Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen took some time out of his day to give his reaction to the Manitoba budget released yesterday, outlining where he believes the NDP government fell short and how those decisions affect residents in Western Manitoba. In a six‑question Q&A, Balcaen discusses what he sees as the budget’s biggest oversights, what he would have prioritized for Brandon, whether the region is being treated equitably, and how he plans to advocate for local needs. He also weighs in on the other side of the ledger, identifying the top three things he feels the NDP achieved. We reached him via phone while he was on break during debate time at the Manitoba legislative building.
1. Oversights & Local Impact
FM: Hello Wayne, thanks for making time to take my call. You’ve said this budget overlooks key needs in Brandon West.
WB: Happy to make time for you Frank.
FM: What specific gaps stand out to you, and how do those omissions affect people here in Westman?
WB: I think I summed it up that it was Brandon blind. In the actual budget speech, we didn’t hear Brandon mentioned at all. We didn’t hear anything being offered for areas that most Manitobans care about and that’s the economy and how we’re going to grow it and public safety, some of the healthcare issues. Besides general wordsmithing of the budget and reannouncing issues from previous years it was nothing new and nothing palatable in this budget. It was actually quite benign.
2. Budget Priorities
FM: From your perspective, what does this budget tell you about the NDP’s priorities, and where do you feel those priorities fall short for Brandon and Western Manitoba?
WB: If we look at Brandon West and more importantly all of Brandon and the greater Westman area people are really looking for affordability and their largest area that they touted is no PST on grocery items. That’s saving pennies on people that go there. Maybe a dollar per visit because so many of the items are already PST exempt so this is a lot of stuff that is already there for healthy food so it’s kind of like empty promises and empty calories.
3. What He Wanted to See
FM: If you had been shaping this budget, what investments or commitments would you have expected to see for Brandon West that weren’t there?
WB: Well, the ones that weren’t there, you know, we’re obviously calling on the government to look at increasing the personal tax exemption and why we’re doing that is because it will put thousands of dollars into the pockets of families in Brandon West and frankly all of Manitoba. Right now, the savings that this premier is talking about, two cents off milk and a cent and a half off of gas, we’re talking pennies. Well, pennies went extinct several years ago, you can’t even find pennies. We’re talking about hundreds and thousands of dollars of savings for Manitobans and putting more money in their pockets that they’re going to be able to spend which will of course boost the economy and drives Manitoba into becoming a have province very quickly. Whereas Wab Kinew has said he’d like to see us become a “have province” by 2040, I think we can do much better than that.
4. Regional Equity
FM: Do you feel Brandon and Western Manitoba are being treated equitably in this budget compared to Winnipeg and other regions, and what examples lead you to that conclusion?
WB: As I’ve said before many times, I think this budget is Brandon blind and I think a lot of times decisions made by this government have that perimeteritis set to it. I’ll use an example, you know I’m a critic for justice and I have seen it many times throughout the last two years. For example, the retail crime task force put a million and a half dollars into Winnipeg, and they had nothing scheduled for Brandon until I brought it up in the house and brought it up many times and then they brought a small amount of money towards Brandon to combat this same thing. We’re seeing those issues as much as Winnipeg. Nothing for Portage, nothing for Swan River, nothing for Virden and all of the other small towns. So, it’s disproportionately distributed in Winnipeg than it is to Brandon West and all of my colleagues in Westman.
5. What will the NDP achieve with this budget?
FM: If you were to pick the top three things the NDP accomplished with this budget, what would they be?
WB: I think that they achieved to upset the Manitoba municipalities, they achieved upsetting the tax payer, and they achieved to upset anybody that was expecting any sort of relief particularly the farmers and small to medium sized business.
6. Next Steps & Advocacy
FM: Given your concerns, what steps will you take in the Legislature to push for the changes or funding you believe Brandon West still needs?
WB: I Will always continue to advocate and my position as the official opposition is to make sure that I advocate for our citizens not only for Brandon West but for all of Brandon and for Westman to have that equity while continuing to work towards putting bills forward and support common sense bills or resolutions from our PC team. It will help move our economy forward which will help us with affordability, which will really start moving the needle on healthcare and ensure safer communities for Manitobans.
