When politicians like Danielle Smith or François Legault get into public spats with the federal government, the spats have all the impact value of a December snowfall in Manitoba.
You don’t get to be prime minister of either Alberta or Quebec without participating in the fight against Ottawa.
Expectations for a premier in Manitoba are different. This is a province where prime ministers only experience success by embracing radical moderation: embracing the center of the ideological spectrum and judiciously avoiding inflammatory rhetoric whenever possible.
Former Prime Minister Brian Pallister challenged this rule and became combative during his time in office. Her successor, Heather Stefanson, spent her first 18 months in office trying to present herself as a kinder, gentler Progressive Conservative leader.
This effort died nine days ago.
The unilateral way the Stefanson government decided not to fund a search at the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg, where police believe the remains of two First Nations women are found after they died at the hands of of a suspected serial killer, damaged the prime minister’s efforts. present themselves as consultative and sensitive.
The subsequent battle with federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller over that decision transformed the prime minister into the kind of combative figure he tried to avoid becoming.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller said Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson’s response to calls for a search of the landfill was “heartless.” In turn, Stefanson accused Miller of politicizing the issue. (Darin Morash/CBC)
In the process, both levels of government appear to have sidelined the emotions of the families of homicide victims—and the moderate sensibilities of the general electorate—because of their inability to do what they are supposed to of governments: working together to solve complex problems. problems
Paul Thomas, emeritus professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says this is “very disappointing and very unfortunate.”
“It’s the exact opposite of what should happen. The accusations flying in all directions are inflaming an already emotional and volatile situation that could explode into even more dangerous confrontations,” he said.
“Inevitably there will be political and financial calculations made by all governments, but they must recognize and accept that they have a moral duty to do everything possible to lower the temperature, minimize conflict and seek consensus on actions that are both ethical. defensible and feasible in terms of practicality,” Thomas said.
“All three levels of government should discuss with each other and with families, to develop a range of responses.”
A symbolic gesture at the entrance to Winnipeg’s Brady Road Landfill after a court order ordering a shutdown came into effect Friday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)
Those responses, Thomas said, must balance the emotions of victims’ families with the financial, technical and safety considerations involved in trying to exhume human remains from a landfill. There are no easy solutions to this, either politically or logistically.
Instead, we have Miller calling Stefanson’s decision “heartless” on Wednesday, Stefanson accusing Miller of politicking on Thursday and a bewildered nation watching on Friday as the Winnipeg Police Service was left to decide how to remove the protesters angry from the Brady Road landfill entrance. following a judicial decision that is easy to issue but difficult to carry out.
“Against the rules and regulations”
Jared Wesley, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, said Miller and Stefanson are violating long-standing political norms.
“It’s actually very rare for federal ministers to engage directly with prime ministers. It’s also against the rules and norms of intergovernmental relations for prime ministers to engage directly with federal ministers rather than engage with the Prime Minister,” Wesley said. , a former Manitoban.
“So it’s a really strange situation where we have these typical norms and rules of intergovernmental relations being ignored.”
Crown-indigenous relations Marc Miller’s response was likely intended to reflect the frustrations of indigenous leaders “and amplify them to get some kind of action,” says Jared Wesley, a political scientist at the University of Alberta. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The motivation for the unusual fights between usually stable leaders could be due to election cycles, Wesley said.
“Canada has been in permanent campaign mode for a long time. At the federal level, we’re in a minority government situation. An election could happen at any time … And Manitoba is also on the way to the polls.”
Wesley isn’t sure, however, that Miller is just trying to score points to differentiate his government from the federal Conservatives, saying the federal minister has developed strong relationships with indigenous leaders.
“I wouldn’t say he’s trying to impress them, but to reflect their frustrations and amplify them to get some kind of action,” Wesley said.
Meanwhile, Stefanson may be stuck in “a national brand of conservatism kicked out of Alberta and kicked out of Ottawa, which is much less compassionate and much more combative,” he said.
“Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives have historically done well when they represented a kind of compassionate conservatism,” Wesley said.
Stefanson is “trying to rebrand herself and the party as more empathetic and more sensitive on social issues and indigenous issues. [but] runs headlong into these currents of Canadian conservatism that are precisely the opposite.”
Stefanson’s most difficult turn is puzzling so close to an election, said Kelly Saunders, a political science professor at Brandon University.
“I’m not really sure what the prime minister hopes to get out of this, because I really don’t see that going down well with voters,” Saunders said.
“He has been actively trying to rebuild his image as more conciliatory, more compassionate and more consensus-oriented, especially when it comes to matters of reconciliation and with indigenous peoples,” he said.
“We know that’s the Achilles heel of this PC government: its apparent lack of empathy and compassion and a more conciliatory approach. So that seems to have undermined all of that.”
