CULTURE, HERITAGE AND CITIZENSHIP

Mr. Chairperson (Jack Penner): Will the Committee of Supply please come to order. This section of the Committe of Supply will be considering the Estimates of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship. Does the Minister of Culture, Heritage, and Citizenship have an opening statement?

Hon. Harold Gilleshammer (Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship): Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairperson: Maybe before we proceed with your statement, we should establish how we are going to deal with this. I understand that we want to deal with Multiculturalism and Citizenship first, and then move to the balance of the Estimates. Is that agreeable?

An Honourable Member: That is agreeable.

Mr. Chairperson: Thank you very much. We will proceed in that manner then.

Mr. Gilleshammer: Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to make a few opening remarks at the beginning of the Estimates process. As my honourable colleagues are aware, we do not often get an opportunity in the House to discuss the many wonderful things that are happening in this province that relate to my department, so I would like to take this opportunity to put a few of those things on the record this morning.

With the introduction of the 1996-97 Estimates for the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship, I would again like to emphasize the important role this department plays in the health and well-being of Manitobans, and we expect to place significant emphasis on this vision.

The services, programs and initiatives which fall under the auspices of my department have both direct and indirect impacts on the artistic growth, economic success and long-term health of Manitobans. In the process of meeting the needs of Manitobans, my department has developed strong and productive partnerships with communities and community oriented groups. These partnerships, program services, initiatives and staff are important components in Culture, Heritage and Citizenship's endeavours to meet the needs of Manitobans. Combined, they help us continue to make Manitoba an exciting, dynamic and prosperous community in which we are proud to live and raise our families.

Within the mandate of my department's Culture, Heritage and Recreation Programs division, we seek to support, create and deliver a broad range of arts, cultural industries, library, heritage and recreation programs, services and funds to the citizens and communities of Manitoba. Through these services we support a vast number of individuals, organizations, agencies and institutions which significantly contribute to the outstanding quality of life in Manitoba.

Mr. Chairman, 1995 was, as you know, Manitoba's 125th anniversary in Confederation. The programs division in my department was heavily involved in providing funding, guidance and administrative support to the celebrate Manitoba 125th program which was guided by a 21-member Premier's volunteer committee. Major activities and events of our anniversary year included a promotional campaign designed to increase the public's awareness of the event, the production and marketing of commemorative merchandise, the commissioning of a special song and many, many other activities.

My Historic Resources branch distributed information packages highlighting the anniversary and the history of Manitoba to schools, museums, heritage organizations, as well as historical, geological and archeological societies.

The Arts Branch in my department published the Buyers Guide to arts and crafts in Manitoba which was available to Manitobans and tourists during the anniversary celebrations.

Mr. Chairman, 1995 was truly a year to remember, thanks to the combined efforts of all involved and the warm response of the citizens of Manitoba.

In reference to the arts, as well as heritage, I am pleased to announce that despite tough economic times, funding and consultation assistance levels have remained stable. I would like to highlight the January 27, 1996, Globe and Mail article entitled, Winnipeg arts scene gets standing ovation. I know that members of the opposition have armed themselves with this article and are well aware of the many good things that are happening in Manitoba. That article, of course, names Winnipeg as the arts and culture capital of Canada. The by-line reads, struggling for survival, the status quo for many creative organizations is not such a familiar condition in Manitoba's capital where loyal audiences and supportive government helps artists grow and experiment.

In support of that well-deserved reputation, my department has continued to provide sustained operating support to our major extradepartmental arts and heritage agencies which include the Manitoba Centennial Centre, the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, the CCFM, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium.

Last year, capital grants were provided to the Concert Hall to upgrade the fire alarm system, to the Winnipeg Art Gallery for repair to the exterior cladding as a result of water damage over the years, and to the Brandon auditorium for repair of cladding, roofing and replacement of windows. Capital assistance was also provided for the further development of the Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg. The campus is a $20-million multipurpose cultural, educational, recreational complex designed to serve the Jewish community as well as the broader community. Campus amalgamates numerous existing services and agencies while providing new and exciting uses for heritage buildings on the Fort Osborne Barracks site.

In further support of two of our major extradepartmental agencies, I am introducing in the current session The Museum of Man and Nature Amendment Act which will seek to give the museum a new gender-neutral corporate name, the Manitoba Museum and to formally establish its independent corporation, the Manitoba Museum Foundation Incorporated. The museum has engaged in a search for a new identity or a popular name.

