Mr. Denis Rocan (Gladstone): I rise today as the newly nominated Conservative candidate in the Carman constituency. I thank all well wishes from each and every one of you.

I do rise today to congratulate the Glenboro Collegiate Varsity Boys Panthers Basketball Team for recently capturing the provincial A basketball title at the finals in Lac du Bonnet. The provincial cup is the first in the history of basketball at the Glenboro Collegiate. The Panthers went into the weekend competition under the capable coaching of physical education teacher, Rick Scott, and the managerial skills of Elin Rawlings.

The players knew that winning the championship would not be easy, but they were well prepared for the championship game against Boissevain. The result was a 71-40 victory. Along with the coveted cup, some of the Panthers also took home individual honours. Trent Hamilton was chosen as the tournament's most valuable player. Marcel Vallotton and Travis Hamilton were named tournament all-stars. The Panthers' victory caps off a winning season for the Glenboro Collegiate. The school also won the provincial volleyball championship, and they won their zones for curling and golf.

Once again, congratulations to the Glenboro Panthers for their winning season. Your hard work and dedication has paid off handsomely.

Thank you to all members.

Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to voice my support and the support of our party for the historic first step towards greater autonomy for South Indian Lake. Yesterday the incorporation of South Indian Lake under The Northern Affairs Act was indeed an historic event. It is an important intermediate step. The next step will be full reserve status for South Indian Lake.

I was very happy yesterday to be able to participate in the celebrations at South Indian Lake. I thank the elders. I thank Mayor Joan Soulier and her council, Darren Ottaway, the town administrator, and the many volunteers. They put on a truly imposing northern feast.

Over a quarter of a century ago, Hydro development in South Indian Lake did create a very profitable situation for the province of Manitoba, but it almost devastated a beautiful community. In fact, it did devastate the old community. The traditional livelihood based on fishing, based on hunting, based on trapping was severely disrupted. Now the community has tried very hard to build itself back up again, Madam Speaker, and I am proud of this community. I am proud of its tenacity. I am proud of the fact that they went out of their way to find new markets, golden caviar and so on.

There are outstanding issues, however, so we are happy on the one hand about the incorporation, but we are still not happy with some of the outstanding issues relating to the flood agreement, particularly the all-weather road to South Indian Lake which has never been built. So celebration on the one hand, yes, but mindfulness on the other hand that much needs to be done.

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I want to thank all those who helped this community on its way to self-sufficiency and independence, and I am very proud to be able to represent that beautiful part of Manitoba. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Marcel Laurendeau (St. Norbert): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House as a newly nominated candidate for St. Norbert constituency and speak about a Manitoban whom we should all be proud of.

She has made tremendous contributions to the culture and identity of this province and has recently received public recognition for this. Manitoba's own Carol Shields was recently named an Officer of the Order of Canada. This is the highest honour a Canadian can receive and there is no doubt Ms. Shields deserves this distinction. This latest accolade comes in addition to the Governor General's Literary Award and the Booker Prize, which she has already received for her fine work of fiction.

Ms. Shields' novels vividly paint a portrait of this province and the country in which we live. The Stone Diaries, in particular, aptly describe the Tyndall and Garson regions of the province, as well as the city of Winnipeg in the earlier part of this century. When we are exposed to our own symbols and traditions in literature, Madam Speaker, we experience a sense of pride that stems from familiarity. Our collective identity is reinforced.

Ms. Shields' work also touches on many familiar human themes, truly making her novels accessible to all who read them. I recommend her work–The Stone Diaries, Happenstance, Swann, and Larry's Party, amongst others–to all members of this House and to all people of this province.

I wish to congratulate Ms. Shields for her latest honour which has been bestowed upon her and thank her for her contributions to the literary tradition of this province. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River): Madam Speaker, we on this side of the House are pleased that the confrontation at Grand Rapids ended peacefully and without incident. The provincial government should be under no illusions that this issue is over now; instead the province needs to finally work with the Grand Rapids fishermen's co-op, the Town of Grand Rapids, and the Grand Rapids First Nations to resolve the outstanding issues involved in this dispute.

The people of Grand Rapids have been extremely patient over the years anticipating to negotiate for assistance as the fishery declines. Sadly, their calls have fallen on deaf ears. The fishery in Grand Rapids has declined seriously over the past years with little recognition from this government. Alfie Cook, president of Grand Rapids Fisheries Co-Op; Robert Buck, the mayor of Grand Rapids; and Harold Turner, Chief of Grand Rapids, have all worked to better the fisheries and the community of Grand Rapids.

The provincial government needs to learn the true meaning of partnership. Restoring the fishery at Grand Rapids should be a priority of this government. All Manitobans benefit from the Hydro power generated in northern Manitoba and from the dams such as Grand Rapids. It is only fair that the people who have paid great sacrifices to have these dams built are acknowledged and assisted as they work to rebuild their economy and maintain their way of life.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, I believe this government should be very concerned about the decline in real wages of Manitoba workers, as I indicated this morning in Question Period. There is no doubt about it that the trend has been very poor in terms of Manitoba versus Canada. Whereas the Canadian average has risen by 2.7 percent in this past decade, the Manitoba average weekly wage has declined by 2.8 percent, which means in effect that we, as a percentage of the Canadian average, have deteriorated.

In 1988 Manitoba, as a percent of Canadian average wages, was 91.7 percent, but 10 years later, last year, 1998, we had declined to 86.7 percent. Putting it in real terms or in dollar terms, in 1988 Manitoba workers on average earned $38.40 less per week than the national average, but by 1998 this had increased to a gap of $62.95, in other words almost $63 per week less than the Canadian average.

Madam Speaker, the question then arises: why is this the case? Why are Manitoba workers worse off today than when this administration was first elected in '98? There is other data that supports this assertion that I have. I think the solution–not the solution but the answer to that question can be found in the makeup of our labour force. We have more low-paying jobs. The increase in low-paying jobs is out of proportion to the increase in lower-paying jobs in the rest of the country. Yes, some people may like telemarketing jobs, but they tend to be low-wage jobs, and the more lower-wage jobs we get, the worse our position is going to be relative to the rest of the country. Thank you.