Throne speech promises ER wait times strategy, more competition for grocers

A new ER wait times strategy, more surgeons in Selkirk, and a plan to ban restrictive practices that stifle competition for grocery stores were among the promises laid out in the NDP government’s throne speech.

Premier Wab Kinew’s government outlined its priorities for the coming year Tuesday and the Manitoba legislature.

“The major thing for us this year is affordability,” Kinew told reporters.

With that comes an NDP election campaign promise to freeze hydro rates for one year starting in 2025. Kinew noted the Public Utilities Board will still have the final say on rates.

“We made good on our commitment to cut the gas tax, and now we're making good on our commitment to save you money by freezing Manitoba Hydro electricity rates for one year,” he said, but would not say if his government intends to extend the gas tax further.

“We're going to be there to help you out at the same time we've got a budget to balance.”

Province to ban ‘anti-competitive contracts’ for grocery stores

The premier said his government will also crack down on what he described as “anti-competitive contracts” for grocery stores. He said current restrictive covenants stifle competition in certain areas.

“Right now, big grocery chains when they set up a location in the province can basically draw a circle on a map around that location and prevent there from being competition within that radius,” Kinew said. “We’re going to end that practice here in Manitoba.”

He said there have been attempts in other jurisdictions to do something like this. More details about these changes will come when the legislation is introduced, Kinew said.

Chuck Davidson with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce was hesitant to comment on these changes before getting the details.

“We’re big fans of competition,” he said. “You have to look at this from the perspective of the businesses as well that are running these companies and the grocery stores.”

Meanwhile, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce President Loren Remillard said there are more ways the province could be increasing competition.

“What are we doing to create the climate for competition?” Remillard said. “We can play on the edges with legislation, but that really doesn’t address the core issue of why aren’t more businesses in Manitoba.”

The throne speech does include a promise to create a new economic development strategy. While both Davidson and Remillard praised this, they said more details are needed.

Wayne Ewasko, the leader of the official opposition, said the throne speech overall was lacking in detail.

“A government that is now into the second year of their mandate, I would have hoped that we would have heard a few more plans,” he said.

Health-care promises in throne speech aim to cut down wait times

On the health-care front, Kinew’s government is promising a new ER wait times strategy.

“It's a sophisticated bed map, and it's an ability to deploy resources and to respond in real time, province-wide,” Kinew said of the strategy, noting more details will be coming. “Most importantly, it's a focus on cutting down wait times.”

In Selkirk, the NDP government promised to lower wait times by adding 800 new hip and knee surgeries at the city’s hospital. Kinew said the province is spending about $4 million annually to bring two new surgeons and an anesthetist to the hospital.

In Lac du Bonnet, work on the long-promised personal care home is said to begin before the end of the year.

Kinew said the province is also moving forward with designs for the Victoria General Hospital and Eriksdale's E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital emergency rooms. The speech notes another 102 fully staffed beds will open in 2025 throughout the province.

In a statement, Manitoba Association for Health Care Professionals President Jason Linklater said hiring more health-care professionals sounds great; however, the issue lies in the execution.

He added the government has created new allied health positions, but is struggling to fill these roles.

“Vacancy rates in key areas aren’t budging, and in some cases they are getting worse. Meanwhile, Manitoba is struggling to retain specialized health-care professionals on the front line,” he said.

It’s a concern shared by Doctors Manitoba.

“What we know from our emergency medicine experts is that things aren’t changing fast enough in terms of increasing capacity in emergency waiting rooms,” said Dr. Nichelle Desilets, the organization’s president-elect.

“We can keep talking about it, but until someone makes a bold and innovative plan to actually enact those changes, I don’t think we’ll see much difference.”

Strengthened renter protections, AI strategy among other throne speech promises

Here are a few other promises included in the throne speech this year:

• Strengthen the Workplace Safety and Health Act to improve safety training for workers to protect them from dangerous chemicals. This is something the Manitoba Federation of Labour has been calling for. “Asbestos is the number one occupational disease killer in Canada and in Manitoba for many years running,” said Kevin Rebeck, president of the federation. “We’ve long been calling for mandatory asbestos training and standards and certification for people doing abatement and removal.” He said more details are needed about the change, but said the MFL hopes to see mandatory training and certification standards included in the legislation.
• Strengthen protections for renters with new laws. Kinew said there is a need for stronger tools for the province to address “bad actors” – pointing to limited penalties available for the province to impose on landlords who improperly evict tenants.
• Continued progress on the upgrades to the North End Water Pollution Control Centre. While there was no promise from the province to commit money to the cost overruns, the premier said the province is going to make this project happen. He said more details will be released in the near future.
• Create a new Artificial Intelligence strategy and introduce new legislation to protect elections and democracy from “third party and foreign interference.” Kinew noted artificial intelligence can become disruptive and regulations are needed. “We'll be working with Elections Manitoba for guidance on that, but at the same time we also know that there is a big need to keep elections free and fair,” Kinew said.
• Initial design work and consultations have begun on the first phase of twinning the Trans-Canada Highway east.
• A promise to change the rules so on-reserve First Nations people can vote in school board elections.
• Modernize the Environment Act to make “big polluters” pay for environmental breaches. Kinew said this could take the form of higher fines or penalties.
• Establish an all-party committee to look at freedom of the press and the future of local journalism.

You can read the full throne speech on the province’s website.