Gary Doer is a dictator

Posted on April 30, 2008 by PolicyFrog

Not content with simply being the Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer has also decided he wants to be:

  • The Mayor of Winnipeg — by doling out funding to the City in drips and drabs targeted toward provincial government priorities. Also by doing an end-run around City process and committing funding to projects like the expansion of the Southdale Community Centre.
  • The Chair of every School Board — by making decisions like this week’s out-of-nowhere ban on school closures.
  • The Chair and CEO of every crown corporation — by encouraging/demanding the NDP-appointed boards of Hydro, MPI, MLCC and MB Lotteries all make secret $1 million donations to the Candain Museum for Human Rights. Also by insisting that Hydro build its new transmission line on the West side of Lake Winnipeg, against the advice of Hydro executives and engineers.

Just imagine what he might do if he focused his energy on his actual job instead of trying to impose his will on the entire province.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: ,

« Doer’s slush drink fund Quick thoughts for 05-01-08 »

6 Responses to “Gary Doer is a dictator”

  1. Clay, on April 30th, 2008 at 4:35 pm Said:

    Reminds me of some super important case I read about in first year law. In a couple classes. Then I read it again in second year law. Continued to read it while practicing law. It was when Duplessis was running Quebec like it was his own fiefdom.

    It was called Roncarelli v. Duplessis and it remains a cornerstone of legal education in Canada. It highlights the fundamental importance of the division of powers and the inability of a Premier to act with impunity.

  2. pissinginthetent.com, on April 30th, 2008 at 5:32 pm Said:

    Not only is he a dictator, he’s just a dick. LOL

    I will never forget the time he told Peter Bjornson
    ” what part of no don’t you understand “.

  3. The Hack, on April 30th, 2008 at 6:22 pm Said:

    You forgot:

    “But he wants other Canadians to pay for it.”

  4. Brian, on April 30th, 2008 at 7:10 pm Said:

    Dictator, eh?

    Not trying to be cruel here, but isn’t falling on the wrong side of Godwins law a tacit admission of failure when trying to advance a point of view?

    Ah screw it. I’ll be cruel.

    It is.

  5. PolicyFrog, on April 30th, 2008 at 8:14 pm Said:

    @Brian - You don’t have to be a Nazi to be a dictator.

  6. unclebob, on May 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 am Said:

    Clay:

    There are a couple other things Roncarelli v. Duplessis teach us about.

    1) It is expensive and difficult to challenge authority and even when you win you probably lose.

    2) Most high officials can rest easy knowing that normal people are not going to challenge unless they are highly motivated by principle and a little insane

    In the case of Manitoba, where the cabinet is so weak, and where the opposition is so ineffective, government by the Premier’s office is not only inevitable, it is just simply filling a vacuum. In doing so, with little legislative framework, Gary is forced to improvise a bit. Some people are annoyed with him for doing so. Others perhaps are thankful at least someone is driving the system.

    It is not just Manitoba. Many long standing governments tend to centralize control. Don’t forget how Cretien did it. It is not easy to break out of.

    When you believe that no one is doing their job and this shift to a dictatorship is continuing to occur over a long period of time you really have to ask yourself

    a) are my own values in question? or
    b) is the entire electorate incompetent ? or
    c) are MLAs feeding on some drug laced gruel?

    Perhaps i will think about this for a while. Could someone please pass the gruel?

Leave a Reply