Manitobans were expecting Budget 2007 to provide a vision and a direction for Manitoba, and a long term plan to make Manitoba a “have” province. They were looking for a Budget that would take advantage of tomorrow’s opportunities. Instead, Manitobans were extremely disappointed. The Budget did nothing to address the fact that 35,000 Manitobans left our province since 1999 in search of hope and opportunity elsewhere. The Budget provided nothing to create an investment climate in Manitoba so that businesses can expand and locate into Manitoba to provide long term, meaningful, permanent jobs that are required in order to keep our young people here. Budget 2007 did not provide any meaningful tax relief for Manitobans. Most of the tax cuts announced in the Budget will take place in future years, in 2008, 2009 and even 2010 – and then they may not – because the most meaningful tax cut measures were preceded by the statement “subject to Balanced Budget Legislation.” This isn’t a commitment to cut taxes – it’s just a statement of what might happen! If the NDP continues to spend revenues foolishly, there may not be enough money for the tax cuts announced for the Budget and therefore there may not be any tax cuts at all.

Other provinces are cutting taxes aggressively, and as a result, Manitoba is falling farther and farther behind. Manitoba is by far the highest taxed province West of Quebec, and we will be so for a very long time unless serious cuts to taxes are made! In the meantime, businesses in other provinces are expanding and other provinces are experiencing business and job growth like never before. In the meantime, Manitoba has the only economy that has not grown at a rate higher than the National Average for every year that the NDP has been in power. The only provincial economy with this dubious distinction.