Manitoba Tories to delay passage of bills, angering provincial labour group
Manitoba's Opposition Progressive Conservatives are delaying passage of four bills at the legislature, prompting an angry response from a labour leader.
The legislature rules allow the Opposition each year to pick as many as five bills each spring, and push back voting until the fall.
This year, the Tories have chosen four, including a bill that would extend the leave for seriously injured or ill workers to 27 weeks from 17 weeks.
Tory labour critic Jodie Byram says the change would put Manitoba out of line with other provinces and more consultation with employers is needed.
Kevin Rebeck, head of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, says he is "disgusted" that the Tories are delaying a change that would provide more job protection for injured workers.
Another bill being delayed by the Tories would reduce the age at which children attend school.
The Tories say it's an issue of crowded classrooms, because the student population is growing and the NDP has put in limbo the construction of nine schools that the former Tory government was planning to build in partnership with the private sector.
The bill would reduce the age at which children can attend school to five from six, and the age at which attendance is compulsory to six from seven.
A third bill would undo some of the red-tape regulatory changes enacted by the former government.
The fourth bill would lift a ban on project labour agreements, which require non-unionized workers on large projects to be governed by the same rules and benefits as their unionized counterparts.
While the delay will push back voting on the four bills, it is very unlikely to prevent them from becoming law in the end, as the NDP government has a majority in the legislature with 34 of the 57 seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.