Stefanson pre-election budget falls short

WINNIPEG, MB, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Despite some spending measures aimed at winning re-election, the Heather Stefanson government is still defined by growing hospital wait times, health care privatization, and suppressing the minimum wage, says Unifor.

"Manitobans will not forget the Stefanson government's deliberate and wilful dismantling of the health care system," said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. "One budget cannot undo years of mismanagement by the conservative government."

The Manitoba budget tabled today proposes a collection of new spending initiatives that directly contradict the government's long record of meagre increases, or cutbacks in many cases. Unifor estimates that per capita health care funding barely budged between 2016 and 2022. The increases announced in this budget are largely the result of enhanced federal funding. Much of the capital spending announced in this budget will fund projects cancelled in recent years.

"When Manitobans elect a government this fall, which Heather Stefanson is going to be on the ballot: the careless spendthrift or the architect of cutbacks and privatization?" said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. "It's time for change in Manitoba. Workers and our families can't trust Stefanson to deliver."

The Manitoba election is expected to take place on or before October 3, 2023.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

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