In the past I’ve been critical of the Manitoba NDP government for being a government slow to act on issues. It turns out that this is true only in certain circumstances because as I’ve learned in recent months, the NDP have the ability to move quickly if they want to, but it’s usually when they are running off in the wrong direction.
Take for instance Greg Selinger’s decision to implement an additional $150 million in annual taxes on Manitobans this past spring. That was a decision that came down quickly and was rapidly implemented by the government. They moved swiftly to put a new 7% tax on insurance products to make sure that Manitobans were paying the new tax when they renewed their home and other insurance. They were also swift in ensuring that new taxes on a variety of services like haircuts were in place so that the new revenue could be snatched up quickly by the NDP government.
This speed was also evident in Premier Selinger’s decision to very quickly appoint a commissioner to recommend additional tax dollars that political parties can receive. In fact, the NDP is hoping that they will be able to devise a system whereby hundreds of thousands of tax dollars will go to their political party. In order to try to get the money quickly, they moved swiftly to appoint a University professor to set up the system.
Compare the speed at which the NDP have moved to increase taxes and increase taxdollars flowing to their political party with other things.
The NDP government still has not announced when the Manitoba Legislature will go back into session. The federal government resumed the House of Commons on Monday of this week but no word from the NDP when they plan to turn the lights on in the Manitoba Legislature Chamber.
As well, many interest groups have been demanding that the NDP government order a comprehensive economic review of the billions of dollars of capital projects that Manitoba Hydro is planning. These projects include new generating stations and a new Bi-Pole transmission line. A review would seem like a logical thing to do since it is important to know how these projects are going to be paid for since the export market for Hydro has been deflated for years. But the NDP are in no hurry at all when it comes to ordering such a review.
So it’s not that the NDP can’t move quickly it’s just that they only move quickly on things that are in the interests of their government or Party but not in the broader interest of Manitobans. They need to stop running off in the wrong direction.
