Manitoba NDP lays out plans to freeze hydro rates, commission bison statue

WINNIPEG — Tackling high grocery prices, freezing hydro electricity rates and commissioning a new statue reflecting Manitoba's past and present are some of the priorities for the coming year the NDP government highlighted Tuesday in its second throne speech.

The speech largely repeated the government's efforts to address health-care system challenges, public safety and affordability.

The government is looking at introducing legislation to address anticompetitive contracts that Premier Wab Kinew said drive up the cost of groceries.

Kinew said the legislation could ban the use of restrictive covenants, a type of contract often used in real estate transactions that can prevent competitors from taking over a space or from opening a space nearby.

"Right now, big grocery store chains when they set up a location in the province, can basically draw a circle on a map around that location and prevent there from being competition within that radius. We're going to end that practice," Kinew told reporters.

Kinew offered few details on what the legislation would look like, saying more information will be available when it is introduced.

The premier has previously threatened to take action against grocery retailers if savings from a suspension in the provincial gas tax were not passed on to consumers in the form of lower food prices.

Kinew said his government has looked at different tools to force retailers' hands, including working with the federal government on a grocery code of conduct, but more needs to be done.

The government said it's also addressing affordability by freezing Manitoba Hydro electricity rates for one year starting in 2025, fulfilling one of its election campaign promises.

The Crown corporation has reported another year of drought-reduced water levels hitting its bottom line and has said aging infrastructure could cost billions to repair.

But Kinew said he is confident a freeze is possible.

"The thing about running a large corporation like Manitoba Hydro is that you have to be able to implement your long-term plan while also delivering on your core short- and medium-term objectives," the premier said.

Kinew added the Public Utilities Board will have the final say on whether a freeze is feasible.

Manitoba's Opposition Progressive Conservatives criticized the move, saying the NDP has yet to put forth a plan to address aging infrastructure.

"How they're going to basically put some sort of balance on repairing aging infrastructure, but at the same time freezing hydro rates … it's going to be interesting to see what happens here coming into the new year," said leader Wayne Ewasko.

The government said it also plans to commission a new statue for the front lawn of the legislature building to replace one of Queen Victoria that was toppled by protesters on Canada Day in 2021.

The new statue will be of a mother bison and her calf to serve as a reminder of the harm residential schools inflicted on Indigenous communities.

"When we reflect on part of the recent history that's brought us to this point of bringing in a new statue, it also evokes and acknowledges the history of residential schools and the bond between parent and child that were harmed in that era," said Kinew.

The government is also to work with cultural institutions, museums, and history and heritage experts to come up with the best way to display the Queen Victoria statue, which was beheaded and covered in paint.

The speech also highlighted the province's plan to combat long wait times in emergency rooms with the creation of a strategy and the opening of more than 100 new hospital beds.

The organization that advocates for Manitoba doctors said the promises are encouraging but nothing will change until something concrete is done.

"We can keep talking about it, but until someone makes a bold and innovative plan to actually enact those changes, I don't think we'll see much difference," said Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president-elect of Doctors Manitoba.

The legislature is scheduled to sit until Dec. 5 and break until March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press