MLA’s antics show sad state of provincial politics

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This article was published 05/10/2017 (2981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We didn’t need Steven Fletcher’s performance in the Manitoba legislature on Wednesday to prove the woeful state of Manitoba politics, but it certainly helped.

Fletcher brought forward eight points of privilege, a parliamentary tradition that provides an opportunity for politicians to raise concerns about process and behaviour that they believe have compromised their privileges as members of a legislative assembly.

These are normally serious matters that MLAs use sparingly. Fletcher, on the other hand, decided to use them in an obvious bid to express his extreme displeasure at having been ejected from the Progressive Conservative caucus last summer, a decision that cast him adrift as an Independent MLA.

Fletcher expressed concern about inadequate anti-terrorism measures around the legislature, the decision by his former party to remove all the video recordings of his statements in the legislature from YouTube, derogatory statements made about him by other MLAs outside the chamber and the failure of the government to provide adequate background information on some of the legislation it has introduced

Fletcher even tried to raise a point of privilege by arguing that the decision to kick him out of the PC party violated his constitutionally guaranteed freedom of assembly. Full points for comic relief, but not a point of privilege.

In every case, Speaker Myrna Driedger found that Fletcher did not meet the standard for a point of privilege, and ruled him out of order. And each and every time, Fletcher challenged that ruling and then forced a recorded vote. It’s a process that took about 15 minutes for each point Fletcher raised.

The only thing of value sparked by Fletcher’s tactics was to fuel speculation that he might agree to join the Liberal party.

Fletcher had little support for his points of privilege. Disgraced former NDP MLA Mohinder Saran, expelled from his own party after allegations of sexual harassment, stood with Fletcher on each vote. NDP MLAs Jim Malloway and Ted Marcelino, both of whom supported former MLA Steve Ashton in the recent leadership vote, supported Fletcher on one vote.

However, all three Liberal MLAs — Jon Gerrard, Judy Klassen and Cindy Lamoureux — supported Fletcher on every vote. Given that Fletcher is fighting in court against a law that prevents MLAs from joining another party between elections, the Grit support raised speculation that some sort of informal working arrangement was being devised.

In the final analysis, Fletcher’s shenanigans didn’t accomplish much. Except, maybe, to remind us that Manitoba is not engaged in a golden age of provincial politics.

We have Premier Brian Pallister leading a majority government that is forging ahead with a series of austerity measures — service cuts, layoffs, deferred or cancelled capital spending — that stand in stark defiance of the promises he made to voters in the April 2016 election.

Pallister is so busy breaking campaign promises, that he has been unable to deliver on a number of pressing policy objectives, including the introduction of a Manitoba carbon tax and regime for the legal sale of marijuana. Other than leading the country in angry exchanges with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pallister is leading an underachieving government.

The only comfort for Progressive Conservatives is that the NDP has so many of its own challenges, it presents no credible alternative.

The official Opposition is being led by Wab Kinew, the first Indigenous man to take the helm of a major political party in Manitoba. However, that historic achievement has been tempered by serious allegations that Kinew was involved in a domestic assault some years before entering politics. For a party that is still trying to regroup after its disastrous showing in the election, Kinew’s troubled past could not have arisen at a less opportune time.

The Liberals, meanwhile, are involved in their own identity crisis that shows no sign of abeyance.

The Grits will select a new leader this fall, but it’s unclear whether any of the candidates will succeed in creating a party that can legitimately compete with the Tories and NDP. Forget the ridiculous decision by the three sitting Liberal MLAs to support Fletcher in his cynical stalling tactics. This is a party that seems unable to get out from under its own incompetence.

The leadership race features one candidate, Lamoureux, who refused to attend debates with other candidates because an admission fee was being charged. She is challenged by Jon Gerrard, a former leader whose decision to resign prompted the leadership campaign and whose decision to jump back in is nothing short of absurd. That leaves longtime party loyalist Dougald Lamont as perhaps the only candidate to have avoided doing something to seriously undermine his own party.

When you come right down to it, it’s hard to expect more of a government when it is not threatened or effectively challenged by the opposition. That is the pathetic state of play right now in the legislature.

Beyond the pain and suffering experienced by those unlucky enough to bear witness to Fletcher’s amateurish performance, there are bigger, longer-term concerns.

Voter turnout is already dangerously low, and no manner of legislative or administrative tinkering can undo the damage that is done when politicians consistently under perform and under deliver. Manitobans need very little encouragement to ignore pointless debates, abuses of parliamentary privilege, broken promises and politicians who are more concerned about their legacy than the state of the province.

Once all that has been ignored, it makes the prospect of voting seem very unappealing.

Fletcher exploited the black art of parliamentary procedure to derail a single day of routine proceedings in the legislature. But even after he stops messing with procedure, Manitobans will still be left with a room full of politicians who seem to have neither the acumen nor the will to get past their own shortcomings.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca