Winnipeg Free Press: ‘Big commitments’ promised Kinew to deliver first throne speech Tuesday
The first throne speech today from Premier Wab Kinew’s New Democrats will outline his government’s priorities for the legislative session, with many campaign promises to choose from.
The Manitoba government is missing out on $1.6 billion in annual revenue after seven years of cuts to income tax, sales tax, education property tax and business tax by the previous PC government, says a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report titled, Funding Our Way: Rebalancing Revenues and Spending for a Fair and Prosperous Manitoba.
That’s close to what Manitoba spends on post-secondary education and training in a year, and more revenue than was collected last year from corporate, fuel, land transfer, health and education payroll and tobacco taxes combined, according to the report.
“The NDP election commitments to keep nearly all these tax cuts, suspend the gas tax and balance the budget place serious constraints on Manitoba’s ability to repair the damage of seven years of cuts and underfunding of health, education and other public services,” said University of Manitoba economics Prof. Jesse Hajer, one of three authors of the 43-page document.