Manitoba to reveal cost-control measures in spring legislature sitting

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government will reveal its plans to curb spending and public-sector wages in the spring sitting of the legislature that is to start Wednesday.

Premier Brian Pallister has been dropping hints in recent months about various options: wage freezes for government workers, reopening of collective agreements and job cuts at the management level.

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Details are expected this spring in two major pieces of legislation — the budget and a bill to limit the growth in public-sector wage costs. Dates for both have yet to be set.

Pallister has talked about a fiscal crackdown since being elected last April, but has yet to deliver any austere measures. The tough talk may be a political strategy, suggested Royce Koop, who teaches political studies at the University of Manitoba.

“As time goes on, you do kind of see that from Pallister, this kind of overselling what’s coming. And then when you see what’s actually there, it’s not as bad in comparison.”

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The Tories inherited an $846-million deficit from the former NDP government. An update in December said the province was heading for a $1-billion deficit in the fiscal year that ends March 31.

READ MORE: ‘Manitoba is staring down a $1 billion deficit’: Finance Minister

Pallister was elected largely on a promise to control spending, and he has pointed to credit downgrades from two bond-rating agencies as a call to action. But he has also promised not to move too quickly to avoid any economic shocks. The Tories have given themselves eight years to balance the books.

“The Conservatives have been surprising in a lot of ways. They haven’t governed as far on the right as people anticipated they would,” Koop said.

That could change, but Koop said governments normally take unpopular measures early in their mandate so voters might forgive them by the next election.

Public-sector unions are expecting tough measures. Following two recent meetings with government representatives, union leaders said the Tories have mentioned unpaid days off and reduced pension benefits as possibilities.

The three-month spring sitting is also to see the government introduce a new balanced-budget law to replace one scrapped last year. While the former law forced cabinet ministers to take pay cuts when the government was in deficit, Pallister has been noncommittal on whether the new law will do so as well.

The Tories are also expected to reveal details of their climate-change plan which is to include a price on carbon.

Manitoba’s opposition parties return to the legislature facing their own challenges. The NDP and the Liberals are both have interim leaders until the fall and are paying off election campaign debt.

READ MORE: Manitoba NDP left with ‘big empty hole’ after MLA’s resignation: Political analyst

The New Democrats, who have 12 seats to three for the Liberals, also remain divided following an internal revolt against former premier Greg Selinger in 2014, Koop said.

“These are parties that are kind of inward-looking right now, rather than focused on Pallister.”