House Business
Hon. Jim Ernst (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, for this afternoon the Committee of Supply will sit only in two sections not three, and I would like to seek leave to amend the Estimates sequence so that this afternoon in the Chamber the committee will give consideration to the Estimates of Sport and, if concluded, followed by the Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship; in Room 255, the Estimates of Government Services followed by the Estimates of the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism.
Madam Speaker: For information of the House, this afternoon the Committee of Supply will sit in only two sections, not three. Secondly, is there leave to amend the Estimates sequence so that this afternoon in the Chamber the Estimates of Sport be considered first and, if completed, followed by the Estimates of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship? Leave? [agreed]
Also, by leave, an amendment to the Estimates sequence so that this afternoon, in the Committee of Supply in Room 255, the Estimates of Government Services to be considered and, if completed, followed by the Estimates of the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Leave? [agreed]
To repeat, the third section of Committee of Supply will not meet this afternoon.
Mr. Ernst: Madam Speaker, for tomorrow in the Chamber, the Estimates of Government Services presumed to be completed today, we will only deal with the Department of Northern and Native Affairs.
Madam Speaker: Just for clarification purposes, the information of the House, if the Estimates of the Government Services are completed this afternoon, the Chamber Estimates tomorrow morning will be Northern and Native Affairs, and in Room 255, Industry, Trade and Tourism. Sorry, for tomorrow not just tomorrow morning?
Mr. Ernst: No, for tomorrow.
Madam Speaker: For tomorrow, thank you.
Mr. Ernst: Madam Speaker, would you call for second readings, Bills 56, 57, 52, 53, 33 and 45. Following that, would you call Bill 35 in second reading.
SECOND READINGS
Bill 56--The Manitoba Investment Pool Authority Act
Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism (Mr. Downey), that Bill 56, The Manitoba Investment Pool Authority Act (Loi sur l'Office manitobain de mise en commun des placements) be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Motion presented.
* (1550)
Mr. Stefanson: Madam Speaker, this bill is intended to provide an investment facility which will permit municipalities, universities, school divisions and health facilities--actually the MUSH sector--to pool their money and improve their rates of return. The Manitoba Investment Pool Authority Act will authorize the Manitoba Association of Urban Municipalities and the Union of Manitoba Municipalities to operate the investment pools. The pools will enable UMM and MAUM members and other members of the MUSH sector to combine smaller amounts of money into a larger fund to earn big money rates. Individual municipalities and other entities in the MUSH sector usually cannot accumulate large enough amounts of money to obtain the higher rates of return which bigger blocks of money can command. By combining the smaller amounts into a larger pool, a better interest rate can be obtained. A pool also offers the advantage of management by a professional investment manager. The actions of the investment manager will be overseen by a board of directors controlled by MAUM and UMM, and which also may contain representatives of other investors in the MUSH sector.
The first investment pool to be created under the new legislation will be a short-term pool managed by Great-West Life. At some point in the future, it is anticipated that intermediate and long-term investment pools might be established for the purpose of investing, seeking funds and reserve. The legislation provides for investments of a relatively low-risk nature. It is expected that the greater return on investments will be obtained through the pooling effect and the use of professional investment managers and advisers.
When the bill reaches committee stage, I will be prepared to review the bill on a detailed basis and provide the rationale for the wording of the individual parts of the bill. I encourage all members of the Legislature to support this important piece of legislation. Thank you.
Madam Speaker: Is the House ready for the question? The question before the House is second reading of Bill 56, The Manitoba Investment Pool Authority Act.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Radisson (Ms. Cerilli), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 57--The Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act
Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Labour (Mr. Toews), that Bill 57, The Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act (Loi sur la divulgation de la rémunération dans le secteur public), be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Motion presented.
Mr. Stefanson: I am pleased to introduce The Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act. This legislation represents another component of the strong accountability framework our government is establishing in the public sector. The purpose of this legislation is to increase the financial accountability of public sector institutions and organizations funded by Manitoba taxpayers by requiring greater disclosure of how public monies are expended.
Under this legislation, annual compensation for individuals in the broad public sector who receive $50,000 or more will be disclosed. This legislation will apply to, and I list the following: the government of Manitoba; various government agencies and Crown corporations; health facilities, including hospitals and personal care homes; school divisions, universities and colleges; Child and Family Services agencies; municipal governments, including the City of Winnipeg; and any other nonprofit organization that receives public sector funding in any fiscal year that totals at least (a) either $500,000, or (b) $200,000, if the funding represents 50 percent or more of the organization's total annual revenue.
The legislation also requires disclosure of annual payments in excess of $50,000 to persons providing legal services under the Legal Aid program and to persons providing insured services under The Health Services Insurance Act. These disclosure requirements will be effective for every fiscal year ending on or after March 31, 1996. For example, the government of Manitoba will be required to provide this information for its 1995-96 fiscal year which ended on March 31, 1996, whereas the City of Winnipeg, for example, will be required to disclose this information for its fiscal year ending December 31, 1996. The legislation will require disclosure within six months of the end of a fiscal year with a longer reporting period for the initial report.
The bill outlines optional reporting methods as well as specifies the type of information to be disclosed. The legislation also provides a penalty for failing to comply by allowing government to withhold up to 15 percent of the annual amount payable by the government to that organization.
Madam Speaker, The Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act is yet another example of our government's commitment to improving management and accountability within the public sector. This legislation provides Manitoba taxpayers with the information they require to hold their publicly funded organizations more accountable for the use of their hard-earned tax dollars.
When the bill reaches the committee stage, I will be pleased to provide more detailed explanations on a clause-by-clause basis, and I certainly recommend this bill to the members of this House.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I move, seconded by the member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 52--The York Factory First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement Act
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister responsible for Native Affairs): I would move, seconded by the honourable Deputy Premier that Bill 52, The York Factory First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement Act; Loi sur l'accord de mise en oeuvre de la première nation de York Factory relatif à la convention sur la submersion de terres du Nord manitobain, be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Motion presented.
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, this afternoon, I am bringing for second reading two bills to the House that are exactly the same: One for York Factory First Nation settlement agreement and the other for the Nelson House First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement, so my remarks this afternoon on this particular bill apply to both. Consequently, there is no need for me to speak a second time when I introduce that bill.
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Mr. Praznik: I know I disappoint my colleagues with that, but I want to save them the misery of hearing me have to speak twice.
Madam Speaker, both of these pieces of legislation are the same, in essence, as the legislation that was passed last year by this Assembly with respect to the Split Lake First Nation and their comprehensive settlement arrangement. These particular acts are required to give effect to the Northern Flood Implementation Agreement between the governments of Canada and Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro and the respective First Nations.
The agreement requires that both Manitoba and Canada each recommend to their Legislature, or respective Parliament, an act to ensure that the agreement is given effect. The agreement contemplates legislation requiring members of the respective First Nation to advance claims under their respective implementation agreement rather than under the Northern Flood Agreement.
This legislation is based on the provisions of the respective implementation settlements with the York Landing First Nation and with the Nelson House First Nation, and it is intended to give effect to those particular agreements. The legislation is substantially similar to the Split Lake Cree Northern Flood Implementation Agreement which was assented to on November 3, 1995.
I think if members examine the bill, as I am sure they will, they will find that the significant or substantive portion is found on page 3. In essence, it simply means that any claims that arise under the Northern Flood Agreement that was signed in the 1970s, which provided for a claim-by-claim basis of settlement, that any of those claims are now to be governed and handled by the implementation agreement which is a comprehensive agreement.
The dollars that are being flowed under these comprehensive agreements to the First Nations are based on the assumption that they will deal with the damage and issues arising from the flooding of their communities with their respective members and organizations. If we did not bring forward this legislation for these implementation agreements, quite frankly, the only other option in law would have every single member of the First Nation now, past and present to be signatories to the agreement and that is just logistically impossible. So this legislation to be passed, we would hope, in this Assembly and in the Parliament of Canada gives effect to the comprehensive agreements. That is the gist of the legislation, and I know members may have some particular questions that I will be glad to take at the appropriate time in committee.
