The Right to Timely Access to Health Care act as being a crucial step in improving the overall health care system in Manitoba.

According to the Euro-Canada Consumer Index Report, released today by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Canada ranked 23rd when compared with 29 European countries in effectively meeting the health care needs of its citizens.

“The Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index Report stresses the importance of improving patients’ rights and this has always been a top priority for Manitoba Liberals,” Dr.Gerrard said. “As the voice of health care in this province, it is the goal of the Manitoba Liberals to ensure that all Manitobans receive the best care possible when they need it.”

The report emphasized that ‘to date there is no province with a clearly enshrined right to timely and effective treatment that provides practical remedies, without which patient guarantees are meaningless.  In this regard Canada falls well behind the great majority of European countries in the index.’

“This report clearly indicates the importance of Bill 220 and I hope that the NDP will recognize the necessity of giving Manitobans a legal right to timely access to quality care, and that they will join Manitoba Liberals and support our bill,” Dr.Gerrard said.

Bill 220 also gives patients the right to access information about their treatment, being made aware of all available treatment options and to access information on the qualifications of their attending health care practitioners.

Bill 220 reached first reading on December 4, 2007 and will be debated at second reading when the Manitoba Legislature reconvenes in the spring.

“While the comparison between Canada and Europe goes much deeper than just patients’ rights, improving patients’ rights in Manitoba and Canada is clearly a very important step we need to take to improve our health care system,” Dr.Gerrard said.

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Better recording, reporting and responding needed in critical incidents cases: Gerrard

Winnipeg – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today called for full implementation of the recommendations from the Sinclair report of November 27, 2000 especially in regards to giving Manitobans the right to out of province referrals and conducting a review within 48 hours after the occurrence of a critical incident as well as completing a report within 72 hours.

“It is unbelievable to me that patients like Mr. Rene Lafournaise are still being refused access to critically needed surgery when Justice Sinclair did a report seven years ago making this very recommendation,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “Patients must have a right to an out of province referral including where the patient or parent chooses to have a procedure performed by a surgeon or institution with more appropriate experience when the surgeon or institution in Manitoba lacks the same experience.”

Gerrard also questioned the Minister of Health about the handling of medical errors and critical incidents, and whether the majority of cases are attended to within the recommended timeline of 48 hours for a review and 72 hours for a report.

“There are many tragic medical errors in Manitoba and this government has been slow to act,” Dr.Gerrard said. “There has to be a system in place to ensure that recommendations from reviews of medical errors are being followed and that the results of actions taken are communicated to health care professionals, and to family members affected by the medical error or critical incident.”

Premier has discriminated against his Filipino and East Indian MLAs

WINNIPEG – Inkster MLA Kevin Lamoureux today used his grievance to express his dissatisfaction with the Premier’s answers to the two questions he posed to the Premier earlier this week regarding the absence of Filipino and East Indian MLAs in the cabinet.

“Mr. Doer has been Premier for eight years and he has not recognized the credentials and abilities that his members from either the Filipino or East Indian community have to offer,” Lamoureux said.

Lamoureux is demanding to know why Premier Doer has not appointed MLAs from the Filipino and East Indian communities to his cabinet.  Lamoureux is calling for a cabinet shuffle and will not settle for the Premier simply increasing the size of the cabinet as reported in the Winnipeg Free Press on March 24, 1995. An article by Alice Krueger stated, ‘…but Doer also proposes … A further $2 million saving is calculated by reducing the number of cabinet ministers to 15 and cutting the number of government departments.’

“In 1995 Mr. Doer committed to having a government with 15 cabinet ministers and there are currently 18,” Lamoureux explained.  “It is time that the Premier overhauls his cabinet by replacing ministers and not increasing the size of cabinet.”

Every session MLAs are afforded the opportunity to make a 10 minute speech, a Grievance, which takes place shortly after question period.

Kevin Lamoureux can be reached at 204-218-8000 for comments and interviews.

Gerrard introduces bill to move toward patient centered care

WINNIPEG –Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today introduced legislation that would move to a patient-centered health care system by giving patients the legal right to timely access to quality health care.

“We need to change from the very wasteful, poor quality, long wait list system of the NDP to a system in which people can get a guarantee of quality care when they need it,” said Dr.Gerrard.  “This bill will replace the current NDP system based on bureaucracy with a Liberal approach that puts the patient at the center of care.”

Bill 220 – The Right to Timely Access to Quality Health Care act will ensure that all Manitobans have timely access to quality health care and be fully informed about their medical situation.

‘Timely access’ and ‘quality care’ are both defined based solely on scientific evidence on a case by case basis.  In addition to scientific evidence, the likelihood of the disease progressing, complications arising and the occurrence of extreme pain or long-term chronic pain is taken into consideration when determining the timeliness of the care delivered.

In terms of the quality of care, evidence that the care provided will improve the individual’s quality of life, the health care will be more beneficial than harmful and that the care provided is the best possible care based on international standards are all taken into account.

“Improving timely access to quality care is one of many things that needs to be done to overhaul our ailing health care system this bill will go a long way in weeding out inefficiencies in the current system by forcing all parties involved to get their act together,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “The essence of an effective health care system is one which provides quality care for Manitobans in a timely fashion”

The Liberal bill also calls for all patients to have the right to be informed about their own medical situation by being made aware of all available treatment options, being able to participate actively in decisions about which treatment to receive, being able to access information on the qualifications of their attending health care practitioners as well as being able to receive compassionate care and communicate in confidence with health professionals.

Gerrard to introduce bill to make home inspections mandatory

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today charged the government with being irresponsible and negligent when they sold a mold-infested home to a private vendor who subsequently sold the home to an unsuspecting family, and asked the Premier to support a Liberal bill which would make home inspections and the reporting of previous flood history mandatory.

“Yes the government may have acted in a way that was technically lawful, but this does not absolve them of ethical obligations,” Dr.Gerrard said. “The government was negligent and as a result the cost to this unsuspecting family has been huge – $180,000 to buy a worthless home, and huge heartaches in the process.”

In 2006, Tara-Lee and Artur Maciuszonek bought a home from a private vendor which had been flooded in the 1997 Red River flood. The house was initially bought and sold by the government as part of the Flood Relief Program. Double drywall covered serious problems with mold, the wiring was green, the house was not securely attached to the foundation and other problems were discovered when Maciuszonek’s started cosmetic renovations. The house was beyond repair and eventually demolished.

“Cars have to be safetied so why is it that there is nothing to protect home buyers? Buying a home is possibly the most important purchase an individual makes in their lifetime and they should have the peace of mind that they are making the best possible choice,” said Tara-Lee Maciuszonek. “We hope to prevent other home buyers from going through the turmoil we have endured by making them more consumer aware.”

The Liberal bill will be introduced this spring and will make home inspections mandatory, including tests to check for mold, and ensure full disclosure to home buyers of previous flood history.

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6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Media are advised that Inkster M.L.A. Kevin Lamoureux will release the long awaited video re-enactment of the Maples Election Nomination Scandal.

The video release will take place on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sir William Stephenson Library located at 765 Keewatin Street.

Climate change, phosphorus reduction and child poverty need substantial targets to be effective:Gerrard

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today charged the NDP with failing to set appropriate targets to combat climate change, reduce phosphorus loading in Lake Winnipeg and fight poverty.

“The government has done a poor job of setting targets and as a result of this poor planning the province has been falling deeper and deeper into a sea of mediocrity,” Dr.Gerrard said. “Inadequate targets have been set for reducing green house gases. As well there is not a substantial plan for dealing with agricultural emissions one of Manitoba’s largest contributors to green house gases.”

Sadly, the government’s failing grade in goal setting strategy also extends to cleaning up Lake Winnipeg.

The Minister of Water Stewardship, Christine Melnick has set a goal of 10 per cent to reduce the phosphorus load in Lake Winnipeg. However, according to a report from Lake Winnipeg Stewardship, to achieve the levels in 1973, a reduction by as much as 58 per cent of the phosphorus load may be needed.

“It is difficult to see where the province is going with cleaning up Lake Winnipeg because the targets for reducing phosphorus keep flip flopping from 10 per cent to over 50 per cent,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “The province must set a specific target that is substantially higher than 10 per cent and then work towards achieving that goal as soon as possible, because the situation in Lake Winnipeg is getting worse which each day of inaction.”

Finally, the government’s goal of reducing poverty by 25 per cent over eight years is insufficient.

“The Premier has let us down badly with his inadequacy in dealing with poverty. Manitoba has consistently ranked at the top in having one of the highest rates of child poverty in Canada,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “The Liberal party has a plan to reduce poverty in Manitoba by 50 per cent in four years and I hope that the Premier will support our plan and help us reach this goal.”

The Liberal plan for decreasing poverty by 50 per cent focuses on improving incomes, enhancing social programs and improving affordable housing.

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Gerrard blasts the NDP for refusing to support the health care accountability act

WINNIPEG – Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard re-introduced The Health Services Amendment and Health Services Insurance Amendment Act today, a bill designed to make accountability a fundamental principle in the delivery of health care.

Astoundingly, Dr. Gerrard has introduced The Health Services Amendment and Health Services Insurance Amendment Act on five different occasions. Unfortunately the Bill was not supported in June 2004, December 2004, November 2005, November 2006 and June 2007. Dr. Gerrard scolded the NDP government for failing to support a bill designed to provide Manitobans with a higher level of health care.

In question period, Dr. Gerrard referred to the many Manitobans who had told their stories at the public forum during the Patient Safety Conference on Wednesday evening this week.  “The many heartbreaking stories of the tragic and often fatal impact of a medical error and its impact on people and families were heartrending.  It is time to bring accountability to our health care system.”

Dr. Gerrard also referred to correspondence he has received saying Manitobans are having a difficult time trusting our health care system and that they dread ever having to use it again for themselves or their families.  “It is time to start restoring trust by ensuring accountability within the system.” said Gerrard.

In addition to legally enforcing accountability in the health care system, Bill 202 would install the five principles of the Canada Health Act into provincial law.  The five principles, universality, public administration, accessibility, comprehensiveness and portability are an integral part of improving the Manitoba health care system.

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Show will go on with or without NDP participation: Lamoureux

WINNIPEG – Inkster MLA Kevin Lamoureux today issued another challenge to Premier Doer and his MLAs challenging Doer or any NDP MLA to show up and make a case for their call for his resignation.

On November 28, 2007 there will be a public meeting at the Keewatin Street Public Library.  Lamoureux will meet with his constituents and address the NDP request for his resignation, as well as explain his reasons for not complying.

Should the NDP have the courage to accept the challenge and make an appearance the meeting will be concluded by having the residents of Inkster express their views.

“I’m a fair man and I believe in second chances so I’m giving the NDP a second chance. Who knows maybe the entire NDP caucus was busy the night of the debate in Concordia,” Lamoureux said. “However, if the NDP fails to show up a very special re-enactment will take place. It will go something like this, in NDP what does the “D” stand for.”

Following the play Lamoureux will be providing comment and an opportunity for questions and answers.

The meeting will start at 7:00 pm sharp.

Kevin Lamoureux can be reached at 204-218-8000.

Two bills are completely unnecessary while two others are deeply flawed: Gerrard

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard and Inkster MLA Kevin Lamoureux continue to actively speak to government bills and provide opposition to several poorly thought out government legislations.

As the Manitoba Legislature winds up its fifth week, with only two weeks to go, observers note that Manitoba Liberals have demonstrated effective opposition to the NDP legislation.

The Liberals see five bills as unnecessary or deeply flawed.

1) Bill 5 – The Public Accounts Committee Meeting Dates Act
2) Bill 11 – The Children’s Advocate’s Enhanced Mandate Act
3) Bill 19 – The Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act
4) Bill 20 – The Planning Amendment Act
5) Bill 21 – The Housing and Renewal Corporation Amendment Act

“Bills 20 and 21 are completely redundant and are just PR strategies designed to make the NDP look busy,” Dr.Gerrard said. “The Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation already has the power to assist in housing in the inner city and it should be doing this already. The Planning Amendments proposed should be adequately covered by local rural municipalities and do not need provincial legislation.”

The government’s Children’s Advocate bill raises concerns over the role of the advocate because this bill transfers the responsibility for the review into the death of a child in care from the chief medical examiner to the Children’s Advocate.

“The bill is extremely problematic in that it fails to recognize the role of the advocate,” Dr.Gerrard said. “The role of the advocate is to act on behalf of the child not investigate after the fact and this bill confuses that mandate.”

The Liberal recommendation is for a stronger support system to be put in place for the Children’s Advocate to act on behalf of the child while the child is still in care, with the Medical Examiner maintaining the power to investigate when a child in care dies.

The Liberals also see Bill 5, which requires the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to meet six times annually, as token change to a committee which needs major reform.

“Never before in my 15 years in the Manitoba Legislature has a bill been required to set dates for a committee meeting. Accountability and transparency are lacking in this government and six meetings a year is unsubstantial,” Lamoureux said. “There has to be more meetings for it to be effective. The committee should better be meeting about 20 times per year if it’s going to be effective.”

