The Manitoba Provincial Politics Discussion

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by drew

^ I think this particular red-tape (for cannabis) is more to do with the current MB government's obvious aversion to cannabis legalization in the first place.

They didn't want to do it, I suspect their "base" is of a similar mind set - so because their hand was forced with legalization, they are doing what they can to make it seem like they are being "tough", limiting the ease of use, etc. etc.

They got the sale through private stores right. But beyond that...

Would be nice is they spent a little time trying to actually solve some of the province's problems instead of just posturing on issues no one really cares about anyway

[headhorse]

how exactly has our province improved since the conservatives were elected

[Chrisforpm]

Originally Posted by headhorse

how exactly has our province improved since the conservatives were elected

They have started reigning in an out of control deficit. It’s not popular right now but future generations won’t be saddled with even more debt than we already have. As it stands, over a billion dollars a year goes to servicing the debt. That money could be going to health, education and infrastructure. Had the NDP continued on, where would it have stopped? $1.5 billion a year? $2 billion dollars a year?

[drew]

They are too fixated on the debt reduction, and it is happening at the expense of deferring maintenence and other capital projects.

There has to be a happy medium between continuing to fund infrastructure and other projects while also being smart about the deficit.

The danger now is any savings realized by the reduction in debt is just going to be spent down the road as part of the increased costs for repairs, construction etc.

And when you are in a deficit situation, it doesn't seem like a great idea to remove 100s of millions of dollars in general revenue via a 1% cut in the pst either.

[Tacheguy]

One key issue for me is the rural urban divide. I notice a lot of announcements are keying Morden winkler carman politic base, as one would expect. It sure has an impact on downtown though. Reminds me of the filmon years, but more pronounced.

[Chrisforpm]

Originally Posted by drew

They are too fixated on the debt reduction, and it is happening at the expense of deferring maintenence and other capital projects.

There has to be a happy medium between continuing to fund infrastructure and other projects while also being smart about the deficit.

The danger now is any savings realized by the reduction in debt is just going to be spent down the road as part of the increased costs for repairs, construction etc.

And when you are in a deficit situation, it doesn't seem like a great idea to remove 100s of millions of dollars in general revenue via a 1% cut in the pst either.

I agree with you on that point. I would’ve rather seen the PST stay at 8% for the next 3 or 4 years to continue funding infrastructure. Then cut it when we are back to balance and can afford to fund infrastructure at proper levels.

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Although it seems the roll-out in Manitoba has gone better than most other provinces.

I hope that was a pun intended

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by drew

They are too fixated on the debt reduction, and it is happening at the expense of deferring maintenence and other capital projects.

And jobs. So many jobs already lost in Social Services. Ask anyone who works there. Healthcare too. Multiple heart surgeries last week not done as there were not enough surgical nurses available. They're onto education next. Did you see Kelvin Goertzen talking about that in his news conference? Good luck to anyone employed in this sector.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by headhorse

how exactly has our province improved since the conservatives were elected

That’s a real simpleton comment, the province is spending a fucking billion dollars a year to service the debt. and now you have a govt. finally trying to address the problem but dopes like yourself still want entitlements.

The province needs to spend on healthcare, social services and education just how much do some of you guys think is left over for everything else? But then again some of the deep thinkers in here will advocate for more taxes, some are actually against cutting the PST rate as unbelievable as that sounds, wow!

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by drew

They are too fixated on the debt reduction, and it is happening at the expense of deferring maintenence and other capital projects.

There has to be a happy medium between continuing to fund infrastructure and other projects while also being smart about the deficit.

The danger now is any savings realized by the reduction in debt is just going to be spent down the road as part of the increased costs for repairs, construction etc.

And when you are in a deficit situation, it doesn't seem like a great idea to remove 100s of millions of dollars in general revenue via a 1% cut in the pst either.

The current Government hasn't done anything to reduce the dept. This Province still has a long way to go before we can start talking about debt reduction. We need to solve the deficit before we can even get to the dept problem which is why all this fiscal responsibility needs to come into effect.

I do agree that the PST reduction wasn't a priority for me but they said they were going to do at and they kept good on it. The current government has been doing exactly what they said they were going to do in their campaign, if nothing else I appreciate that from this government.

[drew]

I meant deficit when I said debt in my post.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

And jobs. So many jobs already lost in Social Services. Ask anyone who works there. Healthcare too. Multiple heart surgeries last week not done as there were not enough surgical nurses available. They're onto education next. Did you see Kelvin Goertzen talking about that in his news conference? Good luck to anyone employed in this sector.

There has actually been an increase in the number of positions and in the number of total Full Time Equivalent in healthcare. A shuffle does not constitute a cut. The only reduction in staff happened to management positions which was reduced by over 15%.

As for education, I look forward to a revamp. The waste my wife talks about all the time could be eliminated with no loss in teachers or real resources as the education system appears to be crippled by administrative positions and consultants that get huge salaries to siphon old information and provide little guidance to teachers. All this training they go for not only provides little to no value added benefits but it also pulls them out of classrooms and means they have to be replaced by a sub which means you are paying two teachers salaries for one classroom and getting no benefit out of it. That waste needs to go, if you get rid of it then you don't need funding increases at the rate of inflation because you're gaining it in savings.

[esquire]

I'm not convinced that the ongoing binge and purge cycle in Manitoba politics is necessarily the best way to do things.

If only there was a party that wouldn't spend beyond our means during the good times, and impose painful levels of austerity during the bad

[drew]

^ no kidding. It's baffling that that other party can't make inroads at the provincial level.

[ywgwalk]

There's more deficits than just a fiscal one. As mentioned, there's a infrastructure deficit. How about social deficits? The vicious circles that come from being born into poverty or substance abuse. The education system in general, etc etc

I'd suggest the only thing the PCs have done is shifted the fiscal deficit into infrastructure AND social deficits.

Putting blinders on to everything except the bottom line of the fiscal statement is not how to run a civilization.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by dmacc

As for education, I look forward to a revamp. The waste my wife talks about all the time could be eliminated with no loss in teachers or real resources as the education system appears to be crippled by administrative positions and consultants that get huge salaries to siphon old information and provide little guidance to teachers. All this training they go for not only provides little to no value added benefits but it also pulls them out of classrooms and means they have to be replaced by a sub which means you are paying two teachers salaries for one classroom and getting no benefit out of it. That waste needs to go, if you get rid of it then you don't need funding increases at the rate of inflation because you're gaining it in savings.

I know teachers who also complain about the time wasted on training days when they feel they should be in the classroom teaching their students. The composition of school boards is another issue that always seems to fly under the radar. School boards are elected, but very few people know anything about who they vote for or what they stand for. Board meetings are supposed to be open to the public (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong) but I doubt school board meetings see a member of the public once in ten years.

[drew]

The school board thing is a biggie for me. I hope this is something that the PCs can get done in their tenure (i.e. vastly reduce the number of school boards, and reign in taxation powers).

To me the private sale of cannabis was a win for the PCs, the above about school boards can be a long term win for the province, and I think the long term effects of the health care reshuffling will also be a win.

That said, it bothers me that the PCs seem to go out of their way to govern in spite of or even with total disregard of the City of Winnipeg.

I am not trying to come across as a smug Winnipegger - but MB can not be healthy or economically successful if Winnipeg is not. The PCs need to get past their "base" and figure this out.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by drew

That said, it bothers me that the PCs seem to go out of their way to govern in spite of or even with total disregard of the City of Winnipeg.

This is definitely an unfortunate trait of theirs. It feels a bit worse under Pallister than it did under Filmon. It's probably not a coincidence that Winnipeg's fortunes bottomed out during the Filmon years.

For all the claptrap about northern mining, oil fields in the SW or rural agriculture, Winnipeg is still the most important economic tool in the province's toolbox.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by drew

The school board thing is a biggie for me. I hope this is something that the PCs can get done in their tenure (i.e. vastly reduce the number of school boards, and reign in taxation powers).

To me the private sale of cannabis was a win for the PCs, the above about school boards can be a long term win for the province, and I think the long term effects of the health care reshuffling will also be a win.

That said, it bothers me that the PCs seem to go out of their way to govern in spite of or even with total disregard of the City of Winnipeg.

I am not trying to come across as a smug Winnipegger - but MB can not be healthy or economically successful if Winnipeg is not. The PCs need to get past their "base" and figure this out.

I think the solution their in my opinion is get our deficit in order and back to surplus. Once we have a surplus over $50 million, to put towards a reserve fund every year for emergency use such as flooding and economic downturns, all additional increases in economic performance can go towards all the other deficits you speak of.

Also those deficits aren't necessarily cause by lack of funding. The biggest gripe about the health care system before the PC's got in was ER wait time. Those services are slowly improving because of the new changes brought in while also costing less. The education system is likely in the same boat.

As for Winnipeg, the last two mayors have whined about the Province not doing it's fair share. I bet the City would have a lot more funds if it got it's Emergency Services budget under control and in line with the national average. If those services were more in line with the 25% of the city budget there would be an additional $200 million to spend on the city's infrastructure deficit and on RT or the new sewage plant. It's not the provinces problem the city isn't governed properly.

[Ando]

Most provinces don’t have room for more than two parties. In Manitoba, the left-right political divide is taken up by the NDP-Conservatives and they usually govern from the centre. In the current case, we really have a Reform party style Conservative government that is cutting everywhere, and Winnipeg will take the brunt. Economic forecasts are being downgraded significantly.