Will Pallister show us what he’s made of?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2017 (2889 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After nearly two years of tough sledding over austerity measures, there was some speculation Premier Brian Pallister would to use this week’s speech from the throne as an opportunity to “change the channel,” as political operatives like to say.

Instead of public-sector wage freezes and layoffs or emergency-room closures, it was believed the premier would use the start of a new session to showcase the Tories as more than just bean counters.

Well, it appears the premier isn’t big on delayed gratification. A full week before Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon even got a chance to start reading the throne speech, Pallister managed to change the channel.

During an arduous wilderness hike in New Mexico last week, Manitoba’s first minister suffered a serious fall that left him with a badly broken arm. Although it’s clear Pallister never intended it as such, his harrowing mishap does alter the narrative going into this next session of the Manitoba Legislature.

Pallister deserves genuine sympathy for his injury; the next few weeks are going to be a humbling experience. Particularly for a man who is legendary for his fierce self-sufficiency. If he needs some advice on how to recuperate and govern at the same time, he might give former premier Gary Filmon a quick call.

It was in February 1992 that Filmon slipped on some ice during a vacation in Vancouver and broke his ankle, an injury severe enough that it required surgery. Filmon was forced to take off a bit of time to rest, but returned to work much earlier than expected.

For a few weeks at least, journalists covering the legislature will tell you Filmon, an intimidating presence at the best of times, became downright fearsome.

Rather than scrum, on many days Filmon would hop through the hallway outside the chamber on his crutches until he found a journalist that had drawn his ire.

He wouldn’t engage in debate, but would merely pass over a copy of a newspaper clipping with a few choice words written in the margins. Then, he hopped off.

If looks alone could kill, there would have been quite a body count among the members of the legislative press gallery while Filmon was recovering. However, it bears mentioning that other than bloodying the nose of a few scribes, the affairs of state did not suffer.

Although not quite halfway through his first term, this is the time when Pallister has to demonstrate a capacity to expand the scope of his government’s work.

Legislatively, the Tories continue to be a significant disappointment. There have been a few bright spots — the increased powers and mandate for the children’s advocate serves as a good example of effective lawmaking — but not enough to convince critics or constituents this is a government that can see past its focus on eliminating the deficit.

The biggest non-fiscal initiatives — carbon pricing and legalized cannabis distribution and sales — have only been partly revealed. Neither has produced an actual bill for debate.

Outside those two files, far too many bills are limited to mostly symbolic impact: an act to certify participation in the New West Partnership, a new balanced budget bill that allows for a public vote on any major tax increase, legislation to reduce government red tape. Although they are worthy topics of discussion, none add up to serious legislative initiatives.

What could the Pallister government do? There is a host of unfulfilled campaign pledges and legislative ­projects awaiting the government’s time and attention.

Such as the 2016 report from the Law Reform Commission on expanding and improving the Municipal Council Conflict of Interest Act. The commission — along with many municipalities, including Winnipeg — has long pressed the province to come up with new legal mechanisms to allow for the investigation and punishment of municipal conflict of interest and related misconduct.

The former NDP government failed miserably to deal with this pressing issue, despite being provided with numerous examples of immediate need during the Sam Katz era at Winnipeg city hall.

The Pallister government does have ethics on its mind, but it’s not clear whether the scope will include municipal officials. In October, Tory house leader Cliff Cullen asked Manitoba ethics commissioner Jeff Schnoor to provide, by year’s end, his recommendations on how to improve ethics legislation for provincial politicians.

This is an excellent legislative initiative and one that should bear fruit by early next year, but it’s not enough. Manitoba needs an arm’s-length body to receive and investigate ethics complaints, and new legal tools to bring elected officials at both the provincial and municipal officials back into line.

Another worthy issue to tackle would be organ donation.

Recently, the Tory caucus decided to withhold its support for a private member’s bill by former Tory MLA Steven Fletcher, which would have instituted presumed consent for all organ donations. Away from the smouldering wreckage of Fletcher’s bill, Pallister pledged an all-party task force to find ways of increasing the number of donated organs.

There is no good reason to exclude organ donation from the list of government priorities in the throne speech. After all, there is no better time to start working on a life-and-death issue like yesterday.

Pallister’s injury, suffered on the eve of an extremely important moment in his government’s first term, is the epitome of bad luck. With much more work to be done on carbon pricing and legalized marijuana, and fiscal challenges still very much in play, the premier hardly needed the distraction of a broken arm.

But government must forge ahead. If nothing else, we’ll learn pretty quickly whether Pallister is really a one-man show, or whether he is surrounded by people that can help him bear the burden of governing.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca