It was like a tap turning off. Suddenly, after weeks of endless NDP promises to spend your money, it all came to a sudden and abrupt end. Thanks to legislation that states that government cannot make spending promises within 90 days of an election, the NDP spending taps were turned off.

But before they were, literally hundreds of millions of dollars in a pre-election spending spree were announced by Greg Selinger’s NDP. In all the total reached $750 million in announcements between Boxing Day and when the 90 day announcement blackout came into effect last week.

And all of it means that under Mr. Selinger’s plan, we can expect more tax increases, greater debt and further credit downgrades for the province. All things that Manitobans have experienced before. After all, it was just before the 2011 campaign that Mr. Selinger promised he could fulfill all of his promises without raising taxes, and then he brought in the largest tax increase in the history of the province after being elected. And soon after, the provincial credit rating was downgraded.

Overwhelmingly one of the most common things that I hear from Manitobans across the province is that they cannot afford to pay more in taxes. They want a provincial government that will ensure they are actually getting value for the taxes that they give. It is one of the reasons that the Progressive Conservative Party has committed, if elected in April, to conduct a value-for-money audit of government to begin the process of reducing waste in government so that we can move toward reducing, not increasing, the tax burden on Manitobans.

Investments that happen in Manitoba need to be part of a larger plan. For example, earlier this month, Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister committed to a strategic infrastructure plan that will set out five and ten year commitments that would feature reliable and predictable funding as well as evaluating return on investment for expenditures. It’s the kind of plan that is needed for funding partners and for those in our province’s construction industry. And it’s the kind of plan Manitobans need to ensure their tax dollars are being spent wisely.

100 Year Anniversary

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in Manitoba. It’s especially important as Manitoba was the first province in Canada to allow women to vote.

There are several special events planned to mark this milestone. Already there is a special statute on the grounds of the Legislature celebrating Nellie McClung and other members of the Famous Five who were instrumental in gaining the vote a century ago. It’s worth visiting this monument and learning more about this special and important anniversary in the history of our province and country.