Madam Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, I would like to draw the attention of all honourable members to the public gallery where we have this afternoon seventeen Grades 6 to 11 students from Riverbend Colony School under the direction of Mr. Robert Dyck. This school is located in the constituency of the honourable member for Gladstone (Mr. Rocan).
Also, we have twenty Grade 9 students from Westdale Junior High School under the direction of Mr. Michael Greenaway. This school is located in the constituency of Charleswood.
On behalf of all honourable members, I welcome you this afternoon.
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Long-Term Care Facility
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, when the Minister of Health was making media statements about the closure of the Misericordia Hospital and the conversion to long-term beds, and when the government released the press release on March 9, 1998, they failed to inform the public and the people of the province that this proposal was conditional and subject to a 20 percent requirement of the hospital to raise 20 percent of the capital for the project to go forward.
I would like to ask the minister: why did he mislead the public in his press release, first of all, and secondly, what impact will this have on beds? [interjection] Well, the Premier (Mr. Filmon) can answer this if he would ever answer a health care question. What impact will this have on beds and the conversion project?
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, first of all, the community contribution policy has been a matter of public record. It has been discussed in this House. I would expect the Leader of the Opposition to recall that debate. I can tell the member as well that, in all of our discussions with the board of directors of Misericordia Hospital, including the preliminary discussions that I had with the bishop and the sisters of Misericordia, the community contribution policy was discussed. I can tell the member as well that there are sponsors available for the first hundred-bed project to get underway this year, groups that I have met with that are involved with the Misericordia and want to be part co-sponsor with them. That should manage to meet that 20 percent requirement.
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, a further question to the minister. The minister in his releases and in his statements to the public failed to mention the full dimensions of the closure of Misericordia and its impact on patients who require breast care treatment programs here in the province of Manitoba.
Madam Speaker, the closure of the breast surgery program at the Misericordia will have very serious damage to the comprehensive breast care program located at the Misericordia Hospital. Did the minister consult with people and patients and women who are living with breast cancer here in the city of Winnipeg?
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, taken in the context of only the Misericordia announcement, there may be some credence to the Leader of the Opposition's comments. However, in the context of the changes that are going on with the Winnipeg Hospital Authority--and I can tell the member that there were great discussions with the people in charge of this area at the Winnipeg Hospital Authority. There is still a fair bit of planning and work to take place. If the member looks at some of the stories that have emerged on the treatment and detection of breast cancer, one of the issues that we have to deal with is how we organize and reorganize this particular area of very important health care service to operate in a more efficient manner with a greater continuum of care, and that certainly will be part of the planning for the whole overall program for the Winnipeg hospital system, not just one facility in isolation.
Mr. Doer: Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier (Mr. Filmon): you have developed, over the last four years, the comprehensive breast care programs at the Misericordia Hospital, programs that rely on a number of facets, including surgery. You are closing that down as you close down the Misericordia Hospital.
There were 4,000 patients and women affected by breast cancer and treated at the Misericordia Hospital. I would like to ask the Premier to order his Minister of Health to put these plans on hold until the government of Manitoba consults with patients who are dealing with cancer, breast cancer--put this program on hold. Those people should have been consulted before the government made their decision to close down this comprehensive program.
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, for one thing, think of the impossibility of what the Leader of the Opposition is proposing. Because we have provided a great deal of time in which to work out the details with Misericordia--we are not shutting down Misericordia Hospital next month--this process is going to take a number of years to rework these programs. That is why it was very important that we have the flexibility on labour relations that the member opposes so that we can give stability to the staff who are there.
Madam Speaker, by the time all of these changes are worked through and take place, the people that the member wishes--
Mr. Doer: On a point of order, Madam Speaker, this is the second question I have raised about consulting patients, and the Minister of Health is talking about labour relations and other matters. I would ask him to deal with the issues of dealing with patients who are affected, and I would ask you to call him to order.
Madam Speaker: The honourable Minister of Health, on the same point of order.
Mr. Praznik: Yes, Madam Speaker, I was just in the process of specifically answering the question when the member jumped from his seat to interrupt me.
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Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable Minister of Health, to complete his response.
