Why Manitoba politicians long refused to pay for 'frivolous' air conditioning
As of 1983, no one wanted to take the political heat that would come with approving such spending
Everybody knew what the problem was at the Manitoba Legislature: It was way too hot in the summer.
Why? Because the building didn't have central air conditioning — the only government building in the province lacking it, according to CBC's reporting, as of July of 1983.
And that wasn't going to change, as none of the politicians wanted to be blamed for spending the money to install the air conditioning system that could fix the problem.
"If we air-conditioned the Manitoba Legislature, there would be a lot of controversy," said Premier Howard Pawley, speaking about the hypothetical installation of an air-cooling system in the building.
"Why are politicians installing all this air conditioning for themselves?" he added. "So no government has dared venture on it. I suppose we won't either."
Opposition Leader Sterling Lyon, a former premier himself, had the same view on the lack of air conditioning at the Legislature.
"We weren't a spendthrift government," he told CBC News. "We wouldn't spend money on such a frivolous thing."
The problem was more noticeable that year, as members of the legislative assembly were sitting through the summer.
As the CBC's Karen Webb explained to viewers of The National, legislators hoped to pass "a lot of laws by the end of the session," which meant they were spending a lot of time in committee rooms.
"So that means the Conservative opposition just has to sticky it out," she said, roasting those overheated politicians with a heat-related pun.
The Manitoba Legislature still did not have air conditioning in 2019. The province intended to spend $150 million to maintain and repair the building, The Canadian Press reported in May 2019 — but it was not yet clear whether air conditioning would be part of that work.
