Article appeared in the May 19, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Interlake NDP Kick-off, 2011
At the dinner, Selinger was flanked by Interlake MLA, Tom Nevakshonoff, and Interlake Constituency Association Vice-President, Sean Palsson, who was accompanied by his wife, Karen Palsson.
Poplarfield is Nevakshonoff’s home community.
“After all the hard work he has been doing on the flood, I don’t think he needs an introduction,” said Nevakshonoff as he invited Selinger to speak to the crowd of about 100 New Democrat supporters. Nevakshonoff referred to Selinger’s positive record as Finance Minister behind the scenes when Gary Doer was the Manitoba Premier.
“Before Greg became Premier he delivered 10 balanced budgets in a row…He had to make the tough calls…Greg is very busy working seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. I’m not going to keep him overly long,” said Nevakshonoff before handing the microphone over to Selinger.
The Premier, who has visited Poplarfield a number of times, expressed his appreciation to the crowd.
“You always have a friendly atmosphere here. You know you are among friends,” he said.
Selinger talked about the flooding situation in the Interlake and efforts being made in numerous communities on infrastructure and future training. He commended Nevakshonoff on his efforts to keep the Interlake on the radar in the Legislature, referring to him as “Tom ‘Drainage’ Nevakshonoff”.
“He never stopped talking about drainage,” said Selinger.
Selinger gave the crowd a heads up on flood fighting efforts to take place in the community of St. Laurent.
“We’re going to bring the Military in there,” he said.
Selinger also talked about efforts to build up the dikes at Little Saskatchewan and Lake St. Martin First Nations, and discussed the need for a plan for the Shoal Lakes.
Selinger invited questions from the audience. Questions touched on tax credits for property owners to help protect riparian areas and maintain wetlands, disaster mitigation projects, how the province works with Aboriginal communities, maintaining the Canada Wheat Board, and questions about the crop insurance system.
On the latter, Selinger stated that, “The formulas don’t work after four years, because they’re based on averages. When the average goes down, there’s nowhere to go. We’ll have to take another look at it,” he said. Selinger promised to continue to advocate for improvements to the program.
Palsson also spoke to the crowd. He talked about the importance of ensuring that Manitoba Hydro remain as a public utility.
“They are financially in good shape, and could provide hydro to Saskatchewan…Manitoba Hydro is a tremendous asset.”
Palsson also asserted that the west side is the more suitable option to build Bipole III, and that by placing it on the east side, “it would be tied up in litigation for 10 years.”
One hundred tickets for the kick-off were sold, for the event which included a hearty Ukrainian dinner, and a small silent auction. All money raised will support the New Democratic Party.
