‘These are critical times in the province’

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Published on Thursday, November 24, 2016

Photo by Kate Jackman-Atkinson. On Nov. 17, Agassiz MLA Eileen Clarke listened to constituents’ ideas about the upcoming provincial budget.

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

A small, but diverse group gathered with Agassiz MLA Eileen Clarke to provide feedback for the next provincial budget. The pre-budget consultation meeting was held on Nov. 17 at the Town of Neepawa office and was attended by about 12 people, representing local councils, school divisions, health services and local Hutterite colonies.

At the opening of the meeting, Clarke explained that when the PC Party formed government after last fall’s election, they knew that they would be taking on a large debt. “Over the last seven months, there have been many surprises, most with financial implications,” she added. With these strains on the province’s budget, planning for today and the future becomes increasingly important. “These are critical times in the province,” said Clarke, adding that decisions made in the upcoming budget will impact every Manitoban.

As the government prepares next year’s budget, Clarke explained that the province already pays about $1 billion in interest payments each year, money that isn’t being spent on services such as hospital and schools. Clarke explained that every MLA in the PC caucus has been asked to talk to constituents about the programs that matter the most and ideas about cost savings.  As they make their difficult spending or saving decisions, she said, “We need your advice.” 

Clarke said that while they face challenges, “We are committed to make Manitoba the ‘Most Improved’ province.”

Many of those in attendance talked about red tape reduction and rigid processes.  Neepawa’s mayor, Adrian de Groot, talked about how a lack of coordination between departments can hold of development. He noted that it has taken three years to sort out the problems at the Neepawa Resource Centre– when it was built in the 1970s,  lane closures and sub-divisions were not completed properly and must be now done before the site can be sold.

Clarke noted that red tape reduction is one of their priorities, with a task force set to come forward with recommendations in the new year.  She added that they want to see more partnerships, especially in the case of First Nations and municipalities partnering for projects such as regional utilities.

The colony representatives talked about the impact of increased regulations in the agriculture industry.  These become especially problematic when governments change their minds about what is allowed after an operation has invested to meet required benchmarks. 

Clarke said that feedback such as this was very important, as she meets not only with the provincial minister, but also with officials at the federal level.

Both health and education face similar challenges, in that the majority of their costs are for staff. In Prairie Mountain Health, 80 per cent of their budget is made up of paid staff and two contracts are up in the spring.  Serving a rural area, they also face high costs and challenges staffing facilities, which must often be done using costly agency nurses.

For school divisions, despite announcements of higher investment, they have seen very little in the way of actual increases.  In the Pine Creek School Division, they have had no increase in government funding in the last five years, which means that rising costs must be paid for entirely through local taxation. A priority for school divisions is to ensure that students at small schools, including those on colonies, can continue to receive a high quality education.

Another important issue to multiple attendees was the changes to farmland school tax rebates. Recent legislation has resulted in a shift, with farmers now paying a larger proportion of school taxes than they have previously. Clarke said that this is an issue her office is working on addressing, calling it “imbalanced”, but not an easy fix. She added that this creates significant problems for Manitoba’s agricultural producers.

Anyone with feedback about the upcoming budget can contact their MLA’s office directly, or complete an online survey.