Hon. Darren Praznik (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, I believe we have tabled the sequence of Estimates that the Clerk should have. There was one error that the opposition House leader and I corrected. The Department of Housing showed on two spots on that list. [interjection] Yes, I know the minister was quite excited about having two sets of Estimates, but the correct place for that department was not, I believe, on the Chamber side, but rather in Room 255. I think that was corrected and initialed in the sequence that was tabled. [interjection]

Oh, absolutely, and it has been filed, and I have copies for members of the House. So any member who would like it–I have for Mr. Lamoureux.

Madam Speaker, I would now move, seconded by the honourable Minister of Natural Resources (Mr. Cummings), that Madam Speaker do now leave the Chair and the House resolve itself into a committee to consider of the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty.

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Mr. Chairperson (Gerry McAlpine): Order, please. Will the Committee of Supply please come to order. This section of the Committee of Supply will be considering the Estimates of the Department of Education and Training. Does the honourable Minister of Education and Training have an opening statement?

Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Education and Training): Yes, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure for me to be here to present opening remarks to mark the beginning of the Estimates process for the Department of Education and Training.

I am very grateful, as Minister of Education and Training, to have the opportunity to work in partnership with so many hardworking, talented groups and individuals dedicated to helping our students become some of the best educated in the country.

Indeed, Nuala Beck recently pointed out that in Manitoba we have a high level of highly skilled people. Some 39 percent of our workforce falls into that category, and Ms. Beck points out that is among the best of records anywhere in the world. That is something that we should be proud of. We should also use that to remind us that we want to stay there and improve that record even further because the more highly educated our workforce becomes, the more satisfying life in Manitoba will be.

Whether it be work to create effective classroom learning environments, to teach, establish school plans, run divisions or institutions, volunteer at schools or assist children with their homework, the efforts of all partners are working to transform for the better the standard and quality of education provided to Manitoba students. Through continued collaboration and teamwork, we can continue to accomplish and achieve many wonderful things for the education system and for our students.

In my short time as minister, I have made efforts to consult with many different education stakeholders, and I look forward to ongoing consultation and dialogue with all educational partners. Meaningful partnership allows all of us to better understand the challenges and opportunities that exist today and to continue the important work of ensuring our students' success now and in the future.

I am pleased to note the efforts of the honourable member for Pembina (Mr. Dyck) as legislative assistant to the Minister of Education and Training. The honourable member for Pembina has distinguished himself in his private life and now also in his public life in his dedication to duty and his commitment, and I personally have appreciated his assistance in the onerous conduct of the responsibilities of this department. I thought I would say that since he is listening at this moment.

Our government continues to make education one of our top-funding priorities, second only to health care. In the last 10 years, education spending in Manitoba has increased to 19.3 percent of total spending as of 1998-99, up from the 17.7 percent commitment of the previous administration. This has been achieved despite the challenges facing us earlier this decade, when our country went through the second-worst recession on record. It has been achieved despite the massive reductions in transfer payments from the federal government. It has been achieved despite the massive debt load Manitobans have carried on their shoulders.

When I think that the cumulative effect of debt payments in Manitoba over the last 11 years exceeds $6 billion, and I think of all that we could do if we had had $6 billion at our disposal over these last 11 years, it boggles the mind and renders somewhat suspect the whole debate about commitment. Nonetheless, these are responsibilities Manitobans have had foisted on them and we will continue to discharge that debt. Unfortunately, it does not take very many years to put us into that situation, but it takes a lot more years to get us out. I hope that it is a lesson for us and a lesson for future generations.

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Our schools have improved over the years. We have taken a very good education system, which brought us to the point Nuala Beck spoke of, and it has made that system better. We have to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that all our students are learning to their maximum potential.

My government's vision for education renewal is very clear. Manitoba students, in an environment of inclusion, care, support, safety and rigour, will be among the best educated in Canada. This vision is supported by a belief for each student in high standards for academic achievement, the establishment of a personal desire for lifelong learning, and a fulfilment of their individual potential. Those are high-sounding words. Making it happen is certainly the challenge, and we recognize how great a challenge that is.

My government believes that all students should have the opportunity to achieve success at school, and that is our responsibility, in partnership with the education community, to provide our students with a high-quality of education. To that end, my government is continuing to introduce world-class standards measured through province-wide standards testing as a means of ensuring our students are learning at the levels required by today's society and to provide both students and parents with accurate, well-balanced and well-rounded profiles of students' growth and achievement. This also serves as an assist to teachers in their work.

As part of an overall effort to better inform the decision-making process, my government is working in consultation with stakeholders to develop a series of indicators. Through these indicators, government will be able to establish reliable base-line data in support of greater accountability. Manitobans have told the government they wanted higher standards, better programs, more parental and community involvement and the integration of technology in the classroom. We have responded with measures that give our students a strong educational foundation and the fundamental skills for success.

Consistently, the government's goal throughout this process has been to ensure that our young people can read, write, think, compute and solve problems at a high level. A defining feature of the improvements to the education system includes an increased emphasis on the four foundation skill areas of literacy and communication, problem solving, human relations and technology. Another area of fundamental importance is special education. We welcomed the recent Special Education Review which we commissioned that provided us with a number of sound recommendations. It is clear that this issue is larger than something government alone can address. It is a societal issue that needs the co-operation of all partners, including parents, teachers, trustees and government all working together.

In my initial time as minister and in my consultations with all of these partners in education, I have detected a clear willingness to do just that, Mr. Chairman, to work together. There is a clear recognition that special education issues are issues for every child and every student, every parent and every teacher in the education system. If we can handle special education issues effectively, everybody benefits. Implementation will be costly, certainly not something government can do in one fiscal year, but we are addressing this. Most recently, in our first step in implementing the recommendations, our government announced an additional $2 million for this year to help meet the needs of students aged five to 12 who are at risk of failing due to behavioural difficulties, bringing our total commitment to special needs and students at risk to $111 million, double the level of funding a decade ago.

The government is committed to accelerating opportunities for all Manitoba children by continuing to create inclusive learning communities. As well, government has facilitated the special needs administrative process for schools and provided key resource supports like Success For All Learners: A Handbook on Differentiating Instruction, and Individual Education Planning to assist schools in their provision of high quality educational opportunities for all children.

The government is continuing its work to improve interdepartmental co-ordination in order to enhance service delivery for children, families and schools. The government also recognizes the importance of laying the groundwork for success early on. This government has increased its ongoing support for early intervention programs and expanded the tremendously successful Early Literacy Initiative.

Results from this program indicate that struggling learners are benefiting significantly from intensive one-to-one instruction from trained Reading Recovery teachers. Research indicates that over 75 percent of these Grade 1 students will require no further assistance in reading and writing because of early intervention. This program ties in to my government's recognition that early identification and intervention is a key to prevention and ultimately to success.

Literacy is an important building block for student success, and the government wants to instill in our children a love of learning and ensure that all Manitobans have the opportunity to learn to read and write. Prevention and early intervention are key components of our commitment to look at the whole child and the whole system. The education system will continue to be strengthened through emphasis on the core subjects, the estabishment of regular assessment to measure student performance and by providing parents and the community with greater opportunities for involvement.

Through information sharing, consultation and partnership, my government wants to give parents a strong voice in school decision making. Parental involvement strengthens student learning, and as our children's first teachers, parents play a vitally important role in shaping a child's love of learning. The government introduced legislation to enact advisory councils for school leadership, effectively strengthening the role of parents and enhancing opportunities for meaningful involvement.

As well, the government provides resources and supports to the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils. I recently held a series of consultations with parents that will be instrumental in shaping the future of parental involvement. I am committed to working with parents and parent groups for the benefit of Manitoba students. I have to say that that experience, in addition to being a learning experience for me as a minister, was an extremely enjoyable experience to meet with some 600 parents and others across Manitoba who care so much about what is happening with the kids in our schools. It certainly was indeed an education for me, even though I am a parent and have had many of the experiences they have had. It is wonderful to see the commitment that Manitobans feel.

If we are to ensure our children are prepared to compete and succeed in today's global marketplace, we have to ensure that they are being provided with the skills and tools that will allow them to do so. To help students develop important skill sets in an information age, the government has increased the level of technology resources available to all Manitoba students. Total annual spending for this area has now reached just under $10 million.

In order to increase access to computers in the classroom, the government provides ongoing support of $200,000 for the innovative Computers for Schools and Libraries program, which uses donated computers, refurbishes them, and distributes them to schools. It is a good idea. It also makes sense in terms of not wasting these resources and not having them end up as environmental issues.

My government has also donated over 7,000 computers and computer parts to the program. The government will provide a further $5 million in new funding for wiring and cabling for computer and computer network installation, Internet linkages and curriculum-based technology requirements in schools.

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The government has established a special operating agency, MERLIN, to provide cost-effective technology products and services to the education community. MERLIN continues to provide substantive cost savings in the provision of technology services as demonstrated by a recent negotiation of a special academic rate with Microsoft to reduce the costs of software to Manitoba's educational institutions.

As well, the government has developed a technology continuum that integrates the development of technology skills for students throughout the curriculum. These initiatives support the integration of technology into teaching and learning and reflect its importance as a key foundation skill.

To ensure Manitoba is able to retain a skilled and knowledgeable teaching force, the government has provided additional supports and resources for professional development opportunities.

The government also continues to partner with stakeholder groups to develop appropriate strategies and action plans so that teacher education programs and certification requirements can adapt and be supported as change occurs.

We have increased funding for public schools by $17.7 million for the 1999-2000 school year, with a further commitment of at least an overall 2 percent increase next year.

This increase, in addition to the special needs funding announcement, brings our funding commitment to public schools to 2.6 percent for 1999-2000. This commitment represents an increase of over $149 million to public schools since 1987. Schools will be able to usher in the new millennium with a capital commitment from government of $77.6 million for Manitoba's public schools and the children they serve.

This significant commitment consists of the regular capital support program, dollars under the Aging Buildings Program, and a further commitment to the Aging Buildings Program of $30 million. As a result of this funding, more than 250 capital projects will be initiated, benefiting virtually all school divisions and districts in the province. Also, more than 1,000 construction-related jobs will be created in implementing these initiatives.

As part of our efforts to support continuing education beyond the K to S4 system, I was also pleased recently to announce more than $12 million in additional support to the province's post-secondary institutions, an increase of 4.3 percent over last year's support. This additional funding brings the total provincial support to this area to just under $299 million. Further, we are committed to increasing overall post-secondary funding by a minimum of 2 percent next year.

Manitoba currently enjoys some of the lowest tuition fees in the country. As part of a concerted effort to ensure post-secondary education remains affordable and accessible, we introduced a $25-million five-year commitment to the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative. We are committing up to $5 million annually to match eligible contributions dollar for dollar. Up to 10,000 students can benefit from the initiative each year. The $5,000 we make available brings out another $5 million from the community. Indications are that all those dollars will be matched. That means the student comes out the winner.

In addition to the provincial contribution, post-secondary institutions have raised $11 million for the Scholarship and Bursary Initiative in the last two years. This initiative, combined with the Manitoba Learning Tax Credit, is helping to provide students with valuable support to offset tuition costs. Our Manitoba Learning Tax Credit, the only one of its kind in Canada, offers a 7 percent refundable tax credit for a student's post-secondary tuition costs, up to $700 per student. This credit will contribute $15 million in support to Manitoba students and their families. Through our participation in the national harmonized student loans program, we are reducing duplication and providing better assistance to students and recent graduates.

In 1999-2000, we will devote $2.2 million to our interest relief and debt-reduction program. More recently, additional funds in support of full-time post-secondary students are being provided through the Canada Millennium Scholarships. Starting in January 2000 and for the next 10 years, approximately 36,000 Canada Millennium Scholarships will be distributed to students in Manitoba, representing some $108 million in additional funds for student financial assistance.

I was very pleased last week to be the minister from Manitoba who was honoured to be able to sign that agreement with the federal government. Often we find ourselves to be critical of the federal government, but on this particular occasion there was nothing to criticize. We are delighted to be able to take advantage of the Canada Millennium Scholarships.

Another exciting development is the Colleges Growth Plan, developed to expand student enrollment and college programming to respond to provincial labour market needs. We have allocated $4 million for this growth plan, which is expected to increase enrollment by an estimated 1,000 students. This plan will help meet labour market needs by expanding high-demand college programs and creating new ones. The Colleges Growth Plan has been designed to expand enrollment in programs with significant waiting lists. This was raised recently by the honourable member for Wolseley (Ms. Friesen), the issue of people waiting on lists to take advantage of education opportunities in our colleges.

There will be programs that respond to aboriginal students and programs that use educational technologies, as well as programs consistent with the demands of the growing provincial economy. It is very important that we match education opportunities with the real opportunities that exist in the workplace at a time when Manitoba can take advantage of growth opportunities. We are also allocating $1.3 million to the Post-Secondary Strategic Initiatives Fund with $800,000 targeted for strategic program development at the universities and $500,000 for system restructuring within colleges and/or universities. These funds are provided for new and innovative ways of providing education to Manitobans.

Further, we are continuing our commitment to the Manitoba Innovations Fund to provide support for the acquisition and development of research infrastructure at the universities and colleges. This $35 million-five-year commitment enhances Manitoba as a centre of innovation. As well, we are providing $16 million to assist post-secondary institutions in meeting their capital requirements. Of this amount $14 million has been allocated to specific projects, and a new fund of $2 million has been established to address priority restoration projects at the universities.

Our efforts to create a strong education system, supported in the context of a healthy economy, are showing results. Our economy continues to grow, and our employment picture is strong. To ensure that all Manitobans can take advantage of the growing number of job opportunities in our province, we are expanding our Apprenticeship Program, focusing our Youth Employment programs and targeting training to available job opportunities.

The capacity of our apprenticeship system will be doubled to support 6,000 apprentices. We are devoting an additional $2.4 million to further expand our in-school Apprenticeship Program. Doubling the size of the system will improve the range, quality and accessibility of apprenticeship training programs. This will provide the diverse sectors of Manitoba industry with the skilled workforce they require for growth and will widen career opportunities for Manitobans as skilled qualified individuals.

We are also continuing our work to develop new opportunities for our young people. For example, in the past year we introduced three new programs: Business Mentorships, Youth Serves Manitoba, and Part-time STEP programs to increase the flexibility for students in obtaining work experience. Last year 16,000 young Manitobans took advantage of youth employment programming. In 1999-2000, we will provide over $7 million for these programs. The government also funds, co-ordinates and supports the development and delivery of workplace and community-based adult literacy programming, including family literacy and literacy with an employability focus. I am pleased to provide an additional $100,000 to community-based literacy in keeping with a five-year commitment made by the Premier of Manitoba.

