Accused of bullying and blocking a Tory MLA from delivering a weekend speech, Premier Wab Kinew fired back Monday, saying the rural backbencher was “not a good guy.”
“Does anyone care about some backbench PC MLA right now?” Kinew said of Rick Wowchuk, who was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 2016.
Wowchuk, a former teacher, said Monday that he was scheduled to speak at the grand opening of Swan Valley Regional Secondary School’s new cultural arts centre in his constituency on Saturday. He said in an interview that the premier’s chief of staff, Mark Rosner, called the chair of the Swan Valley School Division board — Wowchuk’s brother, Gary — to insist the MLA not be allowed to speak.
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Swan River MLA Rick Wowchuk
“Does anyone care about some backbench PC MLA right now?”
“I went to the event because I was there to support the community and also the Swan Valley School Division because it’s a magnificent facility,” said Wowchuk, noting the treasury board approved its funding when the Progressive Conservatives were in power.
The grand opening was organized by the school division but Kinew’s “bullying tactics” and “childish behaviour” sidelined him, Wowchuk said.
The MLA’s absence from the speakers list was noticed, Swan River’s mayor said.
“We’re a small community and I think a lot of people feel like credit should be given where credit is due,” said Mayor Lance Jacobson, noting Wowchuk played a role in getting the facility built.
“There’s a lot of people wondering why he didn’t speak. The MLA was one of the very first graduates from that school and he also was an educator there, so he’s well known (in education circles) here in the valley. Some might have been somewhat choked about it,” Jacobson said.
The premier dismissed Wowchuk’s accusations of bullying.
“His feelings are hurt. Who cares?”
“His feelings are hurt. Who cares?” Kinew said, suggesting the situation was tit-for-tat.
“We were never invited to any announcements when we were on the opposition benches,” Kinew said.
That may not be the best response when opinion polls show the public wants to see politicians of different stripes co-operate and share credit for projects that serve the “public good,” said a political expert.
“It reminds me of the playground fight in which both kids claim the other kid started it,” said Paul Thomas, University of Manitoba political studies professor emeritus.
“If party leaders want to improve the content and tone of political competition, an easy starting point would be to invite MLAs to events intended to showcase developments which serve a community.”
The grand opening in Swan River was organized by the school division with $16.6 million from the province, the premier said.
“It’s your money. It’s not the PCs’ and it’s not mine,” said Kinew, who noted the building was completed during the NDP government’s time in office. He said he’s focused on cost of living issues.
“The PCs can keep crying from the sideline,” Kinew said, before launching another salvo.
“This MLA is not a good guy and if he wants to debate that, I would just say to everybody out there, do not Google this guy’s name. You’re not going to like what you see,” said the premier, whose run-ins with the law more than 20 years ago were dredged up as recently as Nov. 27 by PC leader Obby Khan during question period.
Ten years ago, Wowchuk showed a female constituency staffer a photo of a naked woman. He issued a statement apologizing for his actions and said he’d undergone workplace sensitivity training, which he found “extremely valuable.”
“The public thinks it’s very childish but he continues, and that’s who he is.”
Wowchuk said Monday that Kinew always takes the low road.
”The personal attacks and stuff like that, that I see in the legislature on a daily basis, really have to stop because it doesn’t do anything for anybody. The public thinks it’s very childish but he continues, and that’s who he is,” the rural MLA said.
Another political expert said it was too bad a good news event ended on a sour note.
“Clearly, the premier’s not hesitant to drop the gloves,” said U of M adjunct political studies Prof. Christopher Adams.
His colleague Thomas noted opposition MLAs were, in the past, invited to public events where government announcements of valuable projects within their constituencies were made.
Parties today are in permanent campaign mode and verbally hostile toward one another, he said.
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“Sharing credit with political opponents — even if the previous government initiated a particular project — has become rare.”
Swan River’s mayor said the new cultural arts centre is a boon for the region.
“Our community and throughout the whole valley, including our First Nations and non-Indigenous people, will all benefit from this,” said Jacobson.
— with files from Gabrielle Piché
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
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