Pallister’s remarks warrant an apology

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2017 (2788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

So close.

It was Tuesday afternoon and Premier Brian Pallister stood in front of a throng of journalists at the Grand Mosque on Waverley Street with an opportunity to extinguish a simmering controversy over his comments on indigenous men and night hunting.

Pallister had come to the mosque to voice his support for Muslim Manitobans in the wake of the fatal shootings at a mosque in Quebec City. However, he had also arranged to set aside a few minutes to address his controversial statements on night hunting.

It was one of those rare moments when a beleaguered politician gets an opportunity to put a nagging controversy behind him. All Pallister had to do was apologize for his original statement. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite get it done.

Pallister is a renowned athlete, so let’s put it into context with a little sports terminology. He had a breakaway on an open net and missed. He was standing under the basket all alone but couldn’t make the uncontested lay-up. The golf ball was hanging over the edge of the cup just waiting to be tapped in, but somehow he muffed the shot.

Pallister not only didn’t apologize for his comments, he went to some lengths to defend his decision not to apologize.

The premier got into trouble when he told a group of rural councillors on Jan. 16 he was concerned about indigenous men engaged in night hunting.

“Young indigenous guys going out and shootin’ a bunch of moose ’cause they can, ’cause they say it’s their right, doesn’t make any sense to me,” Pallister said. He went on to say that mounting anger over the practice was threatening to spark “a race war and I don’t want that.”

The story picked up steam a few days later when Pallister was quoted in Maclean’s magazine saying the majority of the indigenous men involved in night hunting were “offenders with criminal records.” Pallister has since denied making that statement, while Maclean’s is standing by their report.

In an exclusive interview with the Free Press on Sunday, Pallister tried to walk back his original comments in Virden by admitting to having employed a “poor choice of words.” But when asked if he should apologize, Pallister balked. He maintained that position on Tuesday at the mosque.

Pallister maintained that his original comments were an attempt to draw the public’s attention to the problem of night hunting. He said he has been applauded by many people for raising the issue, including indigenous people.

“I’ve always expressed a desire to get this thing back on track,” he told reporters. “That shows reluctance. There’s nothing to apologize for, however, because (raising the issue) is exactly what the First Nation community elders and leaders want me to do.”

Although it’s quite possible that “reluctance” wasn’t the exact word he wanted to use, the premier’s reluctance to offer a simple apology is quite maddening. It is not, however, unprecedented.

Former premier Greg Selinger had the same problem in 2013 when he decided to raise the provincial sales tax by one point to fund infrastructure. The big problem was that during the 2011 election campaign, he had steadfastly promised he would never, ever raise the PST for any reason. Then he broke that pledge and bumped the tax.

When asked if he should apologize to Manitobans for breaking his promise, Selinger initially got caught up in all kinds of diversionary comments and tactics. He talked about the need for more infrastructure investment to boost the economy, the benefits of hundreds of kilometres of new roads and dozens of new bridges and the support he had from caucus and cabinet. Circumstances had changed, Selinger said, which meant he hadn’t really broken a promise.

“It was a decision I recommended (to cabinet) and we discussed and felt that of all the alternatives, this was the one that will allow us to meet Manitobans’ priorities,” Selinger said a few months after his fateful decision.

The problem is the public wanted to hear an apology. Selinger’s cabinet knew it. The NDP caucus knew it. And Selinger’s own political staff knew that no matter how good the reasons, the citizens expect to hear politicians admit their shortcomings and broken promises, punctuated with an apology. His failure to meet the broken promise head on with an apology significantly undermined Selinger’s leadership.

For those courageous enough to muster the mea culpa, the benefits are immense. Typically, the apology marks the end of the media’s interest in the original story. Political opponents often lose interest as well in using it as a poking stick.

The premier is correct when he says night hunting is a somewhat ignored issue and he was right to try and open a public debate about it. However, engaging in some unguarded banter with a group of rural councillors is hardly the way to start a respectful public-policy debate.

There is most definitely a need to get indigenous and non-indigenous hunters on the same page to restrict this dangerous practice and eliminate the poaching that is ravaging the moose population. There is also a need to ensure no one is allowed to unfairly point a finger at any one community, group or race when it comes to finding a solution to night hunting.

The premier did bring the issue to greater attention, but he has set back the process of finding a solution. And in any context, that is something that requires a good, old-fashioned apology.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca