Communication breakdown between mayor and premier persists despite pandemic

A hastily called press conference at Winnipeg's city hall on Friