Improving health care and building Manitoba’s economy by expanding education, training and job opportunities are the government’s top priorities outlined in today’s speech from the throne.
“Manitobans have asked us to keep building,” said Premier Greg Selinger. “That’s why we are getting to work to fulfil our commitments to improve health care, create more jobs, and expand education and training opportunities for everyone.”
The speech outlined key priorities of the government’s new mandate including:
Improving Health Care:
• Providing Manitobans the fastest access in Canada to world-class cancer screening, testing and treatment.
• Hiring 2,000 new nurses and nurse practitioners, 200 more doctors and 50 more physician assistants.
• Expanding medical training by creating 22 more medical residencies.
• Ensuring every Manitoban has access to a family doctor.
Expanding Education, Training and Job Opportunities:
• Reducing class sizes to a maximum of 20 students for kindergarten to Grade 3.
• Upgrading school shop equipment and working with rural school divisions to expand broadband Internet access.
• Creating more opportunities for companies to hire apprentices and expanding access to skilled trades training in rural Manitoba.
• Launching the Journeyperson Business Start program to help rural and northern Manitobans start their own businesses.
• Constructing a new skilled trades and technology centre at Red River College.
• Establishing the Manitoba Energy Jobs Fund to help Manitoba companies expand and attract international investment.
• Building Manitoba Hydro for the benefit of all Manitobans.
Building Safer, Healthier Communities:
• Hiring 100 additional police officers and 50 cadets to serve throughout Manitoba including 50 officers on Winnipeg streets.
• Speeding up prosecutions with more prosecutors and weekend court sittings.
• Working with the federal government to strengthen the Criminal Code by making gang recruitment an explicit crime and cracking down on knife crimes, arson, home invasions and carjackings.
• Working with police on the best way to expand the electronic bracelet monitoring program.
• Creating and expanding after-school programs for youth at risk.
• Building more soccer facilities, field houses, playgrounds and splash pads.
• Continuing to build downtown Winnipeg by expanding the convention centre, adding more rental housing and redeveloping surface parking lots.
Preserving Manitoba’s Affordability Advantage:
• Guaranteeing Manitobans pay the lowest combined bills for electricity, home heating and auto insurance in Canada.
• Helping more Manitobans renovate their homes to make them more energy efficient.
• Taking thousands more small businesses off the tax rolls while ensuring regular and sustainable increases to the minimum wage.
• Working with community partners to lift more Manitobans out of poverty.
• Eliminating education property taxes for seniors and farm owners.
• Investing in universities, freezing tuition to the rate of inflation, reducing student loan interest rates to prime and amending student aid rules.
Protecting the Environment:
• Building Bipole III down the west side of Lake Manitoba and permanently protecting one of the last tracts of undisturbed boreal forest left in the world.
• Working with local governments and the agriculture industry to protect water quality.
• Continuing a five-year plan to renew and improve provincial parks and campgrounds
