Close X
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
ADVT 
National

Acrimony, accusations and a pension promise in Manitoba NDP leadership campaign

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Jan, 2015 11:54 AM

    WINNIPEG — There were more signs of turmoil within Manitoba's governing New Democrats Sunday — a party trying to find a civil resolution to an internal revolt against Premier Greg Selinger.

    The latest volley in the war of words came on the weekend from Rob Altemeyer, a longtime backbencher who has been critical of the five former cabinet ministers who suggested in November that Selinger resign. One of the five, Theresa Oswald, is now leading the coup and running against Selinger in a leadership contest set for March 8.

    In a letter to NDP members in his Wolesley constituency, Altemeyer accused the former ministers, and government staffers who have recently taken leave from their jobs to work for Oswald, of abandoning the government.

    "It is never a good thing to abandon your post in a time of need. Yet the five (former ministers)decided that just prior to our throne speech was a good time to resign," Altemeyer wrote.

    "More recently, with a crucial budget due in the spring, many senior political staff have simultaneously taken 'vacation time' to go work on Theresa Oswald's leadership campaign. It is an appalling abdication of responsibility in both instances."

    Oswald, who has served as minister of health and of jobs and the economy, said Sunday she wants to keep the debate respectful, and said staff working for her campaign are only using vacation time they're entitled to.

    "March the 9th is going to come, and we'll all need to come together ... and so I think the best thing for all of us is to stay above the fray."

    Oswald's campaign has attracted some people who were Selinger's top advisers until the revolt erupted, including Anna Rothney, head of the government's priorities and planning cabinet committee. Other workers who were part of Selinger's daily briefings are also on leave and working for Oswald, leaving Selinger to find replacements or leave key positions open.

    Altemeyer said he had not yet chosen which candidate to back, but said it would not be Oswald. That leaves him to pick between Selinger and Steve Ashton, a former infrastructure minister who was not part of the revolt.

    The NDP is also facing internal wrangling over how the March 8 leadership vote will be conducted. Some 2,000 delegates are expected to take part, and the party executive decided Saturday that delegates will have to be at the Winnipeg convention in order to vote.

    That upset Steve Ashton's camp. Ashton, who represents the Thompson constituency in northern Manitoba, wanted options such as mail-in ballots or satellite convention offices for people in remote communities.

    "The cost for a northern delegate to (be) present in Winnipeg in some cases is a drive of 1,000 kilometres or a flight, and on top of that hotel ... plus food, child care as the case may be," Ashton campaign spokesman Christopher Sanderson said Sunday.

    The party subsidizes some of the cost but it is "nowhere near enough", according to Tyler Duncan, a member of the NDP council, which is being asked to review the executive's decision.

    "For an entire section of this province to not be allowed to elect the next leader of the NDP, the next premier of Manitoba, is borderline discrimination to northern people."

    Oswald and a spokesperson for Selinger said their respective campaigns also want the decision changed. The council is expected to meet as early as next weekend to discuss the matter.

    The three candidates had until Jan. 6 to sell memberships to potential supporters. They are now reaching out to members in each constituency who will elect delegates for the convention.

    The only candidate making a campaign promise Sunday was Oswald, who said she would implement a provincial pension plan to top up the Canada Pension Plan. It would be mandatory for all workers under provincial jurisdiction who are not covered by a company pension plan, and be funded jointly by workers and their employers.

    "Benefits have not kept pace with need, and fewer and fewer working families are saving enough to fund their retirement," Oswald told reporters.

    Oswald said she envisions a plan similar to one being introduced in Ontario. Workers and employers there will each contribute 1.9 per cent of the employee's annual earnings, to a maximum of $1,643. Critics have called it a tax grab that will squeeze businesses and cost jobs.

    Oswald said the numbers in Manitoba may be different, and such details would only be worked out after consultations with business and labour groups.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Murder Suspect's Story Changed About Why He Dumped Girlfriend's Body: BC Crown

    Murder Suspect's Story Changed About Why He Dumped Girlfriend's Body: BC Crown
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A man accused of beating his girlfriend to death with a hammer has changed his story about what he planned to do with the body, a Crown lawyer has suggested.

    Murder Suspect's Story Changed About Why He Dumped Girlfriend's Body: BC Crown

    Surprisingly Canadians 'Relax And Rest' During Their Commute

    Surprisingly Canadians 'Relax And Rest' During Their Commute
    Canadians actually enjoy their commute and find it relaxing. That's the conclusion of a finding that runs contrary to the popular vision of commuters as harried and fed up, if not enraged.

    Surprisingly Canadians 'Relax And Rest' During Their Commute

    Clayoquot Sound Activists Head To B.C. Pipeline Protest Site To Be Arrested

    Clayoquot Sound Activists Head To B.C. Pipeline Protest Site To Be Arrested
    BURNABY, B.C. — Activists who were part of the Clayoquot (clah-CWOT) Sound anti-logging protests in British Columbia in the early 1990s say they plan to be arrested at an anti-pipeline protest near Vancouver.

    Clayoquot Sound Activists Head To B.C. Pipeline Protest Site To Be Arrested

    New Research Says Overhauling Canada's Tax System Would Create Fairness

    New Research Says Overhauling Canada's Tax System Would Create Fairness
    OTTAWA — A new research paper for the C.D. Howe Institute says Canada can help combat rising income inequality by taxing people separately for their paycheque and investment income.

    New Research Says Overhauling Canada's Tax System Would Create Fairness

    Mall Shooter Admits Multiple Bail Breaches: 'It's Something I Ended Up Doing'

    Mall Shooter Admits Multiple Bail Breaches: 'It's Something I Ended Up Doing'
    TORONTO — The man who killed two people at the Toronto Eaton Centre admitted this morning to regularly breaching his bail conditions.

    Mall Shooter Admits Multiple Bail Breaches: 'It's Something I Ended Up Doing'

    Jian Ghomeshi Granted Bail After Being Charged With Sexual Assault

    Jian Ghomeshi Granted Bail After Being Charged With Sexual Assault
    TORONTO — Former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi has been granted bail just hours after being charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.

    Jian Ghomeshi Granted Bail After Being Charged With Sexual Assault