The NDP government hit a new low last week when Premier Greg Selinger and his members killed a bill that would have stopped welfare payments to serious criminals — such as sexual predators and violent offenders — evading the law.

With more than 10,000 outstanding warrants in our province, I recently introduced a Private Members’ Bill to prevent taxpayer- funded welfare from going to serious offenders violating their court orders and refusing to turn themselves in. After all, why should taxpayers dollars go toward helping criminals avoid the law?

Despite widespread public support for this bill, the NDP refused to pass it. In doing so, they sent a strong message to dangerous criminals and sexual offenders that it’s perfectly OK to run from the law and still maintain their lifestyle compliments of law-abiding, hard-working Manitobans.

The Progressive Conservative party believes that citizens would rather have their tax dollars going to support more police, better health care, and a stronger education system, as opposed to aiding serious offenders on the lam. We believe that taxpayer’s shouldn’t have to provide a hand-out to dangerous criminals who are running from the law.

Premier Selinger and the NDP like to talk tough about crime, but they proved again they are soft in their treatment of criminals. 

Kelvin Goertzen

Steinbach, Man.

(The writer is MLA for Steinbach and the Manitoba Progressive Conservative justice critic.)