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, the point of the matter is anyone who is in the system today is being treated on that system. Because of the time frames involved, the people that the member opposite wants me to consult with do not even know they are going to be in that program today.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I neglected to rule on the point of order by the honourable Leader of the official opposition. The honourable Leader of the official opposition did not have a point of order. The minister clarified that he was partially through and about to address the specifics of the question.
Breast Care Services
Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Breast cancer is a women's issue and this is why women like Dr. Virginia Fraser, for example, among others, envisioned, fought for, built and refined Misericordia Breast Care Clinic, a centre which offers nationally recognized comprehensive services and supports to women living with breast cancer. I would like to ask the minister why women with breast cancer, those now or in the future, are to be the victims of health care politics. That is to say, why is this government forcing the fragmentation of breast care services in order to respond to the personal care bed crisis, which this government has of course created? Why, Madam Speaker, are women and their families--
Madam Speaker: Order, please. The question has been put.
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, this government in its period of time in office has expanded breast cancer care, breast care in our province more than any other government in the history of Manitoba. We have put screening centres in a number of locations. We will be funding the two mobile screening programs as the next advancement. Just yesterday, specifically to the member's question, I read in the Winnipeg Free Press a story by Alexandra Paul who talks about some of the difficulties in the way the system is currently structured that fragment some of those services. Surely to goodness, the member for Osborne does not want to stand in the road of improving our programming for breast care for the entire city.
Madam Speaker: The honourable member for Osborne, with a supplementary question.
Ms. McGifford: Madam Speaker, I am of course on the side of the Misericordia Breast Care Clinic, in response to the minister.
Why, when the minister well knows that the breast care centre at Misericordia, built up over a period of years, serving 4,000 women a year, offers comprehensive services and supports, including diagnosis, surgery, reconstruction, physiotherapy, oncology, pastoral care, and I could go on--but the point is, why, when the minister knows that this kind of comprehensive service is essential to well-being and recovery, is he fragmenting these services, services which can save the lives of women? Why are Manitoba women not more important than that?
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, do not let the member for Osborne, for one moment, think that members of this side of the House are not concerned about breast cancer. This government has put a great deal of additional resources into breast cancer issues over the years in which we have been in administration. This is an issue that concerns all Manitobans, not just those of one political stripe. I can tell the member, she made a very telling point. She said she is in support of one program in the city of Winnipeg. This is about delivering programs for an entire city, for a province. It is about co-ordinating our resources to be able to deliver good programs throughout the system, not just in one isolated facility. I can tell the member that the best of the Misericordia program, certainly we want to preserve that, and certainly in the planning that will go on, we will want to be able to keep that whole holistic continuum of care together and ensure that we have an excellent program, and that is what I believe the Winnipeg Hospital Authority will be able to build for the entire city.
Ms. McGifford: Madam Speaker, the changes the Minister of Health is suggesting are about saving his political--
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I would remind the honourable member for Osborne, she was recognized for a second supplementary question, to which there is to be no postamble or preamble. The honourable member for Osborne, please pose your question now.
Ms. McGifford: Since the minister refuses to answer my questions, I want to ask the minister to consider a letter from a local breast advocacy group, from which I now quote: The recent announcements by the Winnipeg Hospital Authority to remove inpatient breast surgery as well as treatment and some support services from the Misericordia Hospital concerns all of us, as it is a direct contradiction to previously demonstrated commitments by the provincial government to women's health.
I would like to table this, Madam Speaker, and I would like to ask the minister if he will reconsider his rash decisions, meet with advocacy groups and perhaps even Virginia Fraser and her group of surgeons and promise Manitoba women to protect fully and in its entirety the Misericordia breast care program.
Mr. Praznik: The member talks about rash decisions. I can tell the member, from speaking to those who have been involved in health care for over two decades, governments of which the member has been a part, as well on this side, that changing the function and role of the Misericordia in the overall system of Winnipeg is something that has been talked about as a need in our system going back over 20 years.
So this is not a rash change in the function of Misericordia; if anything, it is one that is long overdue. I can tell the member that the team with the Winnipeg Hospital Authority, working with the Misericordia program, including the physicians who are part of that program, have the responsibility, and I have great confidence in them. I have great confidence in them, and they have the ability to make the decisions to put together and design those programs. I will not be standing over them and second-guessing their decisions.