Our government helped almost 10,000 Manitobans develop the skills and knowledge they needed to find jobs last year, and we will continue our efforts to provide EI claimants with access to training opportunities that complement the needs of the provincial economy. My government is also committed to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development, that is, our ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The government is working with the Manitoba Round Table on Sustainable Development on an education strategy to increase knowledge and awareness of the importance of sustainable practices.

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Starting at an early age and continuing throughout the learning experience, the government is committed to sustainable development as an important decision-making process that achieves a balance between quality of life, the economy and the environment. The government is also committed to continuing the important work of partnering with the aboriginal community and to assuring success with high-quality educational opportunities that recognize and include aboriginal perspectives throughout the learning experience. One successful initiative is Partners for Careers. Government is directing an additional $100,000 for this program in 1999-2000, with our total expenditure reaching $400,000. This job placement program has helped place 520 unemployed aboriginal high school, college and university graduates in career-oriented entry-level positions with private-sector employers.

I am also pleased that we signed an agreement with the Manitoba Association of Friendship Centres that will double the size and reach of the Partners for Careers program. The agreement is supported with provincial funding of $550,000. Additionally, over the past year this government has undertaken a number of actions to help strengthen aboriginal education and training in this province. Firstly, the role and mandate of the Native Education Directorate has been significantly expanded to ensure a greater voice in all areas related to aboriginal education and training. Secondly, the government continues its efforts to increase graduation rates of aboriginal students, increase aboriginal labour market participation and strengthen partnerships with aboriginal communities.

Finally, many steps have been taken to ensure programming is responsive to the needs and aspirations of aboriginal people through ongoing teacher preservice and in-service initiatives. The government will continue to work with all education partners to help meet the needs and aspirations of aboriginal people. My government believes that all students can achieve success at school, and further, that all Manitobans should have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The government is committed to investing in the future of our most valuable resource, our people. As we continue our work to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the new millennium, I would like to express my thanks to our education partners for their continuing efforts, commitment, and dedication to our students.

Our education system is changing for the better, and that is translating into prosperous futures for our young people. More people are working in our province than ever before. Manitoba gained almost 22,000 new jobs in the private sector in the past two years. Our province also enjoys the lowest unemployment and youth unemployment rates in the country. We live in a wonderful province that is poised for sustainable economic growth, growth that is creating additional opportunities for our young people to build successful lives for themselves right here at home.

Lastly, I would just like to say that it has just been about three months that I have been Minister of Education and Training. I have been quite taken as a new minister by the legacy of progress with which I have been left. I can take off my hat to my predecessor and her predecessor and I guess her predecessor, because I come into a system where everywhere I go, the people–maybe I left one or two off–but the people involved, you know, I guess I could even go back further than that and say that other Education ministers before the ones of the present administration played their role and did their part as ministers, but other people did too, all throughout the piece.

It is a pretty gratifying experience to come into an education system that is not without challenges but has already greeted and met and succeeded in meeting many, many challenges already to put us in the position that we are, economically and socially, as a place to live here in Manitoba. So it is a proud thing for me to do, to take on the job as Minister of Education and Training. I take the duties very seriously.

I have also been very pleased to be met and greeted by a department and a deputy and at other levels in the Department of Education and Training who have demonstrated to me a commitment that is pretty impressive and has been extremely helpful to me as a minister in getting through these initial few months. I look forward to a long association with them.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the Estimates review and to whatever flows from here on. I do have copies of these opening comments. I know they will be reproduced in Hansard, but perhaps the honourable member would like to have a copy, and perhaps one for Hansard for their assistance.

Mr. Chairperson: We thank the honourable minister for those comments. Does the official opposition critic, the honourable member for Wolseley (Ms. Friesen), have any opening comments?

Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman, I will put a few comments on the record. I want to thank the minister for his opening comments, for his recognition of the work of all Education ministers, and for his submission of the Estimates in the Legislature this afternoon. I should note that these were submitted to the Legislature at two o'clock this afternoon during Question Period, so the opposition has only had a couple of hours to look at these Estimates. I would not expect that this was the minister's intention. It is a very brief time for a very large department. I am sure that other things have intervened and that perhaps it was not the minister's or the government's intention to be here today.

Nevertheless, we will do what we can this afternoon with two hours' notice of the Estimates and to acknowledge with the minister that we all want to see well-educated young people in Manitoba. We want to see them equipped for citizenship. We want to see them equipped for work. We want to see them dedicated to a life of learning and to the enjoyment of learning. We want to see them able to adapt to all the changes that they are going to face in a millennium which certainly holds promise of being one that will require enormous adaptations in the lifetime of any individual.

We also want to see an equality of education. This is an area where we feel that this particular government has fallen down. Perhaps I will outline some of the reasons we think that as we go through the Estimates period.

As I mentioned in Question Period earlier this week, or last week I guess it was, I think what is happening is a reversal of the kind of policies which were introduced very courageously and with great difficulty by Duff Roblin. The moves that he made to amalgamate school divisions to create an equality of education across Manitoba, both at grade level and in terms of subjects offered, I think is something that we are in danger of departing from. As opposition, I want to alert the government to that, that there is a sense that there is a growing inequality in education and that parents, and the minister has talked to many of them, for which I have commended him, I think he will get that sense. It may not always be articulated in that way, but there is a sense that there are wealthier schools, there are poorer schools, and that that gap is going to grow.

As I mentioned in Question Period, the issue of physical education is only one of a number of issues of curriculum changes where there are clearly schools which are going to be able to provide a much broader education and schools which are beginning to narrow their education and their program offerings in a way perhaps that even had not been anticipated by this government.

We believe in a broad education, one that opens doors for all students, regardless of where they live, what their level of income is, what the parental education has been, and in fact schools which make a difference to the lives of students. The school must be the place where the student is opened to areas of knowledge, areas of lifelong learning, which they would not otherwise have the opportunity to have.

What we see in the government's education policy–and it is partly funding, it is partly timetabling, it is partly curriculum–is a narrowing of the kind of education that is being offered to young people. I think there is a genuine difference of opinion here. The government would like to call it back to basics. If I were them, that is not the name I would choose, but that is the name I think that would ring the bells in the kinds of educational ideology that they have adopted. I think we as opposition want to see a much broader education, one where the school does make a difference in the lives of individuals and in families and that the school is able to compensate for areas in life where children are not created equal. I think what the government wants to see is what they would call back to basics. They want to emphasize, I would say in a quite narrow-thinking way, literacy and numeracy. It is not that we would disagree with the outcomes, but I think the way in which the government has gone about introducing what they believe is a back to basics is one that has inevitably narrowed the curriculum in many areas. It is one I think that could have been dealt with differently.

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I think the government could have made the same points about literacy in particular, that it could have made a much more concerted and integrated effort to deal with literacy across the curriculum. It has tended to do it in terms of defining hours and time. It has done it in terms of particular types of examinations, and what it has done is to focus people's minds on only one type of literacy. The Grade 12 exams, for example–and the minister I know has received some discussion and criticism of the Grade 12 exams, but one of the areas is that it seems to me that examinations in other parts of the world emphasizes oral communication. That, to me, is an important part of literacy. It is an important part of any student's ability to have a presence in the workplace, to express themselves clearly and concisely and to give them some control over their own environment. I mean, that, in a sense, is what that kind of oral literacy is.

