Tories dredge up premier’s past run-ins with law

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan asked Premier Wab Kinew about his past run-ins with the law during a “disgraceful” question period Thursday.

“The premier loves to spend time quoting me, so I’m going to quote the premier here,” Khan said during an afternoon of mud-slinging and personal attacks on both sides of the chamber, which included an apology from house Speaker Tom Lindsey.

Khan went on to quote the premier as saying “yes” more than 20 years ago when asked in court if he was pleading guilty to refusing to provide a breathalyzer sample.

The Tory leader said the premier said “yeah” when asked if he pleaded guilty to failing to report for bail supervision on those charges.

“Will the premier admit that bail conditions are not only for the rest of Manitoba, but they also apply for the premier and his criminal record?” Khan asked in the chamber.

“Supposedly, this is the same guy that’s supposed to protect Manitobans when he won’t even respect the laws in this province.”

Kinew has spent the last few months calling for bail reform and tougher sentences for repeat offenders as part of a campaign for increased safety in the province.

In 2003, Kinew was charged with impaired driving and domestic assault in separate incidents. Those charges were later stayed, though he pleaded guilty to refusing to give a breath sample.

The following year, Kinew was convicted of assaulting a taxi driver, an incident that involved racial insults against the cabbie.

In 2016, the Parole Board of Canada granted Kinew a pardon, which removed references to his convictions on assaulting a taxi driver, refusing a breathalyzer sample and two breaches of court orders from the Canadian Police Information Centre database.

Inside the chamber Thursday, Kinew compared Khan’s line of questioning to “rolling around in the mud.”

The premier said a wise man once told him: “Don’t get in a mud fight with a pig because the pig will love it.”

Khan said that response was a “racist comment.”

“The premier knows I’m Muslim. He knows I won’t wrestle with a pig, but I will wrestle with a criminal like him,” Khan said amid the din of heckling in the chamber.

“The premier has clearly never changed. The premier doesn’t want accountability and he doesn’t want to answer to Manitobans. The reason he walked was because he hired a defence lawyer.”

The speaker called the house to order several times throughout the afternoon and threatened to eject members on both sides — all as high school students watched from the public gallery.

“I expect better from all of us,” Lindsey told the MLAs, including Tory Rick Wowchuk, whom he said “skirted around” unparliamentary language by referring to Kinew as a “Pinocchio.”

It is against legislature rules to accuse someone of lying and Lindsey called out the Swan River MLA for trying to be “clever” to get around the rules, saying: “You are not clever.”

PC house leader Derek Johnson (Interlake-Gimli) demanded the speaker apologize.

Lindsey did apologize, saying “there was a lot of disgraceful behaviour all the way around and, as your Speaker, I should rise above that, and for that I will apologize to the member for Swan River.”

After question period, Khan was asked by reporters why he was probing the premier about decades-old run-ins with the law.

Khan said it was to address the conduct of the premier in the chamber this year. The PC leader said he tried to establish a more respectful tone during question period.

“I stand up and I ask serious questions” about health, the province’s finances and crime, Khan said.

“The premier, every time, stands up, he attacks, he bullies, he calls me a bigot, he calls me a racist and refuses to (answer) any questions.”

Khan said he decided to change the strategy and ask Kinew questions about himself.

“If we’re not getting a genuine answer from the premier, if he wants to blame stuff that’s happened under previous governments and not taking accountability for his actions, for his ministers, we’re going to ask some questions about himself.”

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt dismissed Khan’s promise to set a better tone during question period.

“Unfortunately, what we saw from the leader of the opposition today is exactly the opposite of what he claims,” the member for Rossmere said outside the chamber.

“What we saw today is the same old Obby Khan that has to lead with personal attacks because they cannot debate us on the issues,” such as health care, education, and affordability. “They have to (resort) to personal attacks.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca