Plug-in hybrids, summer jobs for inner-city youth among latest promises

Greg Selinger wants to create a centre of excellence at Red River College for plug-in hybrid cars (source). Makes a fair bit of sense, given how much hydroelectric capacity we have in this province. In fact, the college has already been adding plug-in functionality to some older Priuses, giving them a 40 km electric-only range. The province's fleet is expected to have nine of these vehicles by December, just in time for the biggest test plug-in vehicles will face in Manitoba. Ironically, Selinger himself does far better than that with his own commute; he frequently rides a bicycle to work. He also picked up one more endorsement -- Science, Technology, Energy, and Mines Minister Jim Rondeau.

Meanwhile, from the same article, Steve Ashton has set an ambitious target for dealing with child poverty -- ensuring that every inner-city youth has a job. He hopes to accomplish this by "working with private businesses to create openings" but no further details are given. He also vows to increase the minimum wage every year, and create a minimum of 300 affordable housing units per year for the next five years.