Breaking down the House: Manitoba Legislature blog

Sorry folks, but I misled you by accident

The first day of the 2014 fall session started even before question period began. Premier Greg Selinger rose to the shock of many and apologized for "inadvertently misleading" the House. This is no small matter and language on this one is key.

Under Section 40, subsection 1 of the Legislative Assembly Act, an MLA who gives false information in the house can be penalized (even with jail time).

But in the recent past, apologizers — like former Finance Minister Stan Struthers — have gotten away unscathed if they say they didn't mean to do it.

And while Selinger probably won't be flung behind bars, the court of public opinion may judge him harshly for it.

The premier's so-called failure came in May 2012 when Selinger told then-PC leader Hugh McFadyen he always paid the Jets organization for game tickets.

Then on Oct. 28, 2014, right when the NDP was imploding, several members of the media, including myself, received an anonymous tip: Selinger went to a Jets game for free.

Turns out the tip was half-right. Selinger went and made a donation for more than the price of the ticket. Still, it was enough for the premier to stand and say he was sorry.

Don't expect this one to go quietly into the night. While even rogue members of the NDP caucus, such as Andrew Swan and Theresa Oswald, accept the apology, PC Leader Brian Pallister plans to pursue "a number of options" against the premier.

Outsiders use insider ammunition

Pallister was giddy when he arrived first for question period on Friday morning. So ready to lay out his plan of attack, he even referred to himself in the third person.

As he jaunted down the steps to his desk, Pallister shouted, "He's a keener!" with a grin ear-to-ear.

Pallister wasn't grinning, however, when he went on the attack.

Each question wasn't much of a question at all, but more of a reworked criticism of the premier, taken directly from those who up until recently had been closest to him.

Pallister and his team carefully selected comments from media reports over the past three weeks, and in particular, from a highly publicized news conference on Nov. 3. That's when five former top-ranking ministers resigned from Selinger's cabinet.

The keener recited direct transcripts from Theresa Oswald, Andrew Swan and Jennifer Howard. Likely in the hopes of riling Selinger up, Pallister reminded the premier that the five renegade ministers said he didn't listen to them and put the priorities of himself over those of Manitobans.

It worked.

Selinger dodged most of them, but finally called the so-called questions, "petty and narrow minded."

Immediately following that, the Speaker of the House, responsible for keeping the peace, scolded all parties for the "personal nature" of the comments. He asked them to "pick and choose their words carefully."

I would argue both men chose their words very carefully, as the candour of the debate didn't seem to change much after that. And it's unlikely to change much for the rest of the session.