Our "hypothetical" provincial Minister of Finance

Wednesday this week in the legislature, my Liberal colleague, Kevin Lamoureux asked a straightforward question about Bill 37, a bill which had just been introduced in the legislature.

First he asked the Minister of Industry

"Mr. Speaker, in a quick look at Bill 37 that the minister has brought forward today, it would appear as if the government now is opening the door for some form of financial compensation. I think it is important for the Crocus shareholders and the public as a whole that the government be honest and transparent in terms of what its intentions are with regard to the Crocus shareholders."

When Minister Rondeau avoided the question twice, Kevin Lamoureux turned to the Minister of Finance.

The Minister of Finance said in reply:

"His question is entirely hypothetical. We know under the rules of Beauchesne and the rules of the House that hypothetical questions are not even legitimate questions."

It is clearly not a hypothetical question when the government has tabled a bill dealing with precisely this issue. The government has a responsibility to tell Manitobans what the financial implications of its bill 37 are. For Minister Selinger to claim this question was hypothetical when his government had just tabled a bill dealing with precisely this topic is outrageous.

If you wonder why we are furious at the lack of accountability of the Gary Doer NDP, you have one more in a long list of examples.