Manitoba - election news etc.

[styky]

Manitoba migration bleeding continues
Five-point plan to make us a ‘have’ province
Manitoba may enjoy a relatively stable economy, a diversified corporate sector and a low unemployment rate, but why do Manitobans continue to leave the province in droves every year?

And why is Manitoba the only province in the West still considered a “have-not” province?

We often hear the provincial NDP government brag about how well Manitoba’s economy is doing and how more and more immigrants are coming here.

But what they can never explain is why we continue to lose more people to other provinces than we gain every year, or why we still rely so much on the federal government to pay our bills.

Manitoba lost a net 2,421 people to other provinces in 2010, up slightly from the 2,373 it lost the year before.

And the annual losses are piling up.

All told, Manitoba has lost a net 28,053 people to other provinces over the past five years alone.

It’s the only province in the West that’s bleeding people to other jurisdictions.

Saskatchewan has had four straight years of inter-provincial migration gains. Obviously people are moving to that province and to Alberta and British Columbia for a reason.

Despite Manitoba’s “stable” economy and low unemployment rate, we simply don’t have the wealth and high-paying jobs our neighbours to the west enjoy.

If we did, we wouldn’t be classified as a “have-not” province by the federal government. And people would be staying here, not moving away.

Manitoba is now the only province in the West that receives equalization payments from Ottawa.

WE’RE ON WELFARE

Equalization payments are doled out to the “have-not” provinces that can’t make it on their own. The handouts are the equivalent of welfare cheques for underperforming provinces.

And Manitoba gets a big one every year. It received $1.9 billion in equalization this year from Ottawa, about 18% of the provincial government’s total budget. And that’s separate from the hundreds of millions more it receives from Ottawa for health care, social services and infrastructure costs.

Equalization is based on a complicated formula that assesses the wealth of a province and its ability to provide “comparable services at comparable tax rates” when compared to other provinces.

When it can’t pay its own freight, provinces like Manitoba get an equalization payment.

By contrast, neither Saskatchewan, Alberta nor British Columbia receive equalization payments.

At the Sun, we’d like Manitoba to join its western partners and become a “have” province so that we, too, could enjoy the wealth and prosperity our neighbours do.

But that will be difficult to do if Manitoba continues to embrace a high-tax, government-interventionist and pro-union approach to running the province.

Manitoba is blessed with a talented and enterprising corporate sector whose entrepreneurial prowess is unmatched anywhere in Canada.

Our corporate sector does very well despite the government intervention it faces, not because of it.

And that has to change. Instead of being an impediment to growth and economic freedom, government should step aside and allow the private sector to reach its full potential by creating more jobs and wealth for the province.

We understand that can’t happen overnight. But we have a five-point election platform we believe would kick-start our economy, point it in the right direction and help attract more hard-working Canadians to our fine province.

We need lower taxes, less government intervention and fair labour laws. And we need those changes now.

Over time, we know those changes would help us become a “have” province.

Five-point plan to improve the economy

1. Cut personal income taxes

Manitoba has by far the highest income taxes in Western Canada. This has to change if Manitoba wants to become a more competitive, prosperous province. Personal income taxes should be reduced by substantially increasing the personal exemption over the next five years. That’s the amount of money people can earn before they pay taxes.

2, Phase out the province’s payroll tax

It’s called the “job killing tax” for a reason. It’s a tax on the payrolls of large companies. It’s outdated, discourages hiring and is a drag on our economy. Manitoba is the only province in the West with this tax.

3. Eliminate the land transfer tax

As tax grabs go, this is one of the most glaring. It’s a tax on re-sold homes valued at over $30,000. The tax goes as high as 2% for homes over $200,000.

This tax has no purpose other than to pick homeowners’ pockets to the tune of nearly $400 million a year. This is money that should be left in the hands of consumers, much of which would be spent back in the local economy to help create jobs and broaden the tax base.

4. Phase out rent control

Even Saskatchewan got rid of its rent control years ago, recognizing that price controls stifle capital investment in rental properties and make doing business in the province unnecessarily onerous. It’s time to get rid of this outdated, socialist policy.

5. Make labour laws fair

Manitoba has the most pro-union legislation in the country next to Quebec, which is bad for business and ultimately bad for the economy. Businesses don’t mind fair labour laws, but when they’re written grossly in favour of organized labour, like they are in Manitoba, companies often seek alternative marketplaces to invest.

At the very least, we want mandatory secret ballot votes for all certification drives and an end to forced, binding arbitration during work stoppages.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/08/28/m ... -continues

[styky]

I post this from posting only because it covers exactly what should be pointed out..........

