Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 10, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014 TOP NEWS winnipegfreepress. com The Winnipeg Foundation and Food Matters Manitoba are pleased to present Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Michael Moss as part of the 2014 Growing Local Conference on Thursday, February 27, at 7: 30 p. m. at the Masonic Centre. For tickets and information please visit: www. wpgfdn. org/ michaelmoss Your Community Foundation For Good. Forever. The Winnipeg Free Press will be publishing Valentines to your loved ones on Friday, February 14, 2014. For a minimum cost of just $ 21.26 you can tell your loved one how much you care. Additional lines, a photo or Valentine's logo are extra. Deadline to place your ad is 12: 00 noon on Monday, February 10. For more information or to place your ad, call us at 697- 7100 , or email your ad to wfpclass@ freepress. mb. ca Pres you 2014 21 26 ValentineDear visit www. fabriclandwest. com for more details 50% OFFREGULARPRICE DRAPERY PANELS Discontinued Styles, select stock $ 10- $ 20 DUVET COVER SETS All Stock - various sizes & coordinates PER PKG 55%- 65% OFF REG. PRICE IF IT'S ALL WHITE, IT'S ON SALE Prices in effect until February 20th 2014 .. DECORATOR THROWS .. DECORCUSHIONCOVERS .. FURNITUREPROTECTORS .. SHOWERESSENTIALS .. CREATIONS HARDWARE & TRIMS - Individually Priced .. DECORATOR DRAPERY PANELS - Over 300 styles, up to 96" .. DECOR FABRICS - ROSEDALE COLLECTION .. SOLIDWHITEFABRICS .. ALLWHITESEWINGNOTIONS .. SOFTLOFTPILLOWFORMS .. BATTING, THREAD& MORE WINNIPEG 1172 St. James St. . 204- 772- 8709 1530 Regent Ave. . 204- 661- 6426 1895 Pembina Hwy. . 204- 253- 2518 STORE HOURS: Mon. & Tues. 9: 30 am - 6 pm Wed., Thur. & Fri. 9: 30 am - 9 pm Sat. 9: 30 am - 6 pm; Sun. 12 noon - 5 pm * Refers to Fabricland Sewing Club Members WHOLESALE PRICING AVAILABLE ** some exclusions may apply, this includes Promotional Clearance products, " Special Purchase", yarn & bargain centre. O NE hurdle done, another bigger hurdle to go. Premier Greg Selinger reportedly escaped a face- to- face confrontation with the NDP membership this past weekend with little or no additional damage inflicted upon his tattered mandate. It was not a certainty he would get through unscathed. Still reeling from poor opinionpoll results, last week Selinger had to deal with an act of mutiny from within his own ranks. Former cabinet minister Christine Melnick - who lied in the legislature about involving senior civil servants in a demonstration organized at the Manitoba legislature - publicly criticized the premier. She was ultimately expelled from the NDP caucus. As the week wore on, Melnick's claims about being mistreated at the hands of Selinger's senior staff became increasingly questionable. Still, Melnick's eruption and Selinger's response were hardly banner achievements for a government looking for good news. At this point, it appears Selinger's senior political advisers - those same people who got dragged down into the whole Melnick affair - earned their keep this past weekend. Party members at the AGM did not pour salt into Selinger's wounds by showing any sign of dissent over recent events. That speaks to diligent, floor- level work by senior staff, who spent the weekend holding hands, patting shoulders and otherwise convincing the rank and file there was still reason for hope. Selinger was present throughout the AGM, delivering a keynote speech Friday night in which he directly addressed the Melnick affair. Although it was likely the top- of- mind issue for New Democrats this past weekend, there were no obvious signs of rogue elements in the party demanding a review of Selinger's leadership. Perhaps the unveiling of a new negative TV advertisement aimed at PC Leader Brian Pallister helped. Nothing rallies the troops like a good old- fashioned, saucy attack ad. Even though he deftly stickhandled through the AGM, Selinger is unlikely to get much of a respite. The premier and his team now have to turn their attention to the provincial budget, which should be tabled in April. And the fiscal outlook for the province is, to say the least, grim. The second- quarter fiscal update, released in December, showed the province now expecting a $ 485- million deficit for this year, down $ 33 million in the budget. That is progress, albeit at a glacial pace. The fact is the NDP desperately needs to balance the budget, both for the fortunes of Manitoba and for its own political health. Selinger has been rocked now by controversy and internal strife, but his greatest issue of vulnerability is the deficit. Until now, however, Selinger has been rigorously devoted to a strategy whereby total spending has been slowed in some areas and modestly cut in others. Selinger has argued deep spending cuts would be devastating to core services. He has waited, patiently, for the economy to grow and produce the revenues necessary to shrink the deficit. Selinger's plan has, to some extent, come to fruition. The deficit is shrinking and core services have been spared the sting of deep austerity measures. However, the deficit is not falling fast or far enough to soothe the voters. As a result, you can see a measure of desperation entering into the shortterm fiscal management. This week, it was announced a full rollback of property taxes for senior citizens would be delayed by one year. The tax cut was a key 2011 election campaign pledge. The province would like to eliminate the deficit altogether when it introduces a budget in the spring of 2016. That is also, coincidentally, an election year. Failure to eliminate the deficit by that date would likely break the camel's back for Selinger and the NDP. And it's important to note even with austerity measures, Manitoba is already facing other threats to its bottom line. The province and Ottawa are in a dispute over the population figure used to calculate transfer payments. Ottawa reduced Manitoba's population, which resulted in a $ 37- million revenue drop this year. More of this is expected next year. And let's not forget about the spring flooding season. Selinger is farther behind in reducing the deficit because of the extraordinary flood of 2011. Although no governing party could ever completely overcome the $ 1- billion