PCs Slam NDP’s Undemocratic $24-Billion Omnibus Spending Bill
WINNIPEG — Today, Wab Kinew and the NDP refused to withdraw a $24-billion omnibus spending bill that rams through significant new legislation while denying Manitobans the right and opportunity to provide input through public committees.
The new laws introduced under Bill 37 will give the NDP extraordinary powers to raise taxes and energy prices at the cabinet table while watering down financial accountability for Crown corporations. The bill will also amend a dozen other laws to implement major property tax increases on the middle class and income tax increases on doctors and skilled professionals, as well as eliminate debt reduction targets for Manitoba Hydro, and strip workers of their democratic rights by forcing them to unionize.
“The NDP are raising taxes and ramming through an omnibus bill full of measures they didn’t campaign on, from doubling the vote subsidy for the benefit of their own party to hiking property taxes by $148 million and raising Hydro rates by 4% annually,” said Wayne Ewasko, Leader of the Official Opposition. “It’s undemocratic for the NDP to use an omnibus bill to hide so many significant changes from public scrutiny.”
Manitoba has a unique parliamentary committee system that gives citizens and organizations direct input into the law-making process while allowing legislators to propose and consider amendments after public consultations.
By rolling dozens of new laws into an omnibus budget bill, the NDP are doing a disservice to the democratic process, denying Manitobans their rights, avoiding accountability, and eroding transparency, Ewasko said.
“These are laws that need to be properly and individually introduced so that Manitobans can fully understand the costs on their families and businesses,” said Ewasko. “The NDP have had seven months to introduce these laws for debate. Instead of listening to what Manitobans have to say, the NDP is choosing to ignore them.”
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