Lamoureux has represented the immigrant community on many issues and spoke to the government’s bill on the recognition of foreign professional credentials. Bill 19 calls for the political appointment of a fairness commissioner to oversee the various certifying organizations. Lamoureux recommends that the individual be appointed by the Legislature as is done with the Children’s Advocate, as opposed to the Minister of Immigration and her government.

“In Manitoba, with the shortage of doctors, nurses and skilled trade professionals paired with the high number of qualified immigrants moving here every year we all know too well the importance of recognizing immigrant credentials,” Lamoureux said. “Recognizing foreign credentials is a move in the right direction but to make a substantial difference the commissioner should be hired by the Legislature and by doing so be free from political obligations and biases.”

This Legislative Session will break on November 8, 2007 and reconvenes on November 20, 2007 with the Throne Speech.

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Auditor General’s report uncovers breaches in campaign contracts

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard today demanded an explanation from the NDP as to why a contract for over $250,000 issued by the Spirited Energy Campaign was not tendered or reported, and why a number of other smaller contracts were also not tendered or reported.

“This is an outright breach of policy and it raises red flags on the issue of accountability,” Dr.Gerrard said. “The law clearly states that any contract in excess of $1,000 must be reported.”

The Premier claims that there was not enough time to disclose information and that the campaign was run entirely by the private sector.

“What we have here is an election scheme that backfired. The bottom line is that the Spirited Energy Campaign was launched to make Manitobans feel good about their province and by extension fell good about their government,” Dr. Gerrard said. “This campaign was supposed to promote Manitoba but there was no promotion of Manitoba outside of Manitoba. Sadly this campaign appears now to be a manual on how to mismanage $3.1 million of tax payers’ money.”

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Millions of our health care dollars wasted on purchasing wrongly prescribed drugs: Gerrard

WINNIPEG – In today’s Question Period, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr.Jon Gerrard raised concerns about the high cost associated with prescribing unnecessary antibiotics.

“The Minister is wasting large amounts of public dollars on inappropriate medications and at the same time limiting public support for medications which have been shown to be effective,”Dr.Gerrard said.

According to an article in October’s issue of The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 22-43% of antibiotics are inappropriately prescribed.  The study evaluated 852 primary care physicians in Quebec and followed their antibiotic prescription trail over an eight year period.

“Right now in Manitoba, a province with a high number of people suffering from Diabetes, insulin pumps are not funded by the government. Avastin, a drug used to treat colorectal cancer, with high rates of success, is only funded on a case by case basis as is Rituxan another cancer treatment drug,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “Guidelines and or standards need to be put in place to ensure that precious health care dollars are used in the best possible way,”

Read the original post by Tom Brodbeck

I saw one of the best examples of government run-around last week.

And, ironically, it was a politician getting the shaft.

It wasn’t a government politician, though, which explains why he was getting the run-around.

It was Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard, just a lowly member of the opposition.

He wanted information about erosion along Lake Winnipeg. So he went cabinet minister hopping last week, going from one legislative committee meeting to the next searching for the appropriate minister.

He thought he finally got the right one when he came upon Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick’s committee late last week.

Jon Gerrard may as well have asked Laurel and Hardy
for answers on river erosion.

Here’s how it went:

“My first question for the Minister of Water Stewardship concerns the situation of the problem of erosion along the Winnipeg River,” Gerrard asked. “This is close to the outlet into Lake Winnipeg.

“I initially asked about this to the Minister of Northern and Aboriginal Affairs (Mr. Lathlin), and he told me that the lead minister on this file was the Minister of Conservation (Mr. Struthers). I then asked the Minister of Conservation in Estimates and he said he was not the lead minister, and he referred me initially to the Minister responsible for Hydro and then to yourself. I had the opportunity to ask the Minister of Finance (Mr. Selinger), who’s also the minister of Hydro, in Estimates whether he was the lead minister on this file and he said no.”

“So my question to you, after searching around and asking several other ministers, are you the lead minister on the file dealing with this problem of erosion in the area of Sagkeeng First Nation along the Winnipeg River near the outlet to Lake Winnipeg?”

A clueless Melnick had no idea if river erosion was in her bailiwick and she had to huddle with her bureaucrats to find out.

After about two minutes of consultation, Melnick declared that she was the right minister for river erosion — well, sort of. Just as Gerrard was getting his hopes up, Melnick went on to lecture the Liberal leader that he really should be talking to the feds.

I had never seen Laurel and Hardy live before.

It’s time to end the silence of Elections Manitoba: Lamoureux

WINNIPEG – Inkster MLA Kevin Lamoureux is calling for an overhaul of the secretive manner in which Elections Manitoba conducts investigations on behalf of the public.

“Right now it is illegal for Elections Manitoba to provide any details about investigations it is conducting and that is wrong,” Lamoureux said.  “The public interest is not being well served and the NDP Maple’s nomination is an excellent example of why we need to change the system.  To this day all we have is hearsay that the accused was innocent of all wrong-doings. I have yet to see once piece of paper that shows that the Premier’s staff person was cleared of any wrong doing.”

The Liberal bill, Bill 207 – The Elections Amendment and Elections Finances Amendment act, will ensure that information about investigations undertaken by Elections Manitoba is available to the public.

“I believe the public has a right to know about what Elections Manitoba is investigating.” Lamoureux said.

Forks North Portage Partnership has not appeared before Legislative Committee since November 1,2001

WINNIPEG – In Question Period today, Inkster MLA Kevin Lamoureux demanded accountability with respect to the Forks North Portage Partnership (FNPP).

The FNPP has not appeared before a Manitoba Legislative committee since November 1, 2001 in spite of a specific NDP commitment in 2003 by Deputy Premier Rosann Wowchuk that the FNPP would be appearing before a committee in the near future.  The NDP appear to have a different definition of the near future than the rest of us.

Lamoureux raised concerns last week about the government’s inability to ensure accountability inside the Legislature stemming from its outright lack of respect for the Public Accounts Committee (labeled as the worst in Canada) and the Standing Committee on Crown Corporations.

“This government is making a mockery of our legislative committees. It is time the Forks North Portage Partnership appears before a legislative committee and be accountable,” Lamoureux said.  “If the FNPP has only good things to report then they should stand up and sing their praises but if they have been less than effective then they should be held accountable.”

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Gerrard challenges  Flin Flon MLA to speak to bill and provide accountability

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal leader Dr.Jon Gerrard is calling for change to the process by which government political appointees are elected to the Manitoba Hydro board without public scrutiny or input.