Under cultural industries, we are working on The Manitoba Film and Sound Recording Development Corporation Act which will establish this arm's length agency as a corporation better structured and accountable for its crucial support to Manitoba's film and sound industries. This legislative initiative was undertaken after extensive consultation with the cultural industries community. To sustain funding to the arts, the financial support to Manitoba Film and Sound remained at just over $2 million and the Manitoba Arts Council over $7.5 million. My department continues to promote the production, marketing, viability and growth of the cultural industries in Manitoba through its support for film, film locations, video and sound recording programs administered by Manitoba Film and Sound and through direct programs for book publishers.

The Manitoba film industry has grown dramatically over the past decade from just under $1 million in production activity in 1983-84 to approximately $20 million in 1995-96. According to Statistics Canada, between 1989 and 1994 local Manitoba production increased by 44 percent. Employment during this period grew by 285 percent, and there are numerous examples of works that have been completed or works that are underway which fall under the auspices of CIDO. Certainly, the program My Life as a Dog which was filmed in Gimli is enjoying popular support, and I would like to mention some of the films that have attracted some attention.

For the Moment, a film written, directed, co-produced by Manitoban Aaron Kim Johnson with equity investment by Manitoba Film and Sound recently opened in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York to rave reviews just prior to distribution by Fox Video. Hardly a day goes by that we do not receive another report from one of those three cities that this film is truly gaining some acclaim in the American market. The Arrow, the story of the Avro Arrow airplane, a four-hour miniseries for CBC, will be produced by John Aaron Productions starring Dan Ackroyd and is set to begin production in June. We look forward with optimism to that particular film endeavour.

This year's Gemini nominations recognized a number of Manitoba film productions such as the Hands of Ida, Trial at Fortitude Bay and others. Manitoba Film and Sound supports the video and sound recording industry which has enjoyed tremendous growth in the last couple of years. A number of local entertainers have been recognized at these national awards.

In 1995-96, my Arts Branch Book Publishers' Support Programs provided support to 11 Manitoba book publishers to expand marketing, make company improvements and develop new product lines. Support was also provided to joint marketing activities such as Prairie Books NOW, a book news tabloid developed by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and distributed to 40,000 readers, librarians and booksellers on a quarterly basis.

Accessibility to the arts for all Manitobans is a goal of my department. To that end, the Arts Branch supported over 600 performances and exhibitions by Manitoba artists in rural and northern Manitoba and over 750,000 hours of community-based arts instruction for Manitobans in all regions of the province.

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Next, I would like to say a word about our libraries. The Public Library Services branch located in Brandon is continuing to respond to the recommendations of the 1994 Public Libraries Advisory Board report. Recommendations in this report called for increased funding for rural and northern public libraries, the automation of all public libraries and increased resource sharing among libraries to improve library services to Manitobans.

As of the 1994-95 fiscal year, operating grants to rural and northern public libraries were increased by 50 percent or $1 million. Of this amount, $750,000 was given directly to rural libraries, and $250,000 was allocated for materials for the central Provincial Library collection. This increase in funding has enabled rural and northern public libraries to improve services in many ways. Longer hours, increased book collections, increased programming and greater information access for clients have helped libraries reinforce their role within the community.

I note with satisfaction that in some municipalities, the library levy has been increased to match the maximum provincial grant of $7.50 per capita, further strengthening the local library system. Just yesterday, in meeting with a number of interested librarians and other citizens interested in libraries, we were again able to take great pride in the fact that $1 million was put into the system two years ago and have the assurance that it is being well received in the library community.

In this fiscal year, our commitment to libraries will continue with the 48 rural and northern library systems expected to receive a total of more than $2.3 million in operating grants. We have also seen our library system expand, and I think I will just skip some of the detail of that. Suffice to say that there are a number of rural communities that are upgrading and improving their libraries. Not too many months ago, I was in Stonewall for the opening of a new library which is a tremendous addition to that community, and this Friday there will be an opening of a new library in Neepawa, and it is tremendous to see the communities in rural Manitoba, the municipal corporations take an interest in the library systems and put additional resources into those libraries.

Of course not all of our funds for library operations are dedicated to rural and northern facilities. The province also funds 11 percent of the operating costs of the Winnipeg public library system. In 1995-96 Manitoba provided nearly $2 million to the city for this purpose. We might say that the Winnipeg library system ranks in the midrange in terms of provincial funding on a per capita basis for large, urban libraries in Canada.

Our co-operative drive towards automation and the development of an integrated resource-sharing provincial system is proceeding well. The public library services office and library have been automated. The acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, on-line and CD-ROM functions are all operational. Of the 48 regional libraries, 44 have received computers and started automating their operations. Rural library automations will eventually see every regional and municipal public library equipped with the necessary computer hardware and software to tie into Manitoba's information network and to communicate with each other and with the public.

On May 8 of this year, my department hosted the Prix Manitoba awards for heritage and recreation. I was pleased to see a number of my colleagues and attendants at that event. We had an overflow crowd in Room 200 here, friends of the recipients and people generally interested in heritage and recreation. The Prix Manitoba award program was designed to recognize individuals and organizations who have enriched the lives of Manitobans through their contributions and volunteer efforts in the areas of heritage, recreation, culture and multiculturalism. The ceremony held here in the Legislative Building was well attended and for many quite moving. It underscored the importance of volunteers who make our lives more enjoyable and fulfilling and the necessity of recognizing their efforts. Again it underscores the quality of life initiative that our department is responsible for.

At the Prix ceremony I made note of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba or, as we know it today, the Manitoba Heritage Council. It was established in 1946 under The Historic Sites Preservation Act to identify and preserve historically significant sites for future generations. In 1986 the board became the Manitoba Heritage Council after the proclamation of The Heritage Resources Act. Today the council's role is to make recommendations to me which help to identify, protect, preserve, commemorate and interpret historically important people, events, sites and buildings across Manitoba.

In the five decades since the council was established, we have seen 11 historic sites and over 70 buildings designated. This is in addition to more than 150 commemorative plaques erected in the province. Since the mid-1980s, designations have ranged from the ruins of a former glass factory in Beausejour and the Darlingford memorial and park to the Legislative Buildings to Brandon College Building and the Clark Hall building and most recently some of the buildings within the Fort Osborne complex.

The Manitoba Heritage Council and its predecessor the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitioba have made and continue to make valuable contributions to Manitoba's heritage community. This year is the 10th anniversary of The Heritage Resources Act of 1986, and an appropriate time I believe for my department to review that piece of legislation and indeed our general approach to heritage preservation awareness.

To that end my department will, during the upcoming year, initiate a heritage review, the main component of which will be public consultation around the challenges and opportunities inherent in the areas of stewardship and management of heritage resources in Manitoba today.

In recent years significant public discussion has involved the need to reduce the costs of providing health care and social services. To date, most containment strategies have focused on restructuring the delivery system, the supply of services. However, research has demonstrated that significant cost savings can result if we reduce the need or manage the demand for services. This can be accomplished in part through programs that focus on prevention strategies and empower individuals to take greater responsibility for their own health and well-being.

Wellness provides us preventative foundation focusing on physical, psychological, spiritual and social well-being with a key principle centred on the individual's responsibility for maintaining their health.

To support a preventive, proactive wellness approach and to position the department to better serve the public in this regard, the Fitness Directorate has moved into my department and joined the new Recreation and Wellness Promotion branch with an expanded mandate focused on the goal of supporting healthy, responsible lifestyles and individual and community wellness.

The Regional Services branch of the Programs division in my department supports rural, remote and northern communities in initiating growth and change towards community and regional sustainability and wellness. Regional staff provide regional delivery of the programs in my department and assist in the delivery of a further 19 grant programs in 11 provincial government agencies and departments.

The Information Resources division provides a centralized communication service to government departments and agencies. Staff of the division work with government departments to develop, purchase and deliver communications material for the public and various targeted audiences. Work ranges from fact sheets and news releases on new programs to multimedia campaigns to promote Manitoba as a tourist destination.

In addition to central communication support, the division also provides direct service to the public through two areas, Citizens' Inquiry Service and Statutory Publications. Citizens' Inquiry provides the public with a bilingual, toll-free telephone enquiry and referral service for all federal and provincial programs. Over 120,000 calls are received annually.

Statutory Publications makes the laws of Manitoba available to the public and special interest groups such as the legal, financial and educational communities. They have recently automated their point of purchase system to provide more efficient service to the public.

Many of my department staff work in the rapidly developing area of information management. New computer and telecommunications technologies are changing the ways in which people throughout the world access, use and share information.

To that end I announced earlier today that the government intends to proceed this year with the development of new legislation to strengthen provisions balancing the right to access information and the right to privacy for Manitobans.

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The Freedom of Information Act gives Manitobans the right to access records and information held by the provincial government. It also prevents personal information from being disclosed to third parties and allows Manitobans to access and correct inaccurate information about themselves.

However, during the past few years, the growth of electronic information has opened up a vast range of information to a growing number of people. At the same time, many Manitobans have concerns about the sheer volume of information that can potentially be accessed. They are uncertain about what happens to the personal information they entrust to others in both government and the private sector. Our government will address this concern by taking steps to ensure that the personal data in its custody will be managed according to modern, fair information practices.

We are today embarking on a consultation process, over the next several months, with key organizations and interested individuals to ask Manitobans for their ideas and suggestions about access to information and protection of personal privacy. We have prepared a discussion paper which provides an overview of this rapidly evolving area, a summary of the practices of other governments and issues for consideration. This discussion paper will be available from the Provincial Archives, through public libraries and through regional offices in my department. We look forward to receiving both written and oral submissions from Manitobans. We plan to introduce new legislation in the House in the spring of 1997.

A few words about the archives. In other years in the House, I have spoken about the valuable collections of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives and the funding that now comes to Manitoba through the Hudson's Bay History Foundation to support these unique resources. This year we will be proceeding with construction of a new vault for the Hudson's Bay Company Archives to ensure that we have enough secure and climate-controlled storage space to continue to preserve these records. Work on this $2.2-million project will begin in the next few months. All the money that will be spent on this construction is fully recoverable from the foundation as a result of the 1993 donation of the company's archives to Manitoba. Apart from providing for the long-term preservation of this invaluable material, the construction project itself will result in nearly $4.9 million in total input to the province's economy, including about 42 person years of jobs.

I want to add that we in Manitoba are not alone in our appreciation of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives and the innovative new partnership arrangement for its continued funding. Last year, the Provincial Archives, the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature and the Hudson's Bay Company received the Parks Canada award from the Prime Minister in recognition of exceptional contribution to Canada's national heritage. This is the country's highest award in the heritage field and was given for the donation of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives and museum collection to Manitoba institutions.

I might also add, in the recent royal visit here, this was of tremendous interest to the member of the royal family as he viewed the Hudson's Bay collection and, in particular, the Royal Charter of 1670.

In another important area, the Provincial Archives is working closely with the community representatives in St. Boniface to build an archival facility for French language records in the province. The project has been developed as a partnership, and I am pleased that the federal government has been able to join us in supporting the construction of that new facility.

I would like to now move to the Citizenship Division. The Citizenship Division, through its provincial leadership role in immigration and settlement matters, has been working towards making Manitoba a place where people are accepted and have opportunities for full participation in the social, economic and demographic growth and development of the province.

Manitoba has been in negotiations for a Canada-Manitoba immigration agreement since a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in October of 1994, and those negotiations are ongoing. At times, we feel we are close to reaching a settlement, an agreement, and at other times, as the federal government has a change of mind on certain issues, those negotiations become more difficult. At any rate, this agreement is intended to give Manitoba more control over its immigration activities. It will allow us to set immigration levels in composition, and by signing it, the federal government will be agreeing to assist Manitoba in pursuing those goals.

However, in the meantime, we have entered into several significant agreements with the federal government on immigration matters. The Canada-Manitoba project for sewing machine operators is a first in Canada and will allow Manitoba to recruit 200 sewing machine operators. This project was initiated by my department in direct response to the Manitoba fashion industry's needs for trained workers. These workers are needed for the industry to continue to seize the opportunities for growth. To ensure that there was a wide distribution of information about this movement, notices were sent to ethnic organizations and were placed in the ethnic press; briefings were held in Winnipeg and in a number of rural areas.

The first step in this recruitment project is to have family or industry sponsors approved in Manitoba. Once this has been done, the actual skill testing of the potential immigrant will be carried out by the Manitoba Fashion Institute. This testing will establish the candidate's ability to operate a sewing machine at the skill level required by the Manitoba apparel industry. As well, the testing will be to establish the candidate's ability to speak, read and write English at a standard required by the industry. This immigration movement is basically a family reunification one, and, to date, we have issued 700 sponsorship packages which have identified 850 potential candidates abroad from 32 countries. Although sites for final testing will be determined by the Manitoba Fashion Institute, we believe that there will be sufficient volume to test in several parts of the world, and arrangements are underway so that testing will be able to be facilitated in other areas as well.

It is important to remember that this agreement was struck only after extensive effort to recruit domestically both within Manitoba and in other provinces. As well, an Education and Training initiative has been established in recognition that this is a short-term solution and a long-term solution has to be to find workers for the industry from within Manitoba.

As is reflected in this movement, Manitoba remains committed to family reunification, and brings concerns such as those about the right-of-landing fee forward to the federal government in a variety of ways. I have met with both Minister Marchi and Minister Robillard, bringing forward Manitoba's concerns. I believe that the present climate is one which is more conducive to better progress than has been possible not too many months ago.

Through federal-provincial working groups, my department has been instrumental in developing alternatives to the proposed federal sponsorship bond. This bond, had it been implemented as proposed, would have been a significant inhibition of family movement to Manitoba. Our primary goal in both our negotiations for an immigration agreement and our promotional activities has centred on our concern to maintain Manitoba's proportional share of immigration to Canada.

I am pleased to report that although our overall numbers remain of concern, we have had a 36 percent increase in the area of our primary promotion, recruitment of skilled immigrants. Promotion activities that were undertaken included exploratory tours and promotional seminars in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Ukraine, Philippines and Argentina, attracting over 1,500 prospective immigrants.

The launching of the community-to-community approach in Argentina worked to forge links with Manitoba ethnocultural community groups to promote and retain immigrants. Extensive work has taken place with the Philippines, Ukraine, Jewish, Francophone, Chinese, Indo-Canadian and Korean communities.

An international advertisement campaign and Internet bulletins, the development of the Manitoba home page on the Internet, the arrangement of 22 exploratory visits for prospective immigrants, the development of the Welcome to Manitoba kit, a 24-hour Winnipeg-based call centre, these activities have positioned Manitoba as an international immigration destination. International media have profiled Manitoba's unique approach to promotion, recruitment and its usage of the Internet. This has gained media coverage of the campaign on CNN international, CBC national news, CBC's Newsworld, CTV national news and a number of Canadian newspapers.

Since activation of the promotion and recruitment campaign, there have been 53,000-plus visitors to the home page, and Manitoba Advantage information kits have been distributed to 5,000 people in 40 countries around the world. I have some more detail on that if either of the parties are interested in gaining some more detail on that.

The Citizenship Support Services Branch has the lead responsibility for the government of Manitoba's antiracism initiative and the implementation of the Respectful Workplace program. This program, offered as a corporate service by the Manitoba Civil Service Commission, involved the participation of five government departments. The code for Respectful Workplace has been completed and is in effect in the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship.

In co-operation with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, two citizenship courts were hosted in the Legislative Building in the last year; 175 new Canadians received certificates of Welcome to Manitoba. A special court was held in honour of Manitoba's 125th anniversary. The Manitoba Day celebration welcomed 125 new Canadians in a ceremony held for the first time in Manitoba's history in the Legislative Chamber.

Public consultations were held throughout Manitoba to determine stakeholders' reactions to Phase 1 of the federal settlement renewal process. These were carried out with federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The Institute of Urban Studies facilitated the consultation and compiled a report of the Manitoba recommendations and concerns about federal changes to the delivery of immigrant settlement services and funding.

The Settlement and Adult Language Training Branch co-ordinated the draft adult ESL national benchmarks document, reviewed and pilot-tested it throughout Manitoba. As a result, extensive changes were made, and the final document was released to the teachers of English as a Second Language conference held last weekend in Winnipeg.

In 1995-96, language training was provided to full- and part-time students in institutional, community-based training classes and workplace language programs. A variety of these programs are continuing, and perhaps we can get into some of the detail of that later on.

As well, the division remained active in initiatives for immigrant youth and prevention of family violence, jointly co-ordinating multicultural programming for male offenders and multilingual resources for domestic abuse intervention and prevention.

