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CULTURE, HERITAGE AND CITIZENSHIP

Mr. Chairperson (Gerry McAlpine): Order, please. Will the Committee of Supply please come to order. This afternoon, this section of the Committee of Supply meeting in Room 254 will resume consideration of the Estimates of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship.

When the committee last sat, it had been considering item 14.5. Multiculturalism (a) Multiculturalism Secretariat (2) Other Expenditures $66,800 on page 32 of the Estimates book. Shall the item pass? The item is accordingly passed.

Item 14.6. Expenditures Related to Capital - Grant Assistance (a) Cultural Organizations $3,263,000.

Hon. Harold Gilleshammer (Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship): I regret we have such little time for the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship. We have had staff waiting all day, of course, to get in here, and, unfortunately, we are just in at this particular time.

I guess a concern that has been raised with opposition critics is what the schedule is for us after we adjourn today, and maybe through you to the Deputy Clerk who does such wonderful duties for the Province of Manitoba, we can establish--my understanding is that we are not on the schedule for tomorrow or Friday and that when we finish up here today, that if we come back again, it would be Monday at the earliest.

It is important because we have staff with other commitments who had assumed that we would be finished Estimates today. I know that they were either going to go out and cancel their meetings and be ready, but the understanding is that after we finish at 5:30 today, that we will not reconvene for Culture, Heritage and Citizenship till Monday at the earliest.

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): That is my understanding, and just to clarify what we were hoping to do is to finish up Multiculturalism, because we only have one left with the Grants Advisory Council, and then I think we are moving into Culture and Heritage, so that would be Monday, if we get this Grants Advisory Council finished today.

Mr. Gilleshammer: Just so it is understood, because the staff have been here all afternoon waiting for us to commence, and I know they all have important duties and meetings to attend to both tomorrow and certainly on Friday. If they were not going to be able to keep those commitments, it would be fair to them to know today, but the understanding then is that we will not reconvene to discuss our Estimates until Monday at the earliest.

Mr. Hickes: My understanding is that--and I think the Clerk would be able to help us on this--the House leaders made some formal agreement. They have scheduled the Estimates for tomorrow morning, for tomorrow, and also for Friday, and as far as I know we are not included in that. We are not, so we would not reconvene until after Monday.

Mr. Gilleshammer: So that is not Monday morning, but it would be after Question Period on Monday unless other departments have already been arranged by the House leaders and if that is the case, and because of all of the activities happening next week with second readings and concurrence and all of those bills, we may not get another opportunity to come back to a department that spends over $50 million of the provincial money.

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity very briefly to offer apologies to staff if they have been inconvenienced. I am sure that my colleague from Point Douglas shares my concern.

Mr. Gilleshammer: On behalf of the staff I would like to certainly accept that apology, and thank the members for their sensitivity towards the staff who, of course, have been preparing for weeks and weeks to get ready for this exercise. I know that while we do not get any questions in the House, it is often the opportunity for critics to get into the department and get a better understanding of not only what the department does but the expenditures and all of the wonderful cultural activities that happen within the province of Manitoba.

So I would offer that if we do not get back into Estimates and get an opportunity to examine the various lines, I know that if there are questions that because of the pressures of time and because of the priorities that the opposition party have put on other departments that we would be open to responding either by letter or meeting, as we have in the past, to issues and questions that members might have, so that they would get a better understanding of the department and see how this department does function.

Mr. Chairperson: Item number 14.5.(b).

Mr. Hickes: I just want to put a few comments. I see where the budget has been cut by $100,000, a third of the budget, and it is under the Grant Assistance. I feel sorry for some of the organizations. I am sure that we will be losing some of the grants or opportunities for grants that they have had in the past. I know that all of the government departments have had to cut back and stuff. I just want to say that I am just sad to see that much money coming out of Grant Assistance because I am sure that some of the organizations will feel that impact. I just wanted to put that on record.

Mr. Gilleshammer: I think the honourable member does recognize the difficulties we have with the offload of the federal government of hundreds of millions of dollars that have been dedicated in the past for things such as family services, health and education, and that a province like ours simply cannot backfill for all of the things that the federal government has historically and traditionally done, and now have indicated they will no longer provide that level of funding.

Having said that, however, the member and all members are aware that those are still our priority departments, and that we still are able within this department to provide a lot of financial support and a lot of staff support to the many groups that are out there. I know that in multiculturalism that the groups have been very understanding of the pressures on government, and we still are able to, I think, satisfy many of the needs that are out there. In fact, in discussing this with staff and in turn with the Multicultural Grants Advisory Council, we are able through the granting of dollars or the granting of bingos, to satisfy many of them. There is also a recognition that within the citizenship portion of the department that a lot of the services are being provided to these groups.

I would say though that I find it a little bit interesting that members of the opposition often indicate that they would like to put more funds into just about every issue that comes forward. I am reminded of being in Brandon recently at a juried art show where the chair of the event indicated how pleased they were with the support that government gives them, and the person who organized the particular day said how wonderful it was that the government had been able to maintain their funding and that our art purchase plan was still in place. The only sort of cry in the wilderness was the member for Brandon East (Mr. Leonard Evans) who came forward to say, yes, but you need more money, and I am going to continue to lobby the minister and fight with the minister to see that arts groups get more money.

I think it is fair to say that arts groups in Manitoba feel that they have been fairly treated and are very pleased we have been able to maintain the levels of funding that we have. Many of them go to cross-country meetings with arts councils from other jurisdictions who have truly been rather decimated in terms of the funding that they are allowed. Here, in Manitoba, I am very proud we have been able to maintain that funding. I see the Chair is going to bang the gavel. I would like to get back to this when we next meet because I think it is a very important issue.

Mr. Chairperson: Order, please.

The hour now being 5:30 p.m., I am interrupting the proceedings of this committee, the committee will be recessed until 9 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday).