Tory AGM opportunity to unite: Bergen

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/04/2023 (878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the goal of the Progressive Conservatives’ annual gathering this weekend is to unite a divided party heading into a fall election, recent political drama involving the leader of the Opposition may help, says the Tory campaign co-chair.

“What I’m watching reinforces my strong belief that Wab Kinew cannot be the premier of the province,” Candice Bergen said Friday, reviewing video of PC cabinet minister Obby Khan accusing the NDP leader of swearing at him and shoving him at a cultural event Thursday at the Manitoba legislature.

Kinew denied there was any shoving or swearing, but admitted there was a heated exchange in an inappropriate setting and apologized.

The incident highlights why Premier Heather Stefanson is the right person for the job, said Bergen.

“I don’t believe (Kinew) has the character, the integrity — and I think what I’m watching right now reinforces that,” said Bergen, former interim leader of the federal Conservative party and longtime MP for Portage—Lisgar who resigned her seat Feb. 28.

“I want to bring conservatives together to stand behind the premier and the PC party, so we can keep Manitoba in good shape.”

Bergen said she’s not seeing division in the party that erupted during the contentious 2021 leadership race that ended with Stefanson narrowly defeating former Conservative MP Shelly Glover for the role.

“Let’s look forward, not backwards,” Bergen said, adding she has no provincial leadership aspirations and will not run for the legislative assembly.

PC party membership is “worried” about the NDP forming government, she said. “They’ve reached out to me — thanking me for being involved and see this as a way to move forward and be united.”

The challenge will be to convince voters, with consecutive Probe Research Inc. polls indicating the PCs are on track to lose the 2023 election.

The Tories can win, Bergen said, if they “let Heather be Heather.”

“I really like and respect Heather. She’s the right person for the job,” she said.

As campaign co-chair, the veteran federal campaigner said she will serve as an adviser and help with outreach across the province.

The Winnipeg-area seats and women voters the PCs need to win just need to see the “authentic” Stefanson to appreciate her, Bergen said, starting at a bear pit session Saturday at the AGM in Winnipeg.

“Put the talking points aside, put the prepared speech aside and let Heather be Heather,” Bergen said. “She will earn their support. They’ll see she’s calm, she’s caring, she’s measured.

“She listens to what people have to say, then makes decisions and gets things done for the province and that’s exactly what we need.”

The health-care crisis (staffing shortages and long wait times) the PC government is blamed for exacerbating with pre-COVID-19 pandemic cost-cutting won’t be an easy hurdle to overcome, Bergen said, but it can be dome.

“What I’m liking, and what I want to see more of, is we have to help Manitobans. We have to heal health care — be willing to do whatever it takes in terms of the funding but also creative ways to make sure people get surgery and to end the wait times” while supporting nurses and doctors.

As for the addictions crisis and rising overdose deaths, Bergen said Stefanson is right not to support supervised consumption sites, calling them a “failed experiment.”

“We want our kids, our sisters, our brothers in treatment,” said Bergen, adding she has a relative who’s battled addiction. “People need hope.”

On the financial front, Bergen defended the PC government running afoul of small-c conservative principles by running up deficits while also sending out relief cheques and property tax rebates.

“Sometimes, governments need to spend money to help people and make things more fair, and fulfill promises and (ensure) people won’t be overtaxed,” Bergen said.

“I believe that governments should fundamentally have balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility at the core of what they do, which is what the PCs stand for.”

There will be some rousing policy discussions at the AGM, where the party will debate 21 wide-ranging resolutions Saturday.

They include: opening up retail liquor sales to grocery stores; urging the federal government to abandon any expansion of medical assistance in dying; demanding Ottawa make Manitoba a “carbon tax-free province;” imposing a moratorium on the permanent closure of rural hospital facilities; and ensuring “foreign” health-care workers are “assessed and tested within weeks of arrival” to reduce strain on the health-care system.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca