Opponents cry foul over sport minister appearance at funding grant event

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This article was published 31/08/2023 (833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The governing Tories were accused of violating Manitoba election communication rules and “cheating” in the run-up to the Oct. 3 vote, after Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Obby Khan attended a news conference where he was thanked by a non-profit organization for it receiving a $1-million provincial grant.

The Fort Whyte MLA, who is running for re-election, was presented with a small thank-you gift at a DASCH (Direct Action in Support of Community Homes) Inc. event Thursday.

The non-profit organization that provides safe, inclusive housing to adults with intellectual disabilities announced to those in attendance it was receiving a $1-million Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund grant.

The Progressive Conservative MLA, who recalled his connection to DASCH during his time as a Winnipeg Blue Bombers player (2006-11), spoke to the 50-or-so people gathered, mentioning he and Rick Shone (who was also in attendance) are candidates in the provincial election.

Shone is carrying the Tory banner in Fort Garry. He received the party nomination in May, and is seeking to unseat NDP MLA Mark Wasyliw.

Under Manitoba’s Election Financing Act, government must not advertise or publish any information about its programs or activities 60 days ahead of a fixed-date election. The blackout period began Aug. 4.

The mandated guidelines apply to “any activity that directly or indirectly makes information about government programs or activities generally known during an election.” It includes grant notification to recipients.

If notification is required to execute government programs in a timely way, a grant notification should be provided by the deputy minister and should not be announced or promoted, the guidelines say.

In an interview Thursday, Khan said he was advised he wasn’t breaking the rules, because it concerned funding first announced July 31, prior to the 60-day blackout period.

“This was not new money announced,” said Khan. “There’s no real violation here. It’s an event hosted by DASCH, which I was invited to… They invited me to speak.

“Rick Shone was invited here by DASCH. He’s a big community guy. He’s been involved in DASCH.”

Opposition politicians, however, cried foul.

“They are making a reannouncement of government money during the blackout period for the purposes of partisan gain,” said Wasyliw. “We know that because Rick Shone is there. Why is Rick Shone there if this isn’t a political announcement that’s meant to further Rick’s political campaign?

“If this was just some government reannouncement, then there wouldn’t be a non-incumbent PC candidate… being spotlighted.”

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont accused the PCs of violating election blackout rules and “cheating.”

“They are using someone else’s money to try to get elected: yours,” St. Boniface MLA said. “The Stefanson PCs act as though rules for free and fair elections in Manitoba don’t apply to them — even the ones they wrote themselves.”

The Tories were criticized this summer when unelected PC candidates took to social media to take credit for government grants to community groups.

The NDP filed a complaint with Manitoba’s elections commissioner, saying the PCs were violating the Election Financing Act, and “using and abusing the power of government with taxpayer money.”

“Nobody in that government or party is trying to comply seriously with the law and they’re abusing their position,” Wasyliw said Thursday. “This is beyond a pattern anymore. This is basically who they are.

“Fundamentally, they will bend the rules for partisan political advantage. It’s got to stop and the only way it’s going to stop is voting them out on Oct. 3.”

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Attending a media event during the election blackout period to accept the thanks of a government funding recipient may bolster critics’ claims PC candidates are touting government spending for political gain, said University of Winnipeg political studies Prof. Félix Mathieu.

“The PC party risks appearing to be caught up in a pattern of poor political judgment, and in doing so, they are providing their opponents with political ammunition,” Mathieu said Thursday.

“Since the NDP likes to appear as the holder of the moral ground in the political arena, this situation risks reinforcing their claim and overall narrative,” he said.

“It seems as if the PCs are playing a risky game.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is 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.