About 25 people turned out for a pre-budget consultation meeting in Altona on Friday to provide the provincial government with some feedback on what the provincial government's budget priorities should be for the coming year.

The discussion was hosted by Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon and focused on balancing Manitoba's budget and dealing with the extra costs connected to federal legislation on legalizing marijuana, the impact of a federal carbon tax on agriculture and business, and sustaining Manitoba's health care system in the face of rising costs in the industry.

Graydon was pleased with some of the suggestions that were made, especially when it came to maintaining Manitoba's health care system, which is the largest

expenditure in the provincial budget.

"When we talked about a medical user fee, no one was opposed to it at this meeting. They had concerns about those who couldn't afford it, but they also offered solutions to those concerns through a means test. They felt it was something that we needed to look at. Also, the suggestion of private clinics where people said 'look, if I can afford to do it, then I want to do it in Manitoba rather than going to another country.' That was refreshing."

A fair amount of discussion also centered on the federal government's impending legislation that will legalize marijuana and the social, financial and health care costs that will likely impact provinces as a result. The Trudeau government has promised to make cannabis legal by July 1, 2018.

"I thought it was put into perspective by a number of people who felt there are ways to fix our health care system but introducing marijuana is not one of them," said Graydon. He suggested legalizing pot will only add to the Manitoba's health issues, which in turn will result in higher spending to care for those issues.

"Marijuana is one of the issues that has been handed to us, and July 1st is when we have to implement the legislation, but there is so little information on it."

A proposed federal carbon tax and its impact on Manitobans was also discussed at the meeting. The federal government has said it has the right to impose a carbon tax on Manitoba and other provinces and it intends to just that.

Premier Brian Pallister has refused to sign on to the federal plan, and instead, has said the province would produce its own "made-in-Manitoba" plan, one more tailored to the province.

"We have a legal opinion that says that the federal government has to recognize that we have a plan in place, but we don't have to accept their terms if we administer our own plan and the federal government cannot override it. I don't know exactly what our tax will be, but it will be a flat level and won't be incrementally increased year-by-year."

Graydon said he was pleased with the feedback he received from the small crowd of participants calling the discussions "robust."

"These thoughts and suggestions will be submitted to the finance minister and cabinet for them to digest as they prepare for the next provincial budget."