MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

YM-YWCA Women of Distinction

Mrs. Shirley Render (St. Vital): It is my pleasure today to bring to your attention the winners of the YM-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Dinner held Wednesday, May 8, 1996. Each year this event gives us an opportunity to honour those women in our community who have excelled in many fields of endeavour, fields such as community volunteers, teachers, professors, businesswomen, scientists, nurses, doctors, lawyers, fitness, recreation and sports professionals, artists, musicians, public servants, athletes and cultural activists.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the awards dinner. The original format for the awards was to choose winners from specific categories such as the arts or community service. In 1991, the format was changed to the selection of five award winners without defining categories. This year, the women of distinction were: Diane Dwarka, first multicultural information specialist of the Manitoba Education and Training Library; Yvonne La Freniere, Manitoba's Special Olympics coach, fundraiser, strategic planner and communicator; Anne Jorowsky, founder and director of Share Christmas, a program that collects, refurbishes and distributes thousands of toys for needy Winnipeg children each year.

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The fourth was the Women Business Owners of Manitoba. This group provides peer support and ideas and sharing among female entrepreneurs. The fifth award winner was Ginnie Hasselfield who introduced new concepts to business, education and social groups, established cross cultural consulting, created and developed the first computer-based training program in North America on diversity management.

Although there were only five award winners, it should be noted that all of the 25 nominees are outstanding women who are dedicated to their work and to their communities. I am especially pleased to tell you about the recipient of the Gerrie Hammond Memorial Award of Promise. Her name was Hygiea Dela Cruz from River East Collegiate.

Madam Speaker, I now ask you to join with me in congratulating all of the YM-YWCA women of distinction.

Evergreen Foundation of Manitoba

Mr. Clif Evans (Interlake): Madam Speaker, this spring I had the pleasure and opportunity to attend the Evergreen Foundation of Manitoba Third Annual Dinner at the Arborg Community Centre. This event was held to honour this year's inductees to the Evergreen Foundation Hall of Fame.

All of this year's inductees have contributed a great deal not only to the education system but to the community as a whole. Their dedication and contributions to improving their communities will not soon be forgotten. In recognition of their achievements and contributions, I would like to honour the hard work and dedication over the years of Mr. John H. Menzies, Miss Sigurbjorg Stefansson and posthumously to Mr. Sigurdur G. Wopnford on being included into the Evergreen Foundation Hall of Fame.

In addition to recognizing the new inductees, Madam Speaker, the Evergreen Foundation also took the opportunity to award scholarships to two outstanding persons from within the community. One of the scholarships was awarded to Tanya Kozera from the community of Fraserwood, who is a mature student currently attending the University of Manitoba with the intention of receiving a physiotherapy degree. Miss Kozera is currently studying in England for four months.

The Evergreen Foundation also awarded a scholarship to Kimberly Arnold. Miss Arnold, who is from Gimli, is currently in the third year of a bachelor of arts program at Brandon University. She hopes to pursue a masters degree in either social work or psychology.

Again, Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate both these students on being awarded the Evergreen Foundation scholarships, and I wish them luck and good fortune.

Brandon Wheat Kings

Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Sturgeon Creek): Madam Speaker, over the course of the past few weeks this House has heard many well-deserved accolades credited to Manitoba's Western Hockey League champions, the Brandon Wheat Kings.

This past weekend, in Peterborough, Ontario, the Wheat Kings took their quest for the Memorial Cup to the semifinals against the host Peterborough Petes and fell just short of their goal.

Yet, while I am certain that the members of the team and all of their loyal fans had hopes of a tournament victory, this Wheat Kings team will be remembered as champions for its own special reasons. I have been fortunate to get to know many of these players and their families personally, and I had the pleasure to be in attendance this past weekend to bear witness to see these quality individuals in action. While they did not bring home the Memorial Cup, I am proud of their gallant effort.

Picked to finish fourth in its own division by many at the beginning of the year, this team, led by 17 Manitobans, ignored the hockey experts as with a combination of speed, size and solid goaltending, they proved themselves to be the class of the western division.

