The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Conspiracy Theories Most of the so-called political conspiracies we hear about are pretty transparent or do not really exist or cause harm to anyone. The latest one being promoted by volatile NDP MP Pat Martin deals with an event in ManitobaÕs past. In 1988, the Howard Pawley government, barely re-elected in 1986, was falling apart, beset with scandals and budgetary problems. They were becoming rapidly unpopular, and when MLA Larry Desjardin left to take another job, they were down to a one-seat majority. In March, during the budget vote, Jim Walding, the member for St. Vital, voted against his party, forcing an election the NDP could not win. In two articles last November, Martin claimed the suspicion that Walding was bribed to vote no, and said he wanted to ask Karlheinz Schreiber if he was the briber. He mentioned that Walding moved to B.C. after his vote and bought an expensive house, so he must have had some extra cash. MartinÕs smear on the late Walding is not surprising considering who it is coming from, but it is patently ridiculous. Former NDP cabinet minister Sid Green pointed this out, noting that Walding was being ignored and ostracized by Premier Pawley Ð political lunacy when you need every vote. Green noted the difficulty the government was in and how they were in the pockets of the union bosses. There was no suspicion of any bribery at the time, as everyone knew that Walding, a loyal New Democrat, was unhappy with Pawley, as were most Manitobans. Walding had been a very fair Speaker in the house, often favouring the opposition, which antagonized the premier. After the Ô86 election, Walding was replaced by partisan Muriel Smith and shoved into the back benches. Walding was talked to by several conservatives and non-conservatives who tried to convince him to vote with the opposition and get rid of Pawley. Then-PC MLA Harry Enns told me shortly after the vote that he sat in the House staring at Walding and said to himself: ÒI think he is going to do it!Ó The House was in an uproar. As PC Party president, I was hustled to the Legislature to meet with Gary Filmon and his advisors. I was interviewed outside the leaderÕs office by then-reporter John Harvard (now lieutenant-governor) and asked how our deep-in-debt party could possibly fight an election. The answer: ÒWe will raise new money.Ó Inside the office we discussed how to set up the campaign when Brian Mulroney called. ÒTell him IÕve gone skiing,Ó was FilmonÕs response. (Gary had been snubbed by Mulroney, who went skiing instead of meeting with the Manitoba PC leader). Gary did, of course, answer the phone and accept the prime ministerÕs good wishes, but the men were a long way from close, and Mulroney and his group were not invited to help out the campaign. Pawley resigned as leader and called both a leadership convention and an election. Gary Doer became leader thanks to the union delegate votes, and the election resulted in 25 PCs, 20 Liberals and 12 New Democrats. The Liberals, under squeaky-voiced Sharon Carstairs, were a big surprise, but their flame went out in 1990 and beyond. After losing twice more to Filmon, Doer has done well since 1999. What about a possible bribe of Walding? It most certainly never happened. Walding was a straight-up guy who no one could buy, as was Filmon and most certainly the PC fundraisers. We were in debt and our finances were transparent. There was never any talk of a payoff from the PCs and no one had heard of Karlheinz Schreiber. This whole non- issue is a smear on Mr. Walding by a Winnipeg MP with little credibility who has been given far too much leeway by the sensation-seeking press. Mr. Martin should stick to trying to generate issues out of non-issues in parliament. As one letter to the editor read: ÒShame on you, Mr. Martin!Ó RogerÕs Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