Now, the government has defined literacy in a much more narrow framework, and I think that is unfortunate, because I think our goals are similar, but I think that the way the government has done it has been done in that context of that back-to-basics movement which I believe is very narrowly defined, and it is a context which I do not think is going to serve students well in the next millennium. People need to be competent orally. They need to have confidence in their ability and self-expression, and that is not achieved just through writing, and there are ways of testing that. If the government is committed to test, there are ways of doing that.

So I regret the kind of narrow approach to curriculum that the government has forced and which has intensified with the examination schedule that has crowded out other parts of the curriculum. In areas and in subjects which are being examined, teachers and schools and parents are concentrating on cutting out other areas, so that we are losing through timetabling, through the nature of the government's definition of literacy and numeracy. We are losing out in the areas where I think the school can and should compensate for things which families can no longer deliver–music, physical education. There are many areas where parents do not have the ability to open those doors. In some they do; in some they do not. Some communities can; some cannot. That is where the inequalities are creeping in.

So I would like to look at that as we go through these statements, to discuss that, I think, quite clear difference of opinion and difference of approach to education. I think the government has wisely increased the funding to Education this year. I think it is unfortunate from their perspective that they have done it on an electoral schedule. I think it does make people much more skeptical of government promises, and, unfortunately, it has the effect of making people much more skeptical of governments generally. I think that is a long-term disservice that this type of funding, that this type of political policy and political approach has for any province which undertakes it.

But there has been an increase in educational funding. It, unfortunately, will not compensate and does not compensate–and I know that parents are telling the minister this–for those severe cuts which were made around the time of the early '90s and after the last election, as well. What education needs, and I am sure the minister will be made well aware of this, is predictable and stable funding. To some extent, the government has responded to that as it has tried to give some assurance to divisions of what they may expect in subsequent years, and they have been very late in doing that. And it is this lateness, this ad hockery, this adherence to a politically determined election schedule, an election in education funding, which I think has seriously damaged the reputation of this government in education.

So the government can increase it by 2 percent or 2.6 percent this year. In fact, it is not a 2.6 percent increase to all divisions. As you know, from the Education funding, Mr. Chairman, those increases translate in different ways in different parts of the province, and because I think about 1.6 percent of the funding this year was tied to particular programs which some divisions might be able to take advantage of and others might not, again that sense of inequality and unequal opportunities in education is there. Because of that, it is not really the 2.6 percent increase that the minister would like to assure divisions that they received. I think they are very well aware of what they did receive, and, of course, as we have been pointing out on numerous occasions in the Legislature, the actual dollars which are going into the FRAME document to the public schools is considerably reduced. I think it is about $26 million, $27 million, from 1992.

So the actual dollars that schools have received for their general programs, for their broad educational purposes, are much reduced, and we are not even talking about inflation. As I mentioned in the House last week, there are areas that are obviously beyond the government's control, whether it is the increases in textbook price, the increases in gasoline price. Those are things which are costly and which are increasing, many of them beyond the rate of inflation. Those are things which are not in the control of any one government, but the responsibility to respond to that, to recognize that that flexibility has to be there and to recognize that school divisions too have expenses which are beyond their control and yet which are crucial, transportation, texts and material resources for the classroom which are crucial to the kind of quality of education which is to be delivered in Manitoba.

The minister always responds–I do not know how much longer we are going to have this ludicrous kind of debate–with the percentages of dollars which are allocated by different governments to education. I speak of actual dollars; the minister wants to respond in percentages. Now this is an apples and oranges debate. It is not one that I think you would want to see at the–perhaps the Grade 6 level in the nature of the debate. I think you would want students to be able to make differentiations in that. Critical thinking alone would suggest that there are two different arguments going on here. There is a third argument, of course, which I have made earlier reference to, and that is the purchasing price of dollars. So it would be, I think, helpful if the minister would respond on the actual dollars. He may want to respond on the inflationary costs, some of which I am prepared to accept are beyond his control but still need to be taken into account.

In terms of post-secondary education, the minister has made a number of comments. Obviously, I am aware of the Millennium Scholarships that the minister has signed, the arm's-length agency that he was dealing with, of course the money coming from the federal government, a federal government which of course has also over the years substantially reduced its commitment to the provinces in terms of health and post-secondary education. The Millennium Scholarships Fund, as it is emerging and as it is developing, of course is an attempt perhaps on the part of the federal government to repair some of that loss. But it is an attempt to fill a gap which indeed they were in part responsible for creating.

The other side, of course, of the Millennium Scholarships issue and of all of the government's policies in dealing with tuition fees, the tax credit that the minister has mentioned, the $5 million per year matchable grants that recently has been initiated in the province–all of those deal with only one side of the issue of accessibility. The other side of it is the fees themselves and the rate of increase which they have progressed at under the term of this government over the last 11 years. They have been very large and the pace has been increasing, and we have a government which is not prepared now apparently to deal with anything more than two digits, double-digit increase in a single year in tuition fees. That, to me, makes a mockery of policy. If you only have one side of the policy, many of those awards can be eaten up by the rapid increase in the tuition fees.

In 1995, just before the last election, the government had a policy of capping at 5 percent. This time, five years later, at a time when fees are actually rising even more rapidly, the policy is not even to look at it until it gets to 10 percent. So I think there are some serious issues there that the government has not looked at or is not prepared to look at. I tend to think after five years of arguing these positions that the government is not prepared to, and what they have simply done is to promise year after year, and it actually has been an annual promise, to produce a tuition fee policy. An interim transition committee looked at it; then the Council on Post-Secondary Education looked at it; then the council had another committee which looked at it; then the council put something out on a website, two pages I believe, which purported to be a proposal for a tuition fee policy–no sense of public discussion around that and no sense of the kinds of responses that Manitobans made or of the broader discussion with parents, particularly those parents of students who are now in Grades 10, 11 and 12, because those are the people who are more seriously affected, I think, and who need to have the public discussion on tuition fee policy. But none of that has been done.

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This is a government which has been in power for 11 years, and it is a government which in 1993 was given basically the blueprint for much of this on tuition fee policy and upon the need for a policy by the Roblin commission. It was given the blueprint and the argument for the expansion of community college places, and here we are seven years later and nothing has happened. The government, in this budget, the pre-election budget, has some money for the expansion of community college places. That is not something which can be done overnight. It is the range of programs and the capacity of the colleges to expand in those areas that are possible in Manitoba which speak to the Manitoba economy and which speak to the potential for Manitoba students coming out of the current high school programs. It seems to me that a broad-ranging program needs to be dealt with. The council–to me, there is no evidence; I should not say they are not–but there is no evidence because this is not a council which particularly encourages public discussion or public debate. So I think there, there is a very serious issue for the government, and that is one that certainly affects the long-term future of Manitobans.

We intend to be looking, should we have the chance in Estimates this session, to look at the unemployment insurance provisions that Manitoba has made, again an area of tremendous secrecy and an area that does affect the position of young people. Some of these obviously are changes that the federal government has brought. Some of them are interpretations of the agreement that the provincial government made with the federal government over unemployment insurance payments. But it is the young workers in particular who are not able to get the hours and the time they need on unemployment insurance to get them into the training programs that they require that will give them the start that is needed to give them the opportunities for productive citizenship. So I am certainly looking forward to more information on that.

The government has talked about apprenticeship and the doubling of apprenticeship. Well, you know, that is a broken record. How many times have we heard that? Again, the amount of public information which is available on that is very limited. The government spent over a year. If this was such an urgent matter, why was there more than a year spent before the government proclaimed the last apprenticeship act that went through the Legislature? I believe it was actually proclaimed in the last couple of weeks. That does not seem to me to speak of a government which is particularly well organized or particularly clear about the direction that it wants to take, it can take, any innovations that it might want to make in apprenticeship.

In the K to 12 area, I have spoken about the unequal education which we fear is developing. Part of it, I believe, is the result of the nature of the testing the government is introducing. I do not think it necessarily does or should do that, but I think that is the effect that it has had. Part of it is due to the timetabling changes that the government made, particularly under Mr. Manness. Part of it is due to the decline in funding and the inability of some school divisions to retain all of the options that would make for equal opportunities across Manitoba. One particular area, of course, concerns me, and that is Canadian history. I am concerned that Manitoba no longer intends to teach history, that it intends to teach social studies. It is very difficult to determine because, again, this is not a government that actually shares its plans or encourages public discussion, what its proposals will be for social studies and/or history in the future. I am sure the minister is aware, and I expect that this government does listen to the heads of Bell Telephone, the CEOs who are now expressing their concern about the lack of a historical understanding amongst Canadian students.

Manitoba actually has been one of the last provinces to teach history. I am very interested to see whether the government, in fact, intends to eliminate that history because we know, of course, that in fact Mr. Manness and his subsequent minister, the member for Assiniboia (Mrs. McIntosh), did approve a system whereby students could graduate from Manitoba high schools with American history and yet not Canadian history, and they were prepared to remove the mandatory requirement for Canadian history. It seems to me in a global world, where students more than ever need a sense of place, that that was a very backward move, and it spoke, I think, to the very clear differences between this government and the kind of broad education for citizenship and for work and a dedication to a life of learning that we would advocate.

Aboriginal education, of course, is a concern for prairie provinces, in particular the high proportions of aboriginal students, both on reserve and off reserve. What is remarkable about this government is the 11 years it has taken to develop an aboriginal education strategy. Now I noticed in the throne speech that the Premier (Mr. Filmon) intended to announce an educational strategy for aboriginal people this year, and I certainly look forward to that. We have not seen that yet. I wonder if that will appear before the election or whether that will be an election announcement. My understanding is that that aboriginal education strategy, unless they have actually got some of the blank pages filled in, actually was approved and has been discussed in the department, as we discussed it in Estimates last year, and is not necessarily something new. So I am interested to know whether the minister has anything new to say on that.

It had basically two elements, as I remember. One was to increase aboriginal graduation rates, and I believe one–what was the other one?–to increase participation in the labour force. This is after, at that point, I think nine years in office. It was absolutely stunning, mind-bogglingly stunning that that was the aboriginal education policy of this government after 10 years, and now the Premier says in the throne speech that he wants to reannounce that. I think there had better be something more than that if that is what he is planning on announcing, otherwise it will be, I think, the laughing stock.

Report after report since 1990 has spoken of the need to increase the aboriginal graduation rate. Report after report from economic agencies across the Prairies, across this province, in Winnipeg 2000, every economic development agency, the Economic Innovation and Technology Council, every council that looks at the economy in Manitoba makes the point about aboriginal participation in the workforce and the aboriginal graduation rates, and yet after nine, 10 years, the government last year simply had a policy but very little in place that would give you the confidence as to how this was to be achieved. So it was late; it was ad hoc. I think it was done with very little consultation.

The government's argument, I think, at the time was that the consultation was done in conjunction with the urban aboriginal strategy, but an educational strategy is more than that. It needs to be more specific; it needs to have very strong support of parents; and it needs to be developed with a great deal of commitment and direction on the part both of school divisions and of this department. So I am interested by that, and we will see where that one goes.

We have raised in Question Period, as the minister knows, the issue of user fees. My colleague from the current riding of St. James has raised this again and again. We have talked about the amount of money that teachers are paying out of their own pockets to deal with issues and fees that are being created in the school divisions. We are looking at unequal policies across the province on this, things which are paid for in one division are not paid for in another, and we are looking at many families who have been on fixed incomes, who have seen no wage increases for seven or eight years who are having to meet the shortfall in funds as a result of the severe cuts that this government has made in previous years. They are having to find that out of their own pockets. At the same time, they are also having to face increased property taxes.

The minister knows in his own city of Brandon that in the last few years, for a number of reasons, the tax increases have been quite large.

Mr. Chairperson: Order, please. The hour being 5 p.m., time for private members' hour.

When the committee again sits, the honourable member will have approximately five minutes remaining.

Committee rise.

INDUSTRY, TRADE AND TOURISM

Mr. Chairperson (Ben Sveinson): Order, please. Will the Committee of Supply please come to order. This section of the Committee of Supply will be considering the Estimates of the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Does the honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism have an opening statement?

Hon. Mervin Tweed (Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism): Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairperson: Go ahead, Mr. Minister.

Mr. Tweed: Thank you. I am certainly pleased to be before the Estimates committee to review the '99-2000 Estimates for the Department of Manitoba Industry, Trade and Tourism. Before I go into some of the details of my department's programs, I would just like to express my thanks to the staff who have helped me prepare for this and hopefully will continue to serve with me as the questions come. I do have a fairly lengthy statement, and I would beg the committee's indulgence. Just again, being a new minister, there is a lot of good news, and I would like to have the time to put it forward.

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Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): If it would help the minister, I would be glad if he would table it, and then we could both read it overnight and come back tomorrow with a real sense of this opening statement. I would be very pleased to receive it that way.

Mr. Tweed: In the sense of again, I guess, first time out, I would like to read onto the record my comments.

In short, Mr. Chairman, 1998 was a very good year for the province of Manitoba. The conditions were created in the early to mid-'90s as Manitoba's exports expanded dramatically, especially to the United States, and our growth in exports was soon echoed in overall manufacturing shipments, capital investments, job creation and low unemployment.

The most dramatic and concrete reflections of these developments were a series of major new ventures, announcement, relocations and expansions that have taken place in the last year. Looking at economic growth and investment, our economy generated $28.5-billion worth of goods and services last year which was a record high. Manitoba's economy outpaced the national average for a third consecutive year in 1998.

The province's unemployment rate has remained the lowest in the country in the first four months of 1999 and more than 2.5 percentage points below the national jobless rate. Manitoba's overall unemployment rate has been the lowest in Canada in seven of the last eight months. More Manitobans were working than ever before in 1998, a record of 546,100 persons. In the last four years Manitoba's economy has created 35,000 new jobs, of which almost 31,000 of those have been in the private sector, nearly 90 percent of our total job gain. Statistics Canada data shows that all of our growth over the last four years has been in full-time employment, a total of 35,000 new full-time jobs. That is a 9 percent increase in full-time jobs for Manitoba, above Canada's 7.8 percent gain and the third-best performance among the provinces. Only Ontario and Alberta did better. Almost 440,000 persons had full-time jobs in Manitoba in 1998, and that is the highest percentage of full-time workers since 1989. Our strong job gains over the last four years have pushed the unemployment rate to just 5.7 percent in 1998, which is the lowest in Canada and the lowest for Manitoba in nearly 20 years.

