ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
1996 Summer Olympic Games
Premier's Travel Expenses
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
During the Atlanta Olympics, on July 25,1996, the Premier was asked who was paying for his trip to Atlanta and his affairs at the Olympic Games. The Premier answered, the Pan Am Games Society was paying for the trip. On July 30, Frank McKenna said that IBM was paying for rooms for Premier Filmon and for hospitality.
Who was telling the truth? Premier Filmon on July 25, or Premier McKenna on July 30?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): The answer is both, Madam Speaker, because I went to the Olympics with the Pan American Games Society, and in the course of the first seven days that I was there, we stayed in a home that was rented by the Pan American Society. They paid for my transportation costs. We hosted, as a provincial government, co-hosted with the federal government, a luncheon reception for the Pan American delegates from the various Pan American countries. Then in the last two days I moved into a hotel, at which time I was there promoting Winnipeg's and Manitoba's interests with respect to economic development.
As you may know, directly and indirectly, IBM employs about 750 people in Manitoba, and we believe that it is in our interest not only to have that employment but to have more. In conjunction with that, I might say that I paid the costs of my own accommodation and expenses while I was there with the IBM people.
* (1340)
Mr. Doer: Madam Speaker, I am pleased the Premier, after Premier McKenna revealed the fact that he had stayed as a guest of IBM at the hotel in Atlanta, has apparently reimbursed IBM.
I would like to ask the Premier how he could say on July 25 that it was the Pan Am Games Society that was paying for his room and hospitality, when on July 23 and on July 24 he was accepting a free room and hospitality from IBM.
Mr. Filmon: I said that the Pan American Games paid for my trip to Atlanta, which is true. I have already indicated that I paid the costs of the time that I spent in the hotel with IBM.
Mr. Doer: Madam Speaker, the Premier has not answered the question of truth and honesty.
On July 25 he was asked the question, who was paying. Why did the Premier ignore to tell the people of Manitoba and the people on that broadcast, why did he not tell the people the truth that IBM had paid for his hotel room and hospitality when it had done so two days before that? Why did he choose not to tell the people of Manitoba the truth, and what kind of example is he setting for a lot of other people in this province who are going through a lot of hardship because of his government? He cannot even tell the truth about freebies he is receiving from a corporate entity. Why?
Mr. Filmon: Madam Speaker, I do not understand what part the member for Concordia has difficulty understanding. Number one, the trip was paid for by the Pan American Games Society, and the expenses while I was with IBM were paid for by me.
Teaching Profession
Collective Bargaining
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education.
I want to draw the minister's attention to an OECD research report sent to all Ministers of Education in January which points out that high standards in education are best maintained where there is strong public support for teachers and where teachers' professional abilities and autonomy have respect from government and others.
I want to ask the Minister of Education to begin this school year on a new basis, on a co-operative basis, and to withdraw her plan for teachers that even the Winnipeg Free Press said would--and I quote--frustrate and demoralize, that wages will drop, the best and the brightest will move away, the quality of Manitoba's public school system will slowly but surely decline.
I am giving the minister an opportunity to change that.
Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I, like the member opposite, have placed great value on the public school education system and upon the people who work in it for the collective good of our students. I believe very strongly that the measures we are bringing into place in this session will be measures that will help improve the quality of education. That is not to say it is bad--you do not have to be sick to get better--but to constantly seek improvement in the system by higher standards, by proper assessment, et cetera, in co-operation with the teaching force that is very well trained and working very hard to help improve that quality along with us.
So I see no problem with saying I want a positive co-operative workingship with the teaching profession. I do indeed seek that. I do believe, Madam Speaker, that the measures we are putting in place will lead ultimately to that kind of positive relationship between government and those who teach our students in Manitoba.
Education System
Student Transportation
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Madam Speaker, my supplementary is to the Minister of Education. I want to ask her to explain to the House why it is better to spend several thousand dollars transporting a cabinet minister's wife to South America than it is to reinstate the cuts that her government has made to the transport grants for Manitoba students.
Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Education and Training): The government of Manitoba does transport or provide transportation grants to all students in rural Manitoba who live more than 1.6 kilometres from their schools. That has not changed. Similarly, the government of Manitoba will provide transportation grants in urban settings the same distance, 1.6 kilometres, where there is no public transit.
There are areas in the city where public transit is limited and in that particular venue we are looking at that issue, as are certain members of the City Council and the school divisions involved, but I think that the focus in education has to be upon the quality of that that is taught in the schools. Absolutely, I agree with the member, we have to ensure easy access to schools by those students who attend.
* (1345)
Ms. Friesen: Could the minister tell us how she intends to explain her government's priorities, free trips to South America on the one hand, and on the other hand, families, ordinary Manitobans, who are now being faced with hundreds of dollars in bills to pay their school transport costs, or indeed to that six-year-old child who is going to be left by the wayside to walk many miles to school as a result of these policies? Will she explain those priorities?
Mrs. McIntosh: Madam Speaker, I believe I have already answered the question, notwithstanding or accepting any of the preamble that was part of the member's question, that lengthy preamble that did cast aspersions upon people and decisions that I think were not quite accurate or fair.
Having said that, Madam Speaker, I have just indicated that the Department of Education does provide transportation grants rurally, as they always have. In the urban setting we are looking now, and the Department of Education, through its Advisory Committee on Educational Finance is looking specifically at the question of what to do with those parts of the city where the city has cut back on transit.
Now the member does not include all of the details in her question and knows full well that City Council itself, in terms of its own transit decisions, will impact negatively or positively upon decisions made by the Department of Education. We are looking to ensure that there is no unseemly overlap that would disaffect students, and we are in the process of that examination now.
Deputy Premier
Spousal Travel Expenses
Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): Madam Speaker, while CP workers were losing their jobs, social assistance rates were being slashed, Misericordia is being closed as an acute care hospital, teachers are facing unprecedented increases in class size, the Deputy Premier went on a 16-day trade mission to South America and took his wife along on a $4,500 air fare.
What other expenditures, Madam Speaker, were incurred by Mrs. Downey in her role as part of the official delegation and were paid for by government, including such things as meals, incidental travel and other expenditures?
Hon. James Downey (Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): Madam Speaker, first of all, I would advise the opposition that it might be helpful if they got all the facts as they relate to any travels that I have had along with my spouse, and I am quite prepared to do so. That is the first thing that should be addressed so that the truth is on the table.
Secondly, Madam Speaker, the member would be well advised to find out what the results of the mission have provided for the people of Manitoba. [interjection]
The members laugh. I can assure the members that the people of Manitoba, as having my spouse travel with me and which she was fully invited to be part of, which she fully participated to benefit the Pan American Games, as of next year I am informed that there will be some 15 tourism operators, women tourism operators, coming here to put Manitoba and Winnipeg on the venue as it relates to the Pan American Games, something that would not have happened had she not been part of that trip.
Mr. Sale: Is it then still the minister's claim that Mrs. Downey was performing important duties on behalf of the Pan Am Games Committee as part of the work of the trade delegation, or is he now changing his tune?
Mr. Downey: No, Madam Speaker. I find it somewhat strange that members of the opposition have difficulty with spousal participation with their political partners. That seems to be a problem that they have. The constituency which I represent, and I believe the majority of Manitobans, feels proud that the spouses of politicians are part of their activities. Secondly, as I said to the member earlier, I am quite prepared to provide all the documentation needed to show that it was a spousal program, and secondly, prepared to show all the documentation needed that there are tremendous results that are flowing from any involvement that Mrs. Downey had on that trip.
Again I am somewhat surprised at the tack that that individual would take as it relates to spousal relationships.
* (1350)
Mr. Sale: If Mrs. Downey was really part of the official delegation performing important official duties, why then is she not even mentioned in the press conference, the press release, which lists every other member of the delegation name by name, affiliation by affiliation, job by job? Where is the honesty? Where is the openness? Where is the integrity?
Madam Speaker, I will table this press release for the honourable members.
Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, again let me clearly state that Mrs. Downey was there as part of a spousal program. She has the invitations clearly indicating that she was part of the events that took place as they related to that mission. Secondly, she was legitimately there representing the Pan American Games as an ambassador. It is a program that they are putting in place.
I can assure you, as I will assure the public of Manitoba, the results of the mission in which Mrs. Downey attended will pay in dividends far and above what in fact has been the cost. Again I would advise the members to get their facts before they come on this personal attack on an individual who is not sitting in the Legislature, who is not able to stand up and speak in the Legislature. Again I am, I have to say, most disappointed because I am quite prepared to provide all the information that is necessary to demonstrate the work that was done, and it is very positive indeed.
Deputy Premier
Spousal Travel Expenses
Ms. Becky Barrett (Wellington): The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism has said about his wife's role in going with him on a 16-day trip to South America that--and I am quoting here--she was there to promote the Pan American Games and was asked to do so by the Pan American Games organization.
The Pan American organizing committee stated that it was not the Games' idea that Mrs. Downey go on their behalf. It was Mr. Downey's office who approached them, stating that she was already going on the trip.
My question to the minister is: Who is telling the truth here? Is the minister telling the truth or is Barbara Huck telling the truth, who is the vice-president of the Pan American organizing committee?
Hon. James Downey (Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): The day that I am not able to tell the truth will be the day that you do not see me in this Legislature. Again I suggest that members find their facts. First of all, their accuracy of the time in which I was in South America is totally inaccurate and again evidence that they have not done their homework. I do not know whose numbers they are taking. Secondly, it was a legitimate spousal program which Mrs. Downey was attending in South America. It was a legitimate spousal program that she was participating in.
Secondly, the department discussed with the Pan American teams if there was a role that Mrs. Downey could play when she was in South America. They said, yes, that they were introducing an Ambassador Program of which Mrs. Downey could be part. Yes, Madam Speaker, the department offered the opportunity and there was a role that she could play.
Now the members for some reason have a problem with the promotion of the Pan American Games and all the benefits that it will bring the people of Manitoba. I would advise them, Madam Speaker, they are on a dangerously downhill political slope if this is the level they have to reach to get political marks.
* (1355)
Ms. Barrett: Madam Speaker, why did the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism state on public radio that the Pan American Games organizing committee asked his wife to participate in helping with the Pan American Games while she was in South America instead of what he said later and which he has said in the House today, that it was initiated by the minister's office himself? Which one is the truth, what he stated in the media or what he is telling us today? Which one is the truth?
Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, as I indicated, there was a legitimate spousal program in which my wife participated to go to South America.
Secondly, Madam Speaker, there were discussions with our department and the Pan American Games, of which the discussions concluded by the fact that they agreed there was a role that she could play when she was going to be there on a spousal program which would benefit the Pan American Games. [interjection]
Again, Madam Speaker--well, the member for Thompson (Mr. Ashton), whose wife, quite frankly, has been part of government contracts--
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, I am quite prepared to disclose the involvement of the member for Thompson's wife in programs that the government had in place.
Point of Order
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): A point of order, Madam Speaker, the Deputy Premier was talking about my wife. She put in a bid on a contract with the provincial government and was awarded that. I guess he probably has some difficulty since most contracts in his department seem to have gone to Tory connections, but my wife put in a bid and she got the job.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. On the point of order, the honourable member for Thompson does not have a point of order. It is clearly a dispute over the facts.
* * *
Madam Speaker: The honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism to quickly complete his response.
Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, as I said, the offer was made to the Pan American Games, of which they said she could participate as an ambassador on behalf of the Pan American Games on the tour. It was very successful and I am quite prepared to provide all the evidence for the people of Manitoba as it relates to that trip.
Ms. Barrett: Will the minister now admit that he either did not tell the truth, he lied to the people of Manitoba on CBC Radio when he said that the offer was initiated by the Pan Am Games committee, or he is not telling the truth and he is lying to us in the House today? Which is it?
Mr. Downey: Madam Speaker, this is a serious issue in which another person has been implicated by the members of the opposition, which I think is somewhat unfair. I would ask that they get the facts before they carry out the kind of smear tactics that they are trying to carry out.
Madam Speaker, I will repeat for the people of Manitoba: There was a spousal program in which my wife was participating, in a trade mission to South America, which was absolutely legitimate. The invitations were there. In discussion with the department and the Pan American Games, it was clearly indicated there was a program which--it is called the Ambassador Program--Mrs. Downey could carry out.
Whether it was initiated by my department, whether it was initiated by the opposition, the important thing is we have absolutely nothing to hide, Madam Speaker. We have absolutely nothing to hide and the result of the trip will be seen as--
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Point of Order
Ms. Barrett: Madam Speaker, the issue is not who started it or initiated the program. The issue here today and has been for weeks is that the minister is deliberately misleading the people of Manitoba and the House today.
Madam Speaker: On the point of order raised by the honourable member for Wellington, the honourable member for Wellington does not have a point of order. It is clearly a dispute over the facts.
* (1400)
Regional Health Boards
Cost of Establishment
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.
The Minister of Health, at no doubt great expense to the taxpayers of the province, put out an eight-page glossy telling how wonderful this government is doing in health care. In fact, the headline is, Keeping Manitobans Informed.
Yet, Madam Speaker, when we as an official party are trying to get information in terms of the costs of the regional health associations, authorities, the Department of Health has denied us access to that information.
My question to the Minister of Health: Will he tell this Chamber what is the actual cost of establishing the 10 regional health boards?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): We will compile that information and make it available for the honourable member, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, I am wondering if the Minister of Health, because we have made application, will agree to investigate as to why it is that it would have been turned down when we applied to get through Freedom of Information this very valuable information regarding these regional health boards.
Will he report back to the House?
Mr. McCrae: Yes, Madam Speaker.
Department of Health
Advertising Campaign Costs
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Can the Minister of Health give us an indication in terms of the latest, most recent propaganda campaign that this ministry has launched in the public, what is the actual cost of producing the Keeping Manitobans Informed and other ads that are going on with respect to this government's health promotion?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): The one constant theme I have heard in my three years as Minister of Health is that the people of Manitoba wish to be informed so that they can be part of the consultative partnership process in which we have engaged in our province with respect to health care. I am very happy to be able to make available information for the people of Manitoba so that they know the direction that their health care system is taking.
Madam Speaker, the total cost of the television messages is $123,535, and the cost of the Healthnews document the honourable member has with him today, including design, printing and distribution, is $106,000.
Department of Health
Healthnews Costs
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Madam Speaker, my question is also to the Minister of Health.
How does the Minister of Health justify this kind of expenditure of a Tory propaganda sheet, complete with the minister's photo on it, prepared by the Premier's campaign manager, Barb Biggar, in Tory blue? How does he justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars when the minister knows that money could be used to take people off cardiac waiting lists, when that money could be used to give people treatment for long-term treatment in terms of drug dependency, when the minister knows we have the longest waiting lists in the country? How does he justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on this Tory propaganda piece of garbage?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, as I looked in the mirror this morning, I have to admit that there is truth to the old adage that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I have to admit that any photograph of myself does not really enhance the look of the document. I would readily admit that.
The only thing the honourable member does not ask that virtually everybody else in Manitoba does ask is, will you give us some factual information? The honourable member does not want factual information because he has already got his mind made up. Manitobans do not, Madam Speaker; they simply want to know what is going on in their health system. We owe them that service, and that is what that paper represents.
