Opposition NDP delays release of Manitoba's budget for a 2nd day

For a second consecutive day, Manitoba's latest budgetwas nowhere to be seen.

In a delay Manitoba legislators say is unprecedented, the government's spending plan for 2020wasnot tabled on Thursday because of procedural delays from theNDP.

It was originallysupposed to be released on Wednesdaybut has faced delays from the NDP, who are trying to stall government businessto preventseveral pieces of legislation from being introduced.

ButLeader Wab Kinew insistshis party's tactics are notkeepingthe budget from being released, nor are they hindering the government's response to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.

"For us, this is not about the budget speechthis is about the bills that the government is trying to ram through that [are]going to affect jobs, environment, schools and a bunch of other issues that matter to Manitobans," Kinew said.

The feud began Wednesday, when the New Democrats usedprocedural delays to prevent Finance Minister Scott Fielding from delivering his budget speech the point after which the spending plan is traditionally made public.

The New Democrats say they are trying to prevent the government from introducing about 20 bills before Tuesdaythe deadline to introducebills in order to have them passed into law before the legislature's summer break.

On Thursday, both the Progressive Conservatives and NDP tried to broker a compromise.

The Toriesasked the Speaker of the House to keep the business of the legislature going for as long as necessary to allow the budget to be presented, but the NDP turned the idea down.

In return, the NDP asked for a leave of the House meaningall normal business would stop, and the House could resume for the purpose of reading the budget speech and tablingthe budget. The Tories rejected that idea.

'Democracy is not a buffet'

Progressive Conservative House leader Kelvin Goertzensaid the NDP shouldn't pick and choose which aspects of government business they want to see.

"Democracy is not a buffet," he said in question period Thursday.

TheHouseleaders then met with House Speaker Myrna Driedger to try to reach a compromise, but no deal was achieved.

Several MLAs responded by raisingpoints of privilege in the legislature Thursday afternoonuntil the clock ran out on the day.

Afterwards, Goertzen questioned the NDP's leadership.

"With all that's going on in the world, this is when people are looking for leadership, stability, and they're looking for an example from their elected leaders," he said.

"What we're seeing from WabKinewand the NDP isn't leadership and it'snot what people expect in a time of significant uncertainty."

He said the Progressive Conservatives deserveto have a budget release.

"The budget isn't like a napkin on a restaurant table, where youjust sort of throw it on the ground and sort of treat it as something that's not important. The budget needs to be properly introduced. There are messages and motions that come from the lieutenant-governor that are involved with that."

He added the budget is normallyintroducedwith the bill that permits the spending plan'simplementation, but the NDP is restricting that as well.

Before Thursday afternoon's wrangling,Premier Brian Pallisterdenounced the NDP for playing politics while thefirst presumptive cases of novel coronavirusare arriving in Manitoba.

"It's at times like these that you don't play to people's fears," Pallister told reporters during a conference in his office.

"That's exactly what the NDP is doing by stoking fear around our budgetit's an excellent budget. They've deprived Manitobans the opportunity to see it."

He likened the NDP's actions to theblockades thatrecently haltedrail traffic across the country, in protest against the planned construction of a pipeline through traditional Wet'suwet'en territory in northern B.C.

"This is not a respectful way to conduct yourself, any more than a blockade on a rail lineand breaking the rule of law is a respectful way to deal with some very legitimate concerns about the processes aroundresource extraction."

More than an hour later, the NDPpubliclyoffered an olive branch by saying they'd permitthe budget's introduction,but insisting they would still work to keep the proposed legislation from being introduced.

Kinew said the party changed its approach because of publicconcerns surrounding novel coronavirus.

He said his party's actions do not prevent the province from immediatelyresponding to COVID-19.

There was all-party support earlier this week for a $35-million bulk buy forpersonal protective supplies like masks and gloves, he noted.

The earliest the budget can be introduced is Monday, March16 when question period returns.