EDITORIAL – PCs miss the point on NDP legislation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/06/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Credit is important. In just about every occupation, giving credit to those who create an idea or product is a sacred duty.

Breaching the moral code by taking credit for other’s ideas can have drastic consequences including job loss, lawsuits or being expelled from an educational institution.

That’s why a recent press release issued by the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives seems at first glance to be a legitimate complaint.

Quoting Midland MLA Lauren Stone, the PC Finance Critic, it bemoans the fact that the NDP has now presented the Fair Trade in Canada Act, which is according to the PC Party a new version of the PC Bill 227, The Free Trade and Mobility Within Canada Act.

That’s the bill the NDP voted against only two months ago.

And this isn’t the first time.

The NDP also presented a bill to lower the age of breast cancer screening to 40 and passed a bill to restrict the retail sale of machetes, which again were new versions of bills presented by PC Critic for Health Kathleen Cook and PC Critic for Justice Wayne Balcaen.

One thing the press release does not say is how common this is.

It’s normal for a sitting government to discard an opposition bill for real or imagined faults it may contain.

It’s just as normal for them to create their own bill, borrowing heavily from already proposed ideas regardless of where they originate to address the issue that was intended to be handled by the first bill.

The smart response would be for the PC Party to remind Manitobans that these ideas came from their caucus in the first place and that they are happy to see them implemented.

Nothing looks worse than a political party that appears to put themselves above the people they represent.

That message did not get through to Lauren Stone, however. Instead of praising the NDP for making these issues a priority, the press release reads like something written by someone desperate to secure the limelight.

The headline says “NDP pirate free trade legislation from PCs”.

Stone uses the NDP plan to address the same issues with new bills as proof that the NDP has run out of ideas.

“We brought forward a free trade bill months ago,” she said. “The NDP voted against our bill and only now due to mounting national pressure, are bringing forward legislation – and stole our work in doing so.”

To be clear, taking positive things from a proposed bill that was defeated and inserting them into a new bill is not stealing. It’s common sense.

And it’s something Manitobans demand of our governments.

It would be much more offensive if the government in power chose to ignore strong ideas just because they originated from politicians across the aisle.

There’s nothing wrong with critiquing a government bill and pointing out the differences from original PC legislation.

And the press release does that as well, criticizing the new Fair Trade Act for being “a hollow imitation of PC’s bill,”.

The PC Party doesn’t like that the NDP have retained the right to exempt industries, goods and services from the Act through regulations.

A mature opposition party would have focused on the differences and what they see as weaknesses of the new legislation.

They would have pointed out that their version was superior.

But they would not have accused the government of theft.

That’s because at the end of the day both parties work for Manitobans.

Any legislation that helps promote trade across Canada is beneficial, even though different plans will have different strengths and weaknesses.

By suggesting that the NDP have done something wrong in taking inspiration from previous bills, they are telling Manitobans that they’d rather the government do nothing rather than use an idea from someone else.

It’s the “my way or the highway” approach that doesn’t appeal to most Manitobans.

We want to see action, and most would much rather have a government that is willing to find inspiration wherever they can than an opposition that spends energy whining about who thought of something first.

The PC Party has a long way to go to prove they are the government in waiting, and one thing they need to do is convince voters that they care more for the province as a whole than their egos.