NDP's all-budget implementation bill contains promised legislation delayed by Tories – Winnipeg Free Press

The NDP government on Monday introduced a 90-page budget implementation bill filled with promised legislation as well as increased subsidies for election candidates and parties.

Omnibus Bill 37 – The Budget Implementation and Tax Law Amendment Act, 2024, which contains the necessary measures to implement the tax changes in the April 2, 2024 budget, as well as other acts and amendments on the NDP agenda.

Amendments to the fuel tax holiday — a 14-cent-per-litre provincial gas freeze that took effect Jan. 1 and expires at the end of September — would allow the government to change the fuel tax by regulating it. than legislation.

“We want to make sure there is some flexibility here,” Finance Minister Adrien Sala told reporters, declining to say whether the tax would return to 14 cents a liter on Oct. 1.

The BITSA Bill amends Labor Relations to facilitate unionization by prohibiting replacement workers during a lockout or strike and by requiring a simple majority of workers to join a union. Labor Minister Malaya Marcelino and Prime Minister Wab Kinew held a press conference on March 18 to announce the bill with dozens of union workers waiting for its introduction in the legislature. The bill has been blocked by the opposition Progressive Conservatives, who have repeatedly cited procedural issues to delay government business.

The Senior Advocates Act, originally held by the PCs, was also in Monday's budget bill. It will create an assembly staff to “identify, review and analyze systemic problems or issues critical to seniors' lives” and collaborate with service providers and organizations to address them.

The Environmental Change Act was announced by the NDP two months ago, but was not introduced until Monday as part of the BITSA bill. The act expands the activities that require a license and allows for the administration of fines for failure to comply with environmental orders: up to $25,000 for an individual and up to $125,000 for a corporation.

In a press release on March 6, the government said it would amend the law in response to a large sewage spill in Winnipeg.

“Our government is strengthening our ability to protect lakes and rivers for Manitobans,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Tracy Schmidt said in a news release at the time. “We want to intervene immediately when there are problems with water treatment.”

The Manitoba Hydro Amendment Act eliminates the consideration of the debt-to-capitalization ratio of Crown corporations when setting electricity rates and requires that the gross annual rate not exceed four per cent.

“These changes undo what the last government did, which was to put a tariff-fixing bill on the cabinet table,” Sala said.

PCs have limited water rate increases based on the rate of inflation to a maximum of five percent, and utility service board hearings on rate applications will be held every three years from 2025, instead of every year.

“This bill reverses what was done by the last government … and it restores the ability to set rates at the Public Utilities Board, where they should be set,” Sala said. “This is one measure to ensure that rates are affordable.”

The Electoral Finance Amendment Act — which the government had not previously named as part of its legislative agenda — would increase the reimbursement of election expenses from 25 percent to 50 percent. This reverses the previous PC government's cut from 50 percent to 25 percent in compensation for eligible parties and candidates.

“We want to ensure that as many Manitobans as possible can participate in our democracy,” said Sala, whose party raised and spent more than the Tories in last year's provincial election.

“They had ample opportunity to introduce these bills in a way that allowed them to be considered thoughtfully by both the public and the legislature, but they failed to do so. Now they are introducing it through BITSA.”– Kathleen Cook, PC Deputy Head

“We think it's going to help open things up,” he said. “Anyone who wants to participate in our democracy can do so.”

PC Deputy Leader Kathleen Cook (Roblin) called out the New Democrats for mismanaging their time, saying that many bills were pushed into omnibus legislation without the proper scrutiny.

“I think that's about it. I think it shows the NDP mismanaging their House schedule,” said Cook, who declined to comment on the specifics of the bill until he had a chance to study it.

“They had ample opportunity to introduce these bills in a way that allowed both the public and the Legislature to consider them thoughtfully, but they failed to do so,” Cook told reporters Monday. “Now they are introducing it through BITSA.”

The finance minister did not apologize for the omnibus bill.

“We have a bold legislative and budget agenda,” Sala said.

“This bill will help us meet our budget and our commitments to Manitobans to make life more affordable, protect the environment, ensure Manitobans don't pay unnecessarily high water rates, and make it easier for them to connect. union,” said Sala.

“Every clause in this BITSA bill helps us implement elements of our budget.”

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Carol Sanders
Legislative reporter

After 20 years reporting on the diversity of people who call Manitoba home, Carol moved to the Legislative Bureau in early 2020.

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