Deveryn’s Decision – Winnipeg biker war an election game-changer

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2011 (5537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The dominant issue in this fall’s provincial election will not be the cost and location of Manitoba Hydro’s proposed Bipole III transmission line.

It won’t be Progressive Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen’s alleged plan to privatize Manitoba Hydro, fire nurses and teachers, and flood Manitoba’s lakes and rivers with urine.

The winner of the upcoming election will be the political party Winnipeg voters believe will do a better job defending them against violent crime.

With startling speed, the battle between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine motorcycle gangs for domination of Manitoba’s drug and prostitution trade has exploded into a city-wide war, with almost-daily shootings and firebombings in the provincial capital.

Numerous news reports this week indicated that the battle will likely escalate to even more violent crimes.

Indeed, crime reporter Mike McInytre wrote in the Thursday editions of both the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Free Press that: "They have been trading bullets and firebombs for nearly a month, apparently without fear of prosecution or payback. Yet, two feuding Winnipeg biker gangs may only be getting started as they prepare to take their ‘turf war’ to the next level."

This isn’t the first time that Hells Angels and the Rock Machine have gone to war. In the 1990s, more than 180 Quebecois were killed as the two gangs and their affiliates fought over the lucrative Quebec drug and prostitution market. Many of the victims were innocent bystanders who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of them were children.

The danger posed to Manitobans by these gangs is impossible to underestimate. They are multinational organizations with ample manpower and huge financial resources. They have access to military-grade weapons and munitions that they are willing and capable of using with deadly effect.

Up to now, many Winnipeggers have been content to dismiss the violence associated with the city’s street gang problem as an issue isolated primarily to the north end of the city. As long as the shootings, stabbings and muggings didn’t happen in their neighbourhood, it didn’t cost them any sleep.

The Hells Angels-Rock Machine conflict shatters that "not my problem" mindset, in that the majority of the violent incidents have occurred south of the Assiniboine River, in normally sedate neighbourhoods such as St. Vital.

These developments pose a huge problem for Premier Greg Selinger’s New Democrats because it reinforces the "soft on crime" label that has constantly dogged they since they formed government. It reminds Manitobans that the explosive growth in gang crime that has occurred on the NDP’s watch.

Since 1999, Manitoba has seen the arrival of the Hells Angels, and now the Rock Machine. We have witnessed the explosive growth of the Indian Posse, Native Syndicate, Mad Cowz and numerous other violent street gangs.

At various times during the past 11 years of NDP rule, Winnipeg has borne the embarrassment of being the arson, car theft and murder capital of Canada.

With items like that on their resume — and election day less than three months away — it’s easy to understand why Team Selinger might be getting nervous.

While NDP victories in the bulk of the ridings located north of Portage Avenue is a virtual certainty this fall, they must hold the majority of their ridings south of Portage Avenue — and especially south of the Assiniboine — in order to remain in government.

Bombs and bullets in south Winnipeg will not help their chances.

This is an issue that is less about political tactics than it is about understanding the psychological needs of voters. Only food, shelter and clothing is more important to a person than his or her personal safety. It greatly outranks "feel-good" items like a new football stadium and the return of the Jets.

If the gang violence in Winnipeg continues, an increasing number of Winnipeg voters — especially those in the Fort Garry-Riverview, Fort Richmond, Riel, Seine River, St. Vital and St. Norbert constituencies — will be asking themselves which political party can keep them, their families and friends safe.

Given the Tories’ widely held reputation as Manitoba’s "law and order" party, that is a contest the NDP cannot win.

If Winnipeg’s gang war isn’t brought to an end quickly, increased concerns about crime will translate into more Tories votes, and more seats, on election day.

 

Deveryn Ross is a longtime Brandon resident and has been active at all levels of politics. His column appears each Saturday.

» opinion@brandonsun.com