I recommend these bills to the House. As I have said, they are necessary to complete the Northern Flood Comprehensive Agreements with both the York Landing and the Nelson House First Nations. I look forward, on an optimistic note, to be bringing forward similar legislation next year for both the Cross Lake and the Norway House First Nations when we conclude comprehensive agreements with both of those. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I move, seconded by the member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 53--The Nelson House First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement Act
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister responsible for Native Affairs): Madam Speaker, I would move again, seconded by the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey), that Bill 53, The Nelson House First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement Act; Loi sur l'accord de mise en oeuvre de la première nation de Nelson House relatif à la convention sur la submersion de terres du Nord manitobain, be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
* (1600)
Madam Speaker: It has been moved by the honourable Minister of Native Affairs, seconded by the Deputy Premier, that Bill 53, The Nelson House First Nation Northern Flood Implementation Agreement Act (Loi sur 'accord de mise en oeuvre de la première nation de Nelson House relatif à la convention sur la submersion de terres du Nord manitobain), be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I move, seconded by the member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 33--The Education Administration Amendment Act
Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Mr. Ernst), that Bill 33, The Education Administration Amendment Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur l'administration scolaire, be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Motion presented.
Mrs. McIntosh: Madam Speaker, in keeping with the government's commitment for the revitalization and renewal of Manitoba's education system for current and future generations of students, many new initiatives and changes in the priority areas of educational standards and evaluation, school effectiveness, parental and community involvement, teacher education, distance education and technology have been addressed and are continually being addressed by my department.
Setting provincial direction for education while enabling schools and their communities to make decisions that are considered best for the learning requirements of their students has been the pivotal focus behind educational renewal. My department is fully committed to providing greater decision making for schools and to establishing clearly defined and meaningful roles and responsibilities for parents, students and educators so that sound decisions can be made that directly affect students.
The fundamental roles and responsibilities of all the partners in the educational system must be defined and clarified in order to enhance shared responsibilities for schools and to ensure accountability of process. Partnerships between parents, educators and the community must be strengthened and sustained, and standards need to be enhanced to ensure that all students in Manitoba can read, write, think, collaborate and compute at a high level.
Setting educational standards and policies related to school achievement and ensuring that information on student achievement is available to facilitate improvement through the co-operative efforts of students, parents and educators will indeed reinforce the importance of shared responsibility and accountability amongst the partners.
To that end, as outlined in Renewing Education: New Directions, legislative amendments to both The Education Administration Act and The Public Schools Act have been prepared for consideration of the House to improve upon the partnership of those working together in renewing education.
Central to ensuring the accountability of process within the education system and to enhancing shared responsibility among the educational partners is the Minister of Education and Training.
An Honourable Member: A fine woman at that.
Mrs. McIntosh: I thank the minister for that fine compliment and for the cheering that accompanies it.
The bill before you will expand upon or clarify the powers of the Minister of Education and Training to establish courses of study including setting the amount of instructional time and to authorize programs and instructional materials for use in public or private schools. Furthermore, the minister may release information relating to aggregate pupil achievement and the effectiveness of programs in public or private schools. This will enhance accountability and provide schools with a benchmark as to whether they are reaching their potential and achieving their educational goals.
In the area of student achievement and evaluation, the minister may, by regulation, prescribe the methods and procedures for the assessment and evaluation of any aspect of student achievement and the effectiveness of programs. This will ensure, Madam Speaker, that effective measurement and reporting of student achievement on provincial standards and on school-based evaluation contribute to improving the quality of our children's education. To ensure that schools are responsive and accountable to parents in the community, the minister may make regulations concerning information that school boards are required to provide to parents and community members, including the times, form and manner in which this information is to be provided. The minister may also make a regulation on the type and procedures for release of information on student achievement which must be provided to the public by local school boards. This will benefit parents when they are considering the school which they wish to enroll their children in and provide schools with measurements of their strengths and weaknesses in student achievement and programming.
As a follow-up to guidelines recently released on school plans, the bill will allow the minister to make regulations to set out in law what shall constitute school plans. School plans provide a statement of the goals which inspire a school, the objectives which it strives to meet, and the goals it hopes to reach. These plans give educators, parents and students a road map indicating where the school is and where it hopes to be.
With those few remarks, Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the House and thank the members for their attention.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I move, seconded by the member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
Bill 45--The Consumer Protection Amendment Act
Hon. Jim Ernst (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs): I move, seconded by the Minister of Education (Mrs. McIntosh), that Bill 45, The Consumer Protection Amendment Act; Loi modifiant la Loi sur la protection du consommateur, be now read a second time and be referred to a committee of this House.
Motion presented.
Mr. Ernst: Madam Speaker, this bill is intended to harmonize some of the direct selling provisions of our consumer protection legislation with those of other Canadian jurisdictions. Most members will recall that in 1995, the federal government, the provinces and territories reached an agreement on internal trade. As part of the agreement, we agreed to harmonization in a number of areas. This bill reflects the amendments to The Consumer Protection Act needed to bring Manitoba's direct selling provisions in line with commitments made under the agreement.
* (1610)
Without going into the changes point by point, I would like to say that they concern the cooling-off period for direct sales, cancellation provisions and the contents of written contracts. I am happy to say that these amendments will result in a win-win for both business and the consumer. The changes will make it easier for businesses to operate in more than one province. They will also make possible cost savings such as for forms and in staff training.
At the same time, they will increase consumer protection to the highest level in the country. Harmonization to the highest standard means no province will have to reduce its level of protection, a point agreed to in the Internal Trade Agreement. In the course of harmonizing the legislation, several businesses, as well as business and consumer groups in Manitoba and other provinces, were invited to respond to the harmonization proposals.
A number of national bodies, such as The Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business were also contacted. The overall response from business and consumer groups was very favourable. In making these changes, Manitoba becomes one of the first provinces to adopt the harmonized provisions and honour the commitment made in the Internal Trade Agreement.
So, Madam Speaker, with those brief comments I commend the bill to the House.
Mr. Daryl Reid (Transcona): I move, seconded by the member for The Pas (Mr. Lathlin), that debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to.
DEBATE ON SECOND READINGS
Bill 35--The Child and Family Services Amendment Act
Madam Speaker: To resume second reading of Bill 35, The Child and Family Services Amendment Act (Loi modifiant la Loi sur les services à l'enfant et à la famille), on the proposed motion of the honourable Minister of Family Services (Mrs. Mitchelson), standing in the name of the honourable member for Transcona (Mr. Reid). Is there leave to permit the bill to remain standing?
An Honourable Member: No.
Madam Speaker: No, leave has been denied.
Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): It is important that this kind of legislation be dealt with expeditiously, although we certainly will have to look very carefully at the bill as proposed by the government. This bill in no small way, as a result of information that came to our attention about the inadequacies of the Child Abuse Registry in particular, the absurdity that the Child Abuse Registry would list those, I think suspected is too mild of a word, but those who have not been proven in a court of law to have been child abusers, but ignoring and leaving off the list those convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law of either sexual interference or sexual assault of a child, the ultimate child abuse, Madam Speaker.
It was our concern that despite the rhetoric and the puffery, I would suggest, of the Minister of Justice and the work that was supposedly done to deal more effectively with sex offenders in Manitoba, this gap, this huge gap was not discovered and dealt with.
So, as a result of that discovery, we raised questions in this Legislature going back to December of 1995 and continued to raise the serious question in the public forum. So we are pleased that the government has responded and, indeed, if it had not been indicated that they would respond, we were certainly prepared to bring in legislation on our own and try and get the support of the government for its passage.
I also note that the legislation deals with other matters and bringing within the definition of child abuse the soliciting of minors for the purpose of prostitution. So I guess when we look at our list here, this is not our list of course, this is the list of the outstanding, unfulfilled election promises on crime, Madam Speaker, we can add to the list of three that we know have been at least partially fulfilled, at least one more from this list of 33. So I think we have a little ways to go yet, but we look forward, of course, to this list of outstanding promises, 33 in number, to become significantly shorter.
I do not know what this government is waiting for. There are, under this government, a record number of victims of crime, and it is critical that the child victims be protected. Indeed, how do you protect a victim? Well you prevent victimization in the first place; hopefully, this bill will do that. We will examine it carefully to ensure that the change in the definition to child abuse indeed covers those convicted of pedophilia.
We are also concerned nonetheless that this bill may not go far enough and that it does require one to be having proved guilty or having pled guilty to sexual assault or sexual interference, and we still have some questions as to whether or not the bill should go further. We are concerned that sometimes there are plea bargains that take place, and particularly under this government we notice the extent of plea bargaining and the difficulty that might have when trying to define whether someone is actually a pedophile or not. It may be that one can be defined as a pedophile, while respecting the rights of that individual, without having to have the prerequisite of being found guilty or pleading guilty. So we will look at that, and we will want to consider that very carefully.
This change to the law will be important for those employers, particularly at schools and child care centres which do access the Child Abuse Registry. With those comments, Madam Speaker, the member for Burrows I believe has some comments.
Mr. Doug Martindale (Burrows): I am pleased to get an opportunity to speak however briefly to Bill 35, The Child and Family Services Amendment Act. We have requested that this go to committee early next week and be passed early next week. We hope that some members of the public will choose to appear to comment on this because it is an important amendment.
We support this amendment because it protects children, especially children in schools, day care centres and, as the minister pointed out, also in other locations where employers are responsible for children. A number of those come to mind, for example, places like Rossbrook House, Winnipeg Boys and Girls Club and many other organizations that work with children in our community. I know that these employers make use of the Child Abuse Registry and frequently make this a condition of employment, that the applicant has to sign that they acknowledge that their name will be checked with the Child Abuse Registry as a kind of screening process before they will be hired.
This amendment penalizes pedophiles, procurers of prostitutes and users of child prostitutes, another part of the bill that we support. In the past it seems that when the police were cracking down on prostitution that the targets of their attention or their sweeps were the prostitutes themselves. It is a good idea to target the users instead, because this certainly will penalize the users. Having your name on an abuse registry is really a serious consequence of having been convicted in court.
* (1620)
In a general way, this bill attacks those who victimize the users of child prostitutes and that is a very serious issue and I think a growing issue in our community and it is one that has been spreading into the north end. Fifteen years ago, this activity was not visible on the streets in the north end and it is now very visible, because it has spread from an industrial area to a residential neighbourhood and it is of great concern to the residents of the Lord Selkirk development and adjoining streets.
In fact, if one wants an education, well, you can go down at ten o'clock in the morning and see the child prostitutes standing on the street. But if you go down in the evening, there is a considerable amount of traffic on streets like King Street and Flora Avenue of johns cruising the neighbourhood. It is very unsettling to see the young age of the prostitutes and also to see the large number of customers who are on the prowl in that neighbourhood, and I think on the prowl is an appropriate way of describing the activity that they are engaged in. They really are victimizing very young children, in many cases.
So with those few remarks, we look forward to this bill going to committee at an early time next week and coming back for early passage during this session. We do have new rules under which we are trying to only introduce bills in the spring session and have them go to committee and pass them in the fall. However, there is an exception whereby with consent of government and opposition and where there is either a legitimate need or an emergency, we can pass bills sooner and that is what we are doing in this case. We are making an exception at the request of the Minister of Family Services (Mrs. Mitchelson) and I know she appreciates our co-operation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker: Is the House ready for the question? The motion before the House is second reading of Bill 35. All those in favour of the motion.
Some Honourable Members: Agreed.
Madam Speaker: Agreed? Agreed and so ordered.
House Business
Hon. James Downey (Deputy Premier): Madam Speaker, the House leader is here to make the next motion.
Hon. Jim Ernst (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, given the passage of Bill 35, I will refer it to Committee on Law Amendments for Monday evening at 7 p.m. in Room 255.
Madam Speaker: For the information of the House, this bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Law Amendments on Monday, Room 255, at 7 p.m.
Mr. Ernst: I move, seconded by the honourable Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey), that Madam Speaker do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a Committee to consider of the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty.
Motion agreed to, and the House resolved itself into a Committee to consider of the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty, with the honourable member for La Verendrye (Mr. Sveinson) in the Chair for the Departments of Government Services and Industry, Trade and Tourism; and the honourable member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau) in the Chair for the Department of Sport.