Who’s behind Ashton scandal?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/06/2015 (3834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Cui bono? It’s a Latin legal phrase that asks “to whose benefit?” It suggests the person responsible for an act or event is the person who stands to gain from it. The concept has helped explain the motive for countless crimes over the centuries, but the person who appears to benefit most is not always the perpetrator, but rather a scapegoat.

Which brings us to the explosive allegations being made against Premier Greg Selinger and Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton.

According to news reports, a whistleblower complained last fall Ashton attempted to obtain cabinet approval for a $5-million untendered contract to purchase portable dams for the Interlake Tribal Council, of which Peguis First Nation is an influential member.

Those reports further allege the dams would be purchased from a company represented in Manitoba by a Winnipeg businessman with personal ties to Ashton, who also serves on the board of directors of the Chief Peguis Investment Corporation, an agency of Peguis First Nation.

Other media reports claim Ashton, with Selinger’s support, attempted to fast-track a primary care clinic for The Pas to help then-mayor Al McLauchlan, a friend and political ally, before last fall’s municipal election. This despite Manitoba Health having identified other areas of the province as having more pressing needs for such a facility.

The allegations have caused a firestorm of attacks against both Selinger and Ashton. Indeed, editorials in both this newspaper and the Brandon Sun have called for Ashton to be dumped from cabinet and questioned the motives behind Selinger’s spirited defence of his two-time leadership rival.

While the accusations against Ashton and Selinger are unquestionably serious, they are a political sideshow. Something far more serious is going on here, with far higher stakes than may be readily apparent.

The fact the entire controversy is built upon claims made by unnamed, highly placed sources within the Manitoba NDP gives rise to three questions: why are these allegations being made now, what is their objective and who is behind them?

If the attacks had been launched during the NDP leadership contest, they would have crippled both the Selinger and Ashton campaigns, catapulting Theresa Oswald to victory. A “senior NDP source” told media, however, “ministers made the decision to not make public all this at the start, because they didn’t want to bring down the party, and they thought Theresa would win.”

That may explain why the allegations were not made last fall, but not why they have emerged now. The motivation could be simple revenge by Oswald supporters who remain angry their candidate lost to Selinger, but there are other possibilities to consider.

First, this could be the beginning of yet another effort to oust Selinger from the leader’s chair while time remains for the NDP to mount a reasonable re-election effort under a new leader. Second, leaking the information to the Free Press and Opposition Progressive Conservatives before the legislature recesses ensures maximum impact in both the media and question period.

Third, the scandal will likely hurt the NDP’s support in polling that is currently being conducted. That will hinder Selinger’s ability to argue the party is regaining support under his leadership, while further fuelling election anxiety in the party. Finally, the attacks have almost certainly eliminated Ashton as a contender in any future leadership contest.

That may explain the timing and possible objectives of the attacks, but it does not tell us who is behind them. Who would be motivated to engage in such cynical scheming? Cui bono?

The obvious answer is Oswald, but that answer may be too obvious. She would be regarded as the front-runner to succeed Selinger, but she and her supporters are already being condemned for the attacks despite the absence of compelling evidence against them.

Is Oswald so driven to be NDP leader she would behave in such a destructive manner, or is she being scapegoated by a caucus rival who covets the premier’s chair and thinks he (or she) can get there without getting political blood on his (or her) hands?

Somebody in the NDP is orchestrating this spectacle. It may be Oswald, but it may not. With time running out on this government’s mandate, the answer will soon become clear.

 

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon.

deverynrossletters@gmail.com Twitter: @deverynross