From the outside looking in, Premier Greg Selinger does not have a lot to be hopeful about.
But as polls suggest his party could be reduced to fewer than a dozen seats come April, Manitoba’s head of government is optimistic that the NDP will retain the Flin Flon constituency.
The Reminder discussed that and other local topics in a phone interview with Selinger on Monday.
Reminder: Some local NDP members have wondered why you did not intervene to ensure MLA Clarence Pettersen retained the party nomination, as other party leaders have done for other candidates. Did you consider doing this? Why or why not?
Selinger: I have a high regard for Clarence. He’s made a contribution. We’ve done a lot of projects together up there that have made a real difference, but the NDP has always had a democratic process, and nominations for candidates have always had the potential for somebody else to run, including against myself, as you know.
So that’s just part of the democratic tradition of the party. We’ve never had a situation where somebody is just handpicked. There might be a circumstance from time to time where it’s very late in the electoral cycle and we need to put somebody in place very quickly, but this was a normal set of procedures here. It’s always been the tradition that there’s the opportunity for somebody to present themselves [as a candidate].
Reminder: Clarence has said that following everything that happened with the leadership race, things are good between you and him. Would you agree with that?
Selinger: You know what, even during the leadership race [in which Pettersen backed a challenger to Selinger], Clarence and I have always had the ability to talk and communicate with each other. I’ve visited the community many times and we’ve seen some good results up there…[and] there’s tonnes of stuff we’ve done in that constituency.
So, yes, I feel Clarence and I can communicate and I hope that continues in the future.
Reminder: How do you feel about him potentially running as an independent and the implications that could have in terms of vote splitting?
Selinger: I personally hope and strongly believe that we should serve Flin Flon as a New Democratic Party and be able to continue to offer them good government.
The North is a very important part of our future. The Golden Boy on the top of the legislature looks north. It’s an important part of our future development and we will have a renewed northern plan. There’s going to be lots of opportunities in the North, so we want to be able to have that privilege of being able to represent the communities of the North.
I actually think Flin Flon has tremendous potential for tourism, and the [Northern Manitoba] Mining Academy brings people from around the world there, so I’m very optimistic that we should have the opportunity and the privilege of continuing to serve that constituency.
Reminder: Your government has decided not to rebuild 14 low-income family housing units lost when 4 Hemlock Drive closed due to structural issues in 2012. While that building will be replaced with a 20-unit seniors’ housing complex, the community has still lost 14 low-income units. How is this justified for a government that likes to say it looks out for the poor?
Selinger: Well, the 20 units is more than the 14, and those units are for seniors, often, who have very modest incomes themselves. So it’s identifying where the greatest need is and responding to that.
We are very committed to having more housing in Manitoba, particularly social housing and affordable housing…[and] we would like to see that we can continue to do that.
During the start of the last recession, ’08-09, we advocated very strongly that any infrastructure stimulus have a social component. We put a big emphasis on social housing…[and] the new government in Ottawa seems to be very interested in social infrastructure as well. So we’ll be continuing to advocate for more social housing for all of our communities as part of the new infrastructure program we entered into with the federal government.
Reminder: So if people say you’re choosing seniors over poor people?
Selinger: I think that’s a false dichotomy in the sense that seniors also have great needs for affordable housing, and we don’t want to choose – we want to identify where the need is, build on that and then continue to look for other opportunities. So it’s not either / or, it’s like making sure the seniors are looked after and then continuing to pursue [social housing units].
We’re very interested in finding more ways to provide housing. It does very important things. First of all it allows people to have decent, stable living arrangements, but it’s also a very good job creator as well because there’s lots of local labour and materials that go into housing.
Reminder: Hydro rates are uniform across Manitoba, but the reality is that due to our very cold winters and the age of most homes in Flin Flon, we really feel the impact of ongoing hydro rate increases. Do you have any plan to intervene to halt the continual hydro rate increases that disproportionately impact low-income earners?
Selinger: I’m glad you acknowledged that when we came into government – I was actually the minister of hydro at the time – the rates were higher for rural and northern Manitoba. And so we brought in a bill…to have uniform rates for the province, and that has saved millions of dollars for northern and rural people.
We have a bundle of services that we independently evaluate every year…[and] home heating, electricity and auto insurance rates as a bundle are the lowest in Canada. We’ve committed to keeping that bundle of services the lowest in Canada. So that adds real value to people’s lives.
The other part of that is, we’re going to be asking Hydro…to increase our Power Smart programs and our ability to help homeowners reduce their energy costs with free insulation programs, in certain communities high-efficiency furnaces, geothermal if it works in your community, better windows – and all of these can be done and financed right on your bill, which is a huge advantage compared to other jurisdictions where you have to often seek private financing. So we’re very interested in increasing the ability to help people finance energy improvements in their homes and that gives you a more comfortable home, a safer home and a lower bill on your energy.
Reminder: I know people who live in the frigid north and when they see projections like “Your hydro bill is going to double over the next decade,” they are honestly frightened. Should they be?
Selinger: You know what, that’s why we have to get those Power Smart programs strengthened and put in place so people have tools to keep their costs down. It could be as simple as a smart meter [an electronic electricity meter that feeds information to Hydro for billing purposes] in the future, which could be helpful.
There’s what we call “low-cost, no-cost” measures that can be taken, like weather-stripping your doors. And then there’s programs that allow you to insulate your home at very low cost – in some cases, the cost of insulation is free – and install windows if you need upgrades on windows, and better heating equipment if you need it. So we want to keep those bills down.
The Public Utilities Board sets the rates, and just because Hydro is saying they’re asking for those increases doesn’t mean they’re going to get them. They’ve been turned down many times in the past by the Public Utilities Board and that’s why we have a regulator in place, is to make sure that the interests of Manitobans are served.
Reminder: Does your government have any plans for the former Flin Flon Hotel on Main Street? There have been murmurs about that.
Selinger: There’s always been consideration of how that [building] could be used, perhaps for housing, perhaps for student housing – for people who want to train in the Mining Academy up there.
And what we’d like to do, and this is one of the things that we believe in, is partnering with the local community to look at how assets like that can be put towards a useful purpose. And so we’d always be interested in working with the community in how we can make sure the assets that we have in the North can build the opportunities for a stronger economy and jobs in the North.
Reminder: The NDP has been in power for over 16 years. Is it not reasonable to think that your time in government is simply up and that it’s time for a change?
Selinger: I really think it’s important that when we’re considering renewing our mandate and going to the people for the honour and privilege of serving them, that everybody asks, “Change to what? What policies are we putting forward?”
We’re offering a program that will keep one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. We did have the best job-creation rate [in Canada] last year. We’re creating thousands of jobs with infrastructure investments, including very significant investments in water and sewer and roads in the North.
We’ve got a major commitment to education, as we’ve seen in the Flin Flon area. We’ve kept the smaller class sizes. We’ve put the Cranberry Portage investment [new school dorm and training equipment] in place. We’re looking at skill shops in all of our schools and science labs so students can get the skills of the future for the good jobs of the future, and we want to make sure we look after people that need the health care system.
Our fondest hope is that Manitobans will consider our strong track record on the economy and our willingness to build for the future.