Culture, Heritage and Citizenship is responsive to a very diverse array of programs, services and initiatives. Members opposite should be cognizant of the benefits which fall to our Justice, Family Services and Health budgets and our economic attractiveness when all Manitobans achieve a sense of pride and well-being and an enhanced quality of life within their communities.

Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship is very proud of its role in working with Manitobans to build a better community today, as well as for the generations of tomorrow. The information contained in the Estimates before you reflects our commitment to meeting this great responsibility through the effective and efficient use of our fiscal resources.

With those few words, it is always a pleasure to join in these Estimates and give opposition members an opportunity to better understand our department and see the tremendous work that is being done throughout Manitoba. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairperson: Thank you, Mr. Minister. Does the honourable member for Point Douglas have opening remarks?

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Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): Yes, I do.

First of all, I would like to start off by some comments that were made by politicians. I personally was very offended by those comments, but I could imagine the horror of the people who came from another country, people of colour, and I think it is uncalled for in 1996. That might have been the old way, but, hopefully, the old way is past, and we will never see a repeat of that.

What I am referring to is the comments made by Bob Ringma and David Chatters of the Reform Party. I think that was totally appalling, and it was not called for, and it had to be an insult to people who came from another country to make Canada their new home.

I hope that our minister in Manitoba took action and at least sent a letter to Bob Ringma and David Chatters and to Preston Manning of the Reform Party stating, hopefully, his disagreements with those comments and that we in Manitoba do not agree with that because I received many calls when those statements became public.

I wrote a letter because that was the least I could do, because I think a lot of people were very offended. It is not acceptable behaviour for any politician because whether you are in Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, especially if you are a member of Canada's Parliament, those statements reflect all Canadians and reflect all people who would consider making Canada their new home whether if they choose Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, wherever. If I was in another country and I heard those comments, I would have to reconsider if that is the kind of country I want to live in.

I think those comments should be addressed. I hope the government addressed those and I said I hope they--the minimum--wrote a letter to Preston Manning and to Bob Ringma and David Chatters, because those are totally, totally uncalled for. They are very inappropriate. I feel it gives all politicians a bad name. It is tough enough the way it is, because you know that Canada was built on immigration the way we know it is today. We can go back to the history of the first peoples, the Inuit and on and on and on, but a lot of what we see today were the great contributions of immigrants from all various parts of the world, not only the Philippines--or Chinese. You have Ukrainian, you have Polish and all over the world. [interjection] Mennonites, yes, because they contribute tremendously, tremendously to our province and to our country, but we have to give recognition to the people who came here and sweated and toiled and made our country what it is today.

Also, on that same plateau or same vein, we have to look at politicians and parties because when we look at some of the programs, great programs, that we had and we see the decreases of funding to these programs, to me that sends a message that those programs are not as important as others. When I look at multiculturalism, the distribution of expenditures by the operating division of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship is 0.8 percent. It is not even 1 percent of the total budget. It is 0.8 and when you look at the pie of Culture and Heritage, that tells me something. You look at some of the cuts where you look at the staffing levels where it is almost 50 percent of cuts that were made, and I will get into that later.

The other thing we look at is we talk about bringing in people from other countries. That is fine, but we also have to look at bringing in people of colour because when we talk about cutting back on English second language programs, your government today, the Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba, has cut English as a Second Language by $141,000. The federal Liberal government has cut the English second language by $215,000. So what that tells me is that the demand for English second language must be decreasing to warrant those kinds of cuts. If that is the case, then where are our new immigrants to Canada coming from? Obviously, they must be coming from English-speaking countries because if you continued recruiting, as we have in the past, there is no way in the world that the new citizens coming here would not require English second language training. So where are the new immigrants that are being recruited by Canada, and especially Manitoba, being brought in from? Obviously, they must be English speaking or there has to be a very, very high priority, and if that is a high priority, what happens to Croatians, the Filipinos, the Chinese, and what happens to the family members of people who are here now?

I have heard many, many times--and I strongly believe it--that family is very important and we all like to be close to our family. I have family in the Northwest Territories; I live in Manitoba. I miss them greatly, but it is not that difficult for me to go to the Northwest Territories or for them to come to Manitoba.

Mr. Chairperson: I will interject here and we will complete the opening statements of this committee on Thursday afternoon.

The hour now being 12 noon, committee will rise. Thank you.