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Manitobas Next Premier?
McFadyen aims for the top political job
The Manitoba Legislative Building on Broadway is a vast stone building that reeks of bureaucracy. It houses the Manitoba Legislature where 57 elected souls carry the administrative hopes of the electorate, backed by 13,701 civil servants province-wide.
Along the south wing of the building lies Room 172. On that door the lettering reads, ‘Official Leader of The Opposition. This is the office of Hugh McFadyen, the newly minted leader of Manitobas Conservative Party.
On the second floor of the Building is Room 204, the digs of Premier Gary Doer, the leader of the New Democratic Party. Mr. McFadyen would like to change offices. Mr. Doer would not. And so it goes.
Mr. McFadyen, has been an MLA for Fort Whyte for a year, but is a long time Tory strategist. He has been leader for the past six months. He replaces former leader Stuart Murray, who failed to unite the party and the public and, in turn, failed to topple Mr. Doer's band.
McFadyen, 39, is married to Jennifer, 35, an accountant, and they have two children. They are well placed to grow with the most dynamic age group in Manitoba.
Mr. McFadyen is an articulate, well-informed and dignified man with a strong public policy background and a clear sense of the job ahead.
He could be Manitobas new premier in short order. A provincial election is predicted for spring, likely April, and it is up to the electorate as to whether it is time for a change. Mr. Doer is playing for a third term - though polls now show the two parties as nearly equal. Mr. Doer, the peek-a-boo premier has done a good job of showing up for the good time stories like the floodway. However, he defers to others when more difficult issues erupt, such as the Crocus debacle, which alone should topple his government.
The following is a question and answer discussion between Mr. McFadyen and the Editor-in-Chief of MANITOBA BUSINESS Magazine, Ritchie Gage.
*Gage:* Why do you want to be premier?
*McFadyen:* I want to be premier because I grew up in Manitoba and this province has been very good to me. I have two young kids, Rachael who is just over four and James, who is just over two. There are a lot of great things about Manitoba. There are other things about the direction of the province and the approach the government is taking on some major issues, which we can discuss further, and which I would like to deal with. Being premier would allow me to leave a legacy to my kids by making Manitoba a better province than it is today.
*Gage:* In order to do that, public policy is likely the way. You come from a public policy development background with the Filmon government. For the average voter, public policy initiatives dont raise a politician's profile during an election. They appear to be just promises. Look at the recent Harper flip-flop on income trusts.
*McFadyen:* I disagree. I give voters a lot of credit. I think with time and debate, voters have a pretty sophisticated sense as to what is credible and what is not when it comes to policy. Generally, they can make pretty discerning choices when it comes to election time.
*Gage: *There was an unusual newspaper feature piece, in which unknown Winnipeg Free Press reporters and editors named the premier as No. 1 among 30 of Manitobas so-called ‘power people. They felt that he was on his way to a third election victory. How do you feel about that? (By the way you were on the list.)
*McFadyen:* Well I dont think he deserves it. We had seven years of NDP government with ongoing examples of neglect and waste of tax money. The Crocus fund is a prime example of neglect where we saw 34,000 Manitobans lose money.
The issues with Child and Family Services are an example of a government which made reforms without taking care of individuals - with tragic results. And Manitoba spends the second most on healthcare in Canada, and yet the Conference Board of Canada tells us we have the worst results.
These are two remarkably telling failures in management. I think people are seeing through the poor quality leadership and are honestly looking for an alternative.
*Gage: *Premier Doer has been identified with the widening of the Floodway, which is a big union deal. He was also very visible on the drainage water issue from Devils Lake. Wouldnt you say he has been less strong on some other tougher issues?
*McFadyen: *Hes practising old style politics by being at the front of the parade on television on these positive issues, but on the tough matters like the Crocus Fund and the Child and Family Services tragedy, he was completely absent. Its politics, not leadership. It's the kind of approach to government that makes people cynical. When it's good news - be front and centre- and when it's bad - run for cover. Its what weve had for seven years. Its not good enough to hand out flashy news announcements and then - behind them - do nothing.
*Gage: *From personal observation, I would say that street crime downtown during the daytime is serious. It appears were in need of a cleanup.
*McFadyen:* There is no doubt that crime is a full-blown crisis and needs to be dealt with as fast as can be. I have heard over and over the types of personal crime - such as people being attacked in the street, break-ins and drug related crimes. No doubt drugs play a role in almost all of it, because addiction pushes people to steal and rob. I feel it was elevated when the Hells Angels set up here in 2000. But the problems are not just in Winnipeg. I was in Dauphin and several storefronts were boarded up because of break-ins.
We must deal with it with resolve. Sentencing is one point and Crown prosecutors need to have the resources they need to reduce backlogs. Backlogs produce unwanted plea bargains. There needs to be greater capacity in provincial jails to ensure that people serve their full time. The Winnipeg police department has only 14 officers assigned to fight organized crime and criminals, whose numbers are in the hundreds. You cant win a fight in that way. If you can beat crime in New York City, you can beat it anywhere.
*Gage:* There is a growing urban aboriginal population coming off reserves to find their future in Winnipeg. Many are living in the inner city in bad housing conditions in crime-ridden neighborhoods. How would you deal with this?
*McFadyen: *It is a significant challenge but it is important to note that there is a history of self-sufficiency among aboriginal people going back centuries. There were strong families which supported each other and they had strong connections to the land. Something has gone terribly wrong in the past 150 years. There is a need to work in good faith in a spirit of partnership to restore that sense of pride and self-sufficiency. The history of Metis people is also important in the building of this province. It is up to the leaders of our community to help aboriginal people to be self-sufficient and to undo the damage that has been done over many decades. I have been in the north at Nelson House and at OCN at The Pas. I have seen standards of living that would be unacceptable to the vast majority of Manitobans. There is a need to overcome this with the right policy measures.
*Gage:* The Inco Limited complex at Thompson is a major contributor to acid rain. Ottawa wants stricter targets for pollution control, not only on this company, but many others. This could affect the company and jobs and corporate taxes. How would you handle this?
*McFadyen:* I have already met with Mike Sylvestre, the President of the Thompson mine and there are a number of things we need to do. The first is to acknowledge that the company is a $1 billion operation and that it provides jobs and taxes. We want them to be successful - we dont want them to cut back. I have heard their concerns. We cannot go on with the levels of emissions coming from the plant. The technology is available. The government might have to come to the table to work with the company. The costs of the company are, in a broader sense, the responsibility of us all, and thats why government needs to play a role in this to reduce emissions. We need to look at the deadline, and we need to look at some kind of incentives for them.
*Gage:* Did they not put money away from profits to upgrade emissions controls over the years? They must have known it would come to this. Why should government pay?
*McFadyen:* We discussed the use of technology and it costs a lot. But because there is a public good which comes with that, I think it's incumbent on the government to work with the company to ensure that whatever it takes to bring the company into compliance with federal guidelines is done. And that it doesnt jeopardize the company's operations in Manitoba. This is an international company which must compete in pricing, so we must work with them,
*Gage: *Are you satisfied with your partys profile?
*McFadyen: *We are certainly stronger than we were six months ago and we raised about $95,000 at our fall dinner. I think weve done a good job on calling the government to account on the $300 million over budget on the floodway expansion. Beyond criticism, we have our own policies to offer Manitobans - outlined in eight papers on how we would deal with our economic future. Its been a busy and productive six months. All candidates who contested me have joined with me in focusing on the objective at hand - which is defeating the NDP.
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