Statement by MFL President Kevin Rebeck in response to the Pallister government’s 2018 Throne Speech:

This Throne Speech is a disappointment for working families in our province. These families are looking for support to make life more affordable and improve health care. 

The Pallister government has no jobs plan, and today’s speech failed to deliver a plan to help young Manitobans build their futures here at home. 

At a time when our economy is expected to slow down, there is no commitment to restore the cuts made to infrastructure funding, and the government is moving ahead with its ideological agenda to make it harder for Manitobans to get good jobs by banning the use of Project Labour Agreements on public infrastructure projects. 

The Pallister government is also underfunding the education system while increasing post-secondary tuition fees for working families. 

Of serious concern, today’s speech suggests the Pallister government is moving toward privatization of Manitoba’s non-profit child care sector. Working families are in critical need of affordable, safe and accessible child care to help them get back to work or school – higher fees and private profits are not the answer to Manitoba’s child care crisis. 

Despite the serious concerns of Manitobans about losing health care services they count on, the Pallister government is forging ahead and closing emergency rooms and making other health care cuts instead of listening to the advice of health care professionals. 

Families will continue to feel the pinch of this government’s failure to build personal care home beds that their elderly loved ones need now. 

One of the only positives in this speech is the increased support for victims of domestic violence. We hope that the increase in resources includes an awareness campaign to let Manitoba workers know that they have the right to take up to five days off from work with pay to get help when experiencing domestic violence.