More opportunities in a growing economy

The recent global downturn hit economies around the world hard.

In the 1990s, the PCs chose massive cuts to frontline services to deal with the recession. The results were nurse and doctor shortages, higher taxes and crumbling infrastructure. It took years and billions of dollars to repair the damage.

Greg Selinger and your NDP rejected Hugh McFadyen’s calls for deep cuts to balance the books all at once. Instead, we invested in the things that families care about most: health care, education and job creating stimulus projects to improve our communities.

Together we’ve created 16,000 new jobs since January 2010. We’ve eliminated taxes on small business, the only province in Canada to do so. We’ve expanded our skills-training and apprenticeship programs to meet the demands of our job market. And we’re on track to return to balance by 2014.

Our plan is working. Maclean’s magazine even calls it the “Manitoba miracle”. With commonsense and a balanced approach, Manitoba is moving forward.

Hugh McFadyen’s plans: privatization and cuts.

Hugh McFadyen is proud of his experience privatizing and cutting, first as Gary Filmon’s most senior advisor when the PCs promised not to privatize MTS and then did just that. Then as a corporate lobbyist who worked to privatize hydro in Ontario. And he’s proposed opening up Manitoba Hydro to private investment.

More recently, he pushed for a half billion dollar cut from our schools, hospitals and police to absorb the effects of the recession all at once. Even Stephen Harper said no to that.

All this, just because cutting budgets and privatizing matter more to Hugh McFadyen than protecting and improving public services.

Let’s keep building and improving Manitoba’s economy.

With smart, practical solutions, Greg Selinger and your NDP are:

• Building a strong public Manitoba Hydro – generating billions in new export sales that drive our economy and keep rates low for Manitoba families;
• Helping Manitoba businesses innovate and grow with a new Commercialization Support for Business Program;
• Growing skills-training and apprenticeship programs to meet the needs of our economy;
• Eliminating the small business tax to help Manitoba businesses grow;
• Investing in local community projects to create more jobs – already amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the country; and
• Balancing the provincial budget by 2014 – right on schedule.

Together, we can keep Manitoba on track and moving forward. Let’s keep building. Don’t turn back.