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.”