Health care, deficit expected to be focus of Manitoba legislature spring sitting

Health care and ongoing deficits are expected to be major topics as the Manitoba legislature reconvenes Wednafter the winter break.

The NDP government has said it plans to introduce 19 bills, and Premier Wab Kinew says they will include motions on staff-to-patient ratios and ending mandatory overtime for nurses.

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The government is also planning to ban machetes from parks and public places, and ban employers from requiring sick notes for short-term worker absences.

Another bill being promised would establish a Crown-Indigenous Corporation to help expand trade through the Port of Churchill — a project currently being studied in conjunction with the federal government.

The NDP government is scheduled to present its annual budget March 24 and has promised to stop running deficits before the next election in 2027.

The deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, is expected to reach $1.6 billion — more than double the $794 million originally planned in the budget.