A different version of Wally Daudrich

Opinion

How did Manitoba come to this?

I have spent a good half of my life involved in politics. I have spent that time dealing with and interacting with political parties of all stripes. I like some things about each of them and I dislike some things about each of them but, on balance, I chose the conservative party.

The reason is that this party has values that match many of the values of the other two mainstream groups but with more vision, insight and sincerity, not to mention a track record to back that up.

As a reminder, conservatives stand for self-reliance and enterprise while giving a hand up to the less fortunate and less able; for freedom of expression and thought as the bedrock of democracy; for respect for all people, encouraging everyone to become the best they can, understanding that we are all born with different potentials and that it is always best to match skill with the task assigned.

This means we must hire on merit rather than some artificial standard based on divisive labelling and categorizing individuals.

Conservatives were the first environmentalists and remain the founders of important and lasting organizations such Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

There is more, but that will introduce a corrected vision of Wally Daudrich, one of the two candidates running to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.

Erna Buffie penned a virulent and inaccurate piece (How did the Conservative Party come to this? Think Tank, March 7) recently painting a very negative picture of Daudrich, his worthy opponent, Obby Khan, and of the entire party. I will write about Daudrich, whom I have known well for over a decade and a half.

Buffie paints a picture of the candidate as some sort of far-right monster who would abuse the homeless and override the rights of Manitobans in pursuit of his own agenda.

That might be a great character in a fictional plot, but that is not Daudrich, nor is it Khan, for that matter.

Yes, it is true that Daudrich has his own views about issues such as parental rights. So do most mainstream parents. He is not afraid to say that parents, not the state, are the first defenders of their children.

He objects to the incursion of the state into personal decisions over your health. What he does not do is to try to dictate to you how you should think or act.

His bedrock belief is in democracy and freedom, both rooted in the history of his family who escaped totalitarianism.

Yes, he does believe we should “unlock” minerals in the North. He also believes that we should build a second port on Hudson Bay to help us sell our products to worldwide markets.

Initiatives such as these would not only benefit all the people down south with billions of dollars in new jobs and full tax coffers, but more importantly to Daudrich, it would open up opportunity for his Indigenous friends in isolated First Nations communities to grow an economy in their homeland.

He knows that without more economic growth, Manitoba will not be able to maintain, let alone improve, the health-care system and to house and treat the homeless and addicted. He knows that you must maintain the infrastructure of roads and sewage systems and water delivery or society will crumble into decay.

There must be new money coming in to support needed social programs and to improve the quality of life for everyone.

He also gives generously of his own money to dozens of causes in Winnipeg.

At one time, Winnipeg and Manitoba were leaders in Canada — creative, innovative and productive. We started the first community foundation. We created the first chamber of commerce in Canada. We had healthy steel, cement, clothing, furniture, automotive, aircraft, boatbuilding, printing, insurance, banking and many, many other industries in addition to being a breadbasket for much of the country and beyond.

Now, so much of that has faded as well meaning, but mistaken, NDP governments, have allowed the erosion of that enterprising base and turned us into a demi-welfare state.

Even Wab Kinew recognized that “the social cart is pulled by the economic horse” (although he sems to have misplaced the horse.)

Buffie goes on to write a semi-accurate version of the change in the federal Conservative Party, when she recounts what happened when reformer Preston Manning came on the scene.

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Some will recall that I was no fan. But over our brief Canadian political history, parties have ebbed and flowed and merged and parted many times over the years.

Now, the reform influence has largely aged out, replaced by some dynamic new faces such as Pierre Poilievre, smart, good-looking, with a beautiful wife and a couple of lovely kids.

He, like Daudrich, has a vision for this country that says we can be all that we want to be, that when we are all working together, undivided by labels and enjoying our labour, we can resist any challenge.

And by the way, Wally Daudrich is no misogynist. Just ask me, whom he trusted to chair his campaign.

Dorothy Dobbie, C.M. is a former Progressive Conservative MP and the immediate past president of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians.