Does it Really Have to Be This Way?

By now most people have probably become numb to the various ways that people in elected office attack and belittle each other seemingly on a daily basis. While politics has never been for the faint of heart, the overall slide into toxicity that it has taken over the past few years has been well documented. So perhaps it was just another example of petty politics that will slip quickly out of the public memory, but I do think it is worth drawing further attention to in the hope that some course correction may occur in the future.

Last week, Swan River Progressive Conservative MLA Rick Wowchuk was preparing to speak at a community celebration. The celebration was to mark the opening of the $16.6 million expansion of the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, a school Wowchuk himself had taught at during an earlier part of his life. The expansion of the school had been approved and planned for when Wowchuk was part of the previous Progressive Conservative government. But this celebration, which was organized by the local school division, wasn’t about politics, it was about everyone getting together and expressing gratefulness for the new additions to the school.

This sense of community spirit and celebration was interrupted by a phone call from the office of Premier Wab Kinew. Staff in his office advised the school division that they were to call the local MLA, Mr. Wowchuk, and disinvite him from speaking at the community celebration. Premier Kinew was also scheduled to speak, making it a truly unifying event, or so it was thought. But the instructions from the Premier’s office were clear, local organizers were to cancel the invitation to the local MLA.

At this point, those who are reading this must believe that there was something else going on here. After all, this wasn’t a government planned or organized event. This was a community event. Yet the pressure of the Premier’s office was used to make organizers cancel the local MLAs speech. If it all seems a little petty, keep reading, it gets worse.

The next day, after MLA Wowchuk was prevented by the Premier from giving his speech, Mr. Kinew was asked by reporters what was the reason for his intervention. His response was, “Does anyone care about some backbench PC MLA right now? No. His feelings are hurt? Who cares.” If that feels like something a Premier would never say, you can look it up. There is even video of it.

The reality is that the level of pettiness that has entered politics did not start with Premier Wab Kinew. But the other reality is that he currently holds the office of the Premier of Manitoba and his comments reflect not just upon himself, but on the province as a whole. And it is why there is a higher standard that is expected.

Premier Kinew is banking on the fact that this incident will be quickly forgotten. In Swan River the memory of it will linger on longer probably than in other parts of Manitoba. But it begs the question, does it really have to be this way? And if the Premier of Manitoba feels no responsibility to try to set a better example, who will?