Mr. Mervin Tweed (Turtle Mountain): Last week the member for Brandon East (Mr. L. Evans) rose to ask questions about housing starts and population levels in our province. I would encourage the member to look at his own community when it comes to housing starts and population levels. An article in the Brandon Sun titled "Building boom" wrote about the situation in Brandon. It just happened to be the same day as the member for Brandon East accused our government of desperately trying to portray the economy as buoyant and expanding.
Did the Brandon Sun concur with the assessment made by the member for Brandon East? A review of the article indicates that if early numbers are any indication, 1998 is shaping up to be a record year for the Brandon construction industry. Mr. Jack Cumming, general manager of the Construction Association of Rural Manitoba indicated that in Brandon building permits are up nearly 250 percent over the same period last year. He went on to note that permits are sitting at a value of $5 million as opposed to $1.5 million this time last year. The article goes on to state that Brandon's population is expected to soar by as much as 10,000 people in the years following the completion of Maple Leaf's $112-million hog processing plant.
Madam Speaker, I do believe that the member for Brandon East needs only to take a drive around his own constituency to see the positive effects of our government's progressive policies.
Mr. Tim Sale (Crescentwood): Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the wonderful volunteer community in Winnipeg that has for so many years sustained and developed our music industry in this province by providing festivals and opportunities for people to, as amateurs and as beginners, learn and to excel and then to move on to careers that have put both them and Winnipeg on the world map as a centre of musical excellence. I am sure all members in this House know Tracy Dahl, they know Victor Pankratz, and we could go on and name many, many more Winnipeg musicians who have risen to prominence through the amateur festival scene and the amateur performance scene in this city.
I want to pay particular tribute to the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, which recently concluded its eighth presentation at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre. This association involves over a thousand Manitobans. It has a regular choir that performs at volunteer fundraising efforts around the city and sings out of pure pleasure and enjoyment. Madam Speaker, the conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra came on stage at the end of one of the performances a year or so ago and said that the choir in Winnipeg in the Gilbert and Sullivan chorale was equivalent to or even better than the D'Oyly Carte which he directed for some five years in London, England. So this is a high tribute to the quality of the volunteers who have developed and provided support in a whole range of musical endeavours in this city, and in particular I pay tribute to the members, the officers, the board, the volunteers and the performers of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Mr. Peter Dyck (Pembina): Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure this afternoon to announce to the House that today 47 Student Youth Job Centres are opening in Manitoba. These centres are opening in communities right across Manitoba. Our government continues to support the youth in rural and urban communities. These centres are a great method to connect employers and employees. Once again we see that it is the Filmon government's priority to support the youth of our province.
It is also a priority to continue increasing employment opportunities in Manitoba. Recently Statistics Canada reported that Manitoba leads the country in job creation. Last year approximately 10,000 young people obtained employment through these centres. It is a great benefit to the students when they can locate employment in their own communities. This lessens their expenses and increases their disposable income. This is also a great benefit to local businesses as they can hire students who know the community and understand the local environment.
Madam Speaker, today many new career opportunities exist. With new technology and new public demands, we have seen and continue to see the different types of jobs being created. These centres that we are opening are a great way to test our future career possibilities. I am very proud of our government's commitment to the youth of Manitoba. Thank you.
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Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River): Madam Speaker, when a disaster strikes an area, it can be very expensive, and I refer to disasters such as floods which can be expensive for the people who have to leave their homes. It disrupts their lives, and it can be very expensive for governments as well. One of the things that can be done is that preventative measures can be taken between floods to ensure that when the next flood strikes there are not such big losses.
This government had the opportunity to do that. It had the opportunity to extend flood protection to areas such as the Shellmouth and the Swan River Valley and other areas in the province that have faced floods in previous years, but this government chose not to. The government's own documents state that the Canada-Manitoba Flood-Proofing Program is a program separate from the disaster assistance program that it applied across the country. The flood-proofing program in Manitoba was expanded in August to include areas outside the Red River Valley, and it is the provincial government that will administer the program and make the decision how it should be acted on. The document goes on to say that the program is available to all Manitobans whose homes, businesses and properties are threatened by floods anywhere in the province.
Well, this province has chosen to ignore other parts of the province. People in my area have made application for flood-proofing assistance and they have been denied. I have to say that that is a very foolish move on the part of this government when there is an opportunity, when the federal government has put up part of the money, when we can take steps to flood proof other homes. There is a small number of homes that could have taken advantage of this program, and the government has denied us. The minister across the way is saying the government has denied them. We have talked to the federal government. They said it is this provincial government that made the decision not to extend the program to other parts of the province. Their documents say it is for all parts of the province, and it is a shame that the government chooses to ignore other people who are going to be facing disastrous floods in years ahead.
Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, it is almost two and a half years since the federal Minister of Agriculture and the federal Minister of Transportation announced in Ottawa that the Crow benefit that had been accrued to many Manitoba and western Canadian farmers for many years would be eliminated. The additional cost of transporting grain in this province, especially in this province, has been nothing short of phenomenal. One-third of a load of grain taken to an elevator now is deducted. One-third of the benefit of the grain is now being deducted for transportation and handling costs. In order to recognize the difficulty that Manitoba farmers are going to have to make ends meet, it is important to note that we need to start adding value--in spite of what the editor of the Manitoba Co-operator says--to what we produce in this province. Therefore, the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) has announced that we are going to increase, through the Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation, the development of a program for producers to finance agriculturally based, new generation co-operative shares.
I think it is also important to note that our Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Mr. Radcliffe) today announced the establishment of a new co-operatives act which will allow the establishment of a recommendation that was made by the rural task force on value-added to establish new generation co-operatives in this province. That will allow individuals to not only contract their produce to these co-operatives but will in fact allow ownership and financing of new business ventures in this province and new processing facilities to be established, creating large numbers of jobs, thereby keeping our farm families viable in this province. I congratulate the two ministers for having taken that initiative.