Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, recently it was announced that the former Manitoba School for the Deaf facility will become the home of Manitoba's new Mennonite university, with the signing of a $3.5-million deal between the province and the Mennonite College Federation. Three existing colleges, Menno Simons, the Canadian Mennonite Bible College and Concord College will combine to create the new university. The establishment of a single Mennonite university has been greatly anticipated by the Mennonite community in Manitoba, and this announcement ensures that plans are moving ahead as scheduled.

The Mennonite university will offer degrees, diplomas, certificates, in a wide range of subject areas including religious studies, music, conflict resolution, Third World economic development and social sciences. The establishment of the Mennonite university is a very positive develop-ment for Manitoba's post-secondary education system. Combining the three existing colleges will give students more options in higher-quality programs, while allowing them the choice to study at a facility that emphasizes Mennonite values and heritage.

Post-secondary education is increasingly important in today's competitive job market, and I have no doubt that this development will encourage more students to pursue post-secondary studies in Manitoba.

Mr. Leonard Evans (Brandon East): Madam Speaker, I rise to make a few comments on the serious economic situation we are being faced with in this province today. In spite of the propaganda from the government, the economic figures that we now have show Manitoba to be below the Canadian average in 10 out of 13 indicators. We have 13 basic indicators; 10 of them show Manitoba below average, two show us at average, and only one is above the average. The one above the average is unemployment; the other two that are at average is housing starts and weekly earnings. But even there, the level of housing starts is only a pittance compared to the level of the housing starts that occurred in the 1980s under the previous NDP government. It is only about a quarter of the level that we experienced at that time.

Similarly, with average weekly earnings, we are below the Canadian average. We have sunk below the Canadian average during most of the years of this government. Then, when we look at the 10 indicators below the Canadian average, we find that we are below on a rate of real growth. We are below on the average in the retail trade. These are figures, the latest that we have as of May 14, 1999, the year to date for this year compared to last year. We are below on manufacturing shipments. We are certainly below on population growth. We are below on employment growth. We are eight out of 10 provinces in the growth of jobs in this country. That is not a record to be satisfied with. In terms of building permits, we are eight out of 10 provinces. Capital investment, we are second from the bottom, eight out of 10–pardon me, capital investment, we are nine out of 10. We are the second worst situation in the country, and likewise with construction work.

So, Madam Speaker, my message to the government is that they should not delude themselves with their propaganda. They should look at the economic facts and face the situation that this province is now faced with, and bring forward some policies that are going to improve the standard of living of Manitobans. Thank you.

Mrs. Myrna Driedger (Charleswood): Madam Speaker, I would like to speak about an important event which is taking place today. May 25 is recognized as International Missing Children's Day, a day to remember children like Michael Dunahee, Jacob Wetterling, Kristen French and our own Sarah Kelly.

Today, all members of this Chamber were given green ribbons of hope to wear in support of International Missing Children's Day. The green ribbon is a symbol of hope for the return of all missing children. More than 62,000 children were reported missing in Canada in 1998. More than 3,700 of those children were from Manitoba. Of the children missing in Manitoba, more than 3,200 ran away from home, three were abducted by strangers and 11 children were abducted by a parent during or after a divorce proceeding.

Organizations such as Child Find Manitoba are dedicated to reuniting missing children with their families and to preventing situations like this from occurring. In 1998, over 150 volunteers donated some 8,438 volunteer hours to Child Find Manitoba. This is amazing, and their efforts are to be commended for there are many times when dealing with these situations that it is extremely challenging. It is my hope that in the future we see a great reduction or better yet a total elimination in the number of our missing children, whether it is in Manitoba, in Canada or throughout the world. Please join me in finding ways to bring our children home. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Madam Speaker, I would like to ask all members of the Legislature to join with me in congratulating the principal, staff, students and parents of Wolseley School on the success of the first festival of the arts held last week. Over 700 works of art were on display for the community, ranging from literature, theatre, music, sculpture to poetry, water colours, landscapes, still life, portraits and much more.

I particularly enjoyed Ben's poem on Blankie, Sarah's sculpture self-portrait, the river maps in clay, the 16th Century ship, Caitlyn's flowers, water colours and the fantasy animals of Room 1 and the colour dictionary of Room 6. The exhibit reflected all aspects of the curriculum: science, history, language, music and mathematics. It showed us an educational community with curiosity, with research skills, with the ability to co-operate and to reflect on and draw upon its strengths.

This has been a year-long effort of the whole school. The staff clearly worked together and invested much effort in their own professional development. The self-confidence and pride of the students and the genuine delight and interest of parents and community were a tribute to the hard work of all.

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, I too wanted to just pay tribute to a special group of people today. We had 200-plus youth that took the walk from Maples Collegiate to the Legislature, and some in fact ran. But what it is about is Maples Collegiate has a unity committee, March Against Racism, which has now gone some four years. I know the member for The Maples (Mr. Kowalski) has been very supportive of this group. In fact, he was one of the individuals who was running from the front to the back making sure everyone was kept in line and the line continued on.

There is just a phenomenal effort that is put on by the unity committee, and I applaud all of their actions and the actions of the 200-plus students who took the time to be able to heighten the awareness of racial attitudes. For those individuals who did not participate in the unity march, they are still made aware of it. The long-term impacts are very positive when we see so many young people getting involved in such a positive way. I know individuals, whether it is the students or the support staff, individuals like Cindy Blicq and others, that the day is well worthwhile, and I think a very positive message is sent.

I just applaud all the actions of those who got involved and made the unity march possible. I congratulate them.