Here in Manitoba it must be noted, eleven of the province’s fourteen federal seats are in the hands of the Conservatives. Premier Greg Selinger must surely see some of the writing on the wall that there are only two NDP seats and a measly one held by Liberals. Even in Saskatchewan, the home of Tommy Douglas and the CCF, not a single New Democrat was elected. Manitobans can look at the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland and see the disastrous results of government over-spending and high taxes. Those countries are scrambling to repair the damage done by previous administrations which have consistently spent more than they take in. The Selinger government is in the same boat. Under Gary Doer, Selinger, the then finance minister, happily raided Manitoba Hydro and the province’s rainy day fund in order to balance the books and when even that wasn’t enough the Manitoba NDP gutted the province’s balanced budget legislation. Once the cuffs were taken off the Selinger NDP continued its spending spree to the point where we are now staring at a debt which must be tackled. Manitobans may have to come to terms with the fact that federal transfer payments are not going to increase in the foreseeable future and that will mean a more responsible sense of spending on Broadway. Wealth creation cannot be based on garnering more of Alberta of B.C.’s money. It must be created from within and to this point there’s been little indication that Selinger has any intention of turning Manitoba into a have province. But given the results we saw last Monday, he has to be worried. While Stephen Harper will become a centrist when it comes to social policies, Greg Selinger may have to move closer to the centre fiscally. If he doesn’t that blue wave which swept the prairies last week just might do it again across Manitoba this fall. http://www.takeonwpg.com/2011/05/a-mess ... oters.html

What kind of foolish twit would vote this government in to continue it's reign of spending.

[styky]

There are many a link given all through the article

Salute to Super Civil Servants
http://taxpayer.com/manitoba/salute-sup ... l-servants

Over the years, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has come into contact with many conscientious civil servants that care deeply about how public funds are spent.

In fact, many have blown the whistle on government waste and have helped save taxpayers thousands of dollars. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge some of those fine men and women and dispel the stereotype that ‘civil servants are all overpaid and reckless with public funds.’

A couple years ago, a civil servant notified the CTF of a “spa day” that took place at a government funded child and family services agency in Manitoba. The event was completely over the top – make-up lessons, tarot card readings, manicures and pedicures for staff - all on the public dime.

We agreed with the whistleblower’s suggestion that “spa day” was inappropriate and investigated the matter. We brought our findings to Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh’s attention and to his credit, he banned such events in the future and required the agency to fundraise in order to repay the public funds that were wasted.

On another occasion, a civil servant tipped off the CTF that a different child care agency was handing out cash bonuses, watches and other gifts to staff that weren’t based on any performance measures. The bonuses were handed out merely for showing up for work. Again, we brought it to the Minister’s attention and he ordered an end to the practice.

Another good tip came from someone in government who had heard about the Vital Statistics Branch letting all its employees take two hours of paid leave to go Christmas shopping.

Emails sent out by staff noted that the department was “extremely behind,” but encouraged employees to take time off anyway. Incredibly, employees were then brought in on the weekend and paid overtime to catch up. Thankfully, future Christmas shopping leave courtesy of the taxpayer has been cancelled.

It was also a government employee who blew the whistle on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spending $37,712 on a rooftop barbecue and patio furniture for its new executive offices on Main Street.

Another great example would be all the documents leaking out of Manitoba Hydro on the new Bipole III hydro line project. No matter where you stand on the issue, you have to appreciate people on the inside risking their jobs to get important information out to the public.

The CTF also admires the many former Manitoba Hydro employees and retired University of Manitoba engineers that are passionately working on the issue and speaking out. Obviously they’re not being paid to do so; they’re active on the issue because they still care about the work they used to do on the public’s behalf.

Lastly, we would also like to give a big salute to those that work in band offices on reserves and risk their jobs by leaking audit documents and other information out to the public.

Undoubtedly, there are bureaucrats who are either careless or simply irresponsible with tax dollars. But let’s not forget that there are plenty who are willing to risk a lot to ensure tax dollars receive the respect they deserve. As governments work towards getting their deficits under control, here’s hoping the latter outnumber the former.

By: Colin Craig
Posted: June 30, 2011
Topic: Manitoba
Contact the regional director Colin Craig for further information.

[styky]

Public sector bleeding taxpayers dry

tom-brodbeck
By Tom Brodbeck ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 07:44 PM CDT
One in four Manitobans works for the public sector, either through a government department, Crown corporation, school division, health facility, municipality or some other taxpayer-funded entity.

One in four. That’s an amazing number. In Canada, one in five employees works for the public sector, quite a bit less than in Manitoba.

