Provincial Budget Mainly Positive

Manitoba Federation of Labour President Darlene Dziewit said that the 2008 Provincial Budget released on April 9 by Finance Minister Greg Selinger hit many of the needs of working Manitobans.

"The government is clearly targeting the needs of our economic stakeholders by making Manitoba more competitive with other provinces when it comes to skills training and graduate retention," Dziewit said.

The Doer government has done this by putting $18 million into training and employment support and skills upgrading and providing financial incentives to employers who hire apprentices.

Dziewit also endorsed the expansion of Red River College to include a satellite campus to serve the needs of the Peguis and Fisher River communities. Assiniboine Community College will have expanded training facilities.

"These developments will allow the government to meet its commitment to create 4,000 new apprenticeship seats in the next few years," Dziewit explained. "Creating a skilled workforce is a good fit with the government's aggressive infrastructure renewal announcements and will underpin our economic and quality of life strategies."

Dziewit added that if the budget has a weak point, it's the minor announcement related to Child Care.

"We were disappointed to see only five million new dollars are being allocated to child care. However, Minister Selinger did indicate that a further announcement on Child Care will be made soon by Family Services Minister Gord MacIntosh. We look forward to it with interest."