Pallister ‘disappointed’ in travelling WRHA board chair Appointee who oversees $1.9-B budget not a political staffer, premier says By: Larry Kusch Posted: 11:56 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 Last Modified: 6:34 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 Updates

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Premier Brian Pallister said he is “disappointed” that the chairman of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority travelled to Arizona in the midst of a global pandemic, but he suggested that Wayne McWhirter ought to be cut some slack because of his largely “volunteer” role.

At a news conference Thursday, Pallister gave no sign that the government would punish McWhirter for disregarding a strong recommendation from health officials — and the premier himself — that Manitobans avoid unnecessary travel.

A day earlier, Health Minister Heather Stefanson said the Progressive Conservatives had no plans to remove him from the post.

“I’ve said it repeatedly and I’ll say it again. Don’t travel now. This is not the time to do it,” the premier said when asked about McWhirter.

“I’ll also remind people, too — this is a volunteer you’re talking about. This isn’t a political staffer…. This isn’t a person in our bureaucracy. So I would make that distinction.”

Apart from earning a per diem, the premier said, McWhirter “is one of the over 1,000 people that have volunteered to serve on a board in our province.”

McWhirter travelled to Arizona earlier this month but has refused to explain why. The WRHA insisted he has continued in his role with the board by working remotely.

The WRHA, with an annual budget of $1.9 billion, is the largest health authority in the province. It operates or funds more than 200 health service facilities and programs. Its board chair is paid a lump sum of $5,000 annually, plus $80 for a half day or evening or $150 for a full day of meetings, to a maximum of $4,000 a year.

While McWhirter may earn only a per diem, he and his fellow board members are given considerable supervisory responsibility, opposition critics say.

The NDP and Liberal leaders have called for Pallister to remove the PC government appointee from his post.

“Trying to define this person as a volunteer is just word play. At the end of the day, this person… is in a leadership position of a significant part of our health-care system,” NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Thursday.

“We were very clear yesterday in saying that this individual should resign or be fired. I’ve heard from many Manitobans over the past couple of days who feel the same way, and Mr. Pallister should act. And his failure to act shows a failure of judgment on his part.”

Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Manitoba, said the absence of the board chair during the pandemic when health-care employees are working long hours at personal risk is more than “disappointing” and “bad optics.”

“It will have real tangible consequences. It will lead to resentment, poor morale and damage motivation among employees even though they will continue to do what is required of them,” he said.

Thomas said to describe McWhirter as a “volunteer” who is paid only a per diem is “rather disingenuous.”

Many board appointees are political friends of the governing party, he said, and for appointments to major boards such as the WRHA’s, the premier’s approval is needed.

“The position of board chair has significant influence, not real power,” Thomas said. “The influence derives from his role as providing two-way communication between the board and the minister and the government. It is part of his job to communicate government priorities and concerns to the board and to ensure that the board’s perspectives and agenda are known by government so there are no unwanted surprises.”

“In a pandemic, it becomes a crisis of confidence, because people are saying, ‘Why should I be following these rules when the people at the top don’t?’” – Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said Pallister may be hesitant to punish McWhirter after he allowed the province’s chief bureaucrat and his former campaign manager, David McLaughlin, to work from his Ottawa home for two weeks in December.

The premier also barely gave a slap on the wrist to a caucus member who travelled to Western Canada over Christmas, he said.

“He (Pallister) is unable to actually discipline anybody because if he does he actually has to do it for everyone,” Lamont said.

But failing to hold people accountable for their actions will have repercussions, he said.

“In a pandemic, it becomes a crisis of confidence, because people are saying, ‘Why should I be following these rules when the people at the top don’t?’”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter

Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.

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