Three priorities highlighted in Throne Speech

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Published on Friday, November 25, 2016

Banner Staff

Neepawa Banner

The Manitoba speech from the throne delivered this past week highlights three priorities with an overall emphasis on the economy.

Fixing our finances:

•complete, extensive, province wide pre-budget consultations with Manitobans and work on the Fiscal Performance Review to ensure investments are made in the areas that matter most to Manitobans;

• reform the governance of major Crown corporations, abolishing the Crown Corporations Council and redeploying its resources to increase efficiency;

• establish a Red Tape Reduction Task Force and create regulatory accountability through legislation; and

• introduce a stand-alone referendum law to restore Manitobans’ right to vote on increases to major taxes.

Repairing our services:

• address the needs of Manitoba’s most vulnerable children by developing a plan that will act upon the many outstanding reports and recommendations that have followed tragedies within the child welfare system;

• improve access to justice and to reducing unreasonable court delays with a system-wide review focused on the efficiency of the justice system;

• reform Manitoba’s Employment and Income Assistance program and release a new provincial housing strategy to address homelessness, affordability and repairs to existing housing stock;

• complete a comprehensive assessment of the health system via the Health Sustainability and Innovation Review;

• focus on public education measures and other steps to counteract the opioid crisis facing Manitoba and warn Manitobans about the dangers of fentanyl-laced drugs;

• form a provincial agency for doctor recruitment aligned with province wide priorities of doctor recruitment and retention; and

• create pooled retirement pension plans to provide a new option of saving for retirement for those who do not have access to a workplace pension.

Rebuilding our 

economy:

•continue work on Manitoba’s Look North initiative, a northern economic development strategy to create jobs, increase investment and ensure long-term stability for the region;

• introduce Manitoba’s new Premier’s Enterprise Team members who will offer their entrepreneurial expertise to the development of a provincial strategy for growth and diversification;

• celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation at special events and activities throughout the province during 2017, via a hosting partnership with the Government of Canada and the City of Winnipeg that will see the Canada Summer Games take place in the province’s vibrant capital;

• develop a long-term literacy and numeracy strategy with a focus on education through the early years and invest in professional development for educators and supports for school divisions;

• eliminate the backlog of Provincial Nominee Program applications and partner with the federal government to improve the processing speed of visa applications;

• implement a return-on-investment test to prioritize government investments in infrastructure, including roads and bridges, water-management projects and social and cultural capital;

• introduce a made-in-Manitoba carbon pricing and climate change plan that both addresses the unique environmental circumstances and meets the province’s unique economic realities.