PC leadership candidates square off in Grunthal

Leadership candidates for the PC Party took to the stage at the La Verendrye PC Association AGM in Grunthal on Monday, sharing their views on a variety of topics including Sio Silica, MPI, controversial books in schools, hunting rights, COVID, homelessness and how best to get elected.

Though Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich agreed on many points, they differed on exactly how to get elected.

Daudrich said promoting Conservative values would attract support from Manitobans including those in urban areas, while Khan agreed, but said those values must be explained with empathy. Khan repeatedly referred to the fact that he is a sitting MLA and could hit the ground running, as opposed to Daudrich who would need to wait for a byelection to get a seat.

The respectful crowd of PC party members heard both candidates out but saved their loudest applause for Daudrich.

Both had the opportunity for opening statements.

Wally Daudrich used his time to share his story, how his grandparents settled in the Tolstoi area. Daudrich was born in Winnipeg but lived in various areas of the province, including Churchill where he operates a lodge featuring eco-tourism.

He criticized the federal Liberal government, and the current attitude in Manitoba including the current status as a have-not province, drawing transfer payments from Ottawa.

“We need to move outside of Ottawa’s basement, and we need to actually pay our own way,” he said.

He said following Saskatchewan’s lead in resource extraction would help put Manitoba on the right path.

He called for more potash mines, hard-rock mining and a utility corridor that would send resources like liquefied natural gas to the west side of Hudson Bay to a year-round port to be shipped.

“We can bring billions of dollars into Manitoba,” he said.

He added a promise to increase flow-through shares which raise money for oil, gas and mineral exploration, a change so corporations would not pay tax until they earn $1 million, (a doubling of the current threshold) and changes to allow companies to claim depreciation differently.

Obby Khan spoke of his childhood, telling the story of how he was born to an immigrant family in Ottawa in 1980, and how his football career took him to Winnipeg where he played for the Blue Bombers.

He told the crowd there are fundamental differences between him and Daudrich.

“The big difference is everything he talks about is decade or decades away,” he said.

Instead, he suggests reducing red tape and removing payroll taxes will make a difference immediately.

“We have to get out of the way of businesses,” he said.

He also played up his record and his readiness to lead.

“I have a seat in the legislature. I can get to work on day one,” he said. “I’m the only (PC candidate) in the city that won a seat.”

In many cases both candidates seemed to agree.

When asked where they stood on the issue of protecting Manitoba aquifers related to silica sand extraction, both said they were in favour of resource extraction in an environmentally sustainable way.

Asked about their thoughts on the Manitoba Public Insurance strike and its timing before the last election, both expressed their disdain for unions.

Daudrich saw a specific motive in the timing.

“MPI was, I believe on strike so their members could go out and actually door knock against us,” he said.

He said privatization of MPI or changes that allow the sale of private insurance would be something to consider.

Khan told a long story where he claimed he had talked to an MPI employee on strike while door knocking. He said that employee told him he wanted the same wage as Khan himself made.

“It fundamentally tells you the difference in thinking between people that have worked in organizations like that,” he said.

Khan lambasted the provincial NDP for making it easier to form unions and harder for employers to get rid of them.

“I’m not saying I’m anti-union but what I am is pro-choice,” he said.

Books in schools

Hanover School Division board chair Jeff Friesen asked the candidates about their views on controversial reading material in schools. To loud applause, Friesen told the candidates there was some “seriously bad stuff” coming into the schools.

Both candidates agreed instantly with that sentiment.

“You’re right. Some of the stuff that’s out there is not age appropriate. It’s not right for children,” Khan said.

Both claimed they were victims for standing up against inappropriate literature.

Khan said he was the poster boy in the campaign for parental rights.

“I was the one that was labelled as the bad guy,” he said. “I was labelled as a homophobe and a transphobe and a racist shockingly, because I believe parents have a right to know what’s going on.”

Daudrich’s answer was blunt. “If a government was led by me there would be no porn in schools period,” he said.

While telling the crowd that all five of his children were homeschooled, Daudrich said he would ensure a complete revamp of the education system, reducing provincial interference.

“We don’t want our kids exposed to some of the crazy things that the world has to offer,” he said.

He too portrayed himself as the victim of media.

“If you look at the news media for the past couple of months, you will notice that the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Steinbach Carillon and the CBC don’t speak well of me,” he said. “That’s because I’m actually a Conservative. I actually stand up against these things and I actually mean what I say, and I say what I mean.”

Friesen also followed up with a question about the power of the Manitoba Teachers Society who he said is influencing decisions at board level. He also alleged that he too has been treated unfairly by local media.

