The hypocrisy and apathy of Manitoba voters
Can Gary Doer fool us all again?
STEPHEN MCCLEARY
Voter apathy and hypocrisy are at an all-time high in Manitoba, both at the civic and provincial levels. In case you missed it, Sam Katz handily won the mayoral race last week in the same fashion he won in 2004, garnering more than triple the votes of the second place finisher, and more than all three of his competitors combined. This was a horrendously boring election and even to Katz’s biggest critics, the result came as no surprise. Also of little surprise was the lowest voter turnout since the ’80s, at only 38 per cent.
While none of those statistics are a shock, it is interesting to hear firsthand accounts from polling stations that even young voters were few and far between. However, given the crowd reaction to the CJOB mayoral panel held here at the U of M on Oct. 12, that may be a good thing. Richard Cloutier, who hosted the panel and interviewed students onair, seemed just as perplexed as I was while listening to the comments from attendees.
Student after student indicated that their plan of action was to leave the province for greener pastures, namely Alberta, B.C., Ontario, and the United States. Just about every respondent listed the lack of desirable jobs and opportunity in Winnipeg as a reason for wanting to leave. When Sam Katz made the excellent point that he has a successful business history, he knows how to employ people and make things happen, he got no reaction from the crowd. Yet when Kaj Hasselriis brought up false financial information regarding rapid transit and mentions a bike path, everyone started clapping and wetting themselves.
So let me get this straight — the average university student wants to leave this city or province because we don’t have enough good jobs here. But rather than supporting the mayor who has a business background and is bringing jobs here, they choose to speak out for more worthwhile goals like bike paths in a city that has snow on the ground eight months a year. Gotcha. Maybe this is a joke to them. Why would they care, they’re all leaving anyway.
Luckily, in the end common sense prevailed. The pathetic voter turnout and decisive Katz victory proved once again that the well-intentioned but misguided young voters are just the small, however vocal, minority. The large majority of people will look at the track record Katz has, realize that he is the only candidate that can help our city catch up with the rest of the country by attracting business, while still tending to the basics of fixing the streets and fighting crime.
Contradictorily, Gary Doer has won two provincial elections in a row while campaigning on lies and out-dated principles. In 2003, the NDP received an impressive 49 per cent of all votes cast. However the voter turnout was an all-time low. This seems extremely odd, at least at an ideological level. Considering the two Katz wins and the fact that Manitobans tend to vote Conservative federally, why does Manitoba appear so hypocritical when it comes to electing the provincial government?
Most people would agree that it is Gary Doer’s likeable personality and tendency to be neutral and cautious, if not in practice then at least on the surface, that keep his numbers high in the polls. Many would argue that since Manitoba has a large number of government workers, students, immigrants and union members, a left-wing government is the logical choice for most people. Still, the contrast between federal, provincial and civic elections is clear. And with last year’s outrage at the mandatory payment of union dues for floodway workers, support for unions and subsequently the NDP is likely to plummet.
Add into the mix a string of NDP public relations and policy disasters, and we have one exciting provincial election coming up sometime in the next 12 months which might make up for the snoozer of a mayoral race we just slept through.
First, there was Gary Doer’s election promise to eliminate hallway medicine. When the NDP finally took out the provincial Progressive Conservatives in 1999, this was the cornerstone of their campaign and something that has haunted them since. Here we are, seven years after this promise was made, and there are still beds lining the hallways at many Winnipeg hospitals. To make matters worse, Doer lies about it. The NDP has insisted for years that the hospital-bed shortage has gone “way down” since they have been in office. But the opposition parties have found indisputable evidence that the NDP simply adjust the numbers, taking into account empty beds at other hospitals, often from rural areas, to make up for the numbers in order to present something that looks positive on paper. Seven years, two elections, and three health ministers later, we are nowhere near solving the problem that Gary Doer promised to fix.
Then of course there is the “Spirited Energy” campaign that is supposed to boost our province’s image. Never mind the fact that it is an incredibly stupid slogan — the government spent almost $2 million just coming up with it! The description of costs involved isn’t exactly informative. There was $734,371 in “professional fees,” $295,000 for “production of promotional material” and $4,653 for meeting room rentals. Apparently the big building at Broadway and Osborne isn’t good enough to hold meetings in anymore. The people involved with organizing the whole thing even managed to sneak themselves into the campaign ads, using taxpayer dollars to promote their own product. Ash Modha, owner of Mondetta clothing and co-chair of the Spirited Energy campaign, placed himself and his company’s name in an ad intended to promote the province.
If that wasn’t bad enough, when the Winnipeg Sun’s Tom Brodbeck tried to inquire as to what all these expenses really involved, the government refused to release the information. When informed of the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (apparently for the first time), they tried to charge a $750 administration fee to retrieve the information. Apparently, it would take the provincial government 25 hours at a cost of $30 an hour to simply give up the details behind the numbers. Even those who argue Doer is a moderate cannot deny what is happening right in front of them. He is enforcing typical extreme socialist policies, including over-taxation and limiting public access to information.
Rather than promoting a better economy by creating a better business climate so that we could keep up with the rest of the country, Gary Doer is sitting back, collecting more and more equalization payments from the federal government and spending millions on wasteful programs. Meanwhile, taxpayers still lay in hospital hallways and our province solidifies itself as a “have-not,” while our fellow western neighbors surge ahead. Even Saskatchewan’s economy ranks well above ours — just last week they lowered their provincial sales tax by two per cent.
Take into account the Crocus scandal, the smoking ban, and now the child and family services fiasco, the NDP knows their honeymoon with
Will the NDP be able to cash in on voter apathy? Will the union members come out and vote in droves, while the rest of us sit at home and plan our move to Alberta? Will Gary Doer be able to fool us all into believing his lies once again? Come election time, it is up to you — all of you — to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Stephen McCleary is a University 1 student at the University of Manitoba.