Those figures — based on Statistics Canada data — were released Tuesday by the Frontier Centre, a Winnipeg-based think tank that has done some research into the size of Manitoba’s public sector compared with other provinces.

“Manitoba’s public sector is among the largest in Canada in terms of the percentage of the provincial workforce it absorbs as well as the number of public servants relative to the overall population,” the report said.

And we wonder why our provincial government is now running a half-billion dollar deficit and has racked up a record amount of debt?

One in four employees works for the government, that’s why. And it’s bleeding taxpayers dry.

You may have read in the Winnipeg Sun earlier this week how Manitobans pay by far the highest income taxes in Western Canada. I wonder why?

I guess when one out of four workers in the province is paid by taxpayers, taxes have to be high. Especially in a province that doesn’t have a lot of wealth to begin with.

Has anybody stopped to think that maybe we don’t have a lot of wealth compared with many other provinces because we’re such a big-government province?

Here’s another statistic from the report. We have 103 public sector workers in this province for every 1,000 Manitobans. In Canada, that average is 88 per 1,000.

No matter how you slice it, this province employs a lot of government workers and others on the taxpayer payroll.

Naturally those salaries are going to siphon money away from individuals and companies who could be investing that cash back into the local economy.

Unfortunately, Premier Greg Selinger doesn’t take these numbers seriously. In fact, he mocks the report.

Selinger says the numbers in the report are inaccurate and he insists his government is one of the most affordable in the country.

Is Selinger saying he doesn’t believe Statistics Canada data? StatsCan is one of the most reputable statistical agencies in the world. But instead of dealing with the problem, Selinger would rather shoot the messenger.

The good news is the Frontier Centre doesn’t just point out the problem without offering a solution. They’ve crunched the numbers and have come up with a plan that governments in Manitoba could follow.

If the provincial and local governments trim their workforce by a mere 5% over the next 10 years, the number of public sector employees per 1,000 people would be almost even with the national average.

That’s only a 0.5% cut in the public sector per year.

“It is likely that the annual reductions in the combined provincial and local workforces of just 0.5% required to meet this target could be achieved relatively painlessly through attrition and without rapid, ill-considered cuts to any area of government activity,” the report said.

Can we please see this plan in some political party’s platform? Seems like a very reasonable and measured long-term plan to get our public-sector spending problem under control.

I don’t know why Selinger would simply dismiss this idea out-of-hand.

If we did reduce the size of our public sector to the national average, it would save a typical family of four $3,940 a year, according to the report.

Imagine if Manitobans were allowed to keep that money in their wallets and invest it back into the local economy, what a boon that would create?

The solutions are there. We just need politicians with the vision to implement them.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/08/30/p ... payers-dry

[styky]

Fight for middle class is on

WINNIPEG SUN

First posted: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 07:57 PM CDT
If you’re looking for a political party that will present true fiscal conservative values this election campaign, you might be waiting awhile.

Sure, Hugh McFadyen’s Progressive Conservatives delivered some promises on Wednesday that, if implemented, would have a positive effect on Manitoba’s economy. Based on their initial slate of policy pledges, though, nobody can credibly claim the Tories are presenting a scary right-wing agenda, because it’s not really all that right wing at all.

By design, these promises appear meant to be as noncontroversial as possible, lest the Tories give the NDP any actual credence to their campaign of lies about McFadyen’s supposed secret agenda and scare undecided voters away.

A vow to eliminate Manitoba’s half-billion dollar deficit four long years after the NDP promises to do it? Boutique tax breaks targeting the middle class instead of across-the-board cuts?

These promises aren’t so much about representing the fiscally conservative values this province desperately needs as they are about trolling for support amongst voters in Manitoba’s political centre.

That doesn’t make McFadyen’s promises bunk, of course.

We’re all for spending more money on infrastructure in Winnipeg, even if some of it is limited to fixing the donkey path back lanes instead of the far more travelled pothole-laced streets.

And promising to never bring in the much-loathed Harmonized Sales Tax deserves a round of applause, especially since Premier Greg Selinger has refused to never say never on the subject.

But sometimes the Tories don’t go far enough.

For instance, under McFadyen’s plan, first-time homeowners will get a break on the land transfer tax, saving them thousands of dollars. But why couldn’t that tax cut be extended to all homeowners instead? Or, better yet, why couldn’t McFadyen promise to do something that would help both homeowners and renters, like cutting personal income taxes?

That would be a game-changer of an idea, as residents would suddenly have more disposable income in their pockets to spend, bolstering Manitoba’s economy.

