Deveryn’s Decision — TIG process exploits divisions in community

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2011 (5322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For at least 3,000 years, governments have maintained power through a tactic known as divide and rule.

It is a strategy where small power groups are prevented from joining forces and becoming more powerful. According to Wikipedia, typical elements of this technique include:

* creating or encouraging divisions among groups in order to prevent the formation of alliances that could challenge the government;

* aiding and promoting those who are willing to co-operate with the government, and

* fostering distrust and enmity between local rulers.

The point of this political science lesson is that the age-old technique of "divide and rule" is alive and well and living in Manitoba.

For the past few days, I have tried to identify the basis for the intensely negative reaction to the Brandon School Board’s tentative decision to raise school taxes by 5.3 per cent.

I cannot recall such a visceral local response to any issue at any level of politics, let alone a small (compared to previous years) tax increase by our school board.

Why so nasty, why this issue and why now?

Though it could be argued that people are angrier these days, blamed on poor communication by the school board, or even the fragile condition of the local economy, none of those theories explain the fury we have seen in Sound Off submissions, letters to the editor, editorials, columns and emails to the various trustees.

To understand what is really going on here, take a step back and consider the situation. Step all the way back to the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg.

The public is angry about the school board’s refusal to accept a tax incentive grant (TIG) from the provincial government.

Acceptance of the grant would freeze school taxes at current levels, but it would also mean that the school board would have to abandon planned spending on items they believe are essential for our local students.

It is a lose-lose situation for trustees. If they accept the TIG, they will be short-changing students and teachers. If they don’t, they will face public wrath for "needlessly raising taxes."

While the school board will look like bad guys either way, our NDP government will look like heroes if the board accepts the TIG.

Acceptance of the TIG here would mean that Premier Greg Selinger and Education Minister Nancy Allan could take credit for preventing a property tax increase.

That would be a big win for Team Selinger in an election year, and could help the party’s efforts to recapture Brandon West.

Last week, I wrote that the TIG process is non-transparent and cynical. It is also divisive, in that it has again pitted groups within Brandon against each other.

One example of division is the position taken by Brandon Chamber of Commerce, whose representatives argue that the board should accept the current TIG offer and make additional budget cuts.

They are acting as pawns for our NDP government and don’t even know it.

Instead of fighting to reduce resources in Brandon classrooms, wouldn’t it make more sense if they led the campaign for Brandon to get its fair share of education funding? After all, these are the folks who often complain about the quality of education their future employees are receiving.

Regarding the anonymous Sound Off submissions that have attacked the school board, consider the possibility that many of them come from a handful of NDP supporters who see the political value in having the school board accept the TIG, while the rest come from people who don’t understand the issues at play and are caught up in the emotion of the situation.

During the almost five decades I have lived in this city, I have seen provincial and federal governments play Brandonites off against each other on a myriad of issues.

Far too often, our rivalries and lack of unity have been used against us and Brandon has suffered as a consequence.

We need to learn from those experiences. We need to set aside our partisan politics and petty personal rivalries, and try harder to work together to put Brandon’s future first.

That starts with honest, committed leadership that puts the interest of this community ahead of political opportunism.

It requires the ability to recognize when senior levels of government are manipulating us, and the strength to not let it happen anymore.

» Deveryn Ross is a longtime Brandon resident and has been active at all levels of politics.