View From the Legislature

Last Tuesday Lieutenant-Governor Janice Filmon presented the throne speech marking the third session of the 41st sitting of the legislature, outlining our government’s ambitious program.

We remain committed to correcting the course and making Manitoba the most improved province in Canada by continuing to fix the province’s finances, improve services and rebuild the economy. After a year and ten months our government unveiled an ambitious agenda that will help create jobs for Manitobans and improve services for vulnerable citizens.

The speech from the throne directed work would continue including: planning for a public service transformation strategy to deliver better outcomes for Manitobans, implementing mechanisms to ensure government spends smarter, and reducing overlap and duplication in government services. The speech highlighted services will be improved through initiatives such as the recently unveiled reform of Manitoba’s children in care program including proposed legislation to remove barriers to guardianship to move children from government care to loving homes and improve outcomes for those children.

Improvement in the delivery of health services continues with governance reforms designed to reduce senior management and by trimming at the top to ensure maximum resources dedicated to front-line care. Government will improve self- and family-managed home care and highlighted the new Priority Home program that will shorten hospital stays. Manitoba will also work to develop a comprehensive approach to chronic disease prevention.

Other highlights include: developing a new Early Learning and Child Care strategy, introducing a new provincial housing strategy for affordable and social housing, reforming the family law system to better protect parents and children, and positioning the Family Violence Prevention Program with Manitoba Status of Women.

The speech outlined work on rebuilding the economy continues with a move to restructure economic development efforts to better attract new investments, continuing work to unlock the economic potential of northern Manitoba by building on the Look North Economic Task Force’s recommendations, re-introducing legislation this session to fully implement the new Canadian Free Trade Agreement, continuing work on reducing red tape, significant investments in agriculture and leveraging the province’s attractiveness as a destination for investments in protein processing.

We are in this together. We will continue to consult Manitobans, both inside and outside of the civil service, for their ideas on improving our province, we will continue to be a government that listens and we will continue to listen.