It certainly appears so...
A Tory government might become one that throws youth criminals into wilderness camps, strives to make Manitoba a "have" province and sends the controversial BiPole III hydro-electric transmission line down Lake Winnipeg's east side -- saving the public purse as much as $640 million with a shortened route.
Those moves became possible yesterday when delegates at the Progressive Conservative party's annual general meeting put them among 40 resolutions to be considered by the party's caucus, to possibly become part of its 2011 election platform.
"We'll be heavily influenced by what the party grassroots have advised us on," Leader Hugh McFadyen said of the resolutions adopted among nearly 90 possible choices.
WILDERNESS CAMP
The wilderness camp idea, he said, will be examined as a way to deal more harshly with juvenile offenders "with a view to getting kids out of the city and into a more structured environment with a hope that they can be rehabilitated" and turn themselves around.
With issues ranging from crime and the environment to job creation and health care, the adopted resolutions include making Manitoba a more prosperous "have" jurisdiction by doing more to encourage investment and business creation and, McFadyen added, "getting rid of some of the red tape and high taxes" that curb such growth.
"The way out of this is to grow our way out of the recession," he said, "instead of having the government spend our way out."
By ROSS ROMANIUK, SUN MEDIA
