Manitoba Liberals presented their recommendations on the provincial budget to Finance Minister Cameron Friesen on Tuesday.
The Manitoba Liberals presented a number of recommendations, which they say are crafted to restore integrity to the Province's finances through more honest accounting, and focus on dealing with provincial debt through measures that focus on growing the economy and improving services instead of just cuts.
"Our first major recommendation is that the province should immediately stop raiding Hydro of more than $380-million a year because that means Hydro can return to financial health and profitability without massive rate hikes," said Dougald Lamont, Manitoba Liberal Leader. "Second, this government has to start focusing on growth and revenue and start investing instead of cutting. We can't cut our way out of debt - we have to work our way out of it."
Lamont said that the Pallister government's approach to cuts has been shown to be outdated and discredited by a decade of experience in countries around the world. The International Monetary Fund has rejected it, and both the Dean of the Asper School of Business and the Manitoba Business Council sounded warnings that Pallister's cuts could damage Manitoba's economy and make it even harder to respond to a downturn.
The Liberals offered other recommendations focused on improvements and investments that will result in long-term cost savings for the province.
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