Mr. Chomiak: Madam Speaker, how does the minister explain, when we did a Freedom of Information request about how much money and about the contract Barb Biggar got to do this piece of propaganda, the request came back and said there were no contract payments to Barb Biggar? How does the minister explain, and what did Barb Biggar get paid to do this Tory piece of propaganda that gives us no facts but is Tory propaganda?
Mr. McCrae: I will obtain that information for the honourable member, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Chomiak: Madam Speaker, since this document is titled Issue No. 1, will the minister do the right thing and confirm in this House that no more of this Tory propaganda will be issued and that the minister will use that money to pay for the much-needed health care that had been created by this government with the longest waiting list in this country?
Mr. McCrae: I will give the honourable member the assurance that there will not be any Tory propaganda, Madam Speaker, but I will also give the people of Manitoba the assurance that we will continue to put out information that will keep them informed on what is going on in a very changing world.
Social Assistance
Rate Reduction
Mr. Doug Martindale (Burrows): Madam Speaker, today on the steps of the Legislature poor people were gathered to protest the cuts in welfare rates in this province. They are very concerned, not only about the cuts to the welfare rates but also about the ethics of the Filmon government.
I would like to ask the Premier how he can justify accepting gifts from large corporations like IBM and repaying when he gets caught, how he can justify the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey) and his spouse travelling at government expense to South America at the same time that his government has cut welfare rates, including, by almost 30 percent, the rates for infants on city welfare in the city of Winnipeg. How can he justify spending tens of thousands of dollars in travel and cutting welfare rates at the same time?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, I know that the member opposite is being somewhat facetious about this because his colleagues, when they were in government, spent hundreds of thousands, in fact, millions of dollars in travel. Their utilization, whether it be of government aircraft, exceeded anything that we have done since we have been in office. Their expenditures on sending ministers and entourages to places like Korea, Japan, India and so on were far in excess of anything that we have done.
When I look at, for instance, a news clipping of one of the former ministers of that government now in British Columbia as a bureaucrat spent $80,000 last year in travel on behalf of B.C. trade--New Democrat, Madam Speaker, one individual, New Democrat. That is the kind of thing that is commonplace to New Democrats.
So all of this that they put forward is pure hypocrisy. The fact of the matter is that this government has presided at a time when our increase in exports has been greater over the last five years than any other province of Canada because of the efforts that we have made to promote this province, to promote the interests of investment and job creation, trade and export opportunities in this province. That is what is important to the long-term interests of the people of Manitoba.
Mr. Martindale: Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier if it is the policy of him and his government to pay for the travel expenses of a spouse of a cabinet minister while at the same time cutting welfare rates. Is it their government policy to pay for the travel expenses of spouses of cabinet ministers and at the same time cut welfare rates?
Mr. Filmon: You know, when Team Canada is put on by the federal government, an initiative that is designed to improve our opportunities for trade and business development throughout the world, the federal government, in fact the Prime Minister, requests that the spouses of the First Ministers go, so that when we go there and we meet with high level people, presidents, prime ministers, people--
An Honourable Member: Dictators.
Mr. Filmon: Well, of course, the only dictator that is supported in this Legislature is the Cuban dictator supported by New Democrats. New Democrats, who claim that they do not know there is a dictatorship, that they do not know that there are human rights violations going on in Cuba, support that country actively and openly.
Point of Order
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Point of order, Madam Speaker. I believe the Premier was asked the question with respect to his government policy of allowing cabinet ministers to travel to South American countries and otherwise, and the Premier, in an attempt to try to defuse attention away from his trips and the trips of his Deputy Premier, is going all across the board trying to justify that. I ask you to ask the Premier to cite Beauchesne's, and if he cannot answer the question, then to sit down.
Madam Speaker: On the point of order raised by the honourable member for Kildonan, indeed you do have a point of order. I would ask the honourable First Minister to please respond to the question asked.
