Fifth Session· Thirty-FifthLegislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS (Hansard) Publishedunder the authorityof The Honourable DenisC. Rocan Speaker Vol. XLIII No. 36A • 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 30, 1994 ISSN OS42-S492 MANITOBALEGISLATIVE ASS EMBLY Thirty-FifthLegislature Members,C oostitueacles aadPoUtic:al AtftUation NAME CONSTITUENCY PARTY ASHI'ON, Steve Thompson NDP BARRE'IT, Becky Wellington NDP CARSTAIRS, Sharon River Heights Liberal CERILLI, Marianne Radisson NDP CHOMIAK,Dave Kildonan NDP CUMMINGS, Glen, Hon. Ste.Rose PC DACQUAY, Louise SeineRiver PC DERKACH,Leananl, Hon. Roblin-Russell PC DEWAR, G!egmy Selkilk NDP DO.ER, Gary Concordia NDP DOWNEY, James,Hon. Arthur-Virden PC DRIEDGER,Albert, Hon. Steinbach PC DUCHARME, Gerry, Hon. Riel PC EDWARDS, Paul St. James Liberal ENNS, Hany, Hon. Lakeside PC ERNST, fuu, Hon. Charleswood PC EVANS, Clif Interlake NDP EVANS,Leonard S. BrandonEast NDP FILMON, Gary, Hon. Tuxedo PC FINDLAY, Glen, Hon. Springfield PC FRIESEN, Jean Wolseley NDP GAUDRY, Neil St.Boniface Liberal GnLESHAMM.ER, Harold, Hon. Minnedosa PC GRAY, Avis C!escentwood Liberal HELW.ER, Edward R. Gimli PC HICKES, George Point Douglas NDP KOWALSKI, Gary TheMaples Liberal LAMOUREUX,Kevin Inkster Liberal LATHLIN, Oscar ThePas NDP LAURENDBAU,Mucel St.Norbert PC MACKINTOSH, Gord St. Johns NDP MALOWAY, fuu Elmwood NDP MANNESS, Clayton, Hon. Morris PC MARTINDALE, Doug Burrows NDP McALPINE, Gerry SturgeonCleek PC McCORMICK, Norma Osborne Liberal Mc�, James, Hon. Brandon West PC MciNTOSH.Linda, Hon. Assiniboia PC MITCHELSON,Bonnie, Hon. RiverEast PC ORCHARD, Donald, Hon. Pembina PC PALUST.ER, Brian PortageIa Prairie PC PENNER, Jack Emerson PC PLOHMAN, John Dauphin NDP PRAZNIK, Damn, Hon. Lac du Bonnet PC REID, Daryl Transcona NDP REIMER, Jack Niakwa PC RENDER, Shirley St.Vital PC ROBINSON,Eric Rupertsland NDP ROCAN,Denis, Hon. Gladstone PC ROSE, Bob TurtleMountain PC SANTOS, Conrad Broadway NDP SCHELLENBERG,Hany Rossme� NDP STEFANSON,Eric, Hon. KirkfieldPlllk PC STORIE,Jerry FlinFlon NDP SVEINSON, Ben LaV�ndrye PC VODREY. Rosemary, Hon. Fort Garry PC WOWCHUK, Rosann Swan River NDP 2573 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Monday, May 30, 1994 TheHouse met at 1:30 p.m. theWinds orPark Collegiate fiftyGrade 9 students under the direction of Mrs. Sisco and Mrs. Karen PRAYERS Haluschak. This school is located in the RO�PROCEEDINGS constituency of the honourable member for Niakwa(Mr. Reimer). READINGAND RECEIVING PETITIONS Then, from the Constable Edward Finney TheMisericordia Hospital General School, we have fifty Grade 5 students underthe Incorporation Act direction of Ms. Lorraine Garnett. This school is Mr. Speaker: I have reviewed the petition of the located in the constituency of the honourable honourable member for St. Norbert (Mr. memberfor The Maples (Mr. Kowalski). Laurendeau). It complies with the privileges and On behalf of all honourable members, I would the practices of the House and complies with the like to welcome you here thisafternoon. rules.Is it the willof theHouse to have thepetition read? ORAL QUESTION PERIOD AnHonourable Member: Dispense. BristolAerospace Limited Mr.Speaker: Dispense. EmploymentStatistics The Petition of Misericordia General Hospital Mr.Gary Doer(Leader of theOpposition) : Mr. praying for the passing ofan act to amend The Speaker, my questionis to thePremier. Misericordia General Hospital IncorporationAct 'lbeCF-5 was awardedto Manitobain 1988, and to permit the admission of persons as members of the commitment from the federal government the corporation pursuant to its by-laws and to initially called for 56 planesto be retrofitted here extend the authority of the executive committee of in Manitoba. In the 1991 budget that wasreduced the directors of the corporation. to 46 planes; in the 1994 federal budget it was TABLING OF REPORTS reduced to 36 planes. Bon. Eric Stefanson (Ministerof Finance): Mr. Therealready has been a reduction aof hundred Speaker, I am pleased to table the First Quarter employeesworking at Bristol, andthere is a great 1994 Reportfor the Manitoba Telephone System. dealof concernat the plantand with people we talk to about the status of employment at the Bristol Bon. DarrenPraznik (Ministerof Labour) : Mr. operation. Speaker, I would like to table Supplementary Information for Legislative Review for the I would like to ask the Premier, what is the 1994-95 Departmental Expenditure Estimates for employment forecast for the Bristol operation the Department of Northern Affairs,the Manitoba relative to the wolk from the federal government Civil Service Commission and the Manitoba and otherwork they may obtain? Employee Benefits andOther Payments. Bon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is quite right in that Introductionof Guests defence cuts in generalthat arebeing made by the Mr. Speaker: Prior to Oral Questions, may I federal Liberal government and specific defence directthe attention of honourable members to the cuts with respect to the EH-101 and the CF-5 gallery,where we have withus thisafternoon from overhaul will dramatically affect firms in 2574 LEGISLATIVEASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA May 30, 1994 Manitoba. The EH-101 probably involved a number of 400 will probably be met in the longer reduction of about 450 jobs that would have tenn. resulted from some $360 million worth of work that would have been done in Manitoba underthat Aerospace Industry program. Employment CreationStrategy 1be CF-5 reductions ultimately, I believe, will Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): result inprobably more than 200 add itionallayoff s That will mean close to a 33 percent reduction in in Manitoba in the long tenn. These are very regrettablesituations for Manitobabecause I know the workforce from November of 1993 to that oftentimes forthe last number of yearsI heard Decemberof 1994, which is a massive decline in Liberalmembers in thisHouse, including one who high-tech, high-paid skilled jobs in the province of is now in Ottawa, make speeches about what a Manitoba,with thePremi er's numbers here today. tragedy it was that ourengineering and technical Arethere any alternativesthat the minister or the graduates could not findjobs in Manitoba, but this Premier (Mr. Filmon) is seeking with the federal isdirect impact and directof result decisions from government, alternative contracts, alternative the new Liberal government that willin fact result work in either the private sector or in the public in hundreds of jobs being lost for engineers and technical people in Manitoba. sector that will allow this workforce to be stabilized andto allow us to prevent these layoffs • (1335) and reductionsin the workforce? Mr. Doer: Mr. Speaker, there is quite a bit of Isthere anywork and discussionwith thefederal concern at the plant about their immediate government and the federal minister, whom I employment situation. On February 26, the know is also interestedin keeping people working Premier indicated there would be 400 jobs here in Manitoba? Can the Premier indicate what potentially lost at Bristol. ThePremier is now saying it is down to 200jobs. Word at the plant is alternatives are available through the federal lead that thosejobs willbe lost at endthe of 1994. ministerto keepthis very, very important industry from losing one-third of its workforce in 14 1bePremier used thetenn, in the longertenn. I months? would like to know whenthe Premier expects the reductions to take place at the plant andwhether Bon. James Downey (Minister of Industry, we canconfirm it-it isdown froma projected400 Trade and Tourism): Mr. Speaker, this to 200 which ismoving in theright directi on-and government is extremely concerned about the whether there is any alternative work for the federal Liberal decision to reduce the military workers at thatplant with alternativecontracts that expendituresin the aerospace industry. They were could be made available for keeping that contacted when the initial announcement was workforceat theplant. made, and there have been discussions going on AsI say, we have lost about a hundredpeople in withdepartmental staff . the last five months, and it is crucial we keep people in that aerospace industry working here in We have beenworking with theother aerospace Manitoba. people, as well, to try to shift to less dependency on the military activity, as has been in the past. Mr. Filmon: My understanding is that the 1bere areprograms in place that areworking with reductions that are attributable specifically to the CF-5 cutback aresom ethingin therange of200 to all the aerospace industry in Manitoba, because it 250 jobs, but that overall with some other is extremely important to this province, and we reductions thatare takingplace as aresult of just willendeavour to do whateverwe canto assurethe reduced defence spending in general in which jobs thatare there and to offernew opportunities as Bristol would be a contractor in many cases, the it relates to thatindustry. May 30, 1994 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA 2575 Health SdencesCentre Mr. McCrae: Mr. Speaker, the honourable Staft'Reductioas member has the same kind of access to the president of theHealth Sciences Centre as Ido. He Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Mr. Speaker, canask thatquestion of the president of theHealth from the very beginning of the government's Sciences Centre. 1beletter, orwhatever it was the so-called health reform, we have said that itis honourable member referred to, did discuss a reallymore anexercise in slashingcutting. and We bottom line, and the bottom line