Second Session - Fortieth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS Official Report (Hansard) Published under the authority of The Honourable Daryl Reid Speaker Vol. LXV No. 12 - 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2012 ISSN 0542-5492 MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Fortieth Legislature Member Constituency Political Affiliation ALLAN, Nancy, Hon. St. Vital NDP ALLUM, James Fort Garry-Riverview NDP ALTEMEYER, Rob Wolseley NDP ASHTON, Steve, Hon. Thompson NDP BJORNSON, Peter, Hon. Gimli NDP BLADY, Sharon Kirkfield Park NDP BRAUN, Erna Rossmere NDP BRIESE, Stuart Agassiz PC CALDWELL, Drew Brandon East NDP CHIEF, Kevin, Hon. Point Douglas NDP CHOMIAK, Dave, Hon. Kildonan NDP CROTHERS, Deanne St. James NDP CULLEN, Cliff Spruce Woods PC DEWAR, Gregory Selkirk NDP DRIEDGER, Myrna Charleswood PC EICHLER, Ralph Lakeside PC EWASKO, Wayne Lac du Bonnet PC FRIESEN, Cameron Morden-Winkler PC GAUDREAU, Dave St. Norbert NDP GERRARD, Jon, Hon. River Heights Liberal GOERTZEN, Kelvin Steinbach PC GRAYDON, Cliff Emerson PC HELWER, Reg Brandon West PC HOWARD, Jennifer, Hon. Fort Rouge NDP IRVIN-ROSS, Kerri, Hon. Fort Richmond NDP JHA, Bidhu Radisson NDP KOSTYSHYN, Ron, Hon. Swan River NDP LEMIEUX, Ron, Hon. Dawson Trail NDP MACKINTOSH, Gord, Hon. St. Johns NDP MAGUIRE, Larry Arthur-Virden PC MALOWAY, Jim Elmwood NDP MARCELINO, Flor, Hon. Logan NDP MARCELINO, Ted Tyndall Park NDP MELNICK, Christine, Hon. Riel NDP MITCHELSON, Bonnie River East PC NEVAKSHONOFF, Tom Interlake NDP OSWALD, Theresa, Hon. Seine River NDP PALLISTER, Brian Fort Whyte PC PEDERSEN, Blaine Midland PC PETTERSEN, Clarence Flin Flon NDP REID, Daryl, Hon. Transcona NDP ROBINSON, Eric, Hon. Kewatinook NDP RONDEAU, Jim, Hon. Assiniboia NDP ROWAT, Leanne Riding Mountain PC SARAN, Mohinder The Maples NDP SCHULER, Ron St. Paul PC SELBY, Erin, Hon. Southdale NDP SELINGER, Greg, Hon. St. Boniface NDP SMOOK, Dennis La Verendrye PC STEFANSON, Heather Tuxedo PC STRUTHERS, Stan, Hon. Dauphin NDP SWAN, Andrew, Hon. Minto NDP TAILLIEU, Mavis Morris PC WHITEHEAD, Frank The Pas NDP WIEBE, Matt Concordia NDP WIGHT, Melanie Burrows NDP WISHART, Ian Portage la Prairie PC 403 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The House met at 1:30 p.m. PETITIONS Mr. Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, from Coulter Bridge–Provincial Road 251 Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as Mr. Larry Maguire (Arthur-Virden): I'd like to may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our present the following petition to the Legislative province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that Assembly. we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom, know it And these are the background–this is the with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the background for this petition: glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen. Number 1, the flood of 2011 caused the Coulter bridge in–on Provincial Road 251 west of Waskada Good afternoon, everyone. Please be seated. to collapse. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS (2) The current 36-kilometre detour provides only a minimum level of safety due to heavy traffic INTRODUCTION OF BILLS from petroleum industry trucks and agricultural Bill 16–The Department of Justice equipment having to share this detour with school Amendment Act buses and local traffic. Hon. Andrew Swan (Minister of Justice and (3) Local detour options at the bridge site have Attorney General): I move, seconded by the been rejected by Manitoba Infrastructure and Minister of Finance (Mr. Struthers), that Bill 16, The Transportation despite industry support to cover the Department of Justice Amendment Act; Loi costs for a temporary bridge. modifiant la Loi sur le ministère de la Justice, be now read a first time. (4) Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation to date have not provided any financial support for Motion presented. requests to develop the–an engineering plan for a Mr. Swan: There are two key provisions of this bill. local bypass in the Coulter bridge vicinity. First, it'll provide a procedure to retain and compensate lawyers who are appointed by the courts We petition the Legislative Assembly as for people who are not eligible for legal aid. Second, follows: it'll provide a procedure to retain and compensate lawyers who are appointed by the courts to perform To request the Minister of Infrastructure and certain functions in a trial. For example, a judge may Transportation consider operating with the rural order that an unrepresented accused in a domestic municipalities of Arthur and Brenda, their citizens assault case be provided with a lawyer to cross- and local industries to immediately provide a examine the victim so that the accused cannot temporary detour for the Souris River on Provincial question the victim directly. Road 251 near the collapsed bridge. These amendments will clarify the practical and And this petition is signed by D. Lee, financial aspects of court-ordered lawyers. J. Williams, M. Préfontaine and many, many others, Mr. Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt Mr. Speaker. the motion? [Agreed] Mr. Speaker: In accordance with our rule 132(6), Any further introduction of bills? Seeing none, when petitions are read they are deemed to have been we'll move on with petitions. received by the House. 404 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA December 5, 2012 St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park We petition the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as follows: Mr. Ian Wishart (Portage la Prairie): Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the following petition to the To request the Minister of Health consider Legislative Assembly. reopening the emergency room in Vita as soon as possible and commit to providing adequate medical This is the reasons for this petition: support for residents of southeastern Manitoba for The St. Ambroise provincial park was hard hit many years to come. by the 2011 flood, resulting in the park's ongoing This petition is signed by E. Loeppky, closure, the loss of local access to Lake Manitoba, as K. Hassard, R. Alexiuk and many more fine well as untold harm to the ecosystem and wildlife in Manitobans. the region. Provincial Road 520 The park's closure is having a negative impact in many areas, including disruptions to the local Mr. Wayne Ewasko (Lac du Bonnet): I wish to tourism, hunting and fishing operations, diminished present the following petition to the Legislative economic and employment opportunities and the Assembly. potential loss of the local store and decrease in The background to this petition is as follows: property values. The rural municipalities of Lac du Bonnet and Local residents and visitors alike want St. Alexander are experiencing record growth due Ambroise provincial park to be reopened as soon as especially to an increasing number of Manitobans possible. retiring in cottage country. We petition the Legislative Assembly of The population in the RM of Lac du Bonnet Manitoba as follows: grows exponentially in the summer months due to To request the appropriate ministers of the increased cottage use. provincial government consider repairing St. Due to population growth, Provincial Road 520 Ambroise provincial park and its access points to experiences heavy traffic, especially during the their preflood conditions so the park can be reopened summer months. in 2013 season or earlier if possible. PR 520 connects cottage country to the Pinawa And this signed by S. Twist, G. Leblanc and Hospital and as such is frequently used by J. Baker and many, many more fine Manitobans. emergency medical services to transport patients. Vita & District Health Centre PR 520 is in such poor condition that there are Mr. Dennis Smook (La Verendrye): I wish to serious concerns about its safety. present the following petition to the Legislative We petition the Legislative Assembly as Assembly. follows: These are the reasons for this petition: To urge the Minister of Infrastructure and The Vita & District Health Centre services a Transportation to recognize the serious safety wide area of southeastern Manitoba and is relied on concerns of Provincial Road 520 and to address its to provide emergency services. poor condition by prioritizing its renewal. On October 17th, 2012, the emergency room at This petition is signed by B. Hallmuth, the Vita & District Health Centre closed with no M. Hallmuth, N. Berard and hundreds of other fine timeline for it to reopen. Manitobans. This emergency room deals with approximately Personal Care Homes and 1,700 cases a year, which includes patients in the Long-Term Care–Steinbach hospital, the attached personal care home and members of the community and surrounding area. Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): Yes, good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I wish to present the Manitobans should expect a high quality of following petition. health care close to home and should not be expected to travel great distances for health services. And these are the reasons for this petition: December 5, 2012 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 405 The city of Steinbach is one of the fastest Matters under Consideration growing communities in Manitoba and one of the • largest cities in the province. Bill (No. 3) – The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Leave Related to the Critical This growth has resulted in pressure on a Illness, Death or Disappearance of a Child)/Loi number of important services, including personal modifiant le Code des normes d'emploi (congés care homes and long-term care space in the city. en cas de maladie grave, de décès ou de Many long-time residents of the city of disparition d'enfants) Steinbach have been forced to live out their final years outside of Steinbach because of the shortage of Committee Membership personal care homes and long-term care facilities. • Ms. BLADY Individuals who have lived in, worked in and • Mr.