So those people that are planning for the overall good of the system will carry on to ensure that the program is delivered well for the citizens of the entire city and province of Manitoba.
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Breast Care Services
Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): The breast care program at the Misericordia Hospital is a nationally known program. As one patient said, it is the only fully integrated, comprehensive breast care program offering diagnosis, treatment, education and counselling for patients and their partners in western Canada and one of only a few across the country.
This is something that Manitobans--they built it, they are proud of it. It is, in fact, the continuum of care, the holistic service that the minister talks about. I want to ask the minister, who claims that this is the end result of four years of study, who is prepared to break this program, to shatter it, to lay on the table the cost-benefit analysis, the analysis that says: this will benefit patients in Manitoba. Put that analysis on the table and let us see it.
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): The member refers to four years. I was referring to over 20--[interjection] No, Madam Speaker, I was referring to over 20 years of discussion within the Ministry of Health and amongst Winnipeg hospitals about a changing role for the Misericordia. The member is asking that we make decisions with the WHA for the future role of the facility, for the overall system, on the basis entirely of one program.
The breast program was considered in the discussions that took place in the planning for this change in function for Misericordia. It has to be done in the context of the changes that are going on over the overall system. This is not a matter of financial cost-benefit analysis. It is about getting the best use for health care for the patients across our entire system.
It is a far larger issue, and I believe very much that breast care will continue to be well served in our city.
Ms. Friesen: Will the minister, who cannot table anything, has not a single study that he is prepared to table in this Legislature and who wants us to believe that the sisters of Misericordia agreed to this change, will he now tell us how long he gave the sisters of Misericordia to agree to this decision? Was it 12 hours; was it 24 hours; was it any longer?
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, the proposal that was put to the sisters of Misericordia was made in the middle of October when the chair of the WHA, Mr. Neil Fast, and myself met at the Catholic Centre on Pembina Highway with the chief sister in Manitoba and with the archbishop. We talked about a change of function for the Misericordia Hospital that would give it three focuses: long-term care, a 24-hour urgency centre for the Wolseley community, which she serves, and thirdly, as a host for a number of ambulatory programs within the city of Winnipeg and some for the province of Manitoba. The detail of that, wanting to maximize the space and ability of that facility, would be worked out with the Winnipeg Hospital Authority. That was the concept that was put of course to the bishop and to the sisters of Misericordia, and the details around the third component, of course, would have to be worked out in the planning with the Winnipeg Hospital Authority.
Ms. Friesen: Would the minister, I think, account to this House, will he make a guarantee to the patients of Manitoba that they are not, under his plan, going to be sent from institution to institution, to be sent from pillar to post trying to find the kind of holistic care, the continuum of care that they had at the Misericordia? Will he make that guarantee now?
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, what I find intriguing about the member's comments is that yesterday in the Free Press there was a story that talks about patients who are being diagnosed with breast cancer having to travel with wires from one facility to another because that continuum is not there. What we are trying to address is not one particular program--and I agree wholeheartedly, they have a very good program at the Misericordia, and we want to be able to preserve that within the system--but it is important to make the whole program work for all Manitoba women right across the system, and that is what we support.
Ms. Friesen: Madam Speaker, my question was very clear; it was very simple, and it asked the minister to make a guarantee to the patients of Manitoba that they will not have to go from institution to institution. It was clear and it was simple. Answer the question.
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, I was explaining to the member that, under the current system that she defends, patients are going from one place to another and that is what we want to improve.
Madam Speaker: The honourable member for Wolseley did not have a point of order.
Breast Care Services
Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): Madam Speaker, after Misericordia Hospital was forced to close its labour and delivery unit, it converted some of the operating space and adjacent space for plastic surgery. Seven of the 11 plastic surgeons in Winnipeg operate out of that space, and one of the major services they provide is breast reconstructive surgery. These two units go together. The plastic surgeons have been told that they cannot stay at Misericordia Hospital. They put a new unit in, they modified operating rooms in the last six months, now they are going to shut it down. What kind of planning is that for the women and for those who need plastic surgery in this city?
