Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...

I don't think it is a controversial statement to say that the PCs have had a bad few weeks. From Pallister's home purchase story to the Brayd Mazurkiewich's inevitable and unsurprising public outing as a racist-bigot.  The PCs own behavior managed to push off the front page what should have been the conversation over the holidays at many family reunions in the province.

The fact that Selinger reneged on one his main election promise; that Manitoba will be in deficit for more years; and that our yearly deficit is larger than expected even if revenues are up.

The increased spending are even in departments that are easier to predict year of year which points to administrative incompetence.

Rather than discuss the fact that Selinger and the NDP are quickly running out of excuses for running up the provinces debt, Manitobans will be discussing Pallister's new house and Maz's "freeloading Indians" comment.

As the expression goes, the PCs were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this month. Giving the NDP the best Christmas gift they could have hoped for.

A crazy idea: Income taxes

A few weeks ago when Brian Pallister proposed increasing the basic personal exemption I wrote this op-ed I thought of submitting to the Frep. I first heard this idea from my Econ prof during the 1st year of my masters. It has been floating in my head ever since. In the end I figured the idea was a bit too crazy for the Frep but tonight I decided to put on the blog to get some feedback! Let me know what you think. I have a few other crazy policy ideas that I might throw up here if there is interest. 

It is time to expand the conversation about taxes

Up or down? A Carbon tax to save the environment or a job killing tax on everything? Tax credits for enrolling your kids into a cultural or sport activity. The discussion about taxes in Canada over the past few years have revolved around these few simple easy to understand vote-buying concepts. I have also done some basic calculations as to how certain increases-decreases in budgets could impact departments. If anyone is interested in these I'm happy to share them. 

Last week, Progressive Conservative Party Leader Brian Pallister proposed increasing the minimum exemption for income taxes in Manitoba. This policy is desperately needed in Manitoba as it would help alleviate poverty and ensure Manitoba remains competitive with other western provinces.

However, in a healthy democracy, the discussion surrounding taxes needs to go beyond the simple rates we pay as citizens. It is time that as citizens, we get a greater say as to how our taxes are spent. 

The federal government’s use of an omnibus budget highlights this need even more. The use of omnibus budget bills clearly reflects the fact that local Members of Parliament have lost the ability to have any meaningful impact on government’s spending priorities.  Citizens must be empowered to have a say as to how their tax dollars are spent as parliament no longer represents their will.

Involving citizens directly in the budget making process is one step in reengaging citizens, strengthening our democracy and making governments more responsive to our needs.

The idea is straightforward; an income tax code where citizens decide which percentage of his or her taxes to allocate to each department.  If we can design such a cumbersome tax code with a multitude of evermore ridiculous tax exemptions, why not a tax code where people can decide where their money is allocated?

Take for example the provincial government here in Manitoba. It collected $2.8 billion in personal income taxes according to its 2012 budget. This represented 25% of total revenues for the province. In broad lines, Manitoba spent 44% of its budget on health, 20% on Education, 9% of Family services, 19% on Community, Economic and Resource Development and 7% on Justice and Other Expenditures.

Under this proposal, a taxpayer could decide to allocate his or her income taxes in the same proportion as these or increase their spending on health over community, economic and resource development. Each and every person would have the opportunity to support their priorities. This would ensure that citizens are more engaged as to how their money is spent. And increase demands for accountability from those who spent it.

For politicians and bureaucrats who may fear the prospect of direct democracy, it is important to note that only 25% of the budget would be impacted. This would allow an important amount of citizen participation but would still leave 75% of the budget in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats.

Ultimately the impact of such a move should be hotly debated. Would we see a large shift in public policy or a continuation of the status quo? Would health care continue to see its large increases? Would military budgets see reductions to the benefit of environmental policy? Would we see a shrinking or an enlargement of government? 

Our democracy can only win by discussing these questions and it is exactly this debate I hope to foster by proposing this.

Duff Roblin on Canada

"The dual culture of which people talk is, to some degree, my culture. But no one can bisect me. I am a Canadian. Part of my legacy is here, in la Belle Province, and this legacy is French. I know who kept Canada Canadian in 1775 by forcing American armies back from the walls of Quebec. I know in what language they voiced the cry of victory at Chateauguay during the War of 1812. I know who fought in 1837 to give Canada responsible government. I know that there were as many tuques as there were Scottish bonnets when Manitoba was created in 1870."
Duff Roblin

The fun answer to Winnipeg's red light camera problems and infrastructure fund deficit!

