Mr. Mike Radcliffe (River Heights): Good afternoon, Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure for me to draw some very good news to the attention of the Chamber this afternoon. The provincial welfare caseload has declined, and hundreds of welfare clients are in training or have found employment. This comes only five months after changes were announced to the welfare program by the Minister of Family Services (Mrs. Mitchelson).

Welfare recipients told our government that they do not want to depend on social assistance payments anymore. They want the confidence and security that comes with holding a job and being productive members of Manitoba's society. They want to create a better life for themselves and their families, but they need some help to make the transition into the workforce.

The changes to the program announced by the minister did just that. Through programs such as Opportunities for Employment, conducted in partnership with the Mennonite Central Committee, and Taking Charge!, we are providing people with the skills and encouragement they need to build a new life for themselves.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing difficulty hearing the honourable member for River Heights.

Mr. Radcliffe: The welfare caseload declined by 617 cases between April and September of this year compared to an increase of 135 cases last year. Clearly, Manitobans are gaining their independence from social assistance in record numbers through innovative changes to the way social assistance is provided.

* (1520)

I would ask all honourable members to join me in congratulating the Minister of Family Services for her success to change the social assistance that has given to Manitobans the confidence and the power to exercise more control in their own lives. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Clif Evans (Interlake): Madam Speaker, rural Manitobans have the most to lose with the privatization of the Manitoba Telephone System, and it is undoubtedly for this reason that the provincial government refuses to hold public hearings in rural communities.

This past June, the provincial government ordered MTS to request rural residential rate hikes as much as 80 percent by 1998. Needless to say, this request is not featured in any of the $400,000 television, radio and newsprint advertising campaign promoting the sale of MTS and paid for by our taxpayers. The actions of the Filmon government in betraying Manitobans by selling MTS when they said they would not and then refusing to allow public input are bad enough, but when the same government wastes nearly half a million dollars on propaganda, it is not surprising that rural Manitobans are very angry over this issue.

Virtually none of the legislation the government is currently forcing through the Legislature was even hinted at during the election year. Instead, the Filmon government is using their majority of seats to implement changes that they know the public opposes. It is the mark of an arrogant government interested only in their financial backers that they would bring forward such a negative agenda.

As the Union of Manitoba Municipalities stated in their brief on the privatization of MTS, MTS has spent over $620 million in the past six years upgrading rural phone service while private telephone companies in B.C., Ontario and Quebec have not extended individual line service to all areas of those provinces. The loss of low phone rates not only hurts consumers, it hurts our competitive advantage. Businesses in rural areas will find their costs much higher due to this privatization that they did not ask for and did not want. Manitobans deserve better. This Premier (Mr. Filmon) and his government have no mandate to sell MTS or Manitoba Hydro. Thank you.

Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): Madam Speaker, earlier today in the community of Winkler, the Trainex Centre held an open house for the public. The Trainex Centre was established in 1982. Its original mandate was and continues to be to provide 50 noncompetitive workspaces for community members with psychiatric illness experience. During the last four years, Trainex programs have focused on assisting a wide range of employment-disadvantaged people, the majority being on some form of social assistance.

Trainex believes the dignity and respect self-sufficiency brings to a family member gainfully employed is the key to an entire generation of contributing society members. Consequently their programs focus on assessment, academic and social upgrading, language and numeracy, literacy, employability, attitudes, aptitudes and skills, workplace experience, work coaching and permanent placement with up to 36 months of follow-up for anyone capable of partial or full-time employment. The Trainex Centre also has a three-year experience with an off-campus computer-assisted academic program. It is cross-registered with Garden Valley Collegiate, thereby allowing school-aged youth who do not want to, cannot or are not encouraged to attend regular classes to acquire Senior 1 and 2 credits while getting specific work-related insight and experiences. The integrated age, working and learning environment at Trainex provides a safe, multifaceted, motivational incentive to become employable.

Trainex is an excellent example of Manitobans helping Manitobans, designing and distributing programs that are in the best interests of a healthy and vital community. I would like to congratulate them for the work they have done and continue to do. Thank you.

Mr. Stan Struthers (Dauphin): Madam Speaker, today in Question Period I referenced a resolution that was put forward by the Town of Grandview. The Town of Grandview wants this government to come out to rural Manitoba and conduct public hearings on the sale of the MTS. The Town of Grandview wants this government to have a vote of the shareholders before it sells the MTS because in this election this government did not tell the people of Grandview that they were going to sell the MTS, and now here we are, they are selling it.

The Chamber of Commerce in Dauphin has put forth a resolution, as well, telling you not to sell the Manitoba Telephone System. Towns and R.M.s all over this province have been telling you, the government, that you betrayed them, and now you are telling them that you are too scared to face Manitobans in public hearings. You do not have the courage to come out and debate people, and I am now challenging the Premier (Mr. Filmon) of this province to come out to my riding or anyplace else in this province. I challenge the Premier to come out to any part of rural Manitoba and defend this decision. Not only that, Madam Speaker, if the Premier does not have the guts to come out and do it--anybody from the government side to come to Dauphin and take this on.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. I would ask that the honourable member for Dauphin pick and choose his words carefully. The words "has the guts" have been ruled unparliamentary on several occasions.

An Honourable Member: What words?

Madam Speaker: Has the guts.

An Honourable Member: Is that unparliamentary?

Madam Speaker: Yes. It has been ruled unparliamentary previously by other Speakers.

The honourable member for Dauphin, to continue.

Mr. Struthers: Madam Speaker, I also challenge anybody else across that way to come out to my area and debate me on this issue. Send anybody you like--Jules Benson, Barb Biggar--send somebody. [interjection] Mike Bessey, how about Mike Bessey?

Madam Speaker, this is the time for this government to be accountable, and I am giving you that chance to do so. [interjection] We could debate in Roblin, if you like.

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

Mr. Struthers: To complete?

Madam Speaker: Time has expired.

Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River): Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the government's attention the importance of the farm and rural stress line that they have ceased to fund and for them to recognize that it is truly unfortunate that they do not recognize the importance of this service. Despite the fact that farm organizations, farm businesses have offered their financial support to ensure that the line continues to operate, this government has refused to put funding in place. The Canadian Mental Health Association and the committee working to save the line have put forward other proposals but, again, the government will not recognize the importance of this service.

This government is prepared to spend $400,000 to promote their own propaganda on the sale of MTS but will not spend $80,000 on the rural stress line, which is a health and safety issue for rural Manitobans. This despite the fact, as I said, that many volunteers are working to have this line in place, giving of their time, and the government will not recognize the importance of it.

We have to remember that this government is also prepared to continue to fund services similar to this in Winnipeg, but they are abandoning rural Manitobans. This decision to eliminate the funding for the rural stress line will create a two-tier system and is completely unfair to rural Manitobans, but I guess one of the reasons they do not want to fund this line is because, when Manitoba Telephone System is privatized, they know that the costs are going to be much higher, and they do not want to be part of it.

* (1530)

So, Madam Speaker, this is a disgrace, on the part of this government and the backbenchers of this government who represent rural Manitobans, that they will not stand up for rural Manitobans and ensure that we have services and we have access to services equal to the people in Winnipeg. It is absolutely unfair and disgraceful on the part of this government.