COLUMN: Think Again – NDP hypocritical on election spending

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2023 (1087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba NDP recently filed a formal complaint regarding several attack ads from the Canada Growth Council. These ads have appeared on billboards across Winnipeg and take direct aim at NDP leader Wab Kinew.

Canada Growth Council is a non-profit political action committee formed in 2019. In the past, it has also run attack ads against federal Liberal candidates. The NDP alleges that Canada Growth Council’s current anti-NDP ads are breaking the law because it hasn’t registered with Elections Manitoba. According to the NDP, this amounts to unfair election interference.

However, before New Democrats get too worked up over third-party election spending, they might want to have a look at their own constitution which allows for an “affiliated membership” category. This is a fancy way of saying that trade unions have special status within the NDP.

What does this special status look like? Unions get guaranteed representation at party conventions and their leaders sit on the resolutions committee that determines party policy. They also play a role in selecting the party leader. Simply put, union leaders will have an outsized influence over any NDP government.

Unions aren’t shy about their NDP affiliation either. The Manitoba Federation of Labour’s policy handbook states, “The MFL is a proud affiliate and supporter of the Manitoba New Democratic Party…. All affiliated unions are encouraged to affiliate to the Party and encourage their members to participate actively in its activities at the constituency level by taking out personal memberships.”

Some of Manitoba’s largest labour unions, such as the Manitoba Nurses Union and the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, are part of the MFL Next time you see one of those “Vote as though your life depends on it” lawn signs, remember that these signs were bought and paid for by a union that is affiliated with the NDP.

What this means is that you shouldn’t trust union leaders who claim to be non-partisan. When the Manitoba Teachers’ Society officially joined the Manitoba Federation of Labour several years ago, it threw in its lot with an organization that loudly trumpets its NDP affiliation. While individual teachers obviously have a wide variety of political opinions, you won’t find much ideological diversity among their union leaders.

In addition, all you have to do is check out the social media accounts of current MTS executives to see which political party they want thrown out of office. Expect to see a whole lot of attack ads from MTS this fall that take direct aim at the current provincial government.

Interestingly, MTS appears to have become quite proficient at coordinating its efforts with the NDP. When Bill 35 (the act which creates a professional registry of teachers) was introduced, MTS came out strongly against it and went so far as to call it anti-teacher. However, when the NDP said that they would not oppose Bill 35, MTS changed tactics and focused instead on amending the bill. Gone were the over-the-top accusations that Bill 35 would destroy the teaching profession in Manitoba. It’s almost like the NDP and the teachers’ union were working together on this one.

Thus, if the NDP is serious about limiting third-party election ads in an election year, it should start by cutting ties with the unions that prop them up. Imagine the hue and cry if the PC Party constitution explicitly allowed for “affiliate membership” for the heads of big corporations. It wouldn’t make sese for businesses to get this type of special treatment and the same is true for unions.

NDP hypocrisy on election spending is quite tiresome. This is one case where the pot really shouldn’t call the kettle black.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and a Steinbach city councillor. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.