The real impact of Manitoba’s Core Infrastructure plan

Not long ago the provincial government in Manitoba announced an ambitious plan to spend $5.5 billion on “core infrastructure” over the next 5 years. This is the main pillar of the NDP’s economic strategy, and as such the government needs to show that it’s all worthwhile. To that end, the government commissioned a study by…

The long road to the truth

On April 18, 2012, an email was sent out by the government to immigration workers and support agencies inviting them to attend a debate in the legislature the following day over a NDP motion to request the Federal government back down from their plan to take over certain immigration programs. After 9 months of relentless…

Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Forward

I was scanning the Winnipeg Sun today when I came upon a full page ad directed at Manitoba Hydro employees: The ad starts by buttering up Hydro employees by telling them that they “have done a fine job”, then sets about explaining why their employer is going to shambles. The ad explains that the NDP…

Death Cab For Selby

Other people have died shortly after being released from hospital, but recent back-to-back fatalities have put a spotlight on a possible systemic problem within the Manitoba health care system. Walking into that spotlight last Friday was the Minister of Health, Erin Selby, not to take responsibility on behalf of the health care system but to…

MPI: increasing more than your premiums

Something you should know about me: I am a little bit of a hoarder. Not a big league hoarder with stacks of boxes, clothes, chicken bones and Safeway bags filled with collectable dust bunnies. I am actually reasonably organized, but I also happen to have MPI statements dating back several years. My MPI renewal also…

It’s worse than you think

There is this show on the cable network Slice called Til Debt Do Us Part. In it, host Gail Vaz-Oxlade helps couples solve their spending problem and the crushing debt burden that it caused. There is a moment in every episode after Gail does all her calculations that she meets with the couple – usually…

UPDATED: The Premier is “probably” lying.

UPDATE: It had come to light that the $5.5 billion that the government said or implied it would invest on core infrastructure isn’t really $5.5 billion. Minister Steve Ashton clarified that this figure includes anticipated cost sharing from the Feds. See here and here. How much are they going to spend? No one knows. Not…