* (1410)
* * *
Mr. Filmon: Madam Speaker, I appreciate your comments. I know that the truth hurts members opposite. The fact is that the Prime Minister requests that spouses--and pays for the spouses of First Ministers to go along because he knows that when you have social events, when you have programs in which your counterparts have their spouses there, it is rude not to have them there, that there are instances in which spouses are--[interjection]
Madam Speaker, I wonder if members opposite could be just a little bit calm and not try and interject. I know they are having difficulty when I give them facts. They are not interested in facts; they are only interested in attempting to harass those of us who get up to respond to their questions, but if they would be patient and calm, I would attempt to answer their question.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I would ask for the co-operation of all honourable members in listening to the question being posed and also in the response to the question.
The honourable First Minister to quickly complete his response.
Mr. Filmon: So it always has been the policy that where spouses are included in the program, they would be able to travel at public expense. I know that was the case under the Pawley administration. I can tell you instances in which specifically the Premier would have had his spouse with him at public expense. We have many of those listed and we can give them that, so this is not a difference in policy between our administration and a previous administration, nor between our administration and any other administration in Canada.
CP Rail
Layoffs--Weston Shops
Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): My question is for the Premier.
On September 11 the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey), who is also Minister of Industry, said on behalf of the provincial government that he had no knowledge of any job losses at the Weston Shops. The next day the Minister of Transportation (Mr. Findlay) said he and other members of cabinet were told by CP a week previous that CP was moving 138 jobs to Calgary and laying off another 137 workers.
My question is simply, which minister was telling the truth about government knowledge of the loss of CP jobs?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, I find this to be incredible, that the member opposite cannot follow the news media. The Deputy Premier was away. We have just been talking about his purpose in being away, where he was and when he was, and he was not at the briefing that the Minister of Transportation and I were. So they did not ask us and we did not obviously respond.
Mr. Jennissen: My supplementary question is to the Minister of Highways and Transportation. Why did this minister and the Premier not go to the wall to stop these jobs from being moved to Calgary?
Hon. Glen Findlay (Minister of Highways and Transportation): Madam Speaker, I think the member is of full knowledge that the rail industry in every sector is under a lot of challenge right now as it adjusts to supplying services under modern technology.
We went to the wall to bring CP jobs to Winnipeg. The customer service centre which serves all of Canada--only one centre in all of Canada-- it is right here in Winnipeg. We brought it here almost two years ago. In that process we gained 275 jobs. We argued with CP that we wanted to see no loss of jobs in the shops here in Manitoba. They laid out their case.
In balance we are not that far behind, because we only lose 8 percent of the jobs in CP whereas nationwide the loss is 21 percent. We are not as bad as the nationwide average because the customer service centre came to Winnipeg, and loss of jobs happened in every province except Manitoba in that context. That is the delivery of service with the new technology that we have the jobs here in Winnipeg. We went to the wall there and won. We also spoke very strongly to CP about new changes that they might have in the future, that we have those jobs come to Manitoba as they readjust the way they handle their workforce.
Canadian Transportation Act
Government Support
Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): My final supplementary to the same minister: Why did this government support the Liberal privatization of CN and the Canada Transportation Act, which are already threatening the future of communities such as Leaf Rapids, Pukatawagan, Steep Rock, Ethelbert and others?
Hon. Glen Findlay (Minister of Highways and Transportation): Madam Speaker, the Canadian Transportation Act that was passed by the federal government and the three prairie provinces, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as Ministers of Transportation, we went down to the House of Commons, spoke in the committee stage against various provisions in that bill, because we could see the outcome. Premiers wrote letters saying that the bill was far too liberal in terms of allowing changes to happen that were going to impact the economies in western Canada.
So we did not support; we opposed the bill in many respects to be sure that they did not go too far and, Madam Speaker, certainly maybe they did go too far, but they did not listen to us, neither Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta, in the Ministers of Transportation coalition.
Crime Rate
Reduction Strategy
Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): My question is to the First Minister.
