March 1st saw the beginning of the Spring Session at the Manitoba Legislature and I am very pleased to welcome back all 56 of my colleagues after the Legislative recess. This session will be an important landmark for our government, especially in laying a strong financial plan for a sustainable way forward for our province. One of the main messages to Manitobans this session from our government will be that there is a significant challenge in front of us as a province, and we as a province will need incredible resolve to fix the situation. We as government must lead by example and as a gesture of this all-hands-on-deck strategy to fix our finances all 40 members of the PC caucus announced they will forego any scheduled pay increases until the next election.
It was announced last week that on April 11th Budget 2017 will be delivered. Budget 2017 will outline our government’s commitment to prudent fiscal management and will take steps to carefully restore financial stability to Manitoba. Our government is committed to taking the necessary steps to responsibly return our province to balance after the previous administration left us with a deficit of $900 million, two credit downgrades and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt-servicing charges. The budget will reflect difficult but necessary decisions, giving thoughtful consideration to both short-term benefits for Manitobans and their ability to secure a sustainable and prosperous future.
Members of Manitoba’s Advisory Panel on Fiscal Performance, co-chaired by Janice MacKinnon, former Saskatchewan finance minister, and Dave Angus, former Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, have been tasked with assessing value-for-money core government programs and services and are making recommendations as part of the development of Budget 2017. The panel will be reviewing the KPMG reports on health-care innovation and fiscal performance, as well as the feedback received during the province’s extensive pre-budget consultation. More than 100 written submissions, 220 online submissions and 1,000 citizen budget responses were received during the pre-budget consultation process, with 340 Manitobans attending five community meetings held throughout the province. Manitobans have clearly said they want government to make smart investments in programs that are working well and to look at improving how services are delivered. Fiscal management and deficit reduction remain two of the Manitoba government’s core priorities and our government is engaged in an ongoing consultation process with union leadership to find solutions to the very serious fiscal challenges facing the province. This is the fiscal reality we are committed to addressing as we pursue both the discipline and commitment to services that Manitobans expect from their government.
