Lemieux defends consultation process

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This article was published 05/10/2015 (3124 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Though there may not be another provincial budget presented before next spring’s provincial election, Dawson Trail MLA Ron Lemieux championed the importance of getting feedback from the public, as the NDP government did on Sunday afternoon in Ile des Chenes.

Lemieux said that he, along with Finance Minister Greg Dewar, met with a good cross section of the public at the event, though the number of people in attendance was small.

Lemieux said he was upfront and apologetic with those who came that his party could have involved Manitobans in the discussion about raising the provincial sales tax. While Lemieux said Manitobans are now seeing the results of the increase, which he said is being spent on infrastructure projects, the local MLA thinks more consultation with Manitobans on how to increase revenues, through a PST increase or other means, should have occurred.

“Regrettably, we didn’t,” he told The Carillon.

Lemieux said that traditionally the provincial budget is presented sometime between March and late April. Given that this with overlap with the provincial election campaign (Manitobans are scheduled to go to the polls on April 19), Lemieux said pre-budget consultations have been scheduled earlier than usual.

That could give the government the time it needs to present a budget but Lemieux said the current federal election campaign needs to be considered as well.

“Their budgets also have implications on ours,” Lemieux said.

He noted that federal political parties are making a variety of promises, which could have an impact on certain areas of the provincial budget and prompt them to adjust their own numbers.

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who was in attendance Sunday, said he really only had one main suggestion for NDP finance minister Greg Dewar: deliver a budget.

Goertzen said Dewar, like Lemieux, wouldn’t couldn’t commit when asked at the meeting either.

The Tory MLA’s confidence in the NDP remains low as deficit figures reach higher. Last week, new figures showed the government had a net loss of $452 million. That’s an increase of $28 million since its last estimate, after originally projecting a deficit of $357 million.

“There doesn’t seem to be an ability of willingness to every balance the books,” Goertzen said.

Goertzen said its appropriate, heading into a election, for the public to have an idea of what shape the province’s finances are in.

“Manitobans have a right to know,” he said.

As he travels, Goertzen said people tell him about their concern for the economy, the deficit, taxes and their jobs.

“The government doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem,” Goertzen said.