For experienced workers ages 25 and over, the rate was even lower, just 4.6 percent, again, the lowest in the country. Manitoba's jobless rate has been on a steadily improving trend for six consecutive years, our best performance in at least a quarter of a century. Over the last four years, the number of unemployed Manitobans fell by more than 19,000 people, a 36.9 percent drop. That is the largest improvement in unemployment of any province and more than twice the improvement at the national level.

The province's exports to the United States outpaced the national average for the fifth straight year in 1998, reaching a record $6.1 billion. Our growth rate in 1998 was 13.1 percent, following a very strong 19 percent gain the previous year. The value of Manitoba exports to the U.S. is now almost three and a half times what it was in 1990. Manitoba now has had seven consecutive years of double-digit growth in exports to the United States. Through the past six years, the value of Manitoba exports to the United States grew by 227.6 percent. That was the second strongest export performance among the provinces and far above the national gain of 143.7 percent.

Equally important to maintaining our economic momentum is the fact that new capital investment by the private sector recorded a seventh consecutive year of solid growth in 1998, reaching a record $3.9 billion. Total private-sector investment in Manitoba is now nearly $1.7 billion higher than it was just a few short eight years ago. Consumers remain confident as well. Total retail sales were a record $8.8 billion in 1998. In the last four years, retail sales in Manitoba–

Mr. Chairperson: The honourable member for Crescentwood, on a point of order?

Mr. Sale: No, Mr. Chairperson, I am just wondering on a point of clarification if I might ask the minister, I just was not sure of something he was referring to. Was he referring at all to the level of import growth in the trade deficit, or was he just speaking about exports?

Mr. Tweed: I was referring strictly to the exports.

Mr. Chairperson: The honourable minister, to go on.

Mr. Tweed: Thank you. In the last four years, retail sales in Manitoba have grown by 25.4 percent, the second strongest gain among the provinces and again well ahead of the national increase of 19.1 percent over the same period. On other fronts, Manitoba manufacturing shipments rose 7.1 percent in 1998, the best in the country, and more than twice Canada's 3.1 percent gain for the same period.

Last year also marked the third consecutive year in which Manitoba's growth rate has outpaced the national average. Since 1996, the value of Manitoba manufacturing shipments rose by 28.5 percent, more than twice Canada's 13 percent gain and the second strongest gain among the provinces. In fact, most of this decade has seen very strong gains by Manitoba's manufacturing sector. The total value of shipments has gone from $6.2 billion in 1991 to $10.7 billion last year. That is a 73.1 percent total gain, the second largest increase among the provinces, as well above Canada's 59.8 percent increase over the same period.

Employment in Manitoba's manufacturing sector averaged 64,000 persons in 1998, a total gain of 4,100 over 1997. That equates to a 6.8 percent increase, the best performance among the provinces, and above Canada's 3.9 percent average. Our longer term performance has also been excellent. In the last five years, '94 through '98, Statistics Canada data shows that Manitoba has created an estimated total of 14,400 manufacturing jobs, for a growth rate of 29 percent. That is the third best performance among the provinces, as well, above Canada's 18.8 percent increase over the same period.

For all of 1998, Manitoba recorded 1,856 housing starts in urban areas, an 11.5 percent increase over '97, second place provincially, and far stronger than Canada's 5.2 percent decline. Last year was the second year in a row that urban starts in Manitoba have outpaced the national average. In 1997, Manitoba recorded 1,664 urban starts, a 33.9 percent gain over the previous year. That was also the second best performance among the provinces, and again well ahead of Canada's 21 percent increase.

The role of Manitoba Industry, Trade and Tourism is to use its policies and programs to help maintain the momentum of our economic growth, working for the most part with individual companies or within specific industrial sectors. I should remind members that my department is divided into four main program areas: Industry Development, which focuses on key industries across the province; Manitoba Trade, which promotes trade and inward investment in the province; Business Development, which provides information, advice and other support to small businesses; and Tourism or Travel Manitoba, which oversees and co-ordinates campaigns to attract visitors to all areas of the province.

The department also has official responsibility for the Manitoba Call Centre Team, the Industrial Technology Centre and the Economic Development Board of cabinet, which is chaired by the Premier.

In 1998-99, consulting services staff of Industry Development provided a core competency in Manitoba's industrial sectors. It takes a leadership role in identifying and assisting companies to pursue opportunities for growth. It provides sector expertise that identifies opportunities for trade and investment, and supports the development of new and existing industry.

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The Consulting Services branch is responsible for leading industrial development in many sectors of the provincial economy. Current activities are focused on the development of three technology platforms. These are considered to be the drivers of the economic development in the 21st Century. These three platforms are the information technology, IT, biotechnology, and advanced materials in manufacturing. In the traditional manufacturing industry sectors, efforts are focused on enhancing quality standards and introducing technologies that lead to increased global competitiveness.

I would like to now just mention some activities in a few economic sectors. In food and beverage processing, our largest manufacturing sector, our department is working closely with Manitoba Agriculture and Manitoba Rural Development as well as the Manitoba Food Processors Association. A good portion of our government's activities in this area have centred on promoting the hog and pork industry abroad, especially in Asia Pacific, mainly by working with the industry to encourage more companies to export and expand value-added production.

Our staff has been working with several manufacturers as well, including Winpak, with an additional $25-million expansion for the manufacture of vinyl-based packaging film. This company was originally located in Chicago but moved to Winnipeg because of its previous experience in dealing with our province.

K & G Mushrooms in Portage la Prairie, with a $5.3-million expansion, will create 40 new jobs and maintain 130 others. It is an environmentally friendly operation with all production exported to the United States. Castle Metals in June '99 will be officially opening a new $4.5-million steel processing facility in Selkirk to supply steel components for customers in the aerospace, agricultural machinery, and transportation equipment industries. The new plant will also create 18 additional jobs. Inmetal North America Limited has established a $2-million manufacturing facility in Pierson to produce precision metal castings using state-of-the-art lost foam technology. It is anticipated that the facility will create 40 jobs in its first four years.

Manitoba's biotechnology industry made significant strides in 1998-99 with several announcements made including the establishment of a Monsanto Crop Development Centre, expansions of the Cangene Corporation, the establishment of the National Centre for Agri-Food Research in Medicine at the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre.

Another continuing initiative of note is the Manitoba Centres of Excellence Fund, which seeks to attract and maintain world-class research and development activity and to produce economic spin-offs for local companies and nonprofit agencies. The fund provides grants to research projects at the University of Manitoba contingent upon support under the federal government's network of Centres of Excellence initiative. Manitoba's contribution amounts to 20 percent of the federal total.

Meanwhile I note that increasing access to risk capital for small- and mid-size Manitoba companies continues to be a major priority for our department. We have been working hard in partnership with industry and the financial community to address this difficulty.

A recent study by the Business Development Bank found companies backed by venture capital were creating jobs at a 23 percent annual growth rate, sales at 31 percent, exports at 36 percent, and taxes paid at 39 percent.

