Deveryn Ross — Caldwell’s growing Pinocchio problem

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/03/2016 (3847 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to politicians elected to represent me, I have just two expectations: Work hard and don’t lie to me. My MLA, Drew Caldwell, is only keeping half of that bargain.

While many will argue about how effective he has or hasn’t been while in government, nobody should doubt he spends every waking hour of every day being the NDP MLA for Brandon East. It’s his entire life.

That said, it is disappointing that Caldwell continues to say things that are simply untrue as part of his effort to convince his constituents, including my family and I, to vote for him yet again. His campaign brochure, which arrived in my mailbox on Wednesday, makes my point.

In that document, Caldwell claims “Brian Pallister and his Conservatives are promising reckless tax cuts of more than half a billion dollars, and cuts in health care and education that will hurt you and your family. These cuts are too risky in these uncertain economic times and will stop economic growth.”

None of that is true. Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister has promised to lower the PST by one per cent (back to seven per cent) before the end of his first term, but Caldwell has repeatedly said that the money collected from the 2013 PST hike did not supplement spending on health and education. It was earmarked entirely for infrastructure.

In other words, reducing the PST by one point four years from now might eventually impact infrastructure spending, but it won’t reduce the quality of health care and education in Manitoba.

As to Caldwell’s claim that Pallister has promised cuts to health care and education that will harm families, the Tory leader is actually promising the exact opposite. He has repeatedly guaranteed that front-line health-care workers will be protected, and he promised earlier this week to cut health-care wait times and to establish a new doctor recruitment program.

Caldwell’s campaign brochure is not the only example of his growing Pinocchio problem. His Twitter account also contains several questionable claims.

For example, on March 16 he retweeted a tweet by the Manitoba NDP that says “Think services like health care are safe from #BrianPallister’s plan for risky cuts? Think again.” A few days later, on March 20, he retweeted another NDP tweet that says, “The PCs cut 1,000 nurses the last time they were in government,” followed by a photo that says “Stop Pallister’s Cuts to HEALTH CARE.”

Neither of those claims are true. The accusation that the Filmon Tories fired 1,000 nurses during their mandate in the 1990s has been repeatedly debunked by the media over the past two years, most recently this past Wednesday in the editorial in this newspaper.

Another of Caldwell’s NDP retweets (March 20) has a photo that says “Stop Pallister’s Cuts TO EDUCATION.” In fact, Pallister has promised to increase, not cut, education spending.

In a March 18 tweet, Caldwell claims “No #BdnMb educational investments have been supported by @Brian_Pallister.” This repeats an accusation that Caldwell that has often made in the past — that the opposition PCs and Liberals have voted against every dollar that our NDP government has spent in Brandon since 1999.

Caldwell is technically correct, but only because his government does not allow MLAs to vote on specific items in each year’s provincial budget. They are forced to vote either for or against the government’s entire spending plan.

For example, the 2013 budget included spending for Brandon, but it also included the controversial PST hike. It is disingenuous on Caldwell’s part to repeatedly allege that because the Tories voted against that tax increase, they also opposed that year’s spending on critical projects in Brandon.

Finally, Caldwell retweeted on March 14 an NDP claim that “Brian Pallister wants to slice and dice @manitobahydro. That is the first step towards privatization.” In reality, Pallister has repeatedly denied he has any intention to privatize Manitoba Hydro. He has actually promised legislation to protect the Crown utility from being privatized.

Many relationship experts say dishonesty is a primary cause of the breakdown of many relationships. If recent polls are accurate, Caldwell’s relationship with his constituents is on the rocks. Perhaps a little honesty might help.

» Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. His columns also appear in the Winnipeg Free Press.

» deverynrossletters@gmail.com

» Twitter: @deverynross