If we can use lotteries to fund the Jets & health care why not roads? 

Plus it's FUN!

The stand up guy

a must watch::

2 year anniversary of NWP, Leadership races and a poll...

For the first time, last week I had an op-ed published in the Free Press.


The piece discussed the impact of being left out of the New West Partnership on its 2nd anniversary.  The piece can be found here.

The piece generated a bit of interest as I even got an interview request for CKSB (French CBC). This interview focused less on the impacts of being left out and more on the political reasoning of why Manitoba was left out. On peut trouver l'entrevue ici.

For the success in both of these endeavors I have to say a big thank you to the Action Canada advisers for all their advice and training during my fellowship year! 


It seems the Liberals might be able to attract more candidates to their race than the PCs... Now who could have predicted that a few months ago... 


I know next to nothing about Chopra but he does seem like he could bring some solid positives to the struggling party. He is also a much more credible candidate than Robert Young. 


Does anyone know what his current job is? The article I can find only states: "More recently, he has worked with the lobbyist organization The Capital Hill Group, based in Ottawa"


Polling status quo (as exciting as the provincial political news cycle this summer)


Probe's summer poll numbers haven't moved much.  


With a leadership race that has all the excitement and media coverage of paint drying, I'm  surprised the PCs haven't dropped down a few points. While still within the margin of error I'm sure some Liberals are happy to see themselves back over the double digit mark.  One interesting note on the poll was the relatively high percentage of undecided at 24%. 

Let's build a green legacy!

Manitoba has been blessed with an abundance of fresh water. We have been able to harness the power of many of these powerful rivers up north to make us a leader in renewable and clean energy.

Mega-dam projects were once the most efficient and profitable way to produce clean, renewable energy. Unfortunately, the NDP still believe that this is the way to build a profitable publicly owned Manitoba Hydro. Under the leadership of the NDP, Manitoba Hydro has been saddled with unsustainable levels of debt which has caused rate hikes for Manitobans.These large scale projects mega-projects reliant on spot priced export contracts are a very risky gamble for the future our crown corporation.

Manitoba's energy production must shift with the technology and the times. Mega-dams are yesterday's technology. We must move towards small to medium scale locally based energy production. This means we need to encourage citizens, businesses and city to become energy self reliant. To do this we must encourage the development of small and medium scale solar, biomass and wind energy projects.

Manitoba Hydro's is perfectly placed to act as a driver of this energy strategy shift.

The Green Legacy Program

Through a two pronged program it can encouraged the small to medium scale production of energy by Manitobans for Manitobans.

The Green Legacy Program would include:

- A Green Manitoba Hydro Bonds Campaign that would offer low-cost capitals to individuals and corporations who wish to purchase qualified renewable energy producing technology.

- A Standard offer sheet program similar to British Columbia's for buying back power produced by these small and medium scale energy projects.  

This program would create incentives for investments in clean technology while avoiding the rate hike pressures of a feed-in-tarrif, as is currently being seen in Ontario.

The Green Legacy Program would ensure a viable, sustainable, publicly owned crown corporation for generations of Manitobans to come.

 

Let's build a legacy!

The contest to become Manitoba's Leader of the Official Opposition and possibly the next Premier of the province should not go uncontested.

Given that Dan Lett's and my laments on the lack of candidates in the current PC leadership race haven`t inspired any challengers to step up, I have decided to take the drastic step of officially unofficially declaring my candidacy for the leadership of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party.

(Of course given that I am now a resident of Ontario, have in no way shape or form any financial or organisational resources, or have the permission of my chief of staff (i.e. my better-half) to do this, it shouldn't be too much of a problem right?)

So let's get this thing started! Let's start building a legacy for this great province!  Manitoba needs to do better and will only do so with a striving, healthy democracy!

As much as the NDP may now believe it is their natural right to govern this province, that it is okay to curry favour and cut the line for Jets tickets for their friends, together we can show them that one has to earn and respect the privilege to govern!

Together we can work confidently towards 2015 knowing that last fall 46% of Manitobans believed it was time for change and believed in our Party's vision.