This weekend in my neighbourhood one more Manitoban, a senior I know and have great respect for, was terrorized by violent strangers in her own home. While robberies in Canada overall climbed 8 percent since 1990, I am told this morning by Stats Canada they have gone through the roof--[interjection] They have increased 8 percent in Canada overall. They have gone up through the roof in Manitoba by 65 percent since 1990.
My question for the minister is, while he and his First Ministers and families were on their paid excursions or their cruises, whatever, did they happen to turn their minds to the seniors and others being terrorized in their homes and on the streets back here in Manitoba?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Madam Speaker, though I cannot speak about a specific case, I am pleased to give a little bit of information to the member because I think it is important for all Manitobans to know. First of all, in the one case of home invasion which was prosecuted through our courts, there was a 10-year sentence which was obtained, a very significant message on how vigorously issues such as this will be prosecuted. We also are providing funding to Age and Opportunity to assist elder victims of crime, and we continue to have a number of programs.
There is absolutely no question this kind of criminal act and fearfulness that people experience as a result needs to be carefully looked at, needs action, and that is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Mackintosh: Madam Speaker, well, with statistics like this and if the government was so serious about crime, why over the last year and a half has the government implemented only five, we understand, of 36 of its promises for provincial action on crime? What is it waiting for? We have the worst violent crime rate in the whole country now.
Mrs. Vodrey: Madam Speaker, the member often puts forward stats, does not always date them. We could argue statistics, he and I. I have a large number of statistics and bar graphs, too, which indicate in fact all of the decreases that are occurring, but I do not think it is the war of statistics in this Chamber and on this floor that will actually help Manitobans. The war of statistics does not help anyone. What will help Manitobans are the programs that have been put in place, programs such as the assistance we are providing to victims, programs such as the aggressive position that I have provided a memo to our prosecutors on in terms of bail, programs such as 40 more police officers on the street in the city of Winnipeg. It is that action that the people of Manitoba will benefit from.
Mr. Mackintosh: Rather than action, would the minister admit this is just tough talk, just that, just talk, that the government is totally, utterly ineffective in dealing with our crime because it is so blinkered it cannot see the link between the despair of our growing underclass and our crime rate and the link between inaction and our crime rate?
Mrs. Vodrey: It is this government's concern about criminal activity, it is this government's concern about support to victims that has caused us to put into place some of the most significant programs across this country. In fact, it is our leadership that caused the NDP government to, last week, finally come on board last Wednesday with our gang strategy. Finally, they released 18 points which in fact were consistent with the programs which we have put forward. Finally, they come on board with the position about criminal acts committed by children under 12. Finally, they come on board with a gang line which the member across the way has stood up and has said that he did not like before. We are pleased they recognize the efforts. We are not finished. The people of Manitoba deserve ongoing effort to make themselves safe in their own communities. That is exactly what we will do.
* (1420)
Sexual Offenders
Community Notification
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Madam Speaker, the last two weeks have been a very difficult time in the community of Thompson with a released sex offender who was loose in the community with very limited provisions under the probation. I just learned this morning that this individual has been apprehended. In fact, the RCMP have gone to court to attempt to have stronger provisions put in place. This was a person who was a repeat offender, who is a substance abuser who never received the kind of treatment that might have prevented this situation and is now considered a high risk to reoffend.
I would like to ask the minister if she will review this particular case of Mr. Honask [phonetic] in regard to both the fact that this individual did not receive any treatment for the substance abuse and that this high-risk offender has been, at least until this morning, loose in the community creating a great deal of concern to the residents of Thompson.
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Madam Speaker, the member knows, across the way, that we do have a Community Notification Committee where there is the opportunity to review the cases of individuals who are due for release from our institutions, and then there is an opportunity to look at notifying the community.
In regard to the specific case, I will have to take it under advisement. I have to be very careful whether or not there are any charges. I will remind the member across the way though, the Community Notification Committee, the first of its kind in Canada, received no support from the NDP.
Madam Speaker: The time for Oral Questions has expired.