We can only hope the Tory promises still to come have a little more meat on the bone.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/08/31/f ... lass-is-on

[styky]

Party leaders pledge millions for health & child care
Global News : Thursday, September 01, 2011 6:28 PM

Read it on Global News: Global Winnipeg | Party leaders pledge millions for health & child care
http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/party+lea ... story.html

Selinger met with doctors, nurses, and paramedics Thursday to find out how to best spend the $6-million a year.

“They’re suggesting we need an advance paramedic program, additional skills so they can do things not just inside the ambulance,” said Selinger.

They've been in power for more than a decade and he waits till he's electioneering to find out what it is that's needed. So where did he come to the figure of $6M then



On a personal note.......you can continue to throw more money at the system and continue to add people to it and it won't make a lick of difference if you're still doing things as you've always done them. The entire system is sick and needs revamping from the ground up. In their wisdom I'm sure they'll study it to death and do it the same old same old and scream for more money again. In the mean time it's as always the people who they are suppose to serve that go without.

[styky]

Thursday, September 01, 2011
NDP proves it's the party of prudes

CBC Manitoba, in collaboration with the NDP, tried a drive-by smear of the Conservatives Wednesday but wound up only proving that the New Democrats are the party of prudes.

CBC "reporter" Sean Kavanaugh engaged in the worst form of "gotcha" journalism on a day when the Conservatives made real news at the release of their economic platform. They announced they've abandoned two decades of balanced budget prudence to adopt the NDP program of running deficits for years in a province that already has the second-lowest unemployment rate in the country. The NDP plans four years of huge deficits; the Conservatives have doubled that, promising eight years.

The CBC "scoop"? The Conservatives played a catchy dance-inducing No. 1 hit song at a pre-election rally earlier in the week.

Yep. That's it. That's what counts as "journalism" at the taxpayer-funded CBC.

They hyped the story by declaring the Conservatives were "being rapped" for the song "that contains suggestive lyrics."

The song is Party Rock Anthem by the group LMFAO. It was No. 1 on the Billboard charts for six weeks this summer, getting knocked out of top spot by Katy Perry's hit Last Friday Night.
.....................http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2011/09/nd ... rudes.html

[Jean]

From three hundred eight

[styky]

Five issues may shape voting in key ridings
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... 97718.html
By: Mary Agnes Welch
Posted: 09/3/2011 11:09 AM |

Our election team is expecting these five issues to be the most prominent in defining the parties’ campaigns and determining where voters will put their X.

Health care

The issue: Manitobans typically say health care is their top issue, but that’s sometimes a reflexive response. Health care is the single most complex service the province provides. It’s hard to drill down. Are people worried about wait times? Access to a family doctor? Services not covered by Manitoba Health? Expanding pharmacare?

What we should be talking about: Innovative prevention programs that save money upfront, the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder epidemic, the disgraceful state of aboriginal health, the looming federal-provincial health accord, real systemic reform, the shortage of mental health services.

The politics: The NDP and Tories are already using health care as a political bludgeon. The NDP claims (with questionable veracity) that the Tories fired 1,000 nurses in the Filmon years and would do so again. The Tories claim the NDP failed to deliver on a promise to end hallway medicine. It’s politics, not a real policy debate. Look for the Liberals, led by a doctor, to have the most concrete health care promises.

The upshot: The NDP traditionally owns this issue and the party can already claim it’s started work on shrinking cancer-care wait times and ensuring every Manitoban has a family doctor. Ten years too late, say the Tories.

Crime

The issue: The overall crime rate is dropping, but Winnipeg is still the violent-crime capital of Canada, according to the newest round of Statistics Canada figures. Most of Winnipeg’s serious crimes are concentrated in the inner city and involve people who know each other, but a rash of arsons and gang violence over the summer is making crime top-of-mind for all voters.

What we should be talking about: If you believe in a crime crackdown, we should be talking about more police officers, more court staff to speed cases, more jails and better lobbying to overhaul the federal Criminal Code. If you believe attacking the root cause of crime is more effective, we should be talking about FASD, Winnipeg’s poverty problem, the plethora of mentally ill people embroiled in the justice system, treatment instead of jail time and real rehabilitation programs in prisons.

The politics: Crime was the most effective element of the Tories’ campaign in 2007 and a relentless talking point since. It likely will play a big role in the party’s campaign this time. But the NDP can claim a certain degree of tough-on-crime credibility because they’ve funded police and they’re building new jails.

The upshot: The Tories own this issue, and it could be a vote-getter in urban ridings they need to win.

Infrastructure

The issue: The same-old same-old — highways are crumbling, city streets need a multibillion-dollar cash infusion, recreation centres are ancient and now there’s a need to build better flood protection on the Assiniboine River and around lakes.

