The Kinew government will announce its intention to freeze Manitoba Hydro rates for one year, starting in 2025, in today’s Speech from the Throne.

A source told Free press that the implementation of this measure – a notable element of the NDP’s 2023 election campaign – is a priority.

Electricity tariffs increased by 2 percent in 2023-2024, on top of an interim hike of 3.6 percent introduced a year earlier to address drought-related challenges.

The new affordability measure follows the Crown corporation’s revelation of another dry year characterized by record water conditions and resulting in a net loss of $157 million in the last fiscal year ending on March 31.

“People are suffering. The cost of living is rising and there is little governments can do,” said Malcolm Bird, associate professor of political science at the University of Winnipeg.

Suspending electricity hikes is unlikely to result in a significant reduction in household savings, but it shows the NDP is keeping its election promise, Bird said.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a gas tax holiday that will expire at the end of the calendar year.

In the second year of its mandate, the government will already look to the next election and seek to demonstrate tangible improvements and a positive record on health care and affordability, Bird noted.

The cost of living crisis, health care staffing shortages and reconciliation were key themes in a speech this time last year that inaugurated Manitoba’s first government led by a premier of First Nations.

Manitobans can expect more of the same when the second session of the 43rd Parliament begins this afternoon.

“We’re going to talk a lot about health care, the economy and making life more affordable for you,” Prime Minister Wab Kinew said last week when asked by reporters what to expect during the the second year of his mandate.

Kinew said the government also wanted to look at how people are feeling right now and share a message of positivity and “coming together”.

“What unites Manitobans? I would say it’s the feeling that we have the freedom to live the life we ​​want here,” he said.

“As Manitobans, we’re only free if you have that money in your pocket to be able to do the things you want to do with your kids — if you have the health care you need to be able to pursue them in the yard. or go skating with them at the local rink.

But from his perspective in a Winnipeg emergency room, Dr. Doug Eyolfson said the limited number of available hospital beds and the challenges that come with them continue to be “demoralizing.”

“We try to be hopeful for the future, but it’s hard to keep going when you’re in the middle of this situation,” said Eyolfson, a former Winnipeg MP who practices emergency medicine at Grace General Hospital. .

Eyolfson noted that several colleagues were on the verge of tears as they moved stretchers through a crowded hallway Sunday.

The NDP has made “small improvements” with new hires and hospital beds, but there is no silver bullet, he said.

“It will take more than one full term to resolve this issue. This could take a decade to resolve,” he said, adding that significant investment in hospital and long-term care beds is desperately needed.

Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said the government must stimulate economic growth to fund life-enhancing services and balance the budget before 2027.

Davidson said the government needs to promote itself outside of Manitoba and combat youth exodus to do so.

And he said Donald Trump’s recent election victory south of the border — which sparked trade concerns in Canada — made this self-promotion particularly important.

He pushed for Manitoba to have its own trade representative in Washington.

“We still don’t have a business strategy in Manitoba. We still don’t have an economic development strategy in Manitoba,” said Davidson. “We hope the Speech from the Throne will provide a little insight. »

On the education file, the province is expected to put its teacher registry online, develop a Holocaust education curriculum and increase resources to combat Islamophobia in schools in the coming months.

“We can certainly look forward to things on teacher training and indigenous languages ​​– reclaiming and reclaiming them in some way and building a process to do that,” said John Wiens, superintendent at the retired and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. .

The province recently brought in a teacher, both Anishinaabe and Métis, to create a pedagogical framework for Indigenous education focused on land and Indigenous languages.

After the Speech from the Throne, a choir made up of students from Riverbend Gikinoo’amaagewigamig — a K-5 school with an immersion program in Indigenous languages ​​— is expected to close Monday’s ceremonies in the House with singing the national anthem to Anishinaabemowin.

Wiens said he was urging authorities to implement stricter oversight of homeschooling and introduce financial disclosure requirements for school board candidates this year.

The NDP should take measures to ensure the integrity of school boards and “be more bold,” he added.

As post-secondary institutions grapple with reduced international student enrollment due to the new federal cap, the Organization of Manitoba Faculty Associations is calling for new funding to address the shortfalls.

Also on the subject of international students, association president Allison McCulloch questioned the status of the NDP’s commitment to restore health care coverage for non-Canadians on local campuses.

The Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives’ Manitoba director, Molly McCracken, will look to the Speech from the Throne for new affordability measures aimed at low-income and working-class Manitobans.

The progressive think tank is in favor of improving income transfers through the tax system after the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that the poorest 40 percent of households on the income scale have lost their purchasing power and that the richest employees have become richer.

While emphasizing that the Kinew government has demonstrated strong support for reproductive rights, McCracken said she expects the Speech from the Throne to contain details aimed at further advancing the rights of women and LGBTTQ+ people.

“For example, following through on their commitment to fund capital improvements at the Women’s Health Clinic,” she said.

McCracken added she hopes Manitoba takes full advantage of federal funding for housing, infrastructure and health care ahead of a looming election and a change in Ottawa that could turn off the spigot.

Lieutenant Governor. Anita Neville is scheduled to read the Speech from the Throne at 1:30 p.m.

[email protected]

[email protected]

Carole Sanders
Legislative reporter

In 1997, Carol began working nights at the Free Press as an editor. In 2000, she jumped at the chance to return to reporting. In early 2020 – before a global pandemic was declared – she agreed to work temporarily in the Free Press legislature’s office. She has been there ever since.

Read the full biography

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