PC Caucus Proud of Providing Historic Help for Manitobans in the 42nd Legislature
Fighting for the priorities we’ve heard from all Manitobans: Schuler
On the last day of the Legislative session, Manitoba’s PC caucus reflects on some historic moments in the Legislature over the course of this term.
“This 42nd Legislature was full of historic help for Manitobans, much-needed tax savings measures, and historic firsts in Manitoba,” said Ron Schuler, PC Caucus Chair. “I’m proud of the work we have done for Manitobans – and the work that we will continue to help Manitobans make ends meet, make our streets safer, heal our healthcare system, and prepare for the opportunities ahead.”
Since 2019, PC MLAs have continued making life more affordable with long-overdue tax cuts. A two income family will save $5,500 compared to Greg Selinger’s NDP. We also balanced the budget in 2019-2020 after years of NDP fiscal mismanagement, and following the global pandemic, we are on track to balance it again by 2027 without raising taxes – which Wab Kinew’s NDP rejected on numerous occasions in the legislature this year.
After reversing the NDP’s PST raise in our first term, our PC Team committed to phasing out the Education Property Tax in the 2019 election. Now with rebates at 50%, the average household receives more than $770 this year – while our government is providing historic increases for schools. We froze pharmacare rates, and helped strengthen Manitoba Hydro and the PUB to keep rates low. We also lowered income taxes in Budget 2023 by raising the basic personal amount to $15,000.
We made significant progress on economic development, approving the first potash mine in Manitoba, which will create more jobs in rural Manitoba. Our government helped secure direct flights to Los Angeles and Atlanta from Winnipeg, helping make our province a hub for travel and commerce. We shored up infrastructure funding for CentrePort, which is a key economic driver that will continue to create the ongoing investment and high-paying jobs essential for our province to grow. We created a more competitive environment for businesses, and introduced a Venture Capital Fund to attract even more.
On healthcare, we’re spending a historic $7.9 billion this year, and investing in the infrastructure and staff we need for our system to heal. After an unprecedented global pandemic, we created a task force of experts to help Manitobans get their surgeries and diagnostics sooner.
We have also shored up support for safety initiatives in our province. By supporting our front-line police officers and investing in supports for our most vulnerable, we are helping create safer streets. Historic investments in addictions clinics, our homelessness strategy and our violent crime strategy will have positive impacts on our province overall.
Our PC Team has also made progress to support our kids and our education system. We are building 23 new schools, and added an astronomical $100 million increase to school division funding this year. We also made $10-per-day child care a reality in Manitoba, and have created 7,000 new child care spaces.
Our PC government is proud of the fact that we have made some real social progress in this term, electing the first-ever Muslim MLA and cabinet minister, appointing the first-ever Black woman into Manitoba’s cabinet, and being led by Manitoba’s first-ever woman premier.
“Our PC Team accomplished a lot in the last four years, and I know that Manitobans expect us to continue this great progress moving forward,” said Schuler. “While the NDP only criticize without any plan other than to raise taxes, our team is getting the work done and fighting for Manitobans.”
-30-