What we should be talking about: A better way to fix Winnipeg’s $3.8-billion backlog of infrastructure repairs, not to mention billions in new roads, sewers and recreation centres planned in the coming years. Voters cringe at the mention of a new deal for cities, but a report commissioned by Winnipeg and other municipalities asked for a point of the existing PST plus the levying of an additional point of PST dedicated to infrastructure. The province’s biggest CEOs agree. The infrastructure issue is fundamentally a debate about taxes.

The politics: No party wants to talk about taxes unless they are cutting them, so the infrastructure debate is likely to stagnate again this election. Both parties will promise progress on paving roads and fixing bridges — the Tories pledged a $375-million Manitoba Strategic Investment Fund on Wednesday — but without a significant new source of revenue any new work will only stall the decline, not make things better.

The upshot: It will likely be a wash for all parties, unless one of the three proposes the first bold solution in a decade of debate over infrastructure.

Fiscal management

The issue: Speaking of taxes, Manitoba is running a $490 million deficit so far this year, roughly the same as last year. That’s not as bad as many other provinces, but it’s an unusual fiscal failure for Manitoba. Meanwhile, there’s the usual clamouring from real estate agents and cottage owners to eliminate education property taxes, calls to kill the payroll tax and share the PST with cities, all of which would eat into the province’s revenue.

What we should be talking about: Elections are never a good time to have a rational discussion about tax reform — whether it makes sense to increase consumption taxes such as the PST or the levy on gas while reducing less-fair taxes such as those on property. It’s also unlikely we’ll see real ideas about how exactly the province could emerge from its lonely "have-not" status.

The politics: The Tories are casting themselves as the only ones with a realistic plan to balance the budget and they say the NDP’s pledge to get back in the black by 2014 is a pipe dream that will only lead to a tax hike.

The upshot: The NDP are vulnerable on this issue because they did fiddle with the balanced budget legislation to allow themselves to run a deficit. But the Tories are battling their 1990s reputation as ruthless fiscal managers, which may not be where middle-of-the-road Manitobans want to go.

Hydro

The issue: It’s the first time in years Manitoba Hydro has been a big election issue, and it should be. The company keeps power rates rock-bottom and could one day sell lucrative green power into the United States — a huge benefit to Manitobans. But it’s also about to lose its long-time CEO in Bob Brennan, and it’s embarking on a $20 billion spending spree some fear is far too ambitious.

What we should be talking about: Why we’re falling behind on wind power. Whether Manitobans might not be so terrible at conserving energy if rates reflected the real cost of power. Whether the Manitoba government ought to use some of Hydro’s profits to bolster general revenues, as other provinces do. Whether the long-promised green power market is ever going to open up in the United States and make Manitoba rich. Whether the government ought to use Hydro more deliberately as a tool of public policy or take a hands-off approach.

The politics: It’s all about the Bipole and privatization. The Tories say the NDP are squandering millions by building the Bipole power line down the west side of the province. The NDP says the Tories have a secret plan to sell off Manitoba Hydro as they did with MTS. The Tories deny this, but the debate over Hydro has so far been fairly narrow.

The upshot: Too early to tell, but the debate over Hydro probably favours the NDP. Most Manitobans are still a little fuzzy on the ins-and-outs of the Bipole so that issue might not resonate for the Tories, but tagging them as privatizers helps galvanize the NDP’s base.

[styky]

NDP's drunken spending
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/09/03/n ... n-spending
Kevin Engstrom, Winnipeg Sun
By Kevin Engstrom ,Winnipeg Sun
If Manitobans were to handle their personal finances like our politicians have over the years, we’d all be living in back alleys in cardboard boxes right now.

Despite this, the NDP government wants voters to believe things have never been rosier in Manitoba, obviously hopeful we’ll overlook the massive deficits and record debt our province has incurred in recent years. In fact, our outgoing finance minister was even quoted as saying deficits are a good thing.

We’re not buying that spin here at Sun Party headquarters, and neither should you.

Here are the facts. When the Selinger government released its 2011 fiscal blueprint last spring, Manitoba was budgeted to have a $511-million deficit — and that was before hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on this year’s epic flooding.

The final bill for the flood will come in after the election, but it’s a decent bet the deficit will be larger than initially projected as a result.

That will only add to the summary net debt, which is already at record high levels. For those keeping score at home, that number is now at $14.8 billion, up approximately $1.6 billion from only a year ago.

It doesn’t take an economist to figure out what’s going on right now isn’t sustainable. Spending cannot indefinitely outpace revenue without consequences. The recent crisis in the United States, as well as in parts of Europe, are an example of what happens when that truth is ignored.

Already, Manitobans are spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year to service the province’s debt. And it will only get worse when interest rates begin to rise.

