July a bad month for the Pallister government

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/07/2021 (1515 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been a crazy last week or two for Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government. After all, it’s not every day that a minister resigns, gets appointed to a prestigious position without prior knowledge, and then refuses that appointment. If that was all that happened, it would be enough. It wasn’t.

Until a few short days ago, Eileen Clarke was Manitoba’s Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. A former mayor of Gladstone and MLA since 2016, Clarke has a reputation of being thoughtful, smart and strong. Clarke is no obsequious sycophant. As Premier Pallister noted in a tweet, he has known Clarke for decades and spoke highly of her in her departure.

The imbroglio began after protesters tore down statues of Queens Elizabeth and Victoria at the Manitoba Legislature. This occurred during a protest on Canada Day. I’m not a fan of tearing down statues, but we should look at history and learn from it.

Pallister’s response took things to another level. Said he: “The people who came here to this country before it was a country, and since, didn’t come here to destroy anything. They came here to build.”

He may believe this to be true, but it is not unlike making intemperate comments about other important social issues such as same-sex marriage or race. This is a time in which we need more sensitivity, not less.

Clarke resigned two days later. She stated that Pallister’s comments played a part in her decision, but she was extremely prudent in her decision to avoid indelicate comments about Pallister’s specific comments.

Pallister’s entire speech is available online. The line quoted above is a small part of a much longer commentary. Much of what he said was perfectly appropriate to our time. However, the need for sensitivity, listening and to understand others’ lived experiences, well, that is what we need at this juncture.

Pallister has rarely been a perfect voice for sensitivity.

The firestorm got worse as Pallister appointed Selkirk MLA Dr. Alan Lagimodiere as Clarke’s replacement. In his first press conference, when confronted by NDP leader Wab Kinew, he echoed Pallister’s most tone-deaf comments. It wasn’t a good day for Tories.

Note that Lagimodiere, who is Métis, is a highly respected veterinarian who also possesses an MBA and a bachelor of science degree in agriculture. He just wasn’t ready for his first moment in the spotlight.

The polls and media are saying it was a good day for Kinew.

Both Blaine Pedersen and Clarke resigned from cabinet. These were two substantial losses and must be considered significant blows to Pallister’s inner circle.

All of this feels faintly like the 2014 departure of five key ministers in Greg Selinger’s NDP government. That departure harkened the end of the NDP reign of power here in Manitoba, or perhaps simply foretold it. It could be argued that the five ministers anticipated the electoral challenges that Selinger’s unpopularity would bring and wished to head it off at the pass.

Is a similar event happening to Pallister? It’s hard to say, although the loss of both Clarke and Pedersen, albeit for different reasons, cannot be encouraging for Tories. Pallister is among the least popular premiers in Canada.

Perhaps Clarke is the canary in the coal mine.

Maybe we are reading too much into her departure. After all, we are all exhausted from the endless COVID lockdowns, press conferences, and negativity. Perhaps we are simply tired of Pallister’s leadership. Who knows? It’s been a tough year for everyone.

That being said, in no way is the departure of Eileen Clarke a good thing for this Tory government.