The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce was honoured to have been invited to the Manitoba Legislature to hear Lieutenant Governor Hon. Anita Neville deliver the Speech from the Throne to begin the next legislative session. The Manitoba government, joined by community leaders from across the province, laid out its plan to work together to strengthen health care, lower costs for families and grow the province’s low-carbon economy in the speech from the throne, ‘A New Day in Manitoba.’
The 40-minute speech from the throne addressed several issues that are of interest to the Chamber Network including commitments to:
- Make Manitoba a leader in the low-carbon economy with an agreement from the federal government to deliver funding for a geothermal heat pump program that will connect homes across Manitoba with low-carbon, affordable heating and offer new opportunities to train the next generation of energy workers.
- Grow Manitoba’s economy and create good jobs by encouraging investments in Manitoba industries like value-added manufacturing, trade, and natural resources.
- Provide immediate relief to families by freezing hydro rate increases for one year and cutting the gas tax starting next year.
- Work with front-line organizations, the business community, and all levels of government to help Manitobans struggling with homelessness.
- Reduce healthcare wait times and bureaucracy.
- Reset the relationship with Indigenous governments by working together on priorities in health care, education, and economic reconciliation.
- Be fiscally responsible and balance the Provincial Budget within its first term.
- Make September 30th “Orange Shirt Day” a new Provincial Stat Holiday effective next year.
- Make meaningful investment in critical infrastructure, in particular the Port of Churchill.
- Establish a Premier’s Business and Jobs Team that will have province-wide representation and be tasked with developing a clear provincial economic development strategy.
- Take measures to reduce the decades long trend of losing Manitobans to other jurisdictions.
- To rebalance the relationship between business and labour and make it easier to join a union in Manitoba.
“For the most part the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is encouraged with the new government’s messaging around the importance of a growing economy and creating a climate for business to make investments specifically around the opportunity for Manitoba to be a global leader around developing a low carbon economy.”
“We look forward to working with the government and getting more details on a number of their proposed commitments as we work to create a more prosperous province.” – Chuck Davidson, President and CEO, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce
To read the Speech from the Throne please visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/thronespeech/throne_speech_nov_2023.pdf
