Last week the provincial NDP government introduced the 2011-2012 budget. This budget, like every provincial budget, contains billions of dollars of spending on provincial programs in departments such as Healthcare, Justice, Family Services and Education. And like every provincial budget, there are some worthy initiatives contained within it that deserve support.
In fact, a number of things that are contained in this budget are initiatives that Manitoba Progressive Conservatives have been advocating for over the last number of years and we are glad to see, on the eve of an election, the NDP have finally responded to them. We have long pushed for more policing resources, more school capital funding and support for recreation through tax incentives, to name just a few. Some of these issues are addressed to some extent in the budget.
However, there are still a number of concerns regarding the NDP’s approach to the finances of Manitoba. Chief among these concerns is the fact that the budget does nothing to address Manitoba’s growing and unsustainable debt. This budget alone increases the province’s net debt by $1.6 billion (up to $14.8 billion from $13.2 billion). And there is no realistic plan to eliminate wasteful spending or to reduce the debt.
As well, we were disappointed that the NDP government did not change their mind on the route of the new Manitoba Hydro power transmission line from the north. Engineers, Hydro officials and the vast majority of Manitobans have said that the line should proceed from the north down to Winnipeg on the east side of the province. Instead, the NDP are forcing Manitoba Hydro to place the line on the west side of the province near the Saskatchewan border on the furthest route imaginable. That decision will not only cost Hydro hundreds of millions of dollars more in the short term but will cost all Hydro ratepayers for years to come. In fact, Manitoba Hydro is already planning for a series of significant rate increases over the next decade.
That is why the leader of the Official Opposition, Hugh McFadyen, put forward an amendment to the budget last week. That amendment would require the government to develop a plan to ensure that wasteful spending is eliminated to help reduce our debt and would also change the route of the new hydro line from the west side of Manitoba to the more direct eastern route. It recognizes there are some positive initiatives in the budget but that these two issues are fundamental to the future of our province.
It is our hope that the NDP government views this amendment as both reasonable and balanced and important for the future of our province. If they support it, it would go a long way to improving the budget and improving the future of our province.
