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Week in Review: Buy Local Campaign; Pallister's Empty Promises

We announced that a Manitoba Liberal Government will boost Manitoba businesses and local economies by running a province-wide “shop local” campaign and introducing procurement policies to make it easier for local businesses to sell to the Manitoba Government.

Together with chambers of commerce, we would develop a marketing and advertising campaign that would encourage Manitobans to take pride in doing business at locally owned businesses — whether it is in buying products services, arts, sports, entertainment, or tourism. 

When we stay local, shop local, and support local entrepreneurs everywhere across the province, it will make a big impact on our economy in jobs and in growth.

The Pallister Government has routinely overlooked local Manitoba businesses and granted contracts to large national and multinational chains headquartered out of Manitoba in order to save money in the short term, at the long-term cost of undermining Manitoba businesses and the economy.

Instead of putting money into Manitoba businesses and communities, Pallister has been sending millions out of province:

• A contract to service 104 rural personal care homes, previously delivered by local pharmacies, was granted to a numbered company owned by Shoppers Drug Mart

• The province shut out small local businesses when granting retail cannabis licenses, instead granting contracts to a handful of companies, several outside of Manitoba.

• Over 90% of the Pallister Government’s $23-million in consulting contracts went to companies located or headquartered outside of Manitoba.

In Canada’s internal free trade agreement, while provinces like BC and Alberta committed to pages of exceptions to promote local businesses in their provinces, Pallister left Manitoba’s page blank.

For Manitoba Liberals, promoting Manitoba-owned businesses is a priority, and so is maximizing community return on investment across the province.


 

PALLISTER MAKES LIFE LESS AFFORDABLE The PCs announcements that they will “make life more affordable” for Manitobans depends on ignoring all the ways in which they have dumped higher costs onto Manitobans. The boutique tax reductions the PCs are announcing are mere dollars for most Manitobans who want quality jobs, health care and education.  The Pallister Government has been making their own bottom line look better by shoving costs onto Manitobans who can least afford it. They’re making their own bottom line look better by forcing others to pick up their tab. Here are some of the ways life has become less affordable because of Brian Pallister: Hydro bills have increased 10.5% because the PCs, just like the NDP before them, keep using Hydro as a piggy bank. By eliminating the Special Drugs Program, Manitoba patients with diabetes and cystic fibrosis are faced with hundreds or thousands of dollars in new costs a year. By eliminating coverage of CPAP machines, people with sleep apnea face charges of $500 or more for a machine that can prevent a $100,000 heart attack. The PC government eliminated physiotherapy services, requiring people to pay out of pocket after surgery, or miss out if they can’t afford it. By eliminating the education tax credit, thousands of homeowners in small communities faced tax increases of $250-$500 a year. Higher Bus fares for worse service: cuts to municipalities and reduction in transit funding has resulted in increased bus fares and reduction of routes. Post-secondary students saw major increases in tuition, far above the rate of inflation because of the funding freeze to post-secondary institutions. $300/year cut to people on EIA (welfare), who haven’t seen a basic needs increase in 27 years. Pallister and the NDP focus on “affordability” has failed, when the reason people can’t pay their bills is because family incomes and wages have stagnated for years. A recent study showed 20% of Manitobans haven’t seen a raise since the 1970s. People don’t need more cheap stuff, they need good jobs and a raise. That is what Manitoba Liberals’ focus is on. WINNIPEG SUN: Tories promise to ax death taxes if re-elected WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: Conservatives add cutting 'NDP death taxes' to re-election promises CBC MANITOBA: Pallister promises he'll end 'death taxes' if PCs win Manitoba election


 

PALLISTER MAKES EMPTY PROMISES TO QUEBEC CIVIL SERVANTS Brian Pallister’s promise to lure civil servants from Quebec is empty political posturing given the PC government’s hiring freezes and undermining of francophone rights in Manitoba.  Manitoba Liberals are also opposed to the Quebec Government’s discriminatory law, which effectively outlaws people from working for government if they openly express their faith through what they wear - including Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.  The PCs boast they have reduced the size of government by 8% because funding to education, health, infrastructure and other programs have all been frozen for three years and a hiring freeze has been in place to prevent positions from being filled.  The Manitobans who have been laid off under the Pallister Government are wondering just what jobs people from Quebec are being asked to fill. A lot of civil servants in Manitoba come to work not knowing how much longer they will even have jobs because the Pallister Government has a hiring freeze and has cut French programs. The Pallister Government has in fact launched an assault on French language programs and services:

  • Dismantled the Bureau de l’éducation française, which provided educational support for teachers and tens of thousands of students studying French and French Immersion in Manitoba.

  • The Université de Saint-Boniface was ordered to cut its budget, resulting in layoffs of instructors.

  • The Manitoba Legislature laid off French translators. 

As Manitoba Liberals, our message to Quebec civil servants is that they are welcome in Manitoba - but they may want to wait until after the Manitoba election on Sept 10. WINNIPEG SUN: Pallister offer of jobs for Quebec civil servants empty promise: Liberals



 

Nominated Candidates:

St. Boniface: Dougald Lamont Tyndall Park: Cindy Lamoureux River Heights: Jon Gerrard McPhillips: John Cacayuran Burrows: Sarb Gill The Maples: Deep Brar Notre Dame: Donovan Martin Fort Richmond: Tanjit Nagra St. Vital: Jeff Anderson Fort Garry: Craig Larkins Wolseley: Shandi Strong Dawson Trail: Robert Rivard Fort Rouge: Cyndy Friesen Kildonan-River East: Kathryn Braun Union Station: Harold Davis Borderland: Loren Braul Brandon-East: Kim Longstreet Lac du Bonnet: Terry Hayward

Lagimodiere: Jake Sacher

Riel: Neil Johnston

Seine River: James Bloomfield

Waverley: Fiona Haftani


Upcoming Nominations: Thursday, August 1:

  • St. Johns: Eddie Calisto-Tavares

Friday, August 2:

  • La Verendrye: Lorena Mitchell

  • Flin Flon: James Lindsay

Tuesday, August 6:

  • St. James: Bernd Hohne

 

If you believe in what we are doing, please SHARE it. Like and share our pages and posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  All the best, Dougald Lamont  MLA St. Boniface, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party

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