“We are facing today the results of a politicized decision making process and the outcome is a hydro transmission line to be built on the west side of Lake Winnipeg,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “This decision was made by a hydro board, a secretive board, which lacks the high level of accountability that should be associated with the largest Crown corporation in this province.”

Gerard Jennissen MLA for Flin Flon, one of the political appointees to the Hydro board, currently sits in the legislature but he has never answered a single question about Hydro, and he has completely avoided publicly being accountable in any way for his role on the Hydro Board.

“Does Mr.Jennissen answer to the Premier or the caucus? Critical decisions that affect the future of Manitoba Hydro are being made by political appointees who may be driven by motives that do not benefit the average Manitoban,” Dr.Gerrard said.  “In the wake of concerns about Manitoba Hydro’s spending in northern Manitoba, over the past two years, and how recent decisions were made it becomes imperative that we change how members are chosen to ensure greater accountability.”

The liberal bill, Bill 205 – The Manitoba Hydro Amendment act, calls for all board appointees to be screened by a legislative all-party committee before being appointed.  This screening process will allow legislators to question board appointees about their qualifications and about their vision for Hydro and their views on important issues that impact Hydro. Bill 205 will reach second reading stage on Tuesday.

“This bill essentially gives the Hydro board the ability to stand up against political interference because appointees would have already been publicly questioned about their willingness to challenge the government,” Dr.Gerrard said. “It will provide a level of accountability that is severely lacking and will give board members the power to act in the best interests of Manitobans as opposed to being NDP lackeys.”

Manitoba Hydro, the province’s most important Crown Corporation, had revenues totaling over $2 billion in the last fiscal year.

Liberal personal information bill reaches second reading

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard tomorrow will readdress the importance of the timely release of patient information to family members during the second reading of a bill that calls for a 24 hour deadline for delivering patient information.

“There is no conceivable reason why a patient should have to wait 30 days for their own medical information to be made available to them,” Dr.Gerrard said.   “People have a right to know about the quality of care that they are receiving.  Waiting 30 days for information that should be readily available can lead to further problems in providing care, and speaks volumes to the lack of accountability that is rampant in the NDP government.”

Bill 204 – The Personal Health Information Amendment act enables patients in hospitals and personal care homes to access information about their own health within 24 hours, provided that it is readily available. Under the current PHIA bill, hospital staff is entitled to a 30 day grace period before they must comply with a request for access to information.

Mimi Raglan, a strong supporter of Bill 204, experienced first hand the challenges associated with gaining access to a family member’s medical records and treatment plan.  Raglan’s mother passed away 18 days after being admitted to hospital and even though the family requested her medical information upon her admittance it was not available until after her death.

“This change in legislation would have made a big difference to me and my family, and much better allowed us to participate in the health care process.” Mimi Raglan said. “Had this prompt access to patient information been available my mother’s treatment plan could have been altered and her life could very well have been prolonged.”

“There are already long enough lists of people waiting for care now there are lists of people waiting for information on care. The waiting lists in general need to stop,” Dr.Gerrard said. “When a family member is in the hospital people don’t need the added stress of dealing with government bureaucracy.”

Liberal Health Care Accountability Act first step towards a solution: Gerrard

WINNIPEG – During question period today Manitoba Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard restated his call for better accountability in Manitoba’s health care system arguing that events in the NorthEastman Regional Health Authority show the need for major changes to the province’s bureaucratic RHA system.

Citing an article last week in the Winnipeg River Echo, Dr. Gerrard said there is new evidence of how the NorthEastman RHA is off-loading its responsibility to provide health care onto the backs of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The article states that NorthEastman residents are being forced to go to Winnipeg for services which their RHA refuses to provide.

“In the last three years, we have seen more and more people from Pine Falls and area going to Winnipeg for health care because the quality of care people are seeking is not available here,” said George Harbottle, Reeve of the R.M. of Alexander.

“It is becoming clearer that this particular RHA is choosing to provide less timely care for its residents by shipping people off to Winnipeg for services that should be readily available right in Pine Falls,” Dr.Gerrard said. “This amounts to offloading of RHA costs onto the already overburdened backs and budget of the WRHA. This is precisely what is wrong with Manitoba’s RHAs. Funding should be based on services actually delivered not global black-hole budgets.”

Pushing further for real accountability in health care, Dr. Gerrard introduced last week
Bill 200 – The Health Services Amendment and Health Services Insurance Amendment act. The Liberal bill which makes accountability a fundamental principle in the delivery of health care in Manitoba, is currently sitting at the second reading stage.

The Manitoba Liberal Party recently submitted a proposal to the RHA Review Committee outlining seven key recommendations which would overhaul the flawed health system.

liberal-rha-external-review-submission.pdf

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Anti-phosphorus detergent bill, Apology Act blocked by NDP from coming to vote

WINNIPEG – In a quick and dirty legislative move earlier today, the Doer NDP government adjourned debate on two highly popular Liberal bills effectively killing any chance for the bills to proceed through the Legislature this session.

Bills 202 and 203, the Liberals’ bills to ban the sale of dishwashing detergents containing phosphorus and to remove legal liability when saying sorry, both hit the NDP’s brick wall when two government backbenchers moved to shut down debate.

“Instead of having the courage to put their views on the public record, the NDP have decided to purposely stonewall progressive liberal legislation based solely on the fact that the bills were not their idea,” Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard said. “This is without doubt one of the most cowardly and petty acts a government can do – and it shows utter hypocrisy from a government who claims to care about the well being of Manitobans.”

Equally appalling was the decision of Selkirk MLA Greg Dewar to serve as Gary Doer’s puppet by wielding the knife to kill the Liberal ban on phosphorus in dishwasher detergents. The bill is an important part of the Manitoba Liberals’ larger effort in fighting Lake Winnipeg’s massive problem with toxic blue-green algae.

“NDP MLAs around Lake Winnipeg like Greg Dewar, Peter Bjornson and Thomas Nevakshonoff are going to have to do some major spinning to explain to their constituents why they held up legislation to save Lake Winnipeg,” Dr. Gerrard said. “That these MLAs and their government would be so selfish as to deliberately block lake-saving legislation just because it wasn’t their idea is reprehensible. They have a duty to their constituents, not just to their political masters in Gary Doer’s office.”

Dr. Gerrard said he will continue to speak out about the plight of Lake Winnipeg and other Manitoba lakes which are encrusted in toxic blue-green algae.

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WINNIPEG – The Doer NDP’s announcement today that Manitoba has become “the leader in rehabilitation of orphaned and abandoned mines” is an absurd claim and flies in the face of reality.

Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard responded to today’s NDP funding announcement saying it comes nowhere near enough to make up for decades of lost ground in cleaning up Manitoba’s abandoned mine sites. That position was confirmed by Joan Kuyek of Mining Watch Canada (613-569-3439), who agreed that Manitoba has a long way to go to catch up with other provinces.

In contrast to far superior mine rehabilitation efforts in other provinces, such as the cleanup of the Kam Kotia Mine in Ontario and the Britannia Mine Site in BC’s Howe Sound, the Doer NDP has spent most of the last eight years doing next to nothing on mine clean-up as toxic wastes have leached into the environment in Manitoba’s north.

Even today, the toxic mine wastes at the Sherridon Mine site continue to leach into nearby Kississing Lake with serious environmental effects and economic repercussions.

“The NDP is definitely no ‘leader’ in mine rehabilitation – they’re so far back they’re barely visible,” Dr. Gerrard said. “A good leader leads by example not by self-praise. The NDP should actually check with other jurisdictions before making ridiculous claims about showing leadership. Let’s see some results on the ground first before we make any judgment.”

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Photos from Sherridon Mine and Kississing Lake available at:  http://www.manitobaliberals.ca/2007/08/sherridon-and-kississing-lake-eight.html

For more information or interviews, contact:

Samantha Charran
Media Relations Officer for Dr. Jon Gerrard
(204) 228-6707
samantha.charran@leg.gov.mb.ca

BC-style legislation to bring healing to families, enforce accountability in health care system

WINNIPEG – Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard re-introduced legislation today to allow health care workers and other professionals to apologize for medical errors without making an admission of legal liability in Manitoba courts. The Liberal leader also re-introduced a second bill to make ‘accountability’ a legal requirement in the province’s health care system.

Bills 200 and 202 are part of a broader package to improve accountability in the province’s health care system which Dr. Gerrard said suffers from a ‘defend and deny’ mentality rooted in fear of legal repercussions. Too often, health care professionals in Manitoba fear sharing information, disclosing errors, or saying sorry – a fear that hinders the first priority of health care workers as healers.

“In my many years as a physician and then as an elected official, I have seen numerous cases where a simple apology could have gone a long way to settle disputes, bring closure to patients and families, and help in the emotional and mental healing process,” Dr. Gerrard said. “The role of an apology is often greatly underestimated and we need to have a health care system and a legal system that encourages the sharing of information with patients, not one that obstructs it.”

The Liberals’ Apology Act follows legislation now on the books in British Columbia.  Both Australia and several American jurisdictions have similar legislation in place including a broader “Sorry Works” strategy that seeks to open up the medical process to improved accountability and clarity.

The Liberals’ second bill, the Health Services Amendment and Health Services Insurance Amendment Act, would make ‘accountability’ a legally enforceable requirement for the province’s health care system. The bill also installs the five principles of the Canada Health Act (universality, public administration, accessibility, comprehensiveness, and portability) into provincial law.

“What we are trying to move to is a legal right to timely access to quality health care in Manitoba,” Dr. Gerrard said. “This is only the first step among many that will be needed and I hope our bills will receive support from all parties in the Legislature,” Dr. Gerrard said.

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WINNIPEG – In what may be one of the weakest Throne Speeches heard at the Manitoba Legislature in a long time, Gary Doer’s NDP failed to outline a plan today for making good on literally hundreds of promises made during the recent provincial election.

Today’s short three-page ‘Speech from the Throne’ was particularly long on rhetoric and contained few of the over 200 promises made by the NDP during the election. Particularly startling was the absence of any mention of Lake Winnipeg, Kyoto, or rapid transit for the City of Winnipeg in the Throne Speech.

“Today’s Throne Speech was incredibly vague – far too short and inadequate for what is supposed to be a provincial government,” Liberal Leader Dr. Gerrard said. “This is a government that is clearly just going through the motions and is not at all interested in tackling the major problems our province faces.”

To demonstrate the difference between today’s vague Throne Speech and the NDP’s rhetoric during the campaign, the Liberals released a ten page long partial list of NDP promises made during the election. Dr. Gerrard and the Liberals invited comparison between the content of the two documents.

Today’s Speech from the Throne can be found at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/throne.html.

A partial list of NDP promises from the 2007 Provincial Election

1)       Health Care
a.               Add 100 more doctors
b.               Adding 10 new spaces at the U of M School of Medicine, increasing the number of spaces to 110 from 100.  This will result in a 57 percent increase since 1999, when there were only 70 spaces.
c.               Adding 10 new spaces to the International Medical Graduate program, increasing the total spaces from 35 to 25, and thereby helping more foreign trained doctors become licensed to practice in Manitoba.
d.               Providing rural and northern doctors with a “guaranteed getaway” by establishing a dedicated $1 million support fund to fill vacancies when doctors need relief.  The fund will reduce pressure on rural and northern doctors and hospitals, while providing continued care for patients.
e.               Creating new incentives for doctors to practice in Manitoba such as a new $500,000 resettlement fund to help doctors with moving and other expenses and the recently announced 60 percent tuition rebate for graduates who work in Manitoba.  The rebate means a doctor will get $25,000 back in total tuition of $41,000 plus incentives, if they practice in a hard to recruit area.
f.                 Increasing the number of physician specialists by expanding residencies in hey areas
g.               Introducing new scholarships for Aboriginal medical students at the U of M.  The annual scholarship will provide $7,000 each to six Aboriginal students
h.               Providing new supports for emergency room doctors, including expanded training, more front-line staff, and increasing primary care choices for patients to ease pressure on ERs.
i.                 130 more technologists, nurse practitioners and clinical assistants
j.                 Shorter waiting times
k.               Manitoba will add 700 more (new) nurses and nurse practitioners over the next four years to further reduce wait times
l.                 Establish a dedicated MRI for children to allow diagnostics to be done in an accessible, comfortable setting and to allow for easier, timely scheduling of MRIs for children.
m.             Reducing overall waiting times for MRIs
n.               Building a new health care clinic in west Winnipeg (an ACCESS centre)
o.               Build a Mental Health Care ER
p.               Increasing the number of specialists
q.               Expand the allergy and asthma treatment program for children.  Specifically there will be a new clinic at Children’s Hospital established to help Manitoba expand its successful asthma and allergy program, while providing treatment, education and research in one location.
r.                Provision of asthma services for children through the new south Winnipeg Women and Children’s Health Centre.
s.               Enhanced programming for children with asthma to work with families to develop asthma action plans, which include learning to identify and control triggers in the home, and proper use of “controller” medicine.
t.                Providing for a modernization of the catheterization lab at Children’s Hospital to include the latest equipment used in detecting kids’ heart problems.  New, state-of-the-art technology will provide higher quality imaging, allowing for better diagnosis of heart problems.
u.               Building a new centre for children and youth with special needs (new Rehab Centre for children)
v.                A new echocardiogram for Brandon
w.              A new ultrasound for Brandon
x.               New dialysis unit in Berens River ($3.5 million to build and $680,000 to operate), to provide services for Berens River residents and for those in the nearby region.
y.               Provision of diabetes education and prevention services at Berens River.
z.               New “four station” dialysis unit in Gimli (costing $1.4 million to build and $486,000 to operate).
aa.           Providing diabetes prevention and education programming in Gimli
bb.           New dialysis unit near Peguis First Nation at Percey E. Moore Hospital in Hodgson. (Cost $2 million to build and $1.5 million to operate.
cc.           Providing diabetes education and prevention initiatives in Hodgson and nearby communities including Peguis First Nation, Fisher River, Jackhead and Koostatak.
dd.           Increased spaces at the Medical School
ee.           A new Health and Fitness Centre for Brandon
ff.               Hiring 250 new nurses and 100 health care aides to improve health care in Personal Care Homes and assist front-line health staff
gg.           Adding 50 new front-line professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical dietitians and others providing needed care to patients at Personal Care Homes
hh.           Investing new resources in dementia education for all staff at Personal Care Homes
ii.               Ensuring more unannounced inspections will be made at Personal Care Homes.
jj.               Changing the nurses recruitment and retention fund to make it more attractive for nurses to practice at Personal Care Homes
kk.           Increase nurse training by adding 100 new spaces, including expansion at Red River College, Brandon University, the University of Manitoba, University College of the North and College Universitaire de Saint-Boniface.
ll.               Adding seven new seats at the graduate school at the University of Manitoba School of Nursing to increase the number of qualified professional instructors
mm.       Expanding the Nurses Recruitment and Retention Fund, with a focus on keeping nurses in the profession longer and encouraging nurses reaching retirement to consider a second career as an instructor
nn.           Providing new resources to ensure that nurses have a safer and more secure working environment, building on the $700,000 Nurses Safety and Security Fund introduced in 2002.
oo.           Opening the health care centre in Riverton, renovating E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital and investing in a mobile ultra sound program
pp.           Increasing residencies in pediatric care to seven from five to allow senior residents to provide rotating coverage in Brandon and Thompson
qq.           Adding two new oncologist/hematolotis residencies,
rr.              Adding four new post-residency training fellowships
ss.           Adding three international clinical/research fellowships
tt.              More than doubling the number of ER doctor training seats to 13 from 5
uu.           Establishing a community teaching site at Grace Hospital
vv.             Establishing a community teaching site at Seven Oaks Hospital
ww.         Establishing a community teaching site at Concordia Hospital
xx.           Establishing a community teaching site at Victoria Hospital
yy.           Hiring more front-line staff to support ER doctors
zz.           Adding five new clinical assistant positions to Grace Hospital’s ER in a pilot project to better support ER doctors
aaa.        Hiring dedicated pharmacists for 10 ERs, seven in Winnipeg, and one in each of Brandon, Thompson and Selkirk to help doctors and nurses better deal with the large number of medication-related ER visits
bbb.        Establishing a new free-standing Mental Health Crisis Response Centre next to Health Sciences Centre – the first of its kind in Canada – to provide specialized care for up to 10,000 mental health patients who visit traditional ERs each year.
ccc.        Using nurse practitioners to provide new community-based program options for patients with chronic diseases at the new ACCESS northwest Centre and Thompson Community Heath Centre to help take the burden off EWRS.
ddd.        Adding more long-term care spaces to provide better care for seniors and relieve the pressure on hospitals.
eee.        Expanding the best home care program in the country by ensuring 2,00 more people can live independently in their own homes with dignity.
fff.              Completing the Aging in Place plan, a long-term care strategy, to create 1,100 new long-term care spaces in Winnipeg, and more than 650 spaces in rural and northern Manitoba.
ggg.        Improving care in personal care homes through an earlier commitment to add 400 front-line nurses, health care aides and other professionals to Manitoba personal care homes.
hhh.        A new women’s Hospital at the Health Sciences Centre which will be a “new, $40 million centre of excellence for maternal care will be built next to the recently renovated HSC and Children’s Hospital – dramatically changing the way care is delivered by bringing all services together and providing quicker, better access to specialized care when needed.
iii.              The New Women’s Hospital will feature more beds in all areas, including for labour and delivery and high-risk pregnancies, increase privacy in birthing rooms and create more space for families.  All the birthing rooms will be private with their own washroom and shower facilities.
jjj.              The new Women’s Hospital will integrate the neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) with the intermediate nursery and birthing rooms, ensuring that mothers and babies will be close together during critical times.  At present the neonatal ICU is in a separate building.
kkk.        A new south Winnipeg Women and Children’s Health Centre costing $3.5 million.  It will be a birthing centre which will focus on a wide range of services for expectant mothers and babies, including prenatal, birthing, postpartum and newborn care, as well as broader services for parents and families.
lll.              The new south Winnipeg Women and Children’s Health Centre will be a unique fully-funded community birthing centre, run by the Women’s Health Clinic, that will be staffed by midwives and feature doula services, plus programs emphasizing healthy living, illness prevention and timely treatment, and links to specialized care.
mmm.  The new south Winnipeg Women and Children’s Health Centre will including parenting support and education, immunization clinics, childhood injury prevention, mental health services, dietary counseling and diabetes transition programs.
nnn.        A renovated and expanded maternity ward at St. Boniface General Hospital ($2 million) to provide eight new beds for high risk women, including four new post-partum beds and four new labour and delivery beds.
ooo.        Expanded midwife education programs

2)       Environment
a.               New wind power
b.               New ethanol
c.               New Hydro
d.               Clean Water protection and tough rules on pollution
e.               A green economy with jobs of the future
f.                 Producing biofuels
g.               Working with private sector partners like New Flyer Industries on the low and no-emission technologies of the future
h.               Introducing legislation to ensure Manitoba meets its Kyoto targets by 2012
i.                 Reducing Manitoba’s use of coal
j.                 Working with employees on a plan to reduce the use of the coal plant in Brandon
k.               Creating a made-in-Manitoba vehicle efficiency standard
l.                 Setting up a vehicle Advisory Board
m.             Providing incentives to deal with older vehicles
n.               Requiring the capture of emissions from large landfills
o.               Increasing the energy efficiency of new buildings by establishing a new code for efficiency
p.               Developing a plan to switch off-grid communities to renewable energy
q.               Legislating the provinces Green Building policy to address government emissions
r.                Legislating a provincial green fleet to address government emissions
s.               Providing incentives for farmers to undertake projects that reduce emissions
t.                Reporting publicly on climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation.
u.               Tools to help Manitobans save money and the environment through water conservation
v.                Bring in Water Smart program to save more than one billion liters of water annually.
w.              Creating the East Interlake Water Conservation Areas, to better manage flooding and protect water
x.               Provide a new legislative tool for protecting designated areas and implementing land use plans.
y.               The new protected areas designation will be used to allow East Side First Nations to create and implement their land-use plans and ensure the area is protected in a way that is consistent with the establishment of a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the East Side of Lake Winnipeg.
z.               The new protected areas designation will be used to elevate the protected status of the Poplar-Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve, a 770,000 hectare boreal forest area.

3)       Education
a.               4000 more apprenticeships
b.               A 60% tuition rebate for new grads who stay
c.               Extending the tuition freeze
d.               Investing in the new science complex at the University of Winnipeg – and other similar programs
e.               Constructing the new $5.4 million Inwood School
f.                 To provide more resources to public schools
g.               Providing annual funding increases to school divisions above the rate of economic growth to help the province reach the 80 per cent funding mark.
h.               Provide the annual grants and proposed budgets to school divisions earlier in the budgeting process to allow for better up-front planning.
i.                 Ensure GAAP principles are followed, thereby resulting in greater accountability and transparency.

4)       Justice
a.               Put 100 more (new) police officers on Manitoba streets. (50 new officers for Winnipeg, five for Brandon, 30 for the RCMP to serve rural Manitoba, and 15 for First Nations communities.”
b.               Add 20 new prosecutors (crown prosecutors)
c.               Increase the gang prosecutions unit by 50 per cent by adding seven more Crown prosecutors and support staff to the gang prosecutions unit.
d.               Fighting for tougher federal laws (Escalate our demand for tougher consequences for those who break the law by leading a coalition to Ottawa that would include leaders from the community, business, law enforcement and other political parties.”  “Specific changes Manitoba will ask Ottawa for include Tougher penalties for youth involved in serious crimes; first degree murder changes for gang related homicides; eliminating 2 for 1 remand credits; making auto theft an indictable offence; and making shooting a weapon at a building and drive-by shootings an indictable offence.”
e.               Shut down more drug dens/prostitution houses.
f.                 Fund the electronic monitoring of repeat auto-theft offenders
g.               Invest in more programs and opportunities for at-risk youth
h.               The “six point crime reduction strategy also includes adding two new teams to the Public Safety Investigations Unit
i.                 Making shooting a weapon at a building an indictable offence
j.                 Making drive-by shootings an indictable offence
k.               “the NDP will work with MPI to increase the number of immobilizers in vehicles.”

5)       Communities
a.               More lighthouses and other activities for youth
b.               First Sports program – grants to community centres for assistance to families and kids of up to $6,500 for team uniforms, sporting gear and other equipment like groundskeeping and icekeeping equipment
c.               Today’s NDP will be “doubling its investment in recreation centres, community clubs and soccer fields across Manitoba (to $60 million over four years).”
d.               “support exciting new projects across the province, like increasing the $2.9 million commitment to the new soccer complex in south Winnipeg in order to reduce the burden on parents.”
e.               “The NDP will support exciting new projects like an inner-city soccer facility being proposed by the University of Winnipeg.”
f.                 “a new program to channel youth at risk into constructive behaviour with the help of mental health professionals
g.               More after school/after dark activities
h.               Enhancing the Lighthouse program
i.                 Doubling the size of the highly successful Turnabout program for youth who can’t be charged under the Young Offenders Act
j.                 Expanding the Northern Cadets Program

6)       The Economy
a.               Finishing the floodway expansion
b.               Road and highway improvement
c.               Establishing a five per cent mandate for biodiesel by 2010 – one of the first in Canada.  The mandate will focus on school buses, government fleet vehicles, agricultural fuel and the trucking industry. It will create demand for more than 40 million liters of biodiesel.
d.               Creating a $1 million Biodiesel Development fund to support additional biodiesel projects, adding to the four already in development in Manitoba.  Biodiesel production will create jobs, expand markets for farmers and spur economic growth in rural communities.
e.               Developing 1,000 megawatts of wind energy over the next decade, generating $2 billion in investment and $100 million in wind-rights payments to farmers.  One of Canada’s largest wind farms is already in full operation at St. Leon and providing producers with $9 million in land-lease payments, Manitoba Hydro is currently seeking proposals for the next 300 megawatts of wind power, enough to power 100,000 homes.
f.                 Creating a $500,000 community wind power fund that will be available to help communities set up monitors to determine local wind strength.  Small scale, community wind projects are part of the long-term plan to develop 1000 megawatts.
g.               Targeting initiatives towards new manufacturing projects that develop the foods of the future,
h.               Continuing to invest in agri-product development.
i.                 $40 million as a down payment on the development of an east-west power grid
j.                 New support for local filmmakers who are trying to get their production off the ground.  Emerging productions will be supported by adding $500,000 to the Film and Television Production Equity Investment program run by Manitoba Film and Sound.
k.               New funding of $100,000 to the National Screen Institute (NSI) for Aboriginal film training programs to increase opportunities for young Aboriginal Manitobans in the film industry.  The funding will support two programs, New Voices and Story Tellers, and will train more young Manitobans to fill the rising demand for local TV and film crew members.
l.                 New support of $200,000 to help local recording artists boost their profile in local, national and international music markets.  The funding will provide touring support, marketing support and access to markets.  It will be shared by the MFS and the Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Association (MARIA).
m.             Doubling support for the Urban Arts Program to $400,000 annually to support a wide range of creative programming, from music and theatre, to the performing and visual arts.  This program will support the Gas Station Theatre, Graffiti Art Gallery, Art City, Ndinawe and the West End Cultural Centre.

