The release of Manitoba’s provincial budget has left some questions hanging in the air for the north.
This year’s budget, hyped up by Premier Brian Pallister as the “best budget ever,” was released to the public on March 12.
One of the biggest changes to the province’s policies is the introduction of a carbon tax, added to provincial plans at the demand of the federal government.
Under the new tax, carbon release will be taxed to the tune of $25 per tonne, above the federally mandated minimum of $10 per tonne in 2018 but below the mandated $50 per tonne by 2022.
Manitobans will see the effect of the tax at the pump. Gasoline will be taxed at an extra 5.32 cents per litre, while diesel will cost an additional 6.71 cents per litre. Natural gas will cost an extra 4.74 cents per cubic metre and propane will be 3.87 cents more per litre.
The tax is expected to raise $143 million in revenue.
Increased fuel costs could hit Flin Flonners and northern residents especially hard. In a remote region where people often drive long distances for medical, business and personal travel, additional cost to drivers could make life more difficult in the north.
As of March 16, the average gas price in Flin Flon was just over $1.17 per litre –more than 15 cents per litre higher than the average provincial price of $1.02 per litre, according to CAA.
“It’ll affect us big time because we always have to travel out of town and we have to depend on our vehicles for almost everything,” said Karen MacKinnon, Flin Flon city councillor and the president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce.
“I think the carbon tax is put in place to get people to drive less, but I don’t think that’s an option with northerners. We have to drive. It’s not like we’re doing all our driving in town – anywhere you drive in Flin Flon, you’re there in five minutes. It’ll affect us.”
Flin Flon MLA Tom Lindsey agrees, adding that the tax will likely mean higher heating costs for northern residents.
“Let’s be honest with what the government has introduced – it’s not a carbon tax, it’s a gas tax. It’s predominantly going to change the price of gas, diesel and propane. For people in the north, heating costs are already higher,” he said.
“For people who commute between Flin Flon and Snow Lake for work, that cost is going to go sky high. It’s having an effect on the north. It can’t, simply because of the distances that we have to travel, reduce our individual carbon footprint just by making it more expensive. It just makes it harder.”
Some changes will be coming to Manitoba’s mining industry.
No changes are in store for the provincial government’s Mineral Exploration Assistance Program and the Prospectors’ Assistance Program, but just under $600,000 will be cut from the Manitoba Geological Survey.
The cut is part of a big funding change for the Ministry of Growth, Enterprise and Trade. In the new budget, funding to the ministry, which oversees mining and the provincial Look North initiative, was cut by more than $7 million.
“That shouldn’t be cut. We should be having money added to it,” said MacKinnon.
“For mining, the north as a whole depends on it.”
No major cuts to the Look North project itself are announced in the budget.
Lindsey pointed out that many provincial mining-related matters are not included as line items in the budget and that any additional impact to the industry may not be known until further releases are made.
“As we get into the estimates process in the coming weeks, we’ll try to get more information out there and get a better understanding. We’ll know what’s getting cut and what’s getting funded at a level that is not sustainable,” he said.
“There should be more of an emphasis on exploration. That’s how you find a mine.”
The Mining Community Reserve Fund funds both the Mineral Exploration Assistance Program and the Prospectors’ Assistance Program. Financed through provincial tax revenue from mining operations, the fund is used to help offset the impact of mines shutting down in Manitoba communities. Flin Flon city council broached the possibility of using the fund to counterweight the potential shutdown of the 777 mine as recently as last November.
In July 2017, Thompson city council approved a measure to request as much as $10 million from the fund after mining company Vale announced as many as 700 jobs would be cut in the community by December 2018.
Spending for the health and education sectors has increased in the budget. However, increases in both are below the rate of inflation.
It’s unknown what changes could be coming to education and health care in Manitoba as a result of the budget.
Funding for five new schools is included in the budget, but none of the five schools will be built outside of Winnipeg and Brandon.
“We need more than a one per cent increase in health care. That’s for the whole province,” said MacKinnon. “I don’t know if we in the north will get a one per cent increase or if there will be cuts.”
Lindsey said he feels the health and education allocation is the biggest issue with the budget, provincially.
“The biggest concern is the de facto cut in health care spending. They’ve said it’s an increase, but it’s the smallest increase and it’s below the rate of inflation, so really, it’s cut,” he said.
“The solution is that some things just have to be funded. Health care is a right to every citizen to this country and they should be entitled to the services of doctors and nurses. It doesn’t matter if it’s Flin Flon, Snow Lake or Tadoule Lake. They need access to that sort of medical care.”
Manitoba budget highlights
• The basic personal tax exemption is raised from $9,271 to $10,392
• $152 million cut in spending on highway construction and repair, which will receive $350 million over the next year
• $30 million increase in revenue for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, the group which will distribute marijuana after it is legalized for recreational use
• $2.7 million cut to program delivery for the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba
• Funding allocated to create 700 spaces for childcare
• Reduction in ambulance fees and the creation of 60 full-time paramedic positions