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Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Health): Madam Speaker, we have within the city of Winnipeg seven acute care facilities. Many of those facilities that are much more modern and much better state-of-the-art facilities have underutilized operating space. We are attempting through the Winnipeg Hospital Authority to get the best use out of our best space, and the member--and I am sure he has toured the Misericordia--would know that one of the problems facing the Misericordia Hospital is that it requires a very significant capital upgrade. So one of the difficulties facing the overall system is do you invest the money in rebuilding a significantly older building in its entirety when you have underutilized capacity in other facilities. Well, that does not make any common sense, and so that looks at, if you are going to spend money, what functions do you need to perform. We have worked on a plan that I think is long in coming, that gives the Misericordia a role that fills unmet needs in our system.
Mr. Sale: Madam Speaker, will the minister simply sit down with Dr. Virginia Fraser, who will tell him that it is not feasible in terms of good quality medical care to fragment the surgery for those needing breast care away from diagnosis, follow-up support, plastic surgery reconstruction and any other services they and their families may need in order to enjoy comprehensive, effective, quality medical care? Will he at least sit down with this surgeon who has recruited four other doctors at great time and expense to put together the best breast care program that we have, and now he is taking apart--will he meet with that doctor and talk with her?
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, I can tell the member for Crescentwood that Dr. Brian Postl and his team at the Winnipeg Hospital Authority, who have the responsibility to make decisions on how programming will be put together and who do this work, will be meeting, will be wanting to work with those physicians. One has to appreciate that the change in function at the Misericordia, as members have identified, is that it will no longer be an acute facility. It will host a number of programs; it will be part of programs, but it allows the overall system to get the best use out of our--and meet our acute care needs.
I would just hope that, for one moment, members opposite would be able to rise above a specific within that system and look at what is good for the overall system.
Mr. Sale: Madam Speaker, will this minister at least have the integrity to confirm today that Dr. Brian Postl told the board of Misericordia Hospital that there is no long-term plan, that he does not know and has no idea how to accommodate the breast care program, that Dr. Fraser raised the questions in that meeting 12 hours before this minister required an answer from that board? Will he at least have the courage to acknowledge that Dr. Brian Postl says there is no plan, they have no idea how to keep this program together?
Mr. Praznik: Madam Speaker, time and time again we have seen members of the opposition, particularly the member for Crescentwood, exaggerate and take out of context remarks. So I do not believe the way in which he brings any statements, whether they are--
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Sale: Madam Speaker, the words of the minister which he is attempting to put on the record impute some kind of motive to me as a member of this Legislature. I was simply quoting Dr. Fraser, Dr. Murray, members of the board of Misericordia Hospital who told me that the meeting with Dr. Postl involved a 12-hour deadline. They wanted the answer tonight or tomorrow morning because it was in the budget and they wanted to announce it. He should not impute motives.
Madam Speaker: I will take the point of order raised by the honourable member for Crescentwood under advisement so I can very quickly and very carefully review the comments put on record by the honourable Minister of Health.
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Praznik: If members would please do me the courtesy of answering, I would very much appreciate that opportunity. [interjection]
Madam Speaker: Order, please. The honourable Minister of Health, to complete his response.
Mr. Praznik: Thank you, Madam Speaker. There were lots of discussions going on between the management and board and Dr. Postl and the Winnipeg Hospital Authority. Now it is my understanding that Misericordia did not involve their own physician groups until the latter stages, but, yes, there was some pressure to come to a decision, because we have sponsors who are waiting for decisions on the commitment of personal care home beds. If Misericordia was not prepared to accept that new role, I have to get on with finding new sponsors for particularly the first hundred beds to get in the ground, which I am sure the honourable member would want to see happen.
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Capital Funding
Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Given that the minister has announced in his budget that he would be building nursing homes in our province, could the minister indicate to this House if he is considering borrowing some money from the Stabilization Fund to build these new nursing homes?
Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Madam Speaker, the majority of the contributions for our health capital come from borrowings, but some of the health capital is done through our annual operating expenditures, and in this budget we also did set aside a $50-million draw from our stabilization account to go towards one-time capital initiatives. I outlined all of them very clearly in the budget; $5 million is going to highways, $5 million to residential streets. Out of that there is a contribution being made towards some additional health care capital equipment, most likely in the area of CT scans, MRI equipment, and so on. In fact, it is going to be a $5-million contribution this year and an additional $5-million contribution in the '98-99 budget for a total of $10 million of additional capital dedicated for equipment required in our health care system.