The Manitoba government, working with private sector partners, helped boost the annual supply of venture capital in Manitoba from less than $4 million in 1993 to roughly $30 million in each of '96 and '97 and $20 million in 1998. The goal is to increase this supply to $60 million by the year 2000. To do this, the government has sponsored several significant venture capital funds for loans in the $100,000 to $3.5-million range. These funds include the Vision Capital Fund, the Manitoba Capital Fund, the labour-sponsored Crocus Investment, and ENSIS growth.

Our department, through our Financial Services branch and the Economic Innovation and Technology Council, has also been working to match potential investors with promising young companies seeking financing. This year 20 companies made presentations to investors at the Invest Manitoba Venture Showcase '99, the fourth investment forum of its kind in Manitoba. To attract much needed capital to small businesses with the potential for rapid growth, the Manitoba government committed $7 million to create the Renaissance Space Capital Manitoba Ventures Fund. This fund aims to attract up to $7 million of private risk capital, which it will use to assist companies in information technology, health care, communications, and value-added agriculture.

Finally, the Manitoba Equity Tax Credit Program announced by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Gilleshammer) is expected to leverage up to $20 million per year into risk capital for local businesses. The details of this program will be addressed by the Minister of Finance. The Manitoba Trade and Investment Corporation, or Manitoba Trade for short, is the focal point of Manitoba's efforts in promoting more exports to an ever-widening range of world markets and at the same time encouraging inward investment in this province. A large part of its work is to help exporters and export-ready companies to enter new markets by leading strategic trade missions, hosting delegations from our major trading partners and helping companies attend trade shows in various industrial sectors and regions.

Specifically, Manitoba Trade's objectives are to increase exports of value-added goods and services to $10 billion by 2001, to continue to increase the number of actively exporting companies by 10 percent per year and to increase investment in Manitoba. Mexico remains a high priority for Manitoba companies. In 1998, Manitoba's exports to Mexico totalled $105.7 million, an increase of 14 percent over 1997. Manitoba Week in Jalisco, Mexico, last October was highly successful with more than 24 companies, businesses, education organizations and Manitoba visual and performing artists represented. This was Manitoba's largest trade mission outside the country in 1998. Manitoba Week resulted in a significant increase in Manitoba's visibility in this important market and provided an opportunity to showcase the upcoming Pan American Games. The governor of Jalisco is scheduled to bring a 90-person delegation to Manitoba this summer for Jalisco Week in Manitoba.

In 1998-99, Manitoba Trade supported 73 new exporters and 45 companies undertaking market diversification in the U.S. Our trade specialists continue to work closely with Manitoba companies to help them qualify as new exporters and also to assist businesses in their efforts to diversify their markets. While Manitoba Trade is helping companies to diversify overseas, the continued development of the U.S. market is important, as was demonstrated by the downturn in Asian markets. Priority sectors included health industries, food and beverage services, processing, apparel, building products, original equipment manufacturers and subcomponents, including agricultural equipment and machinery.

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In 1998-99, Manitoba Trade organized and managed seven group trade show events in the United States with 35 Manitoba companies taking part. The companies reported a total of $4.5 million in projected sales as a result of these shows. Meanwhile, South America continued to be a priority export market for Manitoba companies with specific focus on Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Within these countries, Manitoba Trade has centred its efforts on regions that are compatible with Manitoba's capabilities. Manitoba Trade managed four missions to South America in 1998-99 involving education, agribusiness, building products and construction. During 1999-2000, we will be looking to identify other markets within South America for Manitoba companies.

Japan, despite the economic crisis, continued to be Manitoba's second largest trading partner for 1998 with exports to Japan totalling $319 million. Agricultural commodities make up a large portion of these exports, although in recent years Manitoba building product companies have seen a dramatic increase in sales to Japan, notably in the prefabricated houses.

We are confident that conditions in Asia-Pacific will continue to improve. In the meantime, it is important that we maintain our presence in these markets. Manitoba Trade is currently helping to represent building product companies in Osaka at the 15th Annual Construction Material and Equipment Fair. In September 1998, Manitoba hosted the Kansai-Canada West Business Forum, continuing to establish recognition in Japan for our province and our province's businesses. China continues to be a priority market, and my predecessor led a successful mission to China last June when eight companies, including both experienced exporters and companies new to the China market, participated. The mission resulted in supply contracts for power transformers, simulation equipment for the hydroelectric power sector and the opening of a joint venture education facility.

The Middle East is also growing as a market of interest to our exporters. We have established relations with the government of Egypt and have been active in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, Turkey, and Morocco. I expect to be announcing some further developments in our Middle East activities within the next few days.

Europe continues to be very important to Manitoba exporters, and we will continue to maintain our export promotion activities with trade foreign representatives in the UK, The Netherlands, and Italy. We will continue to provide leadership in the development of the Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor. Manitoba Trade is an active participant on the Manitoba-Winnipeg Corridor Partners Committee and supports the activities of the Red River Trade Corridor and the Central North American Trade Corridor. It represents the province on the North American Superhighway Coalition and has been successful in promoting Manitoba as the northern gateway to the corridor.

Finally, making use of foreign trade representatives continues to be a highly successful strategy for Manitoba Trade to assist companies planning to move into certain regional markets. In addition to Europe, Manitoba Trade has representatives in Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, and Chile. This use of part-time contract agents has been recognized as best practice by many other jurisdictions in Canada who are beginning to follow Manitoba's lead.

On the investment front, Manitoba Trade has developed high-quality promotional materials, and it is also leading a number of provincial and federal departments in establishing a common investment strategy and is actively participating in the development of a national site selection database project.

In 1998-99, Manitoba Trade initiated 20 investment projects and attracted 15 new business immigrants to the province. Since 1990, business immigrants have invested over $17.5 million and created over 500 jobs in our province.

A word about our department's special operating agency, the Industrial Technology Centre. It provides a wide range of technical services to clients, which vary from start-up entrepreneurs and mid-size companies to large firms seeking specialized technical assistance. The centre's expert capabilities in forensic document services are unique in Canada, and it actually provides services to clients across the continent and abroad. It is proving to be yet another example of the SOA special operating model for delivering public services. It will further reduce its reliance on government funds in 1999-2000 by enhancing its own sources of revenue.

Meanwhile, the Manitoba Call Centre Team, a joint venture led by my department, continues to market this province as a premier location for call centres, despite the keen competition. This team has done an admirable job in expanding this industry so that it now includes more than 20 major call centres and a workforce of more than 8,000 people. Last year it saw several high-profile call centres, including the Royal Bank, Air Canada, Gage Marketing and Angus Reid, expand employment opportunities in Manitoba. The team is also working closely with the Manitoba Call Centre Association to develop a qualified and sustainable pool of human resources to meet the demands of the growing call centre industry in Manitoba.

The Call Centre Team has been one focal point of special strategic initiatives by Manitoba's Economic Development Board. The Economic Development Board helped attract several of the call centres I mentioned, as well as other major economic projects. These include companies in diverse sectors. For instance, in value-added agriculture, the emerging Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon will ultimately employ approximately 2,200 people; the Isobord strawboard plant in Elie will employ 100 staff; and agricultural research will gain from Monsanto Canada's recent announcement of its intention to create a $10-million crop development centre at the University of Manitoba.

Mr. Sale: Just to clarify, the minister just said that the Isobord plant will employ. I thought the plant was open, I thought they already did employ. Could he maybe clarify?

Mr. Tweed: Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding that when it is in full production, the plant will employ. It is currently in production, but is gearing up to go into full product, at which time the staffing will be 100 people.

Mr. Chairperson: The honourable minister, to continue.

Mr. Tweed: Just on a side note, I would certainly encourage members opposite to take a tour of the Isobord plant in Elie. It is a wonderful example of innovation and technology, and we look forward to your comments. [interjection]

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Mr. Chairperson: Order, please. I am having a little difficulty hearing the honourable minister. The honourable minister, to continue.

Mr. Tweed: In the film industry, Prairie Production Centre's plan to create a $7-million state-of-the-art sound stage in Winnipeg will further reinforce Manitoba's recognition as Hollywood of the Prairies.

In manufacturing, American Biaxis Inc, a joint venture company with Winpak and a Japanese firm as partners, will build a $25-million plant in Winnipeg to produce nylon film for packaging.

In venture capital, the newly created Renaissance Capital Manitoba Ventures Fund will invest in small- and medium-sized Manitoba businesses, helping to support new and expanding businesses in Manitoba.

The Tourism and Business Development Division of my department is also a high priority. Job creation is one of the most important economic contributions made by small businesses, and small enterprises remain one of the driving forces of the Manitoba and Canadian economy. In 1997, there were 50,655 business establishments with less than 50 employees making up 96.7 percent of the total business establishments in the province of Manitoba. Over 17,000 of these enterprises were self-employed entrepreneurs. It is estimated that there are over 70,000 home-based businesses now operating in Manitoba.

I am pleased to share with you some of the successes of the Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre, a very successful partnership between the federal and provincial governments that opened its integrated service delivery on April 1, 1998. During the first year of operations, the centre responded to 67,000 business- and trade-related inquiries, including 7,050 business counselling sessions. The number of Internet requests for information was 257,000 for the year ended March 31, 1999. The centre continues in its strong support for the growth and development of small business through a wide variety of business development tools from resource manuals, electronic publications, comprehensive library services, access to information through the Internet and business counselling. The centre responds to a wide variety of specialized needs for the woman business owner, young entrepreneur, persons with disabilities and the growing aboriginal business community.

The Business Start Program, originally introduced in 1989 as a five-year program, is again extended for another two-year period. This program, which provides a training workshop and a $10,000 loan guarantee for working capital, has assisted in the creation of 1,790 jobs since its inception.

My department continues to support the Economic Development Committee of Bilingual Municipalities as it focuses on raising the profile and economic success of Francophone communities and businesses in Manitoba.

The new Manitoba Cooperatives Act, introduced through the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, facilitates the creation of new generation or value-added co-operatives, something that the Minister of Government Services (Mr. Pitura) takes great pride in seeing come to realization. My department will be proactive in the promotion and support of new generation co-operatives designed to add value to agriculture, to add value to resource-based production, creating new jobs and economic growth in rural communities.

Tourism has started off on a positive note for 1999. Travel from the United States increased year over year by 14 percent or 7,000 visitors in the first two months of this year.

In 1998 Manitoba experienced an increase of 6 percent in the number of U.S. direct entries to Manitoba and a 19 percent increase in the number of direct foreign entries. The most exciting and largest tourism event of 1999 will be the Pan American Games, scheduled from July 23 to August 8. I extend a personal invitation to all in attendance to partake in the games in some form. The games, as we know, are the largest ever sporting event to be hosted in Canada, and it will position Winnipeg and Manitoba on the international stage creating a new level of awareness for our capital city and our province.

In terms of direct expenditures and indirect spin-offs, the games themselves are expected to pump some $225 million into our provincial economy. The 100,000-plus visitors are predicted to spend $28.5 million and spin off another $14 million right here in the province of Manitoba. The Pan Am Games economic development initiative will focus on fostering long-term cultural and business relationships between Manitoba and the participating countries.

We will deliver a business hosting program for visiting delegations to increase the awareness of business development opportunities with Latin America. We will deliver a media tour program targeted to the 1,000 visiting media representatives to maximize media exposure to the province of Manitoba.

Mr. Sale: Mr. Chairperson, again, if the minister would indulge me just to clarify where–he is talking about an initiative in tourism, and I am unable to find it. Perhaps he could just point me to where he is referring to.

Mr. Tweed: It is part of the Pan Am Games economic development initiative.

Mr. Sale: That is what I am having trouble finding.

Mr. Tweed: Well, perhaps when we get further into detail, we can flush it out for the member.

Mr. Chairperson: The honourable minister, to go on with his remarks.

Mr. Tweed: Mr. Chairman, we will deliver and produce a series of Manitoba vignettes in partnership with the CBC and Tourism Winnipeg featuring Manitoba's unique products, places, and people. The Travel Idea Centre at The Forks will be renovated to showcase Manitoba as a great place to live, to work, and do business, and a great place to vacation.

A dynamic new marketing campaign with a strong focus on adventure, travel, and ecotourism will be launched to position Manitoba as a prime destination in the new millennium. The Travel Manitoba interactive Web site, which attracts over 100,000 hits per months, will continually be updated to ensure that potential travellers receive the latest in information.

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In order to become a prime tourism destination, Manitoba's tourism businesses and communities must continue to strive to deliver quality services with high standards. The objective of tourism development is to ensure that Manitoba capitalizes on viable product development opportunities that will generate new tourism revenues, lever private sector investment, and create long-term employment.

To support the industry and our communities, my department will offer the following programs: support for the tourism standards consortium through the Manitoba Tourism Education Council, which provides training and education within the tourism industry; product development grants, which will provide support of up to 30 percent of approved capital project costs in support of new tourism market development initiatives by individual operators, regional groups, or consortiums of tourism operators; product development grants of up to $10,000 for new marketing and development initiatives.

With the support of the Sustainable Development Committee of Cabinet and in partnership with Natural Resources, a trails co-ordinator will be hired to work with the Manitoba Recreational Trail Association, the TransCanada Trails, and all other stakeholders to develop policies and initiatives relative to trails development in Manitoba.

Support is being provided for the newly organized Manitoba Aboriginal Tourism Association dedicated to the development of aboriginal tourism products in Manitoba.

We are extremely proud of the entrepreneurial spirit in Manitoba, and we will continue to assist and support the growth of small business and tourism as an important segment of our economy.

Mr. Chairman, on this note, I would like to conclude my overview of the main initiatives and activities of the Industry, Trade and Tourism department and my introduction of the department's Estimates for '99-2000.

It certainly promises to be an exciting and productive year for the province of Manitoba. I look forward with all my colleagues, staff, and outside partners to another year of challenge and growth.

Once again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my department for their continued support. In the time that I have served in the department, I have found them to be knowledgeable and helpful with the idea that good service provides good service to the people of Manitoba and will continue to enhance the growth and productivity of the province of Manitoba. With that I will conclude my remarks.

The Acting Chairperson (Mr. Helwer): We thank the minister for those comments. Does the official opposition critic, the honourable member for Crescentwood, have any opening comments?

Mr. Sale: I do, Mr. Chairperson, but I wonder in light of the fact that it is five minutes to five if we might just call it five o'clock and start this again tomorrow.

The Acting Chairperson (Mr. Helwer): Is it the will of the committee to call it five o'clock? [agreed]

The time being five o'clock, committee rise.