Ms. Marianne Cerilli (Radisson): Madam Speaker, I rise on a matter of privilege on this very serious matter because of the minister's unwillingness to clarify on the record issues that we have been raising about this news release. He has had the opportunity to clarify why he has put forward wrong information in a news release the other day and again today. He has now confirmed that the value of the land was included in the figures quoted in the news release. It is important, I think, on an issue as significant as this, when we look at our job, to do our job in representing the people of Manitoba, that we have accurate information brought forward by the government whether it is through news releases or in this House.

When the government does not clarify the record when they have provided misinformation, it violates our privileges in this House. The government must be held accountable for information that they put forward. We have given the minister an opportunity to deal with the error in terms of the claim that there were vacant suites, 20 vacant suites, when it is clear that they have evicted these people, that these suites were not vacant, and now we have learned again today as quoted in the public account through the Winnipeg Free Press that the value of the materials to be transferred for reclamation is not as the news release has said, $540,000, but is indeed less than $100,000. This type of misleading information, manipulation, cynicism, must be challenged at every opportunity, and when the minister would not verify the truth about these units and this agreement, he has violated all of our privileges in this House. I raised the issue of the 20 units being demolished, and the minister has claimed that they will be replaced by two homes built from the salvaged material and this, again, is not the case. That material will go to the Re-Store and will not necessarily be used to build these new homes.

The other issue that was raised was trying to justify this bad decision to destroy public housing units so that Home Depot could build a parking lot was that there were vacant units. I have with me the most recent information from the Manitoba Housing Authority regarding vacancies, and in the St. Vital area there is a nine-month to a year waiting list for the types of townhouses that were destroyed in this situation. The member across the way, the Minister of Housing (Mr. Reimer), is walking a very fine line, Madam Speaker, with the information he is bringing to this House. I believe that he has misled this House and that is why I move, seconded by the member for Thompson (Mr. Ashton), that this matter be referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections.

Motion presented.

Hon. James McCrae (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, questions of privilege should be handled with care and treated very seriously whenever they are raised in any legislative Chamber, and ours is certainly no exception. As I listened to the discussion between the honourable member for Radisson and the honourable Minister of Housing (Mr. Reimer), it strikes me that we have some dispute here over the facts that form part of the issue being raised by the honourable member for Radisson. I do believe that it is appropriate for anyone to raise their dispute or their disagreement in an appropriate way. I do not always think a question of privilege is the proper forum for that type of discussion.

In any event, Madam Speaker, you will no doubt want to review the facts of this situation, and I think that opportunity should be made available to you. We would hope that you do that and bring forward some kind of ruling on this matter at a subsequent date after further review.

Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House Leader): Madam Speaker, I first want to deal with the technical nature of this, and I believe the member is indeed raising this at the first opportunity. I would note this is being raised after the member gave the minister one more chance to try and put accurate information on the record. I want to stress we believe this goes beyond a dispute over the facts. Indeed, if it was a dispute over the facts, we would not be rising on a matter of privilege, but this goes to the root of the cynicism of this government. You know, this is a government and this minister--and I really think the minister should apologize to this House for what has happened. They put out a press release which I think is some of the most deceptive propaganda we have seen in quite some time. To say as they did in the press release, for the purposes of a cynical media event, attempt to try and make good news out of this situation, to suggest that these were 20 vacant units is absolutely offensive because the only reason those units were vacant is because the residents of those units were evicted.

Talk about double-speak; talk about cynical manipulation. I do not know who came up with the idea this was good news, but I can tell you, for the 20 families that were affected and the many other Manitobans who are being affected by this government's wholesale removal of social housing as a goal and a policy of this government, that is not good news, Madam Speaker; that is just one more sign of how cynical and uncaring this government is about Manitobans.

But, you know, the minister did not just stop there. The minister went and inflated the value of this. I believe some very serious questions have to be raised about the situation with Habitat as well, as to whether they were informed of where this came from. I know that they are not happy, because the goal of Habitat for Humanity is to add to the housing stock, not subtract 20 units.

So, once again, we are in the situation of what do we as members of the opposition do. Well, I say, Madam Speaker, the member for Radisson (Ms. Cerilli) gave the minister one more chance to do the right thing, and that to my mind would have been to apologize for misleading the House, apologize for misleading the public and apologize in particular for doing something that destroys the housing stock of the province of Manitoba.

I want to say that the only way to get this dealt with, by the way, I believe is to have it referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. I say to the minister, and I say to government members opposite who seem to have taken some mirth at this particular situation, it is a very serious matter. It is very serious because I believe every minister has an obligation in this House to always tell the truth. Indeed, when it is clear that the truth has not been told, that minister has an obligation to correct the record and then apologize for misleading the public.

I say to you, Madam Speaker, the only appropriate thing for you to do as Speaker on this particular matter of privilege is to allow us as members of the House to deal with it. That, I believe, will go a long way to ensure not only that this minister is honest and straightforward with the people of Manitoba but other ministers who do the same thing, who use cynical manipulation of the media to try and distort the facts in this province. That kind of cynicism can only be stopped when we get truth in this House.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. A matter of privilege is indeed a very serious matter. I thank all honourable members for their advice, and I will take the matter under advisement and report back to the House.