Health minister sofa tour plan soft on details
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2022 (793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon’s promised “sofa conversations” tour will hit the road this summer, but only those in the know will be able to kick back with the Southdale MLA as she keeps a low profile heading into the community.
Midway through July, Gordon and her couch have yet to make an appearance at a park in the southeast Winnipeg neighbourhood, after promising to lug the furniture around her constituency so voters can grab a seat to share what’s on their mind.
Her constituency office and social media feeds have so far been silent on the outreach initiative.
On Tuesday, Gordon chalked up the delay to wet weather and did not provide a direct answer when asked if safety concerns have forced her office to limit promotion of upcoming public appearances.
“My sofa conversations have been publicly promoted,” Gordon said, referencing a spring newsletter sent to constituents. “A number of constituents have called the office and are looking forward to having me in the community in this forum, and it’s really the inclement weather.”
Gordon said Southdale residents are aware of the timing of the upcoming conversations, but did not say exactly when or where she and her sofa would next be in the neighbourhood.
“Oh, my constituents know,” Gordon said, when asked about publicizing the event. “If we can hold off the rain, I will be out in the community and engaging and interacting with my constituents.”
When Gordon’s plan was first made public in April, she was panned by the Manitoba Nurses Union, who invited the minister to bring the couch to any emergency room or long-term care facility to hear directly from people in the health-care system.
“If we can hold off the rain, I will be out in the community and engaging and interacting with my constituents.” – Health Minister Audrey Gordon
The MNU also urged Southdale residents to ask the minister when someone will accept responsibility for the critical nursing shortage in Manitoba.
While the gimmick was praised by some as a clever idea to connect with constituents ahead of the next general election in 2023, it was also said to be an inherently risky event that could put the focus on voter frustrations and hurt her popularity, given the deep dissatisfaction with provincial government.
When her conversations tour was first made public, Gordon dismissed questions about safety, saying she feels welcomed in the constituency and participates in many initiatives to connect with voters.
“I want to be able to be very available to them, close to home,” Gordon told reporters in April. “Not everyone can jump in a car and drive over to the Southdale mall (constituency office) to come and see me, and this is one way of just making myself available at the grassroots.
“Not everyone can jump in a car and drive over to the Southdale mall (constituency office) to come and see me, and this is one way of just making myself available at the grassroots.” – Audrey Gordon in April
“And so no, I’m not fearful in my constituency. Actually, I love everyone there and they’ve been very welcoming and kind and supportive, and I look forward to having them take a seat with me for the sofa conversations.”
However, as politics becomes a “nastier business,” elected officials are undeniably facing increased risks to safety and personal security, Brandon University political sciences Prof. Kelly Saunders said.
Citizens are becoming more disengaged, frustrated and demanding of politicians, while challenges for governments — rising inflation, COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, as a few examples — become increasingly difficult to manage amid intense public scrutiny and misinformation on social media, Saunders said.
“You add all of those things together and you have quite a recipe for significant threats to individuals and rising security levels.”
Some Manitoba MLAs have been forced to hold constituency outreach by appointment, owing to threats and aggressive behaviour and must keep the constituency offices locked as a result. Premier Heather Stefanson has also spoken about the potential for increased security for officials attending public events.
While all elected officials are experiencing heightened risks, women politicians, in particular those who are Black, Indigenous and racialized, face greater bullying behaviour, misogyny and threats of violence, she said.
Saunders commended Gordon for “trying to engage and be accessible” to constituents and called the sofa conversations tour a great idea — though it is unfortunate it is not being promoted widely.
“If we want our politicians to do what we say we want them to do, which is engage with us, then it’s incumbent upon us as citizens to make sure that we’re engaging in civil discourse, that we’re not heaping abuse on people,” Saunders said. “We all suffer as a result.”
— with files from Carol Sanders
danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
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