It’d be one thing if spending beyond our means was necessary to fund things Manitobans consider important, like hiring more nurses or teachers. It wouldn’t be ideal, of course, but at least it could be justified.

That’s not what’s happening here, though.

No, what’s caused this mess are the drunken sailors impersonating politicians who spend taxpayer money wildly and with little to no thought on nonessential things.

It’s why Manitoba’s health-care bureaucracy has grown out of control and at the expense of adding more front-line staff. It’s why Manitoba Hydro has been ordered to defy common sense and build a line west of Lake Winnipeg, even though it will cost an additional $1 billion to do so.

It’s why far too many programs that should never see the light of day, such as the $450,000 spent on developing and maintaining a website that helps Manitobans determine if they’re fat, are being green-lit.

And it’s why taxes are amongst the highest in the country.

All of that has to change.

Fiscal responsibility, last seen on Broadway in the 1990s, needs to return. Spending needs to be reined in. Pennies need to be pinched. Simply put, the insanity must stop.

When all that happens, there will be plenty of money for the things Manitobans consider important, and our province will be well on its way to financial prosperity.

THE SUN PARTY'S FIVE-POINT PLAN TO REDUCE GOVERNMENT WASTE:

1. Restore balanced budget legislation

In recent years, balanced budget legislation has been altered repeatedly to the point it’s unrecognizable from the original law passed in the 1990s. Nowadays, the government doesn’t have to balance its books year-to-year and can include revenue from outside entities like Manitoba Hydro when calculating its bottom line. Restoring the original legislation by 2014 will force government to once again be fiscally responsible.

2. Tie spending increases to inflation rate

For years, government spending has consistently increased by more than double the annual rate of inflation. That’s not sustainable. Tying government spending increases to inflation is a reasonable way to curb government’s appetite to spend while maintaining funding levels for important things like health care and education.

3. Eliminate the RHA

Speaking of health care, the RHA model has created an additional layer of bureaucracy instead of streamlining it. As a result, money that could be spent on front-line staff has instead been sucked up by an ever-expanding empire of paper pushers. Ending this bureaucratic nightmare will save Manitobans millions.

4. End the enhanced ID program

A program of little use and used by few has cost Manitobans $13 million, or roughly $750 per card sold. That money is now out the door, sadly. But with less than 10 applications coming in daily at last report, it’s time to discontinue the boondoggle and the costs associated with maintaining it.

5. Google is our friend

Taxpayers spent $75,000 this year on a condescending website that encouraged women to learn how to better handle their money. Another $450,000 was spent on a site that helps you gauge your diet. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. Simply put, there’s no need to spend taxpayer money on make-work programs that duplicate information easily found via a quick Google search.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/09/03/n ... n-spending

[styky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itsyz3Z4JSc

[styky]

Really bad idea from NDP

By: Editorial

Posted: 09/8/2011
History gives Manitobans plenty of reason to distrust NDP meddling in Crown utility business. The NDP government's repeated attempts to misuse Crown reserves were either thwarted by outraged Manitobans or ended with rate hikes. Greg Selinger's pledge on Wednesday to ensure the "bundle" of utility rates in this province remains Canada's lowest should be rejected outright as more of the same economically disastrous thinking.

Mr. Selinger says the NDP will have Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Public Insurance set up reserves to keep "combined bills" for electricity, natural gas and auto insurance the country's lowest. The Crown agencies already use reserves to stabilize rates; Hydro's natural gas division uses market hedging to do the same. MPI is forbidden from using its reserves to cross-subsidize other Crown agencies and Hydro cannot cross-subsidize between its natural gas and electricity arms. Is Mr. Selinger planning to set up an account outside the Public Utilities Board's rate approval authority?

When the rate regulator approved in 1999 Manitoba Hydro's purchase of Centra Gas, it explicitly ordered there be no mixing of the finances of each entity, no subsidizing of losses in one by profits of the other. Such plundering of the pockets of one ratepayer to subsidize the costs of another exposes all to the market prices out of the government's control. It interferes with the rational decisions Manitobans make in managing their expenses. Why would anyone with an old natural gas furnace -- about 63 per cent of gas ratepayers -- bother to upgrade to a high-efficiency model if the government keeps their costs low?

Such common sense escapes political parties looking to curry popular support with misguided policy. Manitobans see through that. That is why in 2005 the Doer administration was forced to back down on its plan to use Hydro export profits to keep natural gas rates from rising as market prices soared. That plan would have gutted the PUB's power.

