Following the provincial government's Throne Speech this week, Premier Brian Pallister vows to discuss healthcare for rural Manitobans with the federal government. He says access for rural residents needs to be improved.

"When I go around my province, we have asked as premiers for discussion with the federal government around supporting healthcare sustainably. Every study shows that the federal government is not doing its part. And yet this federal government professes to reduce the support for healthcare in every province, quite frankly, that it has an obligation to partner in providing."

He says, "As we go forward and our population ages, we're going to need the federal government to step up to the table and do its part for healthcare. When I go around my province I hear people concerned about many, many issues. But I don't hear people as frequently concerned about anything as I do about our quality of healthcare and our access to healthcare to rural communities in particular. So, I'm going to continue to work as cooperatively as I can with all premiers, but of course with the federal government as well, to secure support for healthcare in our provinces."

Pallister asks why we should comply with new taxation proposals from Ottawa, when improvements to our healthcare system's not yet been supported by the feds. He explains the two issues are not separate but must be discussed in context with each other, and that's how he's going to approach the federal government.