MFL Comments on Two Government Bills

Bill 21 and Bill 38 subject of briefs presented to legislature by MFL.

Continuing its tradition of commenting on Government legislation, the Manitoba Federation of Labour recently presented briefs to the legislature concerning two pending pieces of government legislation - Bills 21 and 38. The stated purpose of Bill 21 is to "facilitate and encourage the cooperative participation of employers, employees and labour organizations in the development of government policies and strategies for developing Manitoba's workforce."

The Bill proposes the creation of a Advisory Council on Workforce Development that will "consult with sector councils and provide information and advice to the minister about workforce trends, and about initiatives, policies and strategies for developing Manitoba's workforce."

The MFL endorses the concept but suggested in it's brief that "Bill 21 be amended to include a requirement that all of Manitoba's sector councils must have organized labour or labour endorsed representation. If a sector is not unionized to the point that makes this possible, then workers in that sector should be appointed as community representatives."

Bill 38 somewhat amends existing legislation dealing the the need to government to maintain balanced budgets. When this legislation was originally introduced in 1995, the MFL didn't like it because it restricted a government's ability to 'manage' the economy. The MFL still isn't entirely in favour of this type of legislation, but does think that the proposed amendments will improve it.

One of the changes deals with basing the calculation of government accounts over four fiscal years rather than one. In 1995, the MFL warned that balanced budget legislation that is out of step with the natural business cycle is asking for trouble. It was recommended at that time that the annual reporting requirement be altered to reflect the business cycle and the Bill presently being debated proposes that.

Bill 38 also calls for an expansion of what's considered when determining what constitutes a balanced budget. The proposed accounting guidelines would include not only core government, but also government agencies and other public sector organizations prescribed by regulation under The Financial Administration Act. The MFL views this as another positive step.

View the MFL Brief on Bill 21 - PDF format (90kb)
View the MFL Brief on Bill 38 - PDF format (91kb)