Manitoba's new premier not moving forward with Bill 64 this fall
Newly appointed Manitoba Premier Kelvin Goertzen says five pieces of legislation – including the province’s controversial education bill – will not move forward in the fall.
During his first announcement as Premier of Manitoba on Wednesday, Goertzen said the five bills from former premier Brian Pallister's legislative agenda would not be moving forward this fall.
Among the five pieces of legislation is Bill 64, which would reform education in the province and eliminate elected school boards if passed. Goertzen said a new leader has to be able to set their own agenda.
"I have no expectation that that bill will ever return in the future," Goertzen said, adding there will be a brief sitting of the legislature this fall to remove the five bills and address some budgetary issues.
"It will not exist after we are done with this fall sitting."
Bill 64 has run into widespread opposition and lawn signs denouncing it have sprung up across the province.
Another bill on the chopping block would crack down on protests that block highways and other infrastructure. A third would allow cabinet to bypass public regulatory hearings on electricity rates and set them unilaterally.
Another bill would remove the automatic right to binding arbitration in labour disputes. The fifth would allow for more private liquor sales.
Goertzen's intentions are a victory for the Opposition New Democrats, who prevented the bills from coming to a vote in the spring.
"What we saw today is a clear indication from the ... government in its current iteration that they bent to the will of Manitobans," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said.
Goertzen was named as the interim leader of the province’s PC Party and was sworn in as interim premier on Wednesday. Goertzen said it was a small private ceremony with his family at Government House.
"I know that the role that I have is primarily viewed as one of caretaker," Goertzen said, adding a new premier will be selected in 60 days.
"But I also know that these are times that will still require significant decisions."
Goertzen said Families Minister Rochelle Squires will serve as the deputy premier.
Pallister officially resigned as Premier Wednesday morning after announcing his intention to step down last month. He said he has decided to leave well before the Progressive Conservative leadership vote on Oct. 30, noting he wants to make sure the race doesn’t become divisive.
Goertzen will remain in the role of interim premier until a new leader is chosen next month.
-With files from Steve Lambert of The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.