Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 57 • Issue 29
NDP leadership hopeful brings campaign to rival candidate’s turf BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
OUTSPOKEN CANDIDATE FOR AMC GRAND CHIEF NEWS - PAGE 2
BADMINTON'S BEST TRAIN IN THOMPSON SPORTS - PAGE 7
AUTHOR PENS THRILLER SET IN THE NORTH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 8
Manitoba NDP leadership candidate Wab Kinew was in his rival Steve Ashton’s stomping grounds of Thompson July 6 to speak with the United Steelworkers Local 6166 and other community members while taking in events such as the Canada Summer Games torch relay that was passing through town that day. “I wanted to bring my leadership campaign outside Winnipeg as much as possible,” Kinew told the Thompson Citizen. “I think an important part of being a leader in Manitoba is being able to represent people province-wide. Often a criticism of politicians is that their interests stop at the perimeter but I don’t want to suffer from perimeteritis. Part of that’s showing up but another big part of that’s listening and making sure that you can take decisions that reflect what the unique concerns are in all regions.” Kinew, who has been the MLA for Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge riding since the April 2016 election that swept the NDP out of power and the Progressive Conservatives into government for the first time in 17 years, says he thinks he can provide the leadership the NDP needs in the current phase of the province’s political history. “I want to help make a Manitoba where my kids can be successful and where they can be proud of their province and I think there are big challenges in our province right now,” said Kinew.”I know our province can meet these types of challenges but I think we need political leadership to help Manitobans fulfill their potential. I believe I can offer that. I was raised around First Nations politics and around
Thompson Citizen photo by Ian Graham NDP leadership candidate Wab Kinew was in Thompson July 6. a lot of strong leaders and the way that I was taught to think about leadership is you’re serving the people in your community. There are challenges going on. We need some help. I feel like I can help, so I should. I feel like I have the right kind of experience. I have no doubt that I have the skills and the temperament to carry out the job.” Kinew also says that the NDP needs to learn the lesson that was sent to it by Manitobans in the last election and to rebuild into a party that reflects traditional NDP values like economic fairness, social justice and protecting the average working family while also realizing that technology is changing the world and adapting to that reality. “I have the energy and
the disposition for that rebuild because I think what it’s going to take is a lot of listening to rebuild trust with people around Manitoba,” he says. “I think it’s also going to take the ability to bring young people in, other people who haven’t been engaged in the party before in. I believe I can do that. The next NDP government is going to have to look different than the last NDP government and maybe being less of a politician in some aspects helps me in that.” The current government is making some mistakes in the area of health care, Kinew says, and that is an important part of helping communities like Thompson, which is struggling with pending job losses, to remain vibrant. “One of the things I no-
ticed is that a lot of the young people that I talked to aren’t planning to stick around so how can we make a community like Thompson more attractive for young people to stay and how can we attract more people to come and make their lives and careers here? You kind of need two pieces to keep young people and to attract more people to town. One, you need the jobs and then, two, you want a good quality of life so services like health care and education but also for people to feel like they are going to have fun and lead a fulfilling life. A lot of that has to be done by creative people, entrepreneurs, all the good people in Thompson but I think government can definitely play a role in helping a city like this
thrive.” The goal of seeking the leadership is not just to lead the NDP but to use the position to improve the lives of all Manitobans, says Kinew. “We need to be a strong opposition, we have to hold the government to account, call them on some of the harmful things they’re doing like health care, freezing education funding,” says Kinew who serves as the NDP’s education critic. “The goal is not just to be a good opposition, it’s to govern and it’s not just to govern, it’s to govern well, to be a good government. That’s what I’ve set my sights on and so I do think that we need a new direction for the party.” Not that he necessarily has ambitions of being a lifelong politician. “I want to do some good, I want to be able to – hopefully, if I am successful – to be able to hand it off to somebody else to do more good work in the future. I don’t necessarily want to be in politics forever. I just want to while I’m somebody who has the energy and the passion for it.” The leadership candidate also thinks the team of supporters he’s assembled will make a brighter future for the party and the province possible. “It is a team that represents Manitobans. It also is a team with a lot of talent on it and is a team that’s got a good mix of people who’ve won before but also are going to be able to win in the future,” Kinew says. “I think Manitobans did send the NDP a message in the last election and I think it’s up to us to put the time in, rebuild the relationships. It’s not just about making promises to Manitobans. It’s really about listening and responding to what the needs are.”
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