The NDP government similarly was forced to back off on a plan in 2000 to have MPI send profits to Manitoba's universities to repair infrastructure that crumbled under an NDP-imposed tuition freeze. And it was forced after 2004 to stop raiding Hydro's profits with hikes to water rental rates when a dry spell plunged the utility into deficit. Ratepayers were forced to pay to rebuild Hydro's reserves.

It may be the NDP is now trying to pare back the PUB's ability to order MPI to spill robust reserves to ratepayers through rebates or rate reductions -- it won this fight years ago, resulting in repeat rebates in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

MPI and Manitoba Hydro both boast that their rates are among or are the lowest in Canada. Natural gas ratepayers essentially pay market rates. The twist is Hydro expects electricity rates to rise 45 per cent in the next decade alone to pay for expensive capital projects -- including the excessive costs of a new bipole line the NDP has ordered built on the west side of Manitoba, and new hydro dams to meet deals with American customers as export prices are falling.

Manitobans should beware any government interference in the PUB's ability to scrutinize financial management at Crown utilities. They should view with grave suspicion the promises of the NDP to keep rates low as it forces Hydro to spend $1 billion more to send Bipole III down western Manitoba.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 8, 2011 A10
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... 39153.html

[styky]

NDP lowers the bar
NDP’s fear and loathing of McFadyen hits new lows on road to gutter
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/09/11/n ... rs-the-bar
By Kevin Engstrom ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Saturday, September 10, 2011 10:56 PM CDT
To hear the NDP tell it, Manitobans shouldn’t just avoid making Hugh McFadyen premier. They should demand the Tory leader be tried for treason.

After all, from a quick perusal of the governing party’s television ads, you’re led to believe McFadyen is plotting to privatize Manitoba Hydro, hates nurses, and, in spite of his nice suit, is too scary to ever be trusted with the keys to the premier’s office.

Of course, fashion sense aside, the truth has no resemblance to the smear job being perpetuated on McFadyen by the supposed party of hope and optimism.

Sadly, the NDP’s shameless assault on the truth isn’t newsworthy in and of itself. Every campaign in recent memory — including McFadyen’s Tories — has engaged in such gutter politics, where truth is secondary to what Stephen Colbert affectionately calls truthiness — facts you believe in your gut to be true, but can’t find in any book.

No, what’s newsworthy is just how low Selinger is willing to go to hang on to the reins of power. Selinger’s entire campaign is focused on making McFadyen a right-wing boogeyman who, if given the chance, will drag Manitoba kicking and screaming back into the 1990s.

You know, when the budget was actually balanced.

Here’s the truth about McFadyen and Manitoba Hydro. Since becoming leader five years ago, he has consistently said he’d never sell it. In fact, to prove his commitment to keeping the utility in the government’s hands, he floated legislation four years ago to make it impossible to consider such a thing without the consent of all 57 MLAs.

Does that sound like someone plotting to sell off the utility? Didn’t think so.

Moreover, McFadyen doesn’t just want to win this election. He wants to win the next one, too. And maybe the one after that. If he becomes premier and sells Hydro, he’d have about the same chance as winning the next election as Jon Gerrard has of winning this one.

Yet the NDP persists with the myth, hopeful if they repeat the same thing often enough, people will begin to believe it.

And since it worked well enough with the whole “Tories fired 1,000 nurses” lie (yep, that’s an urban myth), there’s a decent chance this whopper will stick, too.

Ironically, there are things the NDP can attack McFadyen about that actually ring true.

He’s promising to take his sweet-ass time balancing the budget. The tax credits he’s offered up, while appreciated by middle-class folks like me, won’t do much to help the poor or stimulate the economy.

Heck, there hasn’t even been much in his law-and-order platform that’s dramatically different from what the NDP has offered up thus far.

Instead of rightly picking all the things he’s actually promising to do, though, the NDP has instead focused their efforts on the one thing McFadyen has consistently said he wouldn’t. It’s the actions of a desperate party relying on a mediocre record and devoid of ideas for the future.

Even if Selinger is successful on election night, he’ll be a loser for taking political debate in this province to the basement.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED

— The new Jets jerseys were unveiled at 17 Wing on Tuesday. Don’t know about you, but I’m uncomfortable with the hockey-ization of our military.

— The NHL is reportedly considering bringing Nickelback into Winnipeg on opening weekend to help celebrate the return of the Jets, proving once and for all that, yes, Gary Bettman really does hate our city.

— Jets training camp opens next weekend. Right about the same time as we all stop pretending to care about the election. Just kidding, nobody is pretending to care now.

— Hugh McFadyen is promising a monthly $100 child-care cheque for parents. Anyone else suddenly in the mood for beer and popcorn?

— I have no child of my own, Hugh, but shouldn’t I get a cheque for acting like one?

