Earlier this week the Manitoba Legislature concluded its spring sitting. As is usually the case for the spring sitting, most of the discussion and debate surrounded the provincial budget. This was particularly true this year as Manitobans face an affordability crisis that is among the worst in the country. While it is not possible for any government to completely alleviate the sharp increase in the cost of food, fuel and housing that has been experienced by Manitobans, there was certainly an expectation that the NDP government would move in a direction that was meaningful in supporting Manitobans impacted by increasing costs. It was a commitment that they made before they unveiled the provincial budget.

Instead, what Manitobans witnessed was a government that gave signs of there being motion but that ultimately resulted in no movement to truly support Manitobans. What the NDP government touted as the key affordability measure in the budget, turned out to be something of a mirage. A pledge to remove the provincial sales tax (PST) off of all grocery items sounded good until Manitobans realized that the PST already isn’t charged on most grocery items. Other than items like snacks, a few prepared meals and Slurpee’s, groceries are already tax free and the few pennies that might be saved off the remaining items will hardly be noticed by Manitobans facing double digit inflation on some food items over the past year.

In response, the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party put forward a proposal to increase what is known as the Basic Personal Exemption to $30,000. This is the amount of money a person can earn before they start paying taxes. This would have saved the average Manitoban $3,000 and allowed them to use those savings in a way that helps them address the affordability crisis and how it is impacting their individual family.

To give the NDP as much time and opportunity to adopt this suggestion as possible, the Manitoba Legislature sat for 36 straight hours, the longest continuous sitting in decades. During this time, all members of the Manitoba PC Caucus spoke and offered to work with the government to make changes to help struggling families. Not a single NDP member spoke to the issue and, ultimately, they used their majority to pass the budget bill without changes and without significant relief for Manitobans. The NDP were trying to convince Manitobans they were making moves to help them, but in the end, they demonstrated motion, but no actual movement.

There were several other files where the NDP talked as though something significant was about to happen, like with the Port of Churchill, but where there was little or no outcome of significance. This seems to be becoming a pattern with the current NDP government. There is a great deal of hype and promise, but little is getting delivered.

While the Legislature is now officially in summer recess, there will continue to be meetings and committees that occur, but the day-to-day focus for MLAs turns from the Legislature back to their respective constituencies. I am looking forward to connecting with residents at community events and meetings and hearing about the priorities you would like to see discussed provincially when the Manitoba Legislature resumes in the fall.