Brian Pallister needs to get his head out of the sand. Fast. And when he dusts himself off, his first order of business should be to scrap Budget 2020. It's not going to do us a lick of good as we all battle through the Covid-19 crisis. His strategy to deal with the social and … Continue reading It’s time to scrap Manitoba Budget 2020 and get money out the door
Assessing Manitoba’s Real Economic Problems
The Conservatives have been ringing the alarm bells about our economy ever since they've taken power. But the issues they raise don't qualify as a crisis. As this article explains, they better start keeping their eye on the ball, or they could end up with a real crisis.
Where’s the value for Manitoba’s North?
The Pallister government has paid a lot of lip service to Manitoba's north, but as this article in the Thompson Citizen explains, there's been little real action. As public services are cut in northern communities, how will those losing their jobs cope? Vale's smelter in Thompson is shutting down, and mine closures in Flin Flon are … Continue reading Where’s the value for Manitoba’s North?
Brian Pallister’s so called “best budget ever”
On Monday March 12th, the Manitoba government released its 2nd budget since being elected in 2016. The often socially awkward Premier chose to use a kind of Trump-esque communication style by describing the 2018 budget as "the best budget ever. As described in our post outlining the fall Throne Speech, we had a pretty good … Continue reading Brian Pallister’s so called “best budget ever”
Decoding KPMG’s Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review: Privatization
In a previous post we provided an overview of KPMG's Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review (MFPR). Here we focus on a theme that runs throughout the report - privatization. Department Input? But before we do that, we want to provide a bit of context to how the KPMG report was shaped. KPMG was selected through a … Continue reading Decoding KPMG’s Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review: Privatization
Door opened for P3s in Manitoba
Until very recently, Manitoba has been somewhat sheltered from the scourge of Public Private Partnerships (P3s) that have hit other parts of Canada. But Pallister’s government let that genie completely out of the bottle with the announcement that 4 new schools would be “P3d”. This link explains what’s going on in Manitoba and why it’s … Continue reading Door opened for P3s in Manitoba
Manufacturing Crisis
There’s nothing like an old-fashioned crisis to rally the troops, especially if the crisis means that people are going to have to pay more for something. As we explained in our last post, Manitoba Hydro does not have a debt problem and, the fear of rate increases is a red herring. We saw how the projected … Continue reading Manufacturing Crisis
What’s the Deal With Manitoba Hydro?
The media is lapping up Conservative alarm bells about Manitoba Hydro. At issue is the amount of debt the utility is taking on to fund new capital projects. We believe Manitobans deserve a clear response to two pointed questions before the Pallister appointed board makes major decisions that will affect the sustainability of this critically … Continue reading What’s the Deal With Manitoba Hydro?
Measuring “Improvement”: Minimum Wage and Living Wage
How much money we make is important to us personally because our wages directly impact our lifestyle, happiness and health. Income is also important to the provincial economy in general because having adequate and stable household employment and income lets families buy goods and services. This spending keeps our economy strong. So being able to … Continue reading Measuring “Improvement”: Minimum Wage and Living Wage
Value Manitoba 