We need to unleash and harness the power of Manitoba's diversified economy, bridge the divides between our rural, urban and northern communities, and transform our health care system to ensure that the growing needs of patients take precedence over those of bureaucrats.

Over the next few weeks, I will roll out policy issues that I hope, my esteemed opponent will engage in so that the Party can benefit from some grassroots debate on the future of this province. Together let's build a legacy for the party, a legacy for our province and a legacy for our children!

Manitoba needs to aim higher… higher than one…

Manitoba’s opposition parties need to aim higher. 

Pallister’s slogan to “Aim Higher” is particularly apt to today’s lackluster state of provincial politics.  Over the past few days I had been thinking that the PC leadership race really needed to have more than one candidate.  So today, I was really happy to please that Dan Lett at the Free Press had tackled this specific issue.

The Progressive Conservatives Party needs to aim for a greater number of candidates in its leadership race. As Dan pointed out, it is impossible to talk about a grassroots renewal with simply one candidate.

The 1000 membership rule could have been a great renewal tool and encourage a greater number of candidates, if it had been implemented differently.  A two-step process should have been instituted in its place.

Rather than make selling a thousand memberships across the province a requirement for becoming a certified candidate, and thus be allowed to spend and raise money. The rule should have been put in place as a final requirement to appear on the ballot for the convention. Candidates should have been able to become certified candidates with 50 party members supporting them.

This would have made it easier for a lesser known candidate to step up, start raising money and a media presence in order to reach that 1000 membership threshold; thus enabling a real grassroots renewal.  Less known candidates would have been able to publicly raise money and use the longer leadership period to their advantage.

The Liberal Party of Manitoba needs to aim for more than a couple dozen people to vote on the future of the party. The Party “grassroots” voted 25 to 17 to reject formal talks of merger with the greens.  While the party said it still has 1000 paid members, the fact that less people that come to my family Christmas party voted on the future of the party speaks volumes.  

The Liberals are in a dangerous position of being replaced by the Greens as the third place party.  Green Leader James Beddome proved himself a capable communicator during the last campaign and if the new Liberal leader fails to articulate a clear ‘raison d’être’ for the party, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the 2015 election there are no Liberals on the ballot.

If Manitoba’s opposition parties fail to get it right, the province risks becoming a one-party province like Alberta.  Let’s hope they don’t fail so that Manitobans can have the choice of aiming for something more than a higher deficit and higher taxes…. 

Manitoba Budget 2012: A hair affair?

The budget: a trim and highlights to cover up hair loss?

I was trying to think of the proper analogy to describe my reaction to the 2012 budget. The best thing (or funniest) that came to mind was that of a bad haircut; a haircut for man who is fighting a receding hairline and is having difficulty accepting it. 

Think of a haircut composed of highlights, a trim and styled with spikes even though the hair on top of the head is way too thin and is practically see through…That kind of bad... 

The highlights are the distracting goodies that try to scream of coolness, rejuvenation and 'being with the times'. This is what the announced extension to Sunday shopping hours was, an attempt to take attention away and pose itself as an innovative, "moving Manitoba forward" budget.

The trim and spikes, are the merger of MLCC and Lotteries and Regional Health Authorities.  In addition, just as a superficial trim and style change doesn't change or address the problem, the administrative efficiencies brought by these mergers will bring along only superficial savings and do nothing to address the problem.

Finally, the gas tax and various fee increases are the equivalent of spraying Rogaine. Just as this magical spray claims it will make up the difference in loss hair instantly, these small increases do nothing to get at the root of the problem (pun intended).

While the new haircut might help the person in question feel better about themselves and stay in denial, everyone else around can see the sad reality the man is trying to hide. In reality, Mr. Struthers and the NDP should come to accept their receding hairline and either go bald or try some of the new hair transplant ads I keep seeing in browser…     

Coming back shortly!

Hi everyone,

After a hiatus of about a year or so, I will start blogging again soon. Work, the Action Canada Fellowship and school didn't leave me with enough time to blog. I'm two weeks away from finishing my master's degree and should  have enough time to blog again!

With the upcoming PC and Liberal provincial leadership race, provincial budget, the federal Lib race and plenty of other issues I hope to be back around the mid-April mark.

Cheers,
Patrick