The Manitoba Legislature Session - Week Three

October 9-12: The Manitoba Legislature Session - Week Three. It was a week in which we introduced bills to introduce better accountability for Manitoba Hydro (second reading) and to ban single use plastic checkout bags (first reading).

The Environment:

1) Legislation to Ban Plastic Checkout Bags
On Thursday, Kevin Lamoureux and I introduced a bill to ban the sale of plastic checkout bags in Manitoba starting on January 1, 2009. This initiative follows on the successful ban on the use of plastic checkout bags in Leaf Rapids in northern Manitoba. Each year there are several hundred million plastic checkout bags used in Manitoba. We estimate there could be as high as 300-400 million plastic checkout bags added to the Brady Landfill site each year. It is time to end this practice. Reusable cloth bags are becoming common. Biodegradable bags are available. If this bill were to pass this legislative session, there would be more than a year to implement the transition.

2) Environmental Liabilities:
The NDP, after some prodding from me, have started recognizing environmental liabilities in their budgets. But not all environmental liabilities are recognized. Finance Minister Greg Selinger admitted, when I questioned him in estimates on Tuesday, that there are no dollars booked yet with regard to the liabilities in relation to the need to clean up Lake Winnipeg.

3) Lake Winnipeg erosion: Last week I asked the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs about the severe erosion at the mouth of the Winnipeg River at Sakgeeng. He said it was not his responsibility and that the Minister of Conservation is the lead Minister. I then asked the Minister of Conservation. He said it was not his responsibility and that I should ask the Minister of Finance who is also the Minister responsible for Hydro, or the Minister for Water Stewardship. I asked the Minister of Finance - and he said it was not his responsibility. Finally this week, I got to ask the Minister of Water Stewardship - and after some consultation with her officials, she said - yes it was her responsibility. So I asked what she was doing about the severe erosion, and she said "I have not been to Sagkeeng. I have not received any communication from the Sagkeeng people, but the department has been working with them and I will let the department do their job." To date, so far as I have been able to determine there is not a provincial plan to deal with this issue.

Darfur
On Tuesday, Kevin Lamoureux and I introduced a Matter of Urgent Public Importance - namely the continued excalation of biolence in Darfur and the need for Manitoba MLAs to act to raise awareness of the situation and to support Sudanese Manitobans who are calling for urgent action to support and enhance peace-making and peace-keeping efforts in the Darfur region. Both the Conservatives and NDP representatives spoke in support of our motion.

Manitoba Hydro:

1) Making the Manitoba Hydro Board accountable: On Tuesday Kevin Lamoureux and I introduced the Manitoba Hydro Amendment Act which will require that anyone who is being considered for a new appointments to the Board of Manitoba Hydro be interviewed by a committee of the Manitoba Legislature in order to examine his or her qualifications for the position and to ask about his or her views on the future directions for Manitoba Hydro. This would provide a first step in better public accountability in appointments to the Manitoba Hydro board. Our position was very vigourously opposed by the NDP who want to continue their existing practice of making political appointments without any public scrutiny.

Health Care:

1) Helping to save our health care system: On Tuesday I spoke to a resolution on health care, to emphasize our Liberal Party's support for the five principles of the Canada Health Act, and to emphasize the need for a sixth principle - Accountability. I emphasized the dual nature of the threats to our public medicare system in Manitoba. There is a threat from the NDP - with poor NDP management undermining the system. There is a threat from the provincial Conservatives - that their approach to develop a parallel private health care component would undermine the public health care system. As I emphasized very strongly in our submission in the Regional Health Authority review committee, we need changes to preserve and strengthen our public health care system - and we have submitted a plan to deliver the changes needed.

Hollow Water:
The government has painted the Hollow Water First Nation as failing to answer emails and letters, but we have not had the full story here. In the past the NDP government has not always been good when it comes to consultations. In question period on Tuesday, I asked the Premier to table the emails and letters from his office and the Minister of Conservation's office to Chief Ian Bushie. The Premier refused to table the documents.

Health Care - Orthopedic Care in Manitoba - A Member's Statement:

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, the NDP government has fallen sadly short when it comes to bone and joint health. It is ludicrous when it takes 20 months or more to see an orthopedic specialist in Manitoba. The Minister of Health makes a laughing stock of herself when in Question Period today she tried to defend the indefensible.
As we Liberals have recommended in our report on the regional health authority system in Manitoba, we need to have a province-wide network for bone and joint health in our province similar to Alberta Bone and Joint Health in Alberta. Indeed, I talked recently with Dr. Henry Friesen, the former head of the Medical Research Council, and a renowned and knowledgeable Manitoban. He indicated he had recently had discussions with an individual involved with Alberta Bone and Joint Health, and he was persuaded that Manitoba badly needs to organize bone and joint health in our province in a similar fashion to what's happened in Alberta.
Only in this way can we overcome the various fiefdoms which exist today in bone and joint health in Manitoba and create an effective well co‑ordinated, truly province-wide network to ensure that Manitobans get the bone and joint health care that they need and that we have prevention, research, education integrated well with the care that is delivered.