April 27, 2020

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB  – Wab Kinew, Leader of the Official Opposition, called on the Premier to immediately recall the Legislature so questions can be answered about the more than 4,600 jobs cut since the start of April and the Premier’s plans for further job cuts and salary reductions.

“The Pallister Government’s directives have led to more than 4600 job cuts in April alone”, said Kinew. “Mr. Pallister has chosen to force thousands of job cuts on to our Crown Corporations, school divisions and municipalities during a pandemic. The Premier should flatten the curve, not the recovery - the Premier’s choices will only make the crisis in our economy worse”.

Combined with the 23,800 private sector jobs lost and 1500 job losses in the public sector in March, at least 30,000 jobs have been lost from Manitoba in the past two months. With the prospect of May 1st deadline for more cuts at universities, colleges, crown corporations and in the civil service, the Government ought to face scrutiny and accountability the Legislature before making any further decisions.

“Mr. Pallister has made decisions which have made this crisis worse - rather than investing in jobs for Manitobans, he has decided to mandate that thousands more be cut,” said Kinew. “The Premier must be held accountable for his decisions and that is why we are calling on him to immediately recall the Legislature”.