7)       Labour
a.               Adding 20 new Workplace and Safety Health inspectors, bringing the total to 74
b.               Dedicating one workplace and health inspector to rural Manitoba with a focus on education and prevention
c.               Continuing to reduce the time loss due to injury rate.
d.               Helping to keep Worker’s Compensation Board rates among the lowest in Canada

8)       Protecting Manitoba Hydro
a.               Guaranteeing the Manitoba Hydro will not be privatized
b.               Keeping the lowest electricity rates in North America

9)       Taxation measures
a.               No PST on the purchase of any Energy Star water saving appliance
b.               Rebates for consumer who buy low-flow bathroom fixtures
c.               Water Smart loans for Manitobans to improve private water or waste systems
d.               Rebates for Energy Star dishwashers and front-load washers, as well as tank-less hot water tanks
e.               Increasing education funding to 80 percent to help take the burden off property7 taxpayers – meaning Manitoba homeowners and renters will each save an average of $150 in education property taxes.
f.                 Eliminating all provincial taxes on Manitoba produced pure bio-diesel
g.               Reducing education taxes on farmland by 70 percent in 2008, 75 percent in 2009 and 80 percent in 2010.
h.               Increase the education property tax credit by $300 to $525 in 2007, $625 in 2008, and $700 in 2009.  This means the average homeowner will save $250 by 2009, once increases in the residential special levy for 2007 are taken into account.
i.                 “We are committing to increase the province’s share of public education funding to 80 per cent over the next four years, up from just over 70 per cent,-
j.                 Introducing a new $1,020 credit for family caregivers and providing low-interest loans for needed renovations to assist families who want to care for their loved ones. (Cost $5 million per year)
k.               Elimination of the small business tax

10)   Tourism
a.               Support “the construction of a giant covered tipi and 10 smaller ones to accommodate visitors” in Cranberry Portage
b.               Committing $75,000 to support the National Aboriginal Arts gathering in Cranberry Portage August 9 to 12, 2007

11)   Highways
a.               $4 million to modernize PR 283 west of Opaskwayak Cree Nation
b.               $5 million to improve PR 384 to Moose Lake, including construction of five kilometers near Lobstick Creek
c.               $13 million to upgrade Hwy 10 from The Pas to Flin Flon, plus improving the stretch from 16th Street to the river within the town of The Pas
d.               Further improvements to Highway 6
e.               Modernizing PR 373 to Norway House
f.                 Modernizing PR 374 to Cross Lake
g.               Surfacing the Wanless Access Road
h.               Reconstruct Highway 17 north of Poplarfield
i.                 Improve PR 325 east of Hodgson
j.                 Upgrade PR 326 north of Arborg
k.               Continuing upgrades on Highway 68, west of Hwy 6 to allow for heavier loads
l.                 Paving Main street and Railway avenue in Ashern
m.             Straightening Curves on Hwy 6, near Woodlands and Grosse Isle to improve safety
n.               Reconstructing Hwy 8 from Winnipeg Beach to Hnausa
o.               Improving PR 324 between Riverton and Matheson

12)   Trails
a.               $1.8 million over three years to the Winnipeg Trails Association to help them develop 32 kilometers of trails across the city, including portions that make up the Manitoba stretch of the Trans-Canada trail.
b.               Further development of the Bishop Grandin Greenway
c.               Further development of Fort Whyte Alive
d.               Further development of Harte Trail,
e.               Further development of Transcona Trails
f.                 Further development of the Chief Peguis pedestrian trail
g.               Further development of the Marconi Trail

13)   Firefighting
a.               “add 50 new firefighters” – “20 more for Winnipeg, and four more each in Brandon, Thompson and Portage la Prairie, and 18 more forest firefighters.
b.               Add “another helicopter to Manitoba’s firefighting efforts” “Adding another contract helicopter to the initial attack force, giving crews six helicopters to ensure crews are moved quickly to fire sites.”
c.               Improving communication and safety with the purchase of 33 new satellite phones
d.               Doubling the training funding for municipalities that rely on volunteer fire departments
e.               Hiring forest firefighters sooner – thereby being able to train crews earlier, get them to fire sites sooner in the season and keep crews together longer.

14)   Housing
a.               Opening the new Assisted Living Complex in Arborg
b.               Offering low-interest loans of up to $10,000 to renovate their homes in order to provide safe and comfortable surroundings for their loved ones.

15)   Agriculture
a.               Creating a new province-wide Farmers Eco-Fund to support producers who implement practices such as wetland preservation. It will be modeled after a pilot project “at the RM of Blanshard.”
b.               Providing rural residents with low-interest loans for upgrading private water or waste-water systems through the new Water Smart program, which will help homeowners conserve water and save money
c.               Providing new incentives for producers to modernize their operations as part of new regulations protecting water. Expanding the role of our “one stop shopping”.  Go Centres to help producers cut through red take and access tax savings and assistance programs.  Staff will be trained to help farmers deal with all provincial programs, not just those in the Agricultural Department.
d.               Funding two more seats at the University of Saskatchewan’s veterinarian college to help increase the supply of large animal vets that serve rural areas, and increasing the conditional grants to 15 from 10 for vest who commit to practice in rural Manitoba.
e.               Adding two new components to the successful Bridging Generations program.  This program currently provides loans and mentoring for producers who want to pass on their operations to the next generation.  This program will be expanded to allow rural business people and fishers to pass their operations onto family members, or others working in the business or living in the community.

16)   Other
a.               Purchase a new state of the art Amphibex machine for $1.25 million to assist towns and municipalities in dealing with ice jams and flooding
b.               Offer 1,000 more cottage lots
c.               Further modernize Manitoba’s provincial parks and campgrounds
d.               Parks and campgrounds will be upgraded including better playground structures for kids, more electrical campsites, more yurts, extending 911 service to Duck Mountain and Hecla and new picnic tables and other amenities.  Building such as shower rooms will be renovated to be more energy and water efficient, including new design features such as solar-heated showers, low-flow water fixtures and green building measures.  (Today’s announcement will add $2 million to the annual capital budget for park and campground improvements.”

Seven day session, one page throne speech all image, no substance: Gerrard

WINNIPEG – Opposition Liberals expressed dissatisfaction Thursday over Gary Doer’s decision to hold a Legislative session of just seven days before breaking for the usual summer break. With only a one page throne speech, a re-run budget and little in the way of new policy initiatives, Liberal Leader Dr. Jon Gerrard characterized the session as little more than a ‘mock parliament’ organized by the NDP to give the appearance of doing work.

“MLAs weren’t elected last week to go through the motions, play parliament for seven days, then take a year off,” Dr. Gerrard said. “Unfortunately, this is the typical Doer M.O. – trying to hide a thin legislative agenda by calling a session that will barely get past a throne speech. This is a simple PR exercise for Gary Doer, not government.”

Dr. Gerrard said the recent provincial election highlighted a number of policy areas where the NDP have failed badly including much needed health care reform, rapid transit for Winnipeg, cleaning up Lake Winnipeg, and better protection for Manitoba Housing residents. The Liberals say that NDP complacency is continuing proof that the NDP does not understand the urgency of these issues.

“These are serious concerns and they deserve serious treatment by a Legislature that is ready to get down to work. I know Mr. Doer has already indicated that his number one priority is to take the summer off and have a beer at the cottage, but Liberals want to see some real work done by this government.”