Celebrate Education '96

Manitoba Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting

Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): I wish to inform the House of two events that took place in the constituency of Pembina this past weekend.

On Friday, I attended the Celebrate Education '96 festivities held at the Southland Mall in Winkler. This meeting gave recognition to the many things in Manitoba's education system we have to be proud of: committed and caring teachers, hard-working administrators, capable, enthusiastic students and supportive parents and communities.

It demonstrated many of the achievements that our province has had in preparing our children for the ever-increasing challenges of a technological world. Winkler seemed to be the ideal place for such an event as the local high school, the Garden Valley Collegiate, is leading the way in teaching with technology. Garden Valley students now have access to the electronically administered English courses and can access selected post-secondary classrooms while in high school via the Internet. The festival also demonstrated the fine ability of our Manitoba students, as they held classes in the mall and displayed a variety of projects.

Also in Winkler, last weekend was the 65th annual meeting of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce. This gathering of Manitoba's local chambers focused on how our province's businesses could add value to their products, therefore diversifying their local economies.

Madam Speaker, in addition to sharing ideas on how to promote business in their local communities, the chambers also had suggestions for the various levels of governments. The chambers passed a resolution calling for the privatization of government enterprise. The resolution asks federal and provincial governments to restrict their participation in the marketplace to fields and endeavours that cannot be served efficiently and competitively by private enterprise.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the organizers of both the Celebrate Education and Manitoba chamber events. The time and effort they devote to the development of Manitoba's young people and Manitoba's business is truly commendable. Thank you.

Home Care Services

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): Every day it becomes more clear that the government is fixated on helping their friends obtain a monopoly over home care. In the province of Manitoba, by privatizing this $91-million contract the Conservatives can remain on the good side of their friends at the expense of Manitoba's citizens.

The Conservatives are continuing to ignore every report that has been issued which denounces the privatization of home care in the province of Manitoba. What the Conservatives are proposing to do is not home care; it is profit for the few at the expense of the sick, elderly and the poor.

The home care workers now employed by the government have the professional ability to take care of the patients in their home environment. The government is already saving a considerable amount of revenue on the home care budget by having an expanded Home Care program.

The government's new plan to cut the wages of home care workers is not equitable. It is not fair to the patients to have their lives torn up so the government can hand over tax dollars to their friends. If the government wants to reduce the cost of home care by reducing the standards, then let them be up front and say so. The government denies that home care will not be as good as it is under the government workers supervision. We know that this privatization will create huge turnovers of staff so that big business can make an extra buck.

In Manitoba we have no history of forcing workers from their jobs if they are providing good service. We recognize health care as a government responsibility, but now the Conservatives want to go back to the old system of medicine for a profit. The amount of money set aside for home care has been increased in the current budget. Private firms, not patients, will get most of it, for all of this money as extra profits. The Filmon government is not up front with the citizens of Manitoba.

Co-op Education Magazine Writing Contest

Mr. Neil Gaudry (St. Boniface): Madam Speaker, recently three graduates of the Nelson McIntyre Collegiate Co-operative Education Program have received top honours in an article-writing contest sponsored by the national Co-op Education Magazine, taking second, third and fifth place in the competition, remarkable achievements since the competition was open to both high school and university Co-op Education participants.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the hard work that Ms. Sandra Carsted, Co-op Education co-ordinator has contributed since September of 1994 in making the Co-op Education Program and Nelson McIntyre Collegiate a program whereby young people, Seniors 3 and 4, and mature students have the opportunity of gaining practical work experience and job search skills while earning high school credits under the supervision a school setting provides.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Marie Louise Privé, who took third place standing; Melanie Genest, second place standing; and Lisa San-Filippo who took fifth place standing in the national essay-writing contest sponsored by the Co-op Education Magazine.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Premier's Volunteer Service Award

Mr. Mervin Tweed (Turtle Mountain): Madam Speaker, last week I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon to honour the volunteers that have contributed so greatly to the province of Manitoba, and I would just like to draw attention to some of the people from my constituency who were honoured by being nominated and also fortunate to have one of the recipients receive the Premier's Volunteer Service Award.

On behalf of all my colleagues, I feel comfortable offering congratulations and sincere thanks to the people who nominated and also the people that have added to the communities in which they live. I think that upon listening to the comments made, I think any member in this House would be duly honoured to have the words put forward that were put forward to the volunteers in such a very cherished and honourable way.

The people that live in Turtle Mountain that were nominated for the award were Marian Glover of Boissevain and Helen Smith of Killarney, and the recipient, whom I am very proud to say I know personally, was Robert Haley Struth of Ninette. In the comments in regard to receiving the award it was suggested that Mr. Struth had given 50 years of his life to community and commitment to the development of the Pelican Lake in the Ninette area, and as I said earlier, I certainly hope that in the future, if someone is suggesting what they have done is to be an accomplishment, and I think we can all stand for it. I would also like to thank the sponsors who put forward the presentation. Again, I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the nominees and recipients of the Premier's Volunteer Service Award. Thank you.

Family Dispute Services

Agency Funding

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, over the past few weeks I have brought the attention of the House to the 2 percent cuts to agencies funded by Family Dispute. These include shelters for battered women and their children, women's resource centres, second-stage housing and community-based organizations which offer services to abused women and their families. I have repeatedly asked the Minister of Family Services (Mrs. Mitchelson) to repeal these cuts and restore funding. My requests have fallen on deaf, even uncaring, ears. The minister, on the record, has scoffed at the 2 percent cut as insignificantly small and hardly worth mentioning.

This government has often bragged of its commitment to end violence against women. The Minister of Justice (Mrs. Vodrey) is adamant in describing her programs as Canada's best. This is a matter of perception, but the 2 percent cuts are a reality affecting services.

At the inquiry into the murder-suicide of Roy and Rhonda Lavoie, the co-ordinator of the EVOLVE program testified under oath regarding these cuts. EVOLVE provides services for abused women, men who abuse and child witnesses of abuse. Its programs are established, respected and even crucial in combatting domestic violence. Ron Thorne-Finch testified that the cuts would mean less access to service, increased staff burnout and an inability to cope with clients' needs. Recommended expansions in programming to include individual counselling, as opposed to group counselling, and family counselling, as opposed to male and female group counselling, will be impossible. Desperately needed adolescent programs and the expansion of children's programming will wait. Work in public awareness and advocacy may deteriorate. So much for education and proactive measures.

This government is long on rhetoric and braggadocio but forgets to honour its public commitments and protect vulnerable people. I call on the government to honour its publicly professed commitment to end violence against women by restoring funding to Family Dispute.

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