A budget for a healthy, sustainable Manitoba

Winnipeg - Manitobans will lose public services they value if the government does not halt the erosion of its revenue base. The 2002-03 Alternative Provincial Budget, prepared by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba (CCPA-MB), addresses this issue in a sustainable, progressive way. The APB is a responsible, realistic budget that improves public services and measures to ensure long-term economic stability.

"The budgets brought down earlier this spring in the other western provinces embody one approach: paying for income tax cuts with reduced services and increased fees like health care premiums," said Todd Scarth, Director of the CCPA-MB. "Our Alternative Budget demonstrates that another kind of budget is possible, one that reflects the priorities of Manitobans and protects the services they value."

A special policy focus of this year's Alternative Budget is Health, which is the largest and fastest-growing government department.

2002-03 Alternative Provincial Budget Highlights:

• Values services over tax cuts;
• Lays out a multi-stage plan to improve the quality and sustainability of health care;
• Identifies and addresses Manitoba's revenue problem;
• Reduces Manitoba's vulnerability to US economic slowdowns.