Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen’s call for Premier Greg Selinger to step down has fallen on defiant ears.
Selinger, who also had five now-former cabinet ministers suggesting he quit, is staying on as head of Manitoba’s beleaguered government.
So what does it mean for Pettersen, the Flin Flon Constituency and the future of the NDP government?
In asking for Selinger’s resignation, Pettersen has demonstrated a willingness to be independent, to go against the party grain.
Pretty much all MLAs in Canada seem to believe that their party’s policies neatly align, without exception, to their constituency’s needs. Out here in the real world, it’s not so simple.
If Pettersen is willing to stand up to his boss in such a public way, then there’s a good chance he will fight against the next provincial attempts to shortchange or place undue new burdens on Flin Flon, whatever they might be.
By declaring his loss of confidence in the party leader, Pettersen may have freed himself to vote against Selinger with gusto – and in cases where this will benefit Flin Flon, that’s great news.
Of course there’s also the fear, already being expressed by some Flin Flonners, that Selinger will be a lot less willing to pump resources into a riding whose MLA wants him out.
But Selinger’s unpopularity (and that of his government) may actually have the opposite effect. Allow me to explain.
When governments fear they are likely to lose their next election, as the New Democrats do, they often go into protection mode, pumping cash into ridings they already occupy as part of a “hold the fort” strategy.
Death-bed tactic
We’ve seen everyone from the provincial Progressive Conservatives to the federal Liberals employ this death-bed tactic. If the NDP decide to go that route, Flin Flon and other NDP ridings will be the benefactors.
In Selinger’s defence, he has in some ways been a pretty good premier for Flin Flon, both the constituency and the city.
He’s certainly an improvement over his predecessor, Gary Doer. I’ll never forget Doer’s pre-election trip to northern Manitoba in 2007. Of the $47.4 million he pledged to Flin Flon, The Pas and Thompson, exactly $400,000 – 0.84 per cent – came to our community.
In the last election, Flin Flonners chose Selinger as their premier as much as they chose Pettersen as their MLA. Selinger has every right to stay on.
Some have wondered why the mutiny against Selinger has only now begun, well over a year after the PST rose one point and precipitated the premier’s drop in the polls.
It’s because the NDP underestimated how outraged Manitobans would be by the PST hike. And it’s not even about money.
No one really cares about paying an extra penny on the dollar. What they do care about is the fact that the NDP denied Manitobans the right to vote on the increase, a right that had been enshrined in provincial law.
Once a government decides to circumvent such democratic safeguards, irreversible damage is inevitable. Trust was broken and reputations tarnished.
Selinger, now Canada’s least beloved premier, was sullied by the PST decision, but so was everyone else who voted for it – namely all NDP MLAs.
That said, if Flin Flon can benefit from the ensuing turmoil, then it won’t be all bad.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
