Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s second Speech from the Throne promises to stop grocery stores from stopping competitors from opening nearby and freeze electricity rates for a year despite Manitoba Hydro’s historically high debt load .

The provincial government will introduce legislation that will eliminate the use of restrictive covenants for grocery storesthat limit the types of stores that can open near a particular business’ location, Kinew said.

Increased competition in the grocery industry will reduce the cost of groceries, he said.

“We are going to end this practice here in Manitoba to save you money, but also to support small businesses and local grocers who want to be competitive in these areas of our province,” Kinew said.

The prime minister did not say whether his government’s legislation would eliminate pre-existing contracts already in place.

The Speech from the Throne — which outlines the government’s priorities for the next legislative session — also says the government will open more than 100 beds in health care facilities, unveil a new strategy to reduce emergency room wait times and order a new statue to replace the statue of Queen Victoria. monument that was toppled in front of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

The one-year freeze on electricity rates, one of the financial accessibility promises contained in the Speech from the Throne, will come into effect in 2025.

Kinew promised a freeze in the 2023 election campaign and, during his term, insisted the utility had the means to serve major new industrial customers, despite warnings from Manitoba Hydro of a looming capacity shortage and the need to produce more electricity. Hydro has stated that its infrastructure requires billions of dollars in repairs.

The premier told reporters in an embargoed briefing Tuesday that he was confident Hydro could build the infrastructure it needs in the coming years, while saving taxpayers’ money.

“The thing about running a large company like Manitoba Hydro is that you have to be able to implement your long-term plan, while still achieving your key short- and medium-term goals,” he said. declared.

On health care, the Throne Speech commits to opening 102 staffed health care beds across the province, but it does not indicate where these beds will be located.

There is also a commitment to unveil a new strategy aimed at reducing emergency room wait times.

The province is also committing to increasing surgical capacity by performing another 800 hip and knee procedures at Selkirk Hospital and is moving forward with previously announced plans for a mobile MRI that will travel across northern Manitoba.

Starting in December, Manitobans will be able to apply for a new plastic health card. The design of the cards will feature an image of the Northern Lights, the design that received the most votes in a competition organized by the government.

The Throne Speech also promises that a new statue will be commissioned for the lawn of the legislative building, replacing the statue of Queen Victoria that was torn down by protesters in 2021 during a protest over the deaths of Indigenous children in the boarding schools.

The new monument will feature a mother and her bison child who will be “a symbol of all Manitobans,” the Speech from the Throne says.

“It will also serve as a reminder of the sacred bonds of family that were undermined during the residential school era.”

The previous statue, which the former government said was beyond repair and will not be restored, will be displayed and honored in some way, the government said.

The speech says the statue “was of great historical, cultural and emotional significance to Manitobans,” and that a group of cultural institutions, museums and history and heritage experts will decide how best to display what’s left of it.