The common sense of ideology

In these troubled times (are there any other?), we are bombarded with persistent appeals to common sense as the solution to our shared problems. Pierre Poilievre promises Canadians that he has “common sense plans” to rectify multiple national problems, and the phrase has become endemic to the current backlash politics of “Common Sense Conservatives Fighting for Canadians.” Common sense, they assure us, will prevail in a Common Sense Revolution.

According to David Moscrop, this is “as appealing to the disaffected as it is vapid and meaningless.” Aaron Wherry adds that it is also a “vaguely egalitarian and inherently populist notion that flatters its purveyors and supporters while implicitly disqualifying its opponents and critics.” Indeed, when appeals to common sense become politicized, they derogate those who disagree, and become their own form of “virtue signalling,” a derisive term used by those who want to signal that they have more virtue than those whom they accuse of virtue signalling.

Common sense is purportedly common because it is supposedly shared by all, and sensical because it is supposedly self-evident, needing no explanation. It implies that, though someone may not have extensive knowledge about a topic or even extensive skill in reasoning, everyone has enough of both to master truth. Reality, they say, is not complex.

The resignation of former Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson earlier this year kicked off the process to elect both the next leader of the PC Party and the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. There are several steps that a political party undertakes when it comes to selecting a leader.

The first is the establishment of rules and time frames under which candidates run. This will often include a prescribed number of signatures that a candidate needs to have from Party members supporting their candidacy and an entrance fee. These are generally to ensure that a candidate has at least a minimum level of support to enter the leadership race and is committed to the process.

A leadership committee is also established to ensure that the rules of the race are followed and to adjudicate any concerns that the rules are not being followed. They also undertake a vetting process of candidates that will include standard checks regarding criminal records as one example.

These are all things that have been happening over the past few months and this past Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to officially enter the race to become the next PC Party leader. Two applications were completed and submitted. Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan submitted his application and after the leadership committee interview process was declared as an approved candidate. Churchill hotelier and tourism operator Wally Daudrich submitted his application by the deadline and at the time of this writing it was going through the vetting process by the leadership committee.

The Liberal Party of Canada has never been a stranger to corruption scandals, but the Trudeau Government has made it a way of life.

However, with this government it is not only the gravity of what they have done, but also the artlessness, the utter brazenness and regularity of their misdeeds that has even the most jaded Canadians shaking their heads in disbelief.

What started with a simple flouting of ethics rules for the PM with his taxpayer funded vacation to a lobbyist’s private island—for which he received the dubious distinction of becoming the only sitting prime minister in Canadian history to be found guilty of violating ethics laws—quickly unfolded a pattern of cronyism and ethical violations by Trudeau and his ministers that is unprecedented in Canadian politics.

Canadians can well remember Justin Trudeau’s political interference in the prosecution of SNC Lavalin—ironically charged with corruption themselves—where he bullied and attempted to coerce Canada’s first Indigenous female attorney general to give the former Liberal donor a sweetheart plea deal. When she refused, he fired her and the coverup was on. Trudeau was handed a second conviction for violating ethics laws.

This month’s report from the legislature follows the Thanksgiving long weekend and I hope that everyone in Southeast Manitoba was able to enjoy time spent with family and friends. Fall session of the legislature began this month and it felt great to be back, highlighting what is important to the La Verendrye constituency. My focus going back into this session has been to get action and recognition for the needs of our constituency. Along with the issues needing resolution throughout the various communities in the southeast I am also committed to my critic portfolio. Luckily enough, the role of infrastructure critic fits well with many of the concerns our communities have.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to recognize an outstanding constituent through a private members statement the second day back to the legislature. This time it was Alain Nadeau, who recently retired from his role as La Broquerie Fire Chief after serving 45 years on the department. It was great to have Chief Nadeau along with his entire family in the public gallery as I delivered my statement.

The recent cancellation of the Green Valley School expansion has been a focus going back into session. Shortly after hearing about the cancellation, I was able to tour the school which gave me a clear image of the need for that community. I quickly organized a meeting with the minister which had gone well and was well received. Through this meeting I was able to secure the commitment for a tour of the Grunthal school and together with the community come up with a solution to the shortage of space for the interim while the department accesses when the project could move forward. Unfortunately, only a couple days into session the minister responsible for education had fallen ill and was not able to carry out his duties as minister.

An interim minister was then appointed who disappointingly has taken the seat warming approach to the role. She will not commit to working with the Green Valley School to find permanent or temporary solutions to their shortage of space. In the meantime, the community has gotten hundreds of signatures on dozens of petitions which I am presenting to the government. These petitions will not only be seen by the minister, but I will also be reading each of them to the entire legislature each day. I am hoping that by doing this the government will be forced to recognize that just because rural Manitoba may be out of sight it can not be out of mind.

“Resistance to colonialism is not terrorism.”

This quote was shown to more than 5,000 Winnipeg School Division (WSD) staff last week at a professional development session delivered by Dr. Chris Emdin from Teachers College, Columbia University. Not surprisingly, many teachers found this quote offensive, with more than a dozen walking out.

The teachers who walked out did the right thing. Whatever their political views might be, there is no context where intentionally murdering innocent civilians, which is an act of terrorism, is acceptable.

Even more offensive was the fact that this presentation took place only two days after the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 1,200 Israelis were murdered that day, with many others wounded or taken hostage.

Some hard-fought victories are worth celebrating.

And then there are some which ring hollow when you really look at exactly what you have won.

Such a victory came yesterday when Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told reporters at a hastily called news conference at the Manitoba Legislative Building that the province will lower the age for breast-cancer screening to 40 by December 2026.

A woman prepares to receive a mammogram. (Breast Cancer Society of Canada)