After long nights of contentious debates, Manitoba's provincial budget has been passed without any major amendments.
Over the past few days, Opposition Conservatives have spent long hours giving their thoughts on the budget, most saying the NDP Government's affordability measures aren't enough for the average Manitoban. Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn says otherwise.
"Passing as is, there were very minor adjustments. We are focused to improve our healthcare system, improve our education system, and we are on a vision to make things as best as we can for our province," said Kostyshyn.
One of the most talked about points in the budget is the provincial government's decision to remove PST (Provincial Sales Tax) from prepared food items at grocery stores. Most Opposition Conservatives said this isn't enough, considering many raw ingregients, like meat and milk, already are exempt from PST in Manitoba. Kostyshyn said the NDP Government is very committed to doing what they can to reduce costs, but when you inherit as large of a deficit as their government has, bringing it down often takes time.
"We feel that we're doing as much as we can, we have to educate the public as well. When we took over government, we were basically left with a $2 billion deficit...we've been able to chop it down in the neighbourhood of $1.2 or $1.3 billion where we've eliminated, our goal is to come into a balanced budget next year," said Kostyshyn.
Though it's an election year, the NDP Government shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to bringing down the deficit. Kostyshyn said his work with Finance Minister Adrien Sala has shown him there's a lot of things they can do to help reduce costs, especially with Sala's expertise over the years in finance.
"He's very knowledgeable when it comes to finance, he's spent a lot of his years in the finance industries, and he comes with a positive attitude. We're not going to correct something that was created over 7 and a half years by the previous government," said Kostyshyn.
Kostyshyn said one of the immediate changes the average Manitoban will feel is the PST being removed from prepared food, but other changes, especially related to annual taxes, will be noticed down the road.