The Wheat Kings did more than represent themselves well on the ice, however. This group of young men travelled throughout western Manitoba, the northwest United States and Ontario and represented our province as worthy ambassadors. Madam Speaker, at a time when the media seems focused on what is wrong with our young people, I hold this group up as an example of what is right with Manitoba's youth.

Madam Speaker, in the years to come, it will not be the scores or the standings that this team or its players will be defined by, it will be the character and class with which they conducted themselves and represented our province. In that regard, every member of this team is a true champion.

While I am certain that each member of this Legislature joins with me in congratulating the Memorial Cup champion Granby Predateurs, I am equally certain that each Manitoban recognizes the best team, defined by more than what takes place on the surface of the ice, calls Brandon home.

Along with my colleague the honourable Minister of Health (Mr. McCrae), we offer sincere congratulations to each member of the team and their coach Bob Lowes, and I wish them well as they prepare to defend the Western League championship in the 1996-97 season.

Congratulations are also in order to Bob Lowes and his wife Shelley who gave birth to their son while the team was in Peterborough. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Manitoba Lotteries Corporation

Entertainment

Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Madam Speaker, the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation runs three casinos in Winnipeg, controls the operation of video lottery terminals in lounges and bars and runs all of these at great profit, to date more than $230 million annually. Apparently this is not enough.

The Manitoba Lotteries Corporation plans to spend over $1 million on robotic sirens to lure gamblers into the casinos. McPhillips will have a mechanized barbershop quartet and Club Regent a robotic calypso band. Whatever happened to real music? Manitoba has long been recognized as having talented, successful local musicians. Money spent on robots could have been spent on local bands which would generate employment and add to the tax base. Manitoba could have copied the intelligent Regina casino model but, instead, the Minister responsible for Lotteries (Mr. Stefanson) went to the U.S. and spent one million Manitoba dollars on robots. The current government claims to be worried about gamblers crossing the border and losing their money. This is a problem that will not be redressed with wailing, windup toys. Living, breathing musicians might have helped people.

The government continues to display greed when it comes to the operation of lottery schemes in the province. They drag their heels when it comes to sharing revenues with rural municipalities and First Nations communities and now with local musicians. It is time to take a close look at the progressive revenue sharing plans of sister provinces, first Saskatchewan but even Alberta. It is time to show some regard for our culture and heritage. Leave off the Philistine practices and stop insulting Manitoba by purchasing expensive Disney products with our Manitoba revenue. Thank you.

North Dakota Museum

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, I had the pleasure of attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an opening of the North Dakota Museum located at Pembina, North Dakota, and accompanying me was the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism (Mr. Downey) for this province and his wife Linda. The Pembina state museum will serve as a regional museum and a state historical society for North Dakota and a state tourism centre.

The people of Pembina, North Dakota, built a 110-foot high tower with an 85-foot observation deck which will allow visitors to view the whole of the Red River Valley in that area. The museum store offers regional books and gifts for sale and it will offer also a permanent exhibit gallery featuring fossils, tools of the fur trade, of the steamboat era, and of the American Indians and the Metis people. Also, of course, one of the features will be a display of the Selkirk colonists and agriculture, and the importance of the transportation industry to the region and this town.

I think it is important to note, Madam Speaker, that Manitoba finished a $100-million twinning of Provincial Trunk Highway 75 this last year to the town of Pembina, and the American market that has opened up to Winnipeggers and Manitobans in export of agricultural and manufactured goods is only second to one other province in this country. We have increased our export sales by 31 percent this past year to the U.S. The people of Pembina, North Dakota, recognize the potential of the traffic down I-29 and 75 highway and also the potential that the trade-negotiated agreements have offered to them. They have taken advantage of that. They are building a tourism industry and we congratulate them for doing that. That is, of course, in conjunction with the Manitoba tourism centre that was built last year, and we certainly welcome that new initiative by North Dakotans.