Premier Greg Selinger and the provincial NDP government have finally decided to re-open the Manitoba Legislature to debates and questions after weeks of delay. Mr. Selinger has set April 16th as the date the Legislature will finally resume sitting.

Despite the fact that Manitoba is facing a growing deficit and debt, or perhaps because of that reason, the NDP have been avoiding the Manitoba Legislature and the questions and scrutiny that come with it. The fact is that it is an important part of our democratic system and it also ensures that legislation is properly scrutinized and examined by both elected representatives and the public that they serve.

When the Legislature does resume, the first order of business will be to introduce a new provincial budget. This will be another important budget as we look for any sign that the NDP has a plan to not only stop running annual deficits but also has a plan to start paying down the debt. Since coming to office, the NDP have doubled the provincial debt and have broken promises to Manitobans to bring the books back into the black.

Manitobans will also be keeping a close eye on their wallets as it is almost certain that the NDP will once again increase taxes.  Before the last election the NDP promised Manitobans that they would not raise taxes and then last budget they raised taxes by the highest amount in more than 25 years. Because Mr. Selinger is unwilling to get his spending under control, he will be looking for more ways to get money from taxpayers to pay for his spending habit.

What Manitoba really needs is a long-term plan that is contained within the budget itself to ensure that the provincial books are returned to balance along with a long-term plan to pay down the debt of the province. Unfortunately, what Manitobans are likely to get is more overspending, more deficits, greater debt and higher taxes. That seems to be the pattern of this NDP government.

The late start to this Legislative session will also result in very little time to discuss and debate legislation that is currently before the Legislature and those pieces of legislation that have yet to be introduced. As well, all legislation has to go before committee, which allows members of the public to come and make presentations to a committee of MLAs. Because of the late start to session, this process could be rushed with the end result being that there is not proper consideration of the public’s input into legislation.

The coming session is an important one to Manitobans. Hopefully the late start and past tendencies of the NDP is not a sign of what is to come.