Stefanson fails to shine while on national stage

Opinion

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This article was published 12/07/2023 (788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Premier Heather Stefanson had hoped to use this week’s gathering of provincial leaders in Winnipeg to boost her sagging political image, the plan fell flat.

The three-day premiers conference, which kicked off Monday, was overshadowed by protests over a controversial landfill search, calls to stop the privatization of health care and demands for national workplace standards for nurses.

It wasn’t exactly what the premier, who hosted the event, had in mind.

Premiers conferences are opportunities for provincial leaders to find common ground on issues they can press the federal government on. Those demands usually involve more money for the provinces.

This week’s conference was no exception. The premiers demanded a national strategy on infrastructure to improve trade and competitiveness. They also want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to promise to hold a first ministers meeting on it.

What they’re really after is federal funding. They want block transfer payments from Ottawa to pay for things such as bridges, roads and water infrastructure, like Ottawa does for health care through the Canada Health Transfer. Not surprisingly, the provinces don’t want the federal government to tell them how to spend that money, either.

It’s a common theme at these gatherings: premiers demand more money from Ottawa, but warn the federal government to stay out of their constitutional sphere.

This week’s conference was dull and uninspiring, even more so than usual. Most of what the premiers agreed to was to have more meetings (on inter-provincial trade, infrastructure and housing) — hardly the kind of riveting deliberations that would pique the interest of Canadians. The premiers proposed no specific solutions to anything and made few concrete demands of Ottawa. They already got bail reform and more health funding from the federal government earlier this year. Apparently, they ran out of things to complain about.

The premiers’ four-page communique released Wednesday was mostly vague platitudes about promoting trade and economic growth, much of which was probably written by bureaucrats before the conference even began.

None of this helped Stefanson, who spent more time this week dodging questions about thorny issues bedeviling her government than she did showcasing her abilities on the national stage.

She stuck to her guns on opposing efforts to explore any avenues to search the Prairie Green Landfill to find the remains of two Indigenous women – Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, whom city police say were the victims of an alleged serial killer. The issue has dogged the premier since she made the announcement last week, prompting protests and a blockade at Brady Road landfill.

The premier’s rigid position on it, and the fact she refused to consult with stakeholders (including the families of the deceased) before making the decision, has not put her in a good light. Good leaders consult, collaborate and find common ground with the people they serve. Stefanson’s unilateral decision is reminiscent of former premier Brian Pallister’s autocratic style of governing, which Stefanson vowed two years ago she would not emulate. She said she was going to “listen” to Manitobans, especially when it came to Indigenous issues. Stefanson did the opposite of that on the landfill issue.

Unfortunately for her, that decision carried over to this week and eclipsed what little substance came out of the premiers conference.

Stefanson had an opportunity to show Manitobans she could perform at the national level by bringing premiers together on substantive issues. She had the chance to show a calibre of leadership Manitobans have yet to see from her. It would have been a feather in her cap less than three months before the Oct. 3 election.

But she fell flat. She was more of a spokesperson than a political leader this week, and not even a good one at that. While other premiers, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and British Columbia Premier David Eby provided articulate and detailed answers to questions during the closing session of the conference Wednesday, Stefanson looked on as if she was out of her league.

Her short, clumsy responses were little more than worn-out talking points.

Apparently, national politics isn’t Stefanson’s forte. Unfortunately for her, provincial politics isn’t, either.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca