Tories’ promises less important than their record running province

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2023 (751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A government’s record is the most important part of an election campaign.

Granted, elections tend to focus on campaign promises — what parties say they would do if elected, or re-elected, to government. Those are important. Voters need to know what candidates are promising and what their views are on policy issues.

However, what a party seeking re-election did (or didn’t do) while in government, when they had their hands on the levers of power, is far more important during a campaign. Past performance is a more accurate predictor of future performance than what candidates pledge at the doorstep.

Crime and justice in Manitoba is a good example. The Progressive Conservative party, which has been in office for more than seven years, is promising to “crack down” on violent crime by funding more police, hiring more Crown prosecutors and tackling the “root causes” of crime, such as addictions. The Tories want to make crime a central issue in the upcoming provincial election, slated for Oct. 3.

The NDP also wants to make crime a top issue. NDP Leader Wab Kinew delivered a compelling 35-minute speech to party faithful at the Canadian Mennonite University Wednesday. He pointed out how the PCs are attempting to exploit his criminal past from 20 years ago — and by connection his Indigenous ancestry — to score political points and scare voters into thinking violent crime would get worse under his leadership.

The Tories rejected Kinew’s arguments following his speech, claiming the New Democrats are trying to run from their “record” on crime.

“Wab Kinew was hoping today that we would stop talking about public safety because he doesn’t like the record his party has on public safety,” said Tory Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen.

However, the current group of NDP candidates doesn’t have a “record” on crime. The vast majority of them have never been in government. The Tories, including Premier Heather Stefanson, were in office and made decisions around policing, courts and other justice issues.

When Goertzen was asked Wednesday whether his government’s performance on public safety contributed to Manitoba’s soaring violent crime rates, he did not answer directly. He doesn’t want to talk about his government’s record on justice issues because it’s not a favourable one. But it’s precisely what should be put under the microscope during an election campaign.

The Tory government froze funding to the Winnipeg Police Service every year between 2017 and 2022, even while violent crime was on the rise and Winnipeg’s population grew. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a funding cut. Under the PC government, there was also a shortage of Crown attorneys to prosecute the growing number of violent offenders in court.

The Tories must account for that. Do they agree those were the right policy choices? If so, it’s incumbent upon them to defend their record. If not, they should admit those were errors and offer alternatives. Their record on police funding and prosecutions is far more important than what they say they will do in the future.

The same goes for addictions programs, which a recent auditor general’s report flagged as inadequate under the PC government. People suffering from addictions have not been able to access timely treatment. That is the result of decisions made by Stefanson and her cabinet. Their past performance on it is more indicative of future performance than what they are promising voters today.

A government’s record is important because it speaks to the priorities and judgment of the politicians seeking re-election. Premiers and cabinet ministers have tremendous power. Their decisions have a profound impact on the safety, welfare and lives of the public. When seeking re-election, as the Tories are today, it’s critical that they’re held accountable for those decisions.

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The Tories amalgamated hospital operations between 2017 and 2019 in Winnipeg and cut funding for acute-care services, which has negatively impacted the delivery of health-care services. Emergency wait times have doubled since 2017 and delays for surgical and diagnostic services are worse today in most categories than they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisions that led to those failures must be scrutinized and the politicians that made them must explain themselves. Do they still stand by those decisions? If so, why? If not, why not?

Manitoba was forced to airlift 57 intensive-care unit patients out-of-province during the pandemic, some of whom died, because hospitals didn’t have the capacity to treat them locally. That was a direct result of the policy decisions made by government.

When Stefanson, who was health minister at the time, was asked about that in 2021 (and why her government didn’t bring in stricter public health measures to guard against a third wave experts warned was coming), she absolved herself of responsibility by claiming there was no playbook to manage the pandemic. “Coulda, shoulda, woulda,” was her response.

That speaks to judgment and competency, both of which should be put on trial during an election campaign.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca

Tom Brodbeck
Columnist

Tom Brodbeck is an award-winning author and columnist with over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.

Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.