One of the basic principles of our democratic system is that people have the right to have elected representation. While it is true that not everyone gets the representative that they voted for, the fact remains that it is important that every person has an elected representative at either the federal, provincial or municipal level. This becomes important when there is a particular question or issue that an individual is trying to get resolved with a particular level of government.
At times, there is a disruption to this right. The most obvious situation being where an electoral seat has been vacated by an elected representative and until a by-election can be called, that seat is unfilled, leaving residents without an elected voice at that level of government. Fortunately, these situations are relatively rare, and they don’t generally last long.
Yet currently in Manitoba, the residents of the constituency of Spruce Woods, in western Manitoba, have been waiting for months for Premier Wab Kinew to call the by election to fill the seat that was left vacant when the former MLA successfully ran federally. The expectation was that the by-election would occur quickly because Mr. Kinew had indicated in the past that this was important to democracy and had called relatively quick elections in two other seats the NDP subsequently won.
But as the weeks dragged on, people started to ask questions about what was causing the delay. And the response from the Premier was not very becoming of a provincial leader. Initially, Mr. Kinew indicated that a quick election wouldn’t be coming because it was likely that the Progressive Conservative’s held the advantage over the NDP in that seat. It is true that this particular region has historically voted P.C. but is that any reason to punish voters and leave them without representation? It was tempting to assume the Premier had somehow misspoken or simply said something he regretted. Until this past week.
On the heels of several funding announcements in Spruce Woods, which had all the makings of a government trying to buy votes, a local Brandon reporter asked why the by-election had yet to be called. The Premier got defensive almost immediately and responded with “What is the rush?” The reporter indicated that people’s voices are not being heard and wondered to the reporter who really cared. The reporter said he lived in the Spruce Woods riding, and that he cared, and he asked the Premier again to call the election.
To this the Premier responded, “Why?”
This exchange, which continued on in this awkward way for several more questions, is available to be viewed on various online platforms. And it is both bizarre and troubling.
Not only did it have the appearance of the Premier attempting to bully a local reporter asking a legitimate and fair question, it left the distinct impression that the Premier simply doesn’t care if some more than 20,000 residents have an elected representative. Especially if it is likely those residents will not vote for the candidate of his Party.
The Premier of a province is required to wear many hats. One of the important ones relates to democracy and exercising the authority to call for a general election or a by-election. The decision by Mr. Kinew to play politics and be dismissive about the need for people to have representation, is not properly fulfilling one of the important responsibilities he carries.
