Barrier Free Manitoba

The budget tabled yesterday features only a 3.2% increase in overall government expenditures for the coming fiscal year, including a 5.4% increase in the spending by the department of Families.

One of the largest percentage increases in the budget is for Manitoba Families' Disability Issues Office at 20.7%. This is the branch of government with lead responsibility for supporting the implementation of the landmark Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA). The picture below is of the DIO's line item for estimated expenditures as these appear on page 56 of the budget's Estimate of Expenditure and Revenue document (the figure are in $000s).

Barrier-Free Manitoba applauds the government for increasing the resources that will be available to support the implementation of the AMA. Indeed, our most recent brief to government (again) included a recommendation that government more adequately resource the DIO.

The one ongoing concern is that this high % increase in the DIO's budgeted expenditures only translates into an additional $136,000. Even with the modest dollar increase, the DIO's budget faces a significant shortfall in level of resources that will be required for the government to fulfill its election promise to ensure the full and timely implementation of the AMA. This commitment includes having all five of the proposed AMA's initial accessibility standards in place and in force within the government's first term in office.

 You can access the province's 2017 budget documents in PDF formats at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/budget2017/