Speech to policy group likely last straw for 'thorn' in Manitoba PC caucus

When Steven Fletcher warms up to a topic he's passionate about, his eyes seem to almost literally dance.

And Fletcher — the outspoken Manitoba MLA who was dumped by the province's Tory caucus earlier this week — has topics on the go at all times.

His prolific private member's bill writing keeps him up into the wee hours and beyond his modest member's allowance, he dips into his own pocket to cover costs. 

"I write them, I get them translated, and I introduce them. And I have 30 more — 30 more," he said.

Fletcher paid for French translation of his latest — a massive 35-page conflict of interest bill that extends rules to Treasury Board members and spouses of cabinet ministers and requires much broader detail of assets.

But it's not likely that, or any one bill, was the match that lit the candle under Fletcher's seat in the Tory caucus.

In retrospect (and hindsight is always 20-20), Fletcher's speech to about two dozen people at a Tuesday event organized by the right-of-centre policy group Manitoba Forward appears to have been the last straw for his fellow caucus members.

A missive Friday from MLA Sarah Guillemard sealing Fletcher's fate spoke of "caucus confidentiality, supporting the platform commitments and caucus policy positions, and demonstrating respect for caucus leadership, colleagues and staff."

About that speech

Tuesday night, Fletcher said few things he hadn't said many times publicly and privately, and in several cases when cameras were rolling.

Perhaps a tip that the knives were out for the former MP was a Tory caucus staffer lurking at the event.

Fletcher spoke about the multiple private member's bills he has introduced or is developing and also about his concerns with some government legislation, including Bill 19, which would create a new Crown corporation called Efficiency Manitoba.

If there are bees in Fletcher's bonnet, Bill 19 buzzes right next to his ear.

The new government agency would take over demand-side management duties from Manitoba Hydro and promote energy efficiency.

Fletcher sees dark forces at work in the bill. He argues it goes beyond taking over Power Smart — the current Manitoba Hydro power conservation and efficiency program — duties from Manitoba Hydro.

Bill 19, he asserted to the Manitoba Forward room, goes into places it shouldn't, such as water issues.

Fletcher's remarks to the Manitoba Forward group were braced by his own belief in the right to be critical.

"Nobody should ever agree totally with anything anyone else says. If everybody in this room agrees 100 per cent, that would be ludicrous, unless it's something very logical.… On social policy or public policy, there should be disagreement," Fletcher told the crowd.

Role is 'not just to vote blindly'

Fletcher continued to hammer on Bill 19, saying "sometimes it's very unclear why something happens."

Creating a new Crown corporation defied logic, he said, especially in light of U.S. president Donald Trump's decision to back out of the Paris climate change accord.

That move, Fletcher said, should have immediately prompted a rethink of the bill.

He told the crowd Efficiency Manitoba was contrary to the basic economics he learned at the University of Manitoba. Hydro was producing more electricity (supply), but the demand wasn't growing and the price for the power was going up.

Yet the PC government was creating a Crown agency essentially to curtail sales, he said.

These, however, are things he has already said in committee and in interviews. 

His filibuster of his own party's legislation at committee this past spring took MLAs late into the night and Fletcher, who can display a sense of humour, made light of it by arriving with snacks.

"When the jelly beans come out, you know it's going to be a long night," he said of the session committee.

Fletcher chided his fellow committee members for their lack of diligence.

"It's not just to vote blindly, it's to ask questions," Fletcher said, telling the crowd, "You are morally obligated to do it at committee, and every day."

As the lights burned late for the Tories on the Fletcher question, the topic of who he spoke to Tuesday night likely came up more than once.

Who was listening to Steven?

Manitoba Forward is an unlikely collection of mostly professional people; engineer, lawyer and accountant-types, and its website reveals a mixed bag of ideals and economic and social prescriptives.

And it also features a scathing view of how Manitoba Hydro has been managed — by both former and current governments.

It also heaps scorn on Brian Pallister, including direct shots at the premier, some written by Manitoba Forward board member and former chair of the Public Utilities Board Graham Lane.

So if the audience Fletcher was speaking to didn't warm the cockles of Tory hearts, his words, as his talk progressed, cut closer to the Tory bone.

Fletcher told the audience some of the the blowback for his stance on Efficiency Manitoba included being told (by party insiders) that the Progressive Conservatives ran during the election on the promise of creating the new Crown corporation, and it was in the ministerial mandate letter.

That, he told the gathering, wasn't true — and if it was, he would have known it during the election. He said as he did more research, "it just made less and less sense."

Fletcher, careful not to place direct blame on his own government, criticized the conduct of the committee that had reviewed Bill 19, but he put it in an historical context. 

"That's lip service … and that's not the current government's fault. Because apparently that's been going on for decades in Manitoba," Fletcher told the room.

Still a team player?

"I was embarrassed. Not for me, but for Canada. For our province. And for the people who … can do better. We can do much better," he said.

Carefully peppered through the speech were gestures that Steven Fletcher was still on team Tory. He mused about what his fellow PCs might be saying — and then rejected their conclusions.

"Oh well, there goes a renegade. A rebel," he said, adding, "I support the premier. He's the right guy at the right time. I support our policies."

Fletcher got to the end of his talk by musing on the expectations of an elected person's civic duty.

"No politician should go [into politics] expecting to be re-elected. There is no guarantee of re-election. Sure, I'd like to be re-elected. But I don't have that expectation. It's far more important to do a good job," he said.

At the end, he got a hearty round of applause.

And … goodbye

It's likely impossible to know if Premier Pallister mused aloud or mused in his head if someone could remove the Fletcher stone from his shoe. His choice to let the caucus do the work is significant, nonetheless.

In a unanimous caucus decision, there would have been leaders pushing to show Fletcher the door. It's unlikely the minutes of that meeting will be made public.

The caucus does have leaders in all situations, especially in the absence of Pallister. The voices of Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson would ring loudly.

Someone powerful enough to matter said enough was enough.

Now the thorn that is Steven Fletcher is on the outside of the Tory coat, not the inside. 

It remains to be seen if Fletcher, his 30 private member's bills, and a small — but organized and technically savy — band of fellow travellers can poke the thorn through the coat and into the skin.