Budget
Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): My first supplementary question to the same minister: how does the per capita education budget compare with the province's accumulated debt?
Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of Finance): Madam Speaker, I think the member for St. Boniface can certainly do those calculations. He can take our total debt--our tax-supported debt in Manitoba is approximately $6.8 billion. He can certainly take that and divide it by the population of Manitoba and end up with our per capita tax-supported debt. You can look at our budget and look at our total spending. If he is looking at our total spending on education, he can look at the total allocation to education in our 1998 budget and again divide that by our population, if that is the information that he is looking for.
If he requires any additional specifics and he gives me the request, I am more than prepared to provide that for him.
Mr. Gaudry: Can the minister tell us how this compares with other provinces?
Mr. Stefanson: When it comes to issues like, first of all, our debt, when we look at issues like our per capita debt, percentage of our revenue or the percentage of our expenditures that go to service debt, we fare amongst the best in all of Canada. We are usually second or third lowest in those areas, and again, that is a recognition of our lower levels of debt and the numerous things that have been done to address the issue of debt here in Manitoba. So we stack up very well.
When you look at our total expenditures on education, particularly public school education--now that is our total expenditures--I believe, again, that we rank consistently either third or fourth most in all of Canada. So again, in terms of total government commitment, that is a combination of direct support from the provincial government and the funding that comes from the property tax base. Our total public spending on education stacks up very well on a comparative basis within Canada.
Child Abuse Case Processing Time
Mr. Gord Mackintosh (St. Johns): To the Minister of Justice. It was in May of 1994 that Statistics Canada, in a report authored by Professor Jane Ursel, revealed the shocking statistic that the processing time for child abuse cases in Manitoba frequently extended beyond 18 months. The then Justice minister rose in this House and promised to prioritize child abuse cases within the court system.
I ask the minister: will he tell the families and victims of child abuse in Manitoba, whether it is the minister's perception that the processing time for such cases has now improved some four years later?
Hon. Vic Toews (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): Madam Speaker, as I have stated before, my department and the judiciary in Manitoba have undertaken to do what is needed to ensure that child sexual abuse cases in Manitoba are adjudicated and fully prosecuted before the court in a manner which is sensitive to the needs of the child abuse victim.
I know that the figure--I cannot quote the accuracy of the figure given by the member for St. Johns, but certainly the figures that I have, in respect of the trial dates available, are not what the member for St. Johns indicates.
Mr. Mackintosh: Could the minister explain why he oversees a justice system where child molesters and child rapists do not face justice for up to two years and more, Madam Speaker, while other children are put at risk by the offender on bail while the case weakens with memory as it fades, but there is no counselling and the case hangs over the victimized child? I ask the minister: will he now support a child victim court for Manitoba and fast-track trials for child victim cases?
Mr. Toews: Madam Speaker, the Crown attorney's office and the courts are in frequent contact in respect of what is the best way of delivering services. For example, in response to the Lavoie inquiry, there were certain recommendations made by a judge of the Queen's Bench who stated that there should be a separate domestic violence bail court, and my department was very, very supportive of that. Unfortunately, the judges, who are independent, turned down that recommendation of the other judge.
So what we need to do is work together with the judges. I want to assure the people of Manitoba that I will respect the independence of the judges, but I am concerned about the timeliness of any trial. I know that the Crown attorneys are constantly endeavouring to ensure that time-sensitive trials are brought to trial as quickly as possible.
Layoffs
Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Madam Speaker, when this government sold off MTS just over a year ago with no mandate from the people of the province, they stated, and I would like to indicate on May 7, 1996, the Premier said that the sale would not lead to layoffs. This is repeated by Tom Stefanson, the chair of MTS. Of course, this is the same Premier who also said that we would end up with a Manitoba-owned company. We now have 80 percent of the shares owned outside of this province.
I would like to ask the Premier if he can confirm that MTS has just announced further permanent layoffs today as part of its workforce reduction of 350 positions they announced in January, a complete contradiction of the Premier's words.
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Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, without accepting the voracity of any of the preamble of the member for Thompson--
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Madam Speaker: Order, please.
Mr. Filmon: My response to the question is that consistently throughout the debate what we said was that MTS would not take actions in private ownership that were different from the actions they were taking in public ownership with respect to rate setting, with respect to analysis of work distribution or anything else. In fact, I pointed out consistently that in public ownership, they had removed and reduced some 1,700 positions, and that as long as they continued to be in a competitive environment they would have to be operated economically, efficiently and cost-effectively, and that their actions as a corporation would have to be to ensure that they continued to be competitive, regardless of whether they were publicly owned or privately owned.
I point out to him that Saskatchewan telephone system is also in the process and has over the recent years been reducing its workforce in order to remain competitive, and this is a continuation of the policies that the telephone company has to pursue in order to be competitive in a competitive environment.
Mr. Ashton: Madam Speaker, I would like to table a copy of the press release from MTS that was issued today, also a copy of the news report when the Premier said that the sale of MTS would not lead to layoffs.
I would like to ask the Premier if he can confirm that, as a result of the policies of the newly privatized company, despite the representation on the board of government appointees, we are seeing closures of MTS functions in Portage, Steinbach, Morden. We are seeing SaskTel now recruiting our highly skilled telephone personnel, that in fact once again we have seen that the Premier not only did not tell the truth to the people in the election about MTS but what he said during the sale of MTS is not true. There are layoffs. It is owned outside of the province. He was wrong.
Mr. Filmon: Madam Speaker, I will compare our record of protecting the public interest versus that of the member opposite any time. When the member opposite and his colleagues were responsible for running the telephone system, they poured $27 million out on the sands of Saudi Arabia without one benefit to the people of Manitoba, and that is the way they conduct a business.
Northern Flood Agreement
Mr. Oscar Lathlin (The Pas): Madam Speaker, in 1977 Manitoba Hydro, with Canada's and Manitoba's governments, entered into a treaty with the Crees to address the effects of the flooding of their community in Cross Lake. The Crees in Cross Lake were promised fair and equitable treatment, programs that would eradicate mass poverty and unemployment and also to replace the land that was to be flooded. I would like to table a letter to the Chamber this afternoon, a letter that was written by the Minister of Northern Affairs (Mr. Newman) to the people of Cross Lake, and at the same time ask the minister to see if this type of a letter, the tone of this letter will go towards the resolution of the issue in Cross Lake.
Hon. David Newman (Minister responsible for Native Affairs): Madam Speaker, yes.
Mr. Lathlin: Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier again what he has to say to a release that was made by Dr. Ted Moses in Geneva yesterday, when he appeared before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, where he said: I have visited more than once with my Cree brothers in Manitoba. This is a blatant example of governmental breach of treaty and human rights obligations. It is shocking that in a country like Canada indigenous people should have to resort to blockades to vindicate their fundamental human rights.
I would like to table that release today and ask the Premier: in the context that this Minister of Northern Affairs has continually admonished the chief and council of Cross Lake, telling them they should be ashamed of what they are doing--I would like to ask the Premier if he is ashamed of what he is doing and also to respond to Ted Moses' press release.
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Madam Speaker, I can tell the member for The Pas that since this government has been in office it has negotiated in good faith to resolve issues that had been outstanding for two and three decades vis-a-vis our relationship as a province and a government with our aboriginal brothers and sisters, particularly in northern Manitoba. I can think of us reopening, voluntarily, settlements that had been completed with respect to South Indian Lake, with respect to Grand Rapids, where we put more than $30 million into claims that had already been settled and signed off legally.
In particular, the Northern Flood Agreement that had languished without any progress whatsoever for six and a half years under New Democratic administration, four of the five First Nations have settled through negotiations, with hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into those First Nations. I can say that we have operated in negotiating in good faith to resolve outstanding treaty land entitlements to almost 30 First Nations in this province through the process of negotiation that has taken place during our term in office, things that were never able to be resolved under New Democrats.
This government has operated in good faith, has negotiated to try and arrive at fair and reasonable settlements, and I might say four of the five First Nations involved in the Northern Flood Agreement have resolved their issues and have settled with hundreds of millions of dollars being flowed to those First Nations. I think that is a record of which we can be very, very proud. I say to the member opposite, rather than stir up discontent and conflict, he ought to get involved in attempting to ensure that the people of Cross Lake come to the table to complete the negotiations for the benefit of all of the people of Cross Lake.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. Time for Oral Questions has expired.