One question period down, approximately 239 to go

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/05/2016 (3434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the electoral calendar and tradition hold true, there should be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 240 individual question periods in the Manitoba legislature between now and the spring of 2020 when the next general provincial election takes place. That is 240 opportunities for the now-opposition NDP to grill the now-governing Progressive Conservatives on all manner of things. And 240 opportunities for the Tories to respond.

If Tuesday’s question period was any indication — the first QP of the new session of the 41st session of the Manitoba legislature — this is going to be a very long, very painful exercise for the once great, now greatly diminished ranks of the NDP.

It has always been thus.

Long-serving governments that lose elections can expect question period to become a daily exercise in self-flagellation. Once in opposition, former governing parties try to function as effective critics. However, even as they attempt to dog the new government’s every move, question period becomes a daily reminder of everything the previous government did wrong.

Case in point:

On Tuesday, NDP finance critic and former cabinet minister James Allum asked new Tory Finance Minister Cameron Friesen why his government did not hold public consultations in preparation for his first provincial budget, expected to be tabled May 31. By the time it’s all said and done, Friesen will have barely a month from the time he was sworn into cabinet until budget day, an extremely brief period for such a huge task. As a result, formal public budget consultations were not held.

Allum certainly played his part, looking and sounding as if he had spent a long time on the opposition benches. He shook his head in disgust as he finished his question, his tone dripping with disdain for the obvious negligence demonstrated by the new finance minister. In all good conscience, how could Friesen bring forward a budget without first consulting with the public?

Sitting in his seat in the front bench, Friesen smiled a smile that comes easily to people that figure out the punchline long before it is told. Rising to his feet, he calmly noted his government consulted with the public “largely through a general election” in which the Tories won a massive majority. He also pointed out his party was forced to bring in a budget on a hasty timetable because the NDP — largely to avoid having to reveal the extent of their fiscal difficulties — elected to forgo the introduction of a full budget.

As Friesen sat back down in his seat, knowing grin still plastered to his face, the government side of the legislature erupted in lusty applause.

That is, in a nutshell, the narrative we will see in question period, at least, for the time being.

The NDP have too much baggage and the Tories have way too much ammunition to fire back at their would-be tormentors. That is a legislative tradition as old as the daily order paper or Robert’s Rules of Order.

Does it mean Premier Brian Pallister’s government is going to enjoy a free ride through its first session? Not likely. Even though the NDP lack a lot of credibility on a lot of files, there will always be moments when the new government can and will be called to task.

Another case in point:

Newly minted NDP MLA Wab Kinew asked a well-timed question about what, if any, involvement new Education Minister Ian Wishart would have in mediating a dispute between a Steinbach family and the Hanover School Division.

During the recent provincial election campaign, several media outlets reported on the fight between Steinbach resident Michelle McHale, who said her daughter was being bullied after it became known she lives in a house with two moms. McHale asked the HSD to expand its curriculum to include information about same-sex families and sexual orientation. The division responded by saying it has directed teachers to avoid any discussion of homosexuality or LGBTTQ issues.

This is a sensitive issue for the Tories. In opposition, the party found itself in hot water when it opposed a NDP bill that forced school divisions to accommodate student “affinity” groups that sought to support LGBTTQ students. Its ambivalence about the legislation was quickly used by the NDP to portray the Tories as intolerant. The Tories, hard-pressed by core supporters to reject the law, did little to defuse the allegation.

In his first official response in question period, Wishart did little to erase those concerns. He said, for now, he will leave the matter up to HSD to manage. If a complaint comes forward, Wishart said, he will consider other options.

That was an entirely unsatisfying response to a 12-year-old being bullied for having same-sex parents. If you’re a Tory strategist, your political iceberg early warning system ought to be chiming by now.

The ebb and flow of question period is clear evidence a few really weak questions will not prevent the NDP from finding the policy fissures and political dilemmas that will inevitably challenge the new government.

With 239 question periods to go, there will be days when the NDP cannot escape its own shortcomings. And other days, the new Tory government will be creating some new ones of its own.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca