Last June the citizens of Manitoba put their trust in your NDP government with a second majority victory. But that support was not an open invitation to pursue partisan interests at taxpayer's expense.

Most Manitobans are acutely aware of your roots Mr. Premier and unquestionably you have a sense of loyalty to your brothers and sisters in the unions which you used to represent. However, once elected Premier, it's your responsibility to ensure that taxpayers in Manitoba, those whom you represent now, get the best bang for their buck.

Your government's plan to subject work on the expanded Red River Floodway to a Master Labour Agreement (MLA) requiring all who work on the project to be unionized is a blatant partisan proposal that does not reflect the principle of good government. With a price tag of $660 million Mr. Premier, this is the largest capital contract ever to be offered in Manitoba's history and to simply limit it to union shops does nothing to instill confidence in the public's mind that our money is being spent wisely.

With all due respect Mr. Premier, this situation begs the question -how is what your government is proposing really any different from what the federal Liberals have done by giving money to their friends in Quebec's advertising industry?

At the risk of stating the obvious, Manitobans, on average, give up $4,132 each to the provincial government with the specific purpose of providing high quality and cost effective public infrastructure and government services. A requirement for a MLA is at odds with this imperative.

Your newly anointed Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton claims that the reason for the MLA is to "bring stability to projects," if that were the case, then what about the instability of the remainder of the non-unionized labour force in Manitoba?

The NDP government's union requirement for this project has the potential to bring about instability in the province's labour force with private companies pulling up stakes and moving to jurisdictions where they can actually compete for contracts without the stringent guideline to organize.

Under the MLA rules, will it cost more to build the Red River Floodway extension? The answer is yes if for instance the lowest bidder doesn't conform with your MLA requirements. More importantly, will your MLA deliver a better Red River Floodway to Manitobans? Not likely. As is the case with most projects Mr. Premier, there is the potential for cost overruns, if the floodway expansion were to go over by just 5 percent, that will be an additional $33 million bill for taxpayers - hardly an expense we can afford.

So the inevitable question on taxpayer's minds Mr. Premier is this - are you simply rewarding your union friends for having provided hundreds of thousands of dollars (at least until 1999) to your beloved NDP to help get elected?

Mr. Premier, Manitobans elected your government to deliver public goods, not to pass decrees that help your former brotherhood.

Sincerely,

-- Adrienne Batra
Provincial Director
Canadian Taxpayers Federation