tab for flood fighting that year - half of which may be recovered from the federal government - the Opposition Tories have been effective in framing the huge costs of fighting the flood as evidence of a NDP spending problem. It may well be that by the time the next budget comes forward, New Democrats will long for the days when they needed only to endure the allegations of an aggrieved ex- cabinet minister. dan. lett@ freepress. mb. ca Selinger dusts off, carries on Next up, the provincial budget DAN LETT O TTAWA - Lowering consumer bills, training workers to fill indemand jobs and balancing the books will be key themes Tuesday when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presents his latest spending plan. With an eye on eliminating the deficit in 2015 - in time for the next election - Flaherty's budget must show voters he's taking substantive action to grow the economy with little or no new spending. With a $ 3- billion risk cushion built into the budget, some observers say Flaherty could eliminate the red ink as soon as this year - a notion the country's treasurer was quick to shoot down. " If we really forced the numbers, we might be able to get close to a balanced budget. I've never been a believer in that," Flaherty said Friday. " I think when we balance, which will be next year, we need to have the confidence of the Canadian people that we are clearly balanced and without question." The Tories have offered a sneak peek at some of the measures in Tuesday's budget, including $ 800,000 to help skilled newcomers to Canada find work in their fields or explore other lines of work. Flaherty said the budget will also outline plans to curb the link between terrorists, organized crime and charities, and take measures aimed at dealing with price differences between Canadian and U. S. goods as the loonie continues to fall. Some are expecting benefits for veterans, measures on injury prevention and help for Canadians suffering from dementia and related diseases, as well as their caregivers. The budget may also address the Northern Gateway pipeline project by way of improvements to tanker safety and beefing up consultations with aboriginal groups, as well as spelling out exactly how Ottawa plans to pay for its recently announced reforms to First Nations education. But making government more efficient and cutting costs wherever possible will continue to be a central budget theme, said Andrew Saxton, Flaherty's parliamentary secretary. " We've been successful at doing that in the last couple of years; we've saved taxpayers quite a bit of money by finding areas in government where we can improve and so that will continue to be a theme," the Conservative MP said. Peter DeVries, a former senior official at the Finance Department, isn't convinced the Tories will inject much excitement in the spending plan, choosing instead to keep their powder dry until the 2015 budget. " The only commitment that the government seems to be willing to fulfil is his commitment to balance the budget in 2015- 16," said DeVries, an economics professor at Ottawa's Carleton University. The Tories could then lay out a more detailed spending plan aimed at making good on their previous election promises, such as incomesplitting for tax purposes and providing more room in tax- free savings accounts. Observers point to the timing of the Feb. 11 budget - right in the middle of the Sochi Winter Olympics - as a sign Flaherty will deliver a standpat budget designed to bridge the gap between a $ 5.5- billion deficit and the anticipated surplus in 2015. - The Canadian Press OTTAWA - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says his upcoming federal budget will contain money for " major" infrastructure projects. Flaherty told CTV's Question Period infrastructure is a good investment, but the government must be prudent at the same time. " There will be money for infrastructure, and very importantly, major infrastructure projects in Canada, major economic infrastructure projects," Flaherty said. " It is all about the economy and jobs. I mean, that's the primary job of the federal government in this country. We will be investing and we will be ensuring that we move forward on the economic front, not just balance the budget." One such project might be a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont. Reports earlier this month said Canada plans to start buying land on the Michigan side of the Detroit River to build the new crossing a short distance from the existing Ambassador Bridge. Canada's outgoing consulgeneral in Detroit, Roy Norton, told the Detroit Free Press Canada is paying almost all of the $ 2- billion cost of building the new bridge with an eye to recouping its money from future tolls going in both directions. " We're about to proceed with land purchases some time in the next few months, and we're going to do that whether there's been an indication from the U. S. government on a commitment to the customs plaza or not," the paper quoted Norton as saying. " That involves a little bit of risk on our part, obviously, but we're so confident that this ultimately will be built that it's prudent to do that." In its recent throne speech, the Harper government signalled it would spend billions of dollars over the next decade on major regional infrastructure projects. The throne speech explicitly mentioned the second Detroit- Windsor bridge, subways in the Greater Toronto Area, replacing the Champlain Bridge in Montreal and building Vancouver's Evergreen Line rapid- transit extension. Any spending on infrastructure must get the approval of the federal auditor general, Flaherty told CTV. Flaherty also said it's important any federal infrastructure spending doesn't fall prey to corruption, as it has in some parts of the country - a thinly veiled reference to Quebec's construction scandals. The finance minister is set to release his budget on Tuesday. - The Canadian Press Tories eye balancing books Spending plan to be revealed Tuesday Major building high on to- do list By Maria Babbage JASON FRANSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has to show he's taking action on growing the economy with little or no new spending. A_ 04_ Feb- 10- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A4 2/ 9/ 14 9: 20: 23 PM ;