Give Kinew more time to find the best solution

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2024 (540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For more than a year prior to last October’s provincial election, Wab Kinew and his NDP colleagues were viewed as a government in waiting. Almost six months after their election victory, however, it’s Manitobans who are waiting for their new government to keep the promises it made and satisfy the expectations it created.

On a range of important issues, there have been false starts, missteps and about-faces. For example, there was the unannounced removal from the Manitoba Health website of wait time data for surgeries and various diagnostic procedures. That decision was reversed after Kinew told the legislature that the data “should never have been taken offline.”

Another example was the government’s announcement of funding for 31 additional beds at the Grace Hospital, without a plan to fill the 75 full-time positions needed to staff those beds.

Yet another example was the Education Department’s decision last month to end Grade 10 and 12 provincial exams. Ten days later, the tests were reinstated after widespread public outcry.

Education Minister Nello Altomare deserves credit for admitting he regretted not having spent more time working on the file before deciding to cancel the exams. By doing so, he took responsibility for his decision and set an important example for his cabinet colleagues.

He appears to now understand that few government decisions are as simple as they appear — that they require careful analysis and consultation before a final decision.

It’s a lesson that is likely top of mind for Premier Kinew, as he weighs the province’s next steps on the Prairie Green Landfill issue.

The government is under increasing pressure to keep its commitment to search the landfill site for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. The promise played a key role in the NDP’s election victory, and the Harris and Myran families, and many others, are growing increasing frustrated by delays in beginning the search.

At a protest held outside the Manitoba Legislative Building earlier this month, Melissa Robinson, a cousin of Morgan Harris, told the crowd that “We voted this NDP government in based on promises that were made to us, that were made to my family, that were made to the Myran family. We sat down with him,” she said of Kinew. In response, the protesters chanted “Do your job” and “Where are you Wab?”

The response to those questions is that Kinew is in his office, doing his job as our premier.

Feasibility studies by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs estimate that the search will cost between $90 million and $180 million. The accuracy of those estimates is far from clear. The AMC says that up to 40 staff will be required for the project and has requested $20 million in immediate interim funding. It is also requesting that any federal funding for the project be funneled through the AMC.

Given the vast amount of taxpayer money involved in the proposal, the complex nature of the search, the decision-making involvement of three levels of government and the AMC, and also the AMC’s demand to control the spending of a large portion of that money, Kinew cannot be blamed for carefully conducting the due diligence to ensure the search has the best chance of success, and that cost estimates are accurate.

He has a duty to ascertain what will happen if human remains are not found in the portion of the landfill earmarked for the search. Would other areas of the site then be searched?

He must also have a clear understanding of what happens if the cost of the search exceeds the estimates. Is there a cap on the amount to be spent? If additional money is required, which level of government is responsible for that funding?

Given the unique circumstances of this issue and the responsibilities Kinew bears as premier, those aren’t just reasonable questions; they are absolutely necessary.

The Harris and Myran families have been through a lot, and their desire to begin the search is fully understandable. But Wab Kinew isn’t the problem here. He clearly cares and is doing his best to craft an approach with the best chance of success.

Let’s give him a little more time to do that.

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@gmail.com X: @deverynross