Manitoba government lays out agenda for upcoming year in throne speech – CP

Source: The Canadian Press
Nov 20, 2018 

WINNIPEG _ Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government will lay out its agenda for the coming year in its speech from the throne at the legislature this afternoon.

Premier Brian Pallister is past the halfway point in a mandate that has focused on fiscal restraint, including wage freezes for public-sector workers and job cuts in Crown corporations.

The Tories have promised to balance the budget by 2024 and cut the provincial sales tax by one percentage point.

But the deficit for the fiscal year that ended in March came in at $695 million.

The opposition parties have said cuts to health care services and other programs are hurting people.

Pallister has said restraint is needed to ensure services are sustainable and to prevent any more downgrades from credit-rating agencies.

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