Premier Grinch didn’t ruin everyone’s holidays One set of pandemic rules for most Manitobans, another for senior Tories By: Tom Brodbeck Posted: 7:00 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 Last Modified: 5:43 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 Updates

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2021 (1331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Premier Brian Pallister made an emotional plea last month for Manitobans to stay home and not travel, he forgot to mention that he wasn’t referring to high-ranking government officials.

The impassioned appeal went viral on social media in early December and drew praise from some U.S. celebrities. It made for good political theatre, but it turns out the desperate COVID-fighting message applied only to rank-and-file Manitobans, not elite members of Premier Brian Pallister’s government.

“I am the person who has come before you and said you can’t go to church, you can’t see your friends, you can’t travel — I’m that guy,” said Pallister, who implored Manitobans to stick together and save lives.

What the premier meant to say is ordinary Manitobans should follow the advice of public-health officials, but people who occupy privileged positions in his government should get a pass.

That’s how the rules have played out since Pallister made his Grinch who stole Christmas speech; government higher-ups are allowed to travel and visit family and everyone else has to stay home and live like hermits.

Whether it was Tory MLA James Teitsma, who travelled to British Columbia with his family in December, or David McLaughlin, Manitoba’s top civil servant who also left the province over the holidays, that has been the double standard.

Teitsma was yanked from a legislative committee but remains on the province’s powerful Treasury Board and in caucus; McLaughlin, a former PC party campaign manager, faced no disciplinary action.

The latest example of this hypocrisy is Wayne McWhirter, the chairman of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s board of directors, who went to Arizona this month despite advice from health officials to avoid non-essential travel.

McWhirter left the province while hospitals and intensive-care units teetered on the brink of collapse and dozens of personal-care homes (regulated by the WRHA) battled deadly outbreaks.

McWhirter had a duty to lead by example by complying with public-health recommendations and staying close to home during one of Manitoba’s worst health emergencies. His failure to do so should have led to his removal from the board.

Instead of revoking his appointment, Pallister argued McWhirter should be held to a lower standard because he is a volunteer board member, not a salaried civil servant.

It’s a preposterous assertion. The head of a board of directors of any major government entity wields substantial power. They are appointed by government and represent the premier and cabinet within the organization. In McWhirter’s case, he oversees a $1.9-billion budget and is deeply involved in setting the organization’s strategic direction. This is not a ceremonial position.

The danger in allowing this double standard is it could erode public confidence in government’s pandemic orders. With widespread vaccine distribution still months away and the possibility of a more virulent COVID-19 variant entering Manitoba, public buy-in to health orders will be critical for some time. It doesn’t help when government elites don’t have to make the same sacrifices as everyone else.

Pallister has become tone deaf to this reality. Instead of taking measured steps to address these inequities, he lashes out when asked about them during media briefings, which he did again Thursday. It’s become a common trait for the premier, particularly during the pandemic (including once on national television). It raises more questions about his emotional stability and fitness for the job, particularly during a health crisis.

The refusal to take meaningful action against any of those in government who ignored public-health advice makes a mockery of Pallister’s teary-eyed speech in December. It’s also a slap in the face to business owners who have seen their livelihoods evaporate and to families who could not hold proper funerals for their loved ones.

If the pressure of the pandemic is becoming too much for the premier, maybe it’s time for him to move on sooner rather than later.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca

Tom Brodbeck
Columnist

Tom has been covering Manitoba politics since the early 1990s and joined the Winnipeg Free Press news team in 2019.

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