Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Sturgeon Creek): Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to inform all members and indeed all Manitobans about our government's commitment to meet the growing demand for training related to the trades and the new information technologies.

The skills in education our generation received so long ago served us well for the time. However, times have changed. The skills of yesterday no longer meet the challenges of today or tomorrow. Our government recognizes the new educational demands placed upon our workforce. A $1.1-million expansion funded by the Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Works Agreement of the South Winnipeg Technical Centre will see the creation of a new 9,400 square foot technology resource centre and multipurpose instructional area. This project will allow South Winnipeg Technical Centre to provide increased opportunities for secondary students, post-secondary students and employees of local firms to acquire and enhance skills related to information technologies.

Demand for the centre programs has grown to the point where the facility is fully occupied during the day and programming has been expanded during the evening. South Winnipeg Technical Centre, opening in September of 1985, provides technical, vocational, educational and training to as many as 2,500 secondary students and adults each year. It uses a competency-based model where the individual progress is determined by skill acquisition. The centre provides a variety of full-time training programs as well as customizing training to business, industry and continuing education courses.

The centre, which is owned by the Assiniboine South, Fort Garry and St. Vital school boards has always been supportive of actively involving and meeting the educational and vocational training needs of the community. I welcome this announcement and know that the South Winnipeg Technical Centre will ensure Manitobans have the competitive edge demanded by today's employers. Thank you.

Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): I want to rise to draw attention to the Children and Youth Secretariat. October is the anniversary month of when this government formed the Child and Youth Secretariat two years ago, and we are seeing that it has become the black hole of this government, where anything that is problematic or controversial gets put into the Youth Secretariat.

It has had some 86 staff members from different government departments, over 170 community members, working away to make recommendations. We want to shine some light into the bowels of this government and have them become accountable for what their plans are with respect to children and youth services.

I know there are some recommendations that are problematic for this government. There are recommendations that they should be increasing services for health care in schools with nurses, they should be increasing physical and health education in schools, they should be increasing nutritional supplements for social allowance, recommendations in the Postl report which this Youth Secretariat is mandated to implement, but this government has been running in the opposite direction.

I think this government has to not play politics with children and youth. We do not want to see these recommendations simply come forward before the next election. Children and youth deserve fairness, and they deserve some sense of accountability from this government in the services that are going to be there for families, children and youth in our province.

I implore this government to release the reports of the steering committees from the Children and Youth Secretariat so that they will be held accountable, so that they will not simply use this as an exercise to further erode and cut the services for children, youth and their families in Manitoba. Thank you.

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Mr. Mike Radcliffe (River Heights): Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise today to tell this Chamber about the supportive funding from the Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Program which has established a permanent home for over 6,000 priceless artifacts from the Hudson's Bay Company museum collection.

These irreplaceable pieces of western Canadian history will be housed in a new wing to be built at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. This collection rivals the Vatican museum with its chronology of mankind's progress over the last 300 years. Many of the pieces of this collection are unique to the early exploration and development years of our province. Having access to this collection in a highly visible environment like the Museum of Man and Nature will provide future generations of Manitobans the opportunity to view and experience the colourful history and cultural diversity of our people.

Construction of the new Hudson's Bay Company wing at the Museum of Man and Nature will begin late next month and will be completed by October of next year. This construction is thanks to a $2.25-million contribution from the Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Agreement. I look forward to the opportunity to view this very special collection of memorabilia from our province's history.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Madam Speaker, I have raised the issue of the sale of MTS in the Legislature many times. I am pleased to be able to indicate to the House that many Manitobans are working with the grassroots Save our System coalition throughout the province to fight to keep our public telephone system. I want to indicate, probably the most active group is in Westman. In fact, in Brandon and Westman there are hundreds of Save MTS signs that have been put up by individual citizens, thousands of petitions have been signed and they are very active in that area of the province, raising the concerns of Manitobans. There are other groups active in such communities as Selkirk, in Dauphin, and in Thompson, and I want to indicate that we will be taking our Save MTS campaign on the road as part of what we are calling a coffee-shop tour, to get the message across to all Manitobans that this is it. As of November 6, unless this government is persuaded to listen to the people of Manitoba, we will no longer have a publicly owned telephone system.

I also want to indicate, and I will be raising this issue in the next number of weeks, that this government is not only selling off our telephone system; they are doing so in a way which is causing a great deal of concern for MTS retirees. There are more that 1,300 people on MTS pensions, and under the legislation that will sell off MTS, they will no longer be under the superannuation system, and people are very concerned. I am getting calls on almost a daily basis from MTS retirees and other MTS employees who are saying that the government has no right to tear up the pension agreements they have with the superannuation, and I say to the government, we understand that you are not listening on MTS, and we are hoping to make you listen on that. But at the very least, please listen to the many senior citizens, the many MTS retirees who are dependent on the security of their pension, and who are going to be very concerned about the sell-off of MTS. Please listen to the retirees and ensure they have security of their pensions.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, on September 9, the Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Driedger) and I had the honour and the pleasure of participating in the opening ceremony and the dedication ceremony of the Rat River wetland restoration project.

I want to raise this issue because very often we hear members opposite criticize this government for not paying enough attention and setting aside lands that would be designated as natural lands or wildlife lands, and I think this is another indication of our government's commitment to establishing and setting aside the kinds of lands that will in fact enhance wildlife and waterfowl in the southeast area.

But it is not only this government. The Department of Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited, Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation and numerous other local people have put their minds, their energies and their money together. They put their hands in their pocket to make this project happen. This, in my view, will be seen in the future as one of the premier projects that will see the enhancement of waterfowl and waterfowl management in the southeast area, and I congratulate those people who participated on that day. This will also, I believe, enhance the whole Rat River area and will lay the foundation for the establishment of future projects in that area to set aside lands that will be dedicated to wildlife, to waterfowl preservation and the enhancement of tourism, above all, in that southeast area.

My congratulations and my appreciation go out to all those people in the southeast area that contributed, participated and became members of it. I want to single out one firm and one person, and it is Landmark Feeds that made a commitment of $30,000, put their hands in their pocket, put money on the table, to set this land aside. So I congratulate all of the people of southeast Manitoba on this project.

Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments for the 7:30 Monday evening session be amended as follows: the member for St. Norbert (Mr. Laurendeau) for the member for Roblin-Russell (Mr. Derkach); the member for Springfield (Mr. Findlay) for the member for Charleswood (Mr. Ernst).

I move, seconded by the member for Morris (Mr. Pitura), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Economic Development for the Tuesday at 10 a.m. sitting be amended as follows: the member for Sturgeon Creek (Mr. McAlpine) for the member for Arthur-Virden (Mr. Downey); the member for Fort Garry (Mrs. Vodrey) for the member for St. Vital (Mrs. Render).

Motions agreed to.

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the member for Broadway (Mr. Santos), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Law Amendments be amended as follows: Rupertsland (Mr. Robinson) for Wellington (Ms. Barrett); Flin Flon (Mr. Jennissen) for Osborne (Ms. McGifford); Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak) for Broadway (Mr. Santos) for Monday, October 7, 1996, at 7:30 p.m.

Motion agreed to.