Pallister commits to PST cut, hints at rural hospital closures and education cuts in year end interview

Premier Brian Pallister says his government is still on track to cut the PST by one per cent by the end of his first term.

After cancelling his scheduled one-on-one year end interviews with media outlets due to his poor health, Pallister sat down with a group of reporters Thursday for a collective interview.

The premier said he is on pain medication for a broken arm after he fell while hiking in New Mexico and a recent slip and fall while back home hasn’t helped his situation.

READ MORE: Pallister talks hiking accident: ‘2017 has been a pretty sh—y year for vacations for me and my wife’

Over the nearly hour-long discussion Pallister touched on multiple issues but the hot topics were health care changes, hospital closures, a promised PST cut, pot and his verbal missteps.

Pallister started by addressing a difficult year of decisions to get the province back on track financially.

“We’re pleased to see a turnaround on our fiscal situation in terms of a reduction in our deficit. Some said too much, some said not enough, but it was a step in the right direction,” he said. “We’ve made a commitment to right the fiscal ship over a period of time. That’s exactly what we plan to do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're pleased to see a turnaround on our fiscal situation in terms of a reduction in our deficit. Some said too much, some said not enough, but it was a step in the right direction," he said. "We've made a commitment to right the fiscal ship over a period of time. That's exactly what we plan to do."

But the discussion quickly turned to health care. After a year of massive cuts and closures, the premier avoided giving out any specifics on rural hospital closures, deferring instead to Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen and planned announcements in 2018.

READ MORE: How the WRHA plans to cut spending by $80M

“There are hospitals that are not open right now,” the premier said. “What do you want me to say? That we are going to officially announce that they are closed when they haven’t had patients for the last 5 years?

After repeated questioning, Pallister made some concessions.

“They may close or they may become other health care facilities doing other things which is exactly what we’ve been doing the past year and a half,” he said.

While Pallister still gave no specifics, he did say some facilities may make the move to personal care homes.

He did reaffirm his commitment to cut the PST back to 7 per cent by the end of his first term.

“I’m dead-on committed to lowering the PST in our first term,” Pallister said. “We’re going to lower the PST in our first term because it’s the right thing to do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm dead-on committed to lowering the PST in our first term," Pallister said. "We're going to lower the PST in our first term because it's the right thing to do."

The province has refused to sign on to the federal governments pot revenue deal and Pallister said they are in no rush.

“The provinces are doing the lion’s share of the heavy lifting, the provinces are the ones that are going to be asked to put, frankly, millions of dollars at risk in terms of setting up this system,” he said. “I’m concerned about the safety of those who buy it. I’m concerned about the safety of those who choose not to buy it. I’m concerned about the attitudes of young people needing to change in terms of driving under the influence.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The provinces are doing the lion's share of the heavy lifting, the provinces are the ones that are going to be asked to put, frankly, millions of dollars at risk in terms of setting up this system," he said. "I'm concerned about the safety of those who buy it. I'm concerned about the safety of those who choose not to buy it. I'm concerned about the attitudes of young people needing to change in terms of driving under the influence."

Pallister has also recently come under fire for comments made during a speech in front of 1,200 business leaders when he commented on a woman’s high heels.

READ MORE: Manitoba premier comes under fire for comments on Chamber chair’s outfit, not her presentation

“I’m 25 years in public life and you’re not going to get the rough edges off of me,” Pallister said. “At the end of the day I’m going to be genuine and I’m going to tell you what i think and I’m going to step in it once in a while.”

He told reporters his wife and two daughters gave him a talking to that night when he got home.

“Look, I got hell when I got home from my 25-year-old daughter,” he said. “She said ‘Never, ever refer to whatever anyone’s wearing, Dad, for crying out loud, right?’ It’s hard to live with this kind of criticism, right?”

One look ahead for 2018 Pallister did allude to was possible cuts in the education sector.

“Given the all hands on deck approach we’re taking, there’d be an obligation there to see improvements at the school board level,” Pallister said. “There will be further progress made on that. Specifics will be announced in the coming year.”