NDP leader Greg Selinger visited Flin Flon last week to unveil more of the many pre-election pledges coming from Manitoba’s three major parties.
Appearing at the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy on Thursday, March 24, the incumbent premier was flanked by Flin Flon NDP candidate Tom Lindsey and supporters from local unions.
Selinger spoke about his party’s plans to help promote the mining sector if it wins the April 19 election. He outlined several commitments, including:
• Increase investment in geological survey work and boost the Mineral Exploration Assistance Program (MEAP) to up to 50 per cent of eligible exploration costs, an increase from the current 40 per cent. “We need good incentives for exploration,” Selinger said.
• Work to promote more mining processing opportunities in northern Manitoba. “We need better incentives to increase opportunities to do more processing in the North, not just ship it elsewhere,” Selinger said, “including bringing products from other places up north to be processed.”
• Ensure mining companies open up more exploration on undeveloped leases, and increase investments in indigenous land use planning.
• Invest in northern highways, including resurfacing Highway 10 between PTH 39 and Cranberry Portage; paving all 33 km of PR 392, the single-access road connecting Snow Lake to Highway 39; and investing $16 million to upgrade PR39, the single-access road connecting Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids and Nelson House.
Other promises previously announced by the NDP include:
• Invest $125 million over five years to help build and renovate arenas, pools, parks, libraries and other facilities that offer recreation and healthy living opportunities. This includes at least $10 million to establish more recreation opportunities in northern Manitoba.
• Invest $40 million to replace student loans with grants, provide free tuition to students in care up to age 25, double funding for the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative and launch a pilot program to provide more supports for adult learners looking to upgrade their academic skills before going to university, college or into an apprenticeship. Students eligible for Manitoba loans would submit their application to Student Aid as usual, and receive grants instead.
Conservatives
Some of the promises unveiled by the Progressive Conservatives include:
• Make economic development and jobs a priority in northern Manitoba. The Yes! North program would form partnerships to attract new companies, assist entrepreneurs and facilitate expansion of existing businesses. The focus would be on sustainable development of natural resources, including forestry and mining; and tourism opportunities, including whale watching, polar bear and aurora borealis tours, fishing and hunting.
• Improve wait times for patients seeking emergency medical care and priority procedures. The process would include identifying roadblocks to care and solutions to improving access. A task force of frontline workers, health care professionals and impacted stakeholders would be given a specific mandate and reporting structure to start reporting back within six months.
• Reduce ambulance fees by half beginning in their first year in office, bringing them more in line with the rest of Canada. Manitoba currently has the highest ambulance fees in the country, according to the PCs.
• Enact legislation in the first legislative session to restore Manitobans’ right to vote on any proposed major tax increases, such as the PST, and roll back the PST to seven per cent in the first term. The PST increased from seven per cent to eight per cent in 2013.
• Improve doctor recruitment and retention, in part by promoting hometown doctors through education in local communities. This would include conducting exit interviews with departing doctors to determine their reasons for leaving; and reviewing the levels of incentives offered within the province, and in other provinces, and assessing the impact of current taxation levels in Manitoba.
• Increase funding for scholarships and bursaries to partner with private-sector donors to more than double the current amount of money available for students; while also working with post-secondary advisory councils and industry to promote scholarship and bursary programs with strong labour market outcomes and employability potential.
Liberals
Some promises unveiled by the Liberals include:
• Begin the transition to full-day kindergarten across Manitoba. The Liberals say the current half-day kindergarten puts a strain on parents and the child-care system. The party says full-day kindergarten could reduce costs in other areas.
• Focus on fixing roads. Ideally the Liberals want to see the investments begin in the core areas and work outward. The party says Manitoba has an infrastructure deficit that must be a priority in the coming years.
• Commit to eliminating the wait for public child care. The Liberals would invest in upgrades to current child-care facilities and in building of new child-care centres. The party would also spend an extra $30 million in training and retention of early childhood educators.
• Launch a new pilot program or programs in communities to track the effects of Mincome – the concept of ensuring everyone has a guaranteed income. The party says it has reason to believe Mincome, previously piloted in Dauphin, could result in a substantial saving in government spending.
• Invest in subsidies for healthy food options such as milk, fresh fruit and vegetables in remote communities in northern Manitoba. The Liberals would also fund nutrition counsellors in communities to ensure that healthy eating and cooking habits are enhanced.
• Bring proportional representation to Manitoba with a guarantee that indigenous peoples receive 10 per cent of the seats in the legislature. “Reconciliation is about more than just words, it’s about action and we are prepared to take action by offering a seat at the table to our first peoples,” said Liberal leader Rana Bokhari. “Only when indigenous peoples have a permanent seat at the table can we start to heal as a province and a nation.”
Visit the parties’ official websites for more information on their platforms. The Reminder’s website (www.thereminder.ca) also has an Elections feature that includes profiles of, and questions and answers with, Flin Flon’s MLA candidates.