— With the NFL season now underway, Stephen Colbert tweets: “I got first draft in my fantasy foosball team. Once again, my top pick: the plastic dude with the metal rod through his torso.”

— Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane tweets: “I imagine a Muppet News Flash on 9/11 would’ve been in poor taste.”

TOP FIVE

Five signs Manitobans aren’t very interested in the election:

5. Giggles no longer politely stifled whenever Jon Gerrard talks about what he’ll do when he’s premier.

4. To generate interest in debates, leaders have promised to only discuss who they think will win the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars.

3. Homeowners greet Jehovah’s Witness at door by saying, “Oh, thank goodness. For a second there, I thought you were a politician.”

2. No No. 2 — writer too bored by election to even make half-assed jokes about it.

1. Biggest ballot box question: Who has the best plan to lower Dustin Byfuglien’s weight?

OFFBEAT

Human poptart Jessica Simpson has put to rest reports she was considering breast reduction surgery in advance of her coming nuptials. “I LOVE MY BOOBIES!! They aren’t going anywhere!” she tweeted. She sent the tweet after Touch Weekly claimed she was considering surgery to fit better in her wedding dress. “It’s UDDERly not true,” she tweeted, to the amusement of no one but herself.

NUMBERS: 3

The age of a girl whose mother decided it was a good idea to dress her as a prostitute for a beauty pageant as part of TLC’s reprehensible reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras. The mom dressed her in an outfit similar to that worn by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The Parents Television Council was outraged by the recent episode, and justifiably so.

QUOTABLE

“I recently read of a woman in America who married and regularly humps her truck. I don’t yet own a truck but I’m beginning to understand her head space.”

— Sinead O’Connor, who desires a booty call.

[styky]

NDP cooking the books to conceal real deficit

By Tom Brodbeck ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Saturday, September 03, 2011 06:15 PM CDT | Updated: Saturday, September 03, 2011 07:43 PM CDT
The Selinger government’s deficit last year came in lower than originally projected, according to the province’s audited public accounts released Friday.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is we also found out the NDP has been cooking the books since 2008-09, which means the numbers released Friday are wrong.

You won’t find that in any government or NDP news release. But it is in the public accounts in very small print, buried deep in the report.

Since 2008-09, the report says, the Selinger government has been transferring money to Crown corporations and not counting it as an expense.

The report doesn’t say how much money government has been transferring to Crowns or whether some or all of it will be repaid. What it does say is that government should be counting it as an expense, and it’s not.

The Selinger government has been counting it as an asset instead. Which means the deficit for 2010 is actually worse than what government is reporting.

“Starting in 2008-09, certain loans and advances to Crown organizations, repaid through future appropriations, were reflected as assets of the core government,” it says in Volume 1 of the public accounts. “Public sector accounting standards would require these advances to be expensed as grants in the year issued.”

Which means the Selinger government isn’t telling us the truth about the extent to which it has plunged taxpayers into deficit.

What a clever way of trying to hide expenses in an effort to under-report the size of the deficit.

Meanwhile, it’s not the size of last year’s deficit I’m most worried about. It’s the size of this year’s deficit, which is projected to soar again.

The NDP projected a core government deficit of $536 million last year. That was revised down to $490 million in the spring.

Thanks to higher-than-anticipated income tax revenue from Manitobans in 2010 — up a staggering $255 million from what was budgeted — the reported deficit settled at $340 million.

Although we now know it’s higher than that because government has deliberately fudged its numbers.

Either way, those were last year’s numbers. What about this year?

The NDP tabled a spring budget that will see the deficit rise above the half-billion dollar mark again. And that’s without accounting for the tens of millions — maybe more — the government will have to shell out this year for flood costs.

And it doesn’t include how the NDP is now cooking the books on transfers to Crowns.

The Selinger government projected a deficit of $510 million for 2011-12.

Despite that, the NDP is attempting to use last year’s books to try to show voters how fiscally responsible they are.

Not sure how cooking the books is fiscally responsible.

Firstly, though, a $340-million deficit is nothing to be proud of, especially during a year when Manitoba’s economy was growing. We were not in a recession last year and there was no reason to post a deficit of any size.

More importantly, if the Selinger government was truly getting its spending under control and moving towards a balanced budget, why are they budgeting a larger deficit this year than what they posted last year?

The truth is, there is no evidence whatsoever that the NDP has its spending under control. If they did, they would have tabled a balanced budget in the spring.

And they wouldn’t have to cook the books in an effort to mask the true size of the deficit.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/09/03/n ... al-deficit

[styky]

The Big Surprise...For Taxpayers in Manitoba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaUg0ySiwYc