“I’ve been called racist by the media too, right through the careless News,” he said in a play on words of the Carillon News, a name once used for The Carillon, without offering an example.

Khan expressed agreement but told the crowd that change takes time. He lashed out at Daudrich, alleging Daudrich’s approach wouldn’t work and suggesting some had said he’s not a real Conservative, though that did not happen at that meeting.

“I do know when you use language like, ‘You don’t follow our traditions’, those new Canadians aren’t voting for you,” he said, despite that language not being used by Daudrich that evening. “They’re not voting for you man. They’re not going to come to a party that doesn’t make them feel good.”

“I am the only coloured person in this room, trying to represent the PC Party of Manitoba,” he added. “That’s not an easy walk for me. But you know what it does bring? It brings a ton of people to this tent, and it gives us a real chance of getting back in power.”

Hunting rights

The erosion of hunting rights in Manitoba was also discussed with both candidates agreeing changes must be made.

Daudrich used the moment to pledge to end public funding for NGOs such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society but also told the crowd that he wasn’t afraid of taking unpopular stances.

“At the very beginning of this campaign I stood up against transgenderism, and I said that there’s only a man and a woman,” he said. “If a guy is wearing a dress than he’s just a guy in a dress. I took a lot of heat for that in the media.”

Khan agreed that changes must be made to allow hunting to continue, but also repeated his claim that they must form government in order to change anything.

Tariffs

While both candidates declined to explain exactly how they would respond on tariffs, they did agree that Manitoba must be more self-reliant in order to deal with exterior threats.

“Until you can stand up for yourself how are you going to push back on a bully?” Khan asked. “If someone is going to bully you, they’re going to keep bullying you until you stand up.”

Removing interprovincial trade barriers, Khan said, would give Manitoba a $7 billion boost, or a 10 percent increase on GDP.

Daudrich pointed to the changing conditions.

“Mr. Trump is all over the place right now so I would simply wait it out and see what he has to say,” he said.

He also pushed back on Khan’s claims that his ideas weren’t doable in the short term.

He said the utility corridor could be in place in four years. He also wants to expand natural gas in southern Manitoba to allow for production of fertilizer, grain drying and barn heating, replacing the more expensive propane systems that many farmers have.

COVID

A Wally Daudrich government would refund all COVID fines and forgive those still outstanding.

“We will put people back in positions that they were forced out of because of the vaccine mandates,” he said to loud applause.

Because some fines were issued by municipalities, Daudrich said they would compensate those municipalities for paying back the fines collected.

“I think it’s high time that we actually go back and say that we want an end to that era. We don’t ever want it to happen again,” he said.

He also added they need to stick to their Conservative message.

“We need a leader who’s an actual Conservative,” he said. “If we don’t have a Conservative platform going into the next election we will not win if we’re not Conservative.”

He again took aim at the media whom he says, “changes the message”, and to loud applause said they need to get their message out by “bypassing the left wing media”.

Khan agreed that mistakes were made during COVID and pointed out to the crowd that he was not in government until after COVID.

Homelessness and polar bears

A joke made earlier in the campaign by Daudrich that he would bring polar bears to Winnipeg to end the homeless crisis was also referenced in a question.

Khan jumped to Daudrich’s defence.

“I think Wally’s made it clear he was joking about that, and everyone knows it was a joke,” he said.

He described homelessness as a complicated issue. “We can’t say homelessness is going to be solved by a magic wand,” he said.

Daudrich said it’s important to give people a sense of personal responsibility. While he acknowledged that homeless people are that way because of a series of events, he also advocated for accountability.

“In order to have compassion for homeless people you have to hold them somewhat responsible for their actions,” he said.

Getting elected in Winnipeg

One of the final questions asked candidates how the PC Party could get elected in Winnipeg without compromising Conservative values.

For Khan it was about consistency, delivering the same message no matter where he speaks.

“What I say here is what I say in the city,” he said.

But the way he speaks is different than Daudrich’s approach according to Khan who says he speaks with empathy.

“Conservatives for a long time have come across as cold, callous, old, don’t give a crap about anyone else but themselves but that’s actually not true at all,” he said. “People are joining the party in historic numbers.”

For Daudrich the key is sticking to those Conservative values which include family, faith and freedom.

“We believe that Manitoba can do far better than what it is right now.”

All those who want to vote in the PC leadership race must be members by Feb. 28.

Ballots must be mailed in by April 22 and the announcement of the new leader will take place at their membership convention on April 26.