Where does the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party stand on the issue of the rights of LGBTTQ+ youth? After a raucous week in the legislature, the party’s position remains a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
You might remember that last fall, in a desperate bid to stave off defeat in the election, the PC party adopted a “parental rights” theme to draw the support of ultra conservative voters in immigrant communities and rural constituencies. At the time, the term “parental rights” had become a rallying cry for an increasingly toxic and hateful anti-LGBTTQ+ lobby in the United States.
The problem for voters was that nobody, including former Tory leader Heather Stefanson, would explain what parental rights meant in the Manitoba context.
Would the Tories start banning books in schools and public libraries. Would they ban gender-affirming medical care for children under a certain age? Would they force schools to inform parents if a child had asked to use a different pronoun?
The campaign ended without any of these questions being answered.
Fast forward to this week and suddenly, an opportunity arose for the Tories to finally, mercifully, reveal their true feelings.
On Thursday, a private member’s bill sponsored by NDP MLA Logan Oxenham — who identifies as transgender — reached third reading. The bill designates March 31 as a day to recognize two-spirit and transgender people, to coincide with the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
The bill acknowledges that non-binary/transgender/two-spirit people are victimized by systemic discrimination and violence, and suffer from disproportionately higher levels of mental illness and suicide. The bill also asserts that “two-spirit, transgender and non-binary youth have agency over their lives, understand the concepts of gender expression and gender identity and appreciate that access to gender-affirming care means better mental health outcomes.”
The results of the recorded vote provided an important glimpse into the state of the PC party.
Four Tory MLAs voted against the bill: former interim premier Kelvin Goertzen, Ron Schuler, Josh Guenter and Konrad Narth.
Nine Tories voted in favour: Wayne Balcaen; Jeff Bereza; Kathleen Cook; interim leader Wayne Ewasko; Grant Jackson; Bob Lagassé; Gary Nesbitt; Richard Perchotte and Doyle Piwniuk.
Eight Tories abstained: Obby Khan, Jodie Byram, Derek Johnson, Trevor King, Lauren Stone, Carrie Hiebert, Jeff Wharton, and Rick Wowchuck. None of them explained their decision to abstain.
Abstentions are largely accepted as a necessary evil in the business of government — a safety valve for elected officials who may be unsure about an issue or are concerned about parts of proposed legislation. However, in this instance, none of the eight Tory abstainers can legitimately claim they don’t understand the issue and there really weren’t a lot of moving parts in this bill.
This was a scramble for cover, plain and simple.
Of the MLAs who hid from the vote, Khan has the most explaining to do.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Obby Khan’s “refuses to say” is not good enough.
Khan is considered by many in his part to be a worthy and, if he decides to enter, perhaps leading candidate to become leader. He is smart, articulate and thanks to his decorated career as a professional football player and entrepreneur, he boasts a profile that is much bigger than the one he has earned in politics.
But Khan allowed himself to be used as the poster boy for the parental rights campaign last fall. His smiling face was featured in television ads and billboards. Like Stefanson, Khan never really explained what parental rights would mean for a re-elected PC government. Now that he has abstained, the news media and public can only speculate on his true feelings.
If he opposes Oxenham’s bill, Khan should say so.
If he supports the intent — to protect two-spirit, non-binary and transgender people from violence and discrimination — then he should say so. He could even put forward an amendment to deal with any of his concerns.
However, “refuses to say” is not good enough. Not good enough as the elected representative for the constituents of Fort Whyte, and certainly not good enough for a man who may one day seek to lead the province.
Just to make sure there were no extenuating circumstances that prompted Khan to abstain, I emailed him and asked for a quick chat. As of Friday afternoon, I have not even received an acknowledgement that my interview request was received.
After setting fire to its old brand, the PC party is going through a process to reassess its values in the hope of forging a new and more accountable brand.
One can only hope that part of those new values is a demand that members of its elected caucus demonstrate a minimum amount of courage when it comes to voting on controversial issues.
As it stands right, the PC party has a courage deficit.
dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com
Dan Lett
Columnist
Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan.
Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.