COLUMN: Report from the Legislature – When party politics gets in the way of representing people

When I was first elected to represent Dawson Trail, I understood that people would not always agree with me. That is democracy. What I did believe and still believe is that the people who sent me to the Manitoba Legislature should come before the political interests of any party.

Manitoba has, for much of its modern political history, functioned as essentially a two-party province. Governments change. The colours on the government benches change. But too often, the way politics is practised does not.

When you are part of a political party, there is tremendous pressure to see issues through a partisan lens. If the government proposes something, the opposition is expected to oppose it. If your own party proposes something, you are expected to support it.

But the people of Dawson Trail do not live their lives that way.

A family worried about emergency-room services in Ste. Anne does not care whether the solution comes from a Progressive Conservative, a New Democrat, a Liberal or an independent.

A parent concerned about overcrowding in a local school does not want to hear whose fault it is. They want to know what is going to be done about it.

A senior waiting for appropriate care, a family worried about safety on our highways, or a resident concerned about crime in their community is not asking me which political party can score the most points from their situation.

They are asking for help. That distinction matters.

Sometimes loyalty to the party begins to compete with loyalty to the people we were elected to represent.

An MLA may agree with an idea put forward by someone on the other side of the legislature yet feel pressure not to support it. An MLA may know that an issue in their constituency deserves greater attention but also knows that raising it could be inconvenient for their own party.

That is where we need to ask ourselves a simple question:

Who do we work for?

For me, the answer is Dawson Trail.

Being an independent MLA has changed the way I look at my role. I do not have to begin with the question, “What does the party think?”

I can begin with, “What do the people I represent need?”

That does not mean opposing everything the government does. In fact, independence should mean exactly the opposite of automatic opposition.

If the government brings forward a promising idea that benefits Dawson Trail and Manitoba, I can support it.

If the opposition raises a legitimate concern, I can support them in raising it.

And when government is getting something wrong, I can say so.

My vote is not automatically owned by anyone.

That is how representative democracy was meant to work.

There is another problem with increasingly polarized party politics. It encourages us to believe that people on the other side are our enemies.

They are not.

We may disagree strongly. We should debate vigorously. Governments must be held accountable, and opposition members have an important responsibility to challenge those in power.

But after the debate is finished, we still must find a way to get a highway made safer, keep health-care services available, build schools, support seniors, and strengthen our communities.

Those problems do not have party colours.

Dawson Trail is made up of communities with different histories, languages, occupations, and political traditions. I represent people who have voted Conservative their entire lives. I represent people who vote NDP, Liberal or for other parties. I represent people who do not belong to any political party at all.

Every one of them deserves the same effort from their MLA.

I do not ask someone how they voted before I listen to their concerns.

And I do not believe their government should either.

Manitoba needs more independence in its politics, more independent MLAs, and more independent thinking.

Imagine a legislature where MLAs were encouraged to vote according to the interests of their constituents more often.

Imagine government members being able to say, “My community needs something different.”

Imagine opposition members being able to say, “The government got this one right.”

That would not weaken democracy. I believe it would strengthen it.

We have become accustomed to politics being a contest between teams. But governing a province is not a sporting event. When one side wins politically and communities lose, nobody has really won.

But there is also freedom in being an independent.

When someone from Dawson Trail calls my office, I do not have to determine whether helping them fits a party narrative. They are my constituent. That is enough.

I believe Manitobans are increasingly tired of politics that seems more interested in who gets credit, who gets blamed and who wins the next election than in whether something gets accomplished.

I may sit as an independent member of the Manitoba Legislature, but I sit with the voices of the people of Dawson Trail behind me. And at the end of the day, those are the voices I was elected to represent.