Remember what got you elected
Don’t let the search for a new leader interfere with your work in the House. Focus on holding the Government to account, fairly and fiercely.
Issues in the News
Wab Kinew and his NDP are now in control of Manitoba’s future. Will it go well or ill? That is up to them and particularly to the leadership of Mr. Kinew.
Clearly, many Manitobans were uninspired by either campaign as only 55% of the electorate bothered to vote. Two weeks after the election, it is still difficult to analyze because Elections Manitoba has not yet concluded its work and made the results official and, as of this writing, the Elections Manitoba site seems to be down. However, the new premier himself admitted that he has been elected to represent all Manitobans and so, taking him at his word, here are some things that Manitobans will be expecting in the coming four years.
First and foremost is Mr. Kinew’s assertion that the “Economic horse pulls the social cart.” This oft repeated slogan convinced many middle-of-the-road voters to take a chance on his leadership, given the hatchet job local media had done on former Premier Heather Stefanson. Despite all contrary evidence, the media managed to convince the public that she was a negative blot on the Manitoba scene. She was just the opposite, but this is not the first time the public has been misled by mainstream media.
If Mr. Kinew is serious and was not deceiving the public, then one of his first tasks must be to secure the economic opportunities that were lined up to invest in Manitoba. I had hoped he would reach out to some of these folks, but his immediate shutdown of the Economic Development Committee of cabinet and the firing of its head clerk, Michael Swiston, seems to indicate that economic development is not top of mind. I hope I am wrong and that he has been reaching out behind the scenes.
Publicly, he named himself the leader of the reconciliation movement and I have no quarrel with that if it means doing this through economic development. According to all the many Indigenous leaders I have spoken to and enjoyed company with over the past two years in pursuit of Neestanan, reconciliation means opportunity to share in the economy as equal partners in individual endeavours. And that means opening the north, where many of these folks have home communities.
Currently, if you are a young Indigenous person from an isolated community in the north, you have few opportunities, so many head south to nearby cities such as Thompson or The Pas or to Winnipeg. But life there is no bowl of cherries, either. Inexperienced, ill-educated, and with no guidance, far too many of these young folks fall between the cracks, ending up homeless, addicted, and worse. It is a bitter and vicious cycle that must end.
But it cannot end in welfare, the killer of all initiative, the enslaver of so many. Instead, allowing the private sector to create jobs, train local folks and offer a future is a far more productive road to reconciliation. I don’t know how much Mr. Kinew knows about Manitoba’s northern communities, having come from the city, but he should make it a priority to go on an extended northern community tour and learn for himself.
We must maintain the interest of companies that are looking to mine the minerals in Manitoba to fuel the proposed change from fossil-based to electrical energy. Despite our healthy supply of hydro energy, it is not limitless, and we must also look ahead to securing our own needs.
Transportation is also critical to a central province such as Manitoba. The Neestanan project, which would build a spur line from Amery, just north of Gillam, to Port Nelson on Hudson Bay is well advanced and will see the indigenous owners of the right of way very well positioned for the future not least because of the money it will being to their economies, but also because it will open transportation options for many, giving them access to the outside world.
Down south, the rebuilding of our road infrastructure, so well handled by former minister Doyle Piwniuk, has a better chance of surviving since his former deputy, Sarah Thiele, has been named the head bureaucrat as the Clerk of the Executive Council (1).
There are many other components to Manitoba’s economic future: technology, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, all of which must be nurtured through reductions of conflicting and job destroying regulations. Economic reconciliation must take all these issues into consideration as well.
None of us naïve enough to believe that Mr. Kinew will abandon his socialist base, and many Manitobans seem comfortable with much of that – as long as they don’t feel any direct negative impact personally. They are accustomed to tax creep, but any big jump will be not well received and a reversal of the education tax on home properties would be very ill-received, so Mr. Kinew will have to find useful ways to fuel the social fire, or in his words, pull that social cart.
To do this he needs to reach out to local businesses, including the Business Council of Manitoba and the various Chambers of Commerce (2). More, he must reach beyond Manitoba’s borders to dispel fears by interprovincial and international investors. He appears to be charming and convincing. He should exercise some of that charm on those who would bring prosperity to Manitoba.
He also needs to remember that he represents rural Manitoba and the agricultural community. That will also take some heavy duty learning for a city boy. He will need to spend some time in rural communities, listening and learning that this is the fount of most of Manitoba’s current wealth. Understanding rural issues is critical to moving forward.
What Manitobans have a reason to expect is fair governance, good management and a commitment to promises made. In reaching those goals, I wish Mr. Kinew all the best.
To do this he needs to reach out to local businesses, including the Business Council of Manitoba and the various Chambers of Commerce (2). More, he must reach beyond Manitoba’s borders to dispel fears by interprovincial and international investors. He appears to be charming and convincing. He should exercise some of that charm on those who would bring prosperity to Manitoba.
He also needs to remember that he represents rural Manitoba and the agricultural community. That will also take some heavy duty learning for a city boy. He will need to spend some time in rural communities, listening and learning that this is the fount of most of Manitoba’s current wealth. Understanding rural issues is critical to moving forward.
What Manitobans have a reason to expect is fair governance, good management and a commitment to promises made. In reaching those goals, I wish Mr. Kinew all the best.
Foot notes:
- As an interesting side note, Sarah is the wife of the fellow who was the campaign manager for NDP Logan Oxenham the opponent to Kevin Klein in Kirkfield Park. As they say, loyalty has its rewards).
- I see that Chuck Davidson of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce has already aligned himself with the new government in hopes of securing the massive funding he received from Brian Pallister and continued by the Stefanson government to fuel businesses initiatives. I confess that I am not convinced that funding a lobby group was a good business move.
Fair governance, good management and a commitment to promises made
Watch all three.
Fair governance is not showing favoritism to any special group or special interest. This will be difficult for the new premier given the makeup of his caucus. There will be pressure from labour groups and social activists pushing back against enterprise and Indigenous interests. It is notable also that he overlooked his Punjabi caucus members when assigning cabinet positions.
Good management is only as good as its leaders and there is a lot to be learned by a whole cadre of new MLAs. The bureaucracy still has many former NDP supporters among it – watch for them to rise to the top very suddenly. There will be tremendous pressure on the treasury to spend on social welfare and pet projects, not all of them productive. There needs to be sensible investment in housing for the homeless, but previous NDP governments did very little to nothing to alleviate housing pressures under far less difficult circumstances.
Commitment to promises made is going to be a major hurdle to overcome. Many expensive promises will be shelved as current affairs demand immediate attention. Also, some of his promises never had a snowball’s chance in you-know-where to be kept, among them those about healthcare. There will be no new emergency wards built, although he might try some half-way measure and claim he has delivered. Don’t hold your breath on the search for the missing Indigenous women purported to be in the toxic landfill. I suspect the Federal money devoted to a “new” study will come back with a negative recommendation and the whole thing will go away.
Advice to the Opposition
It is often said that a government is only as good as its Opposition. Manitoba is lucky now to have a well experienced and intelligent Opposition.
My advice is to ignore the barbs and personal assaults and focus on what you know. Demand answers backed up by solid evidence that what you are saying is true or that the concern you express is valid.
Don’t let the search for a new leader interfere with your work in the House. Focus on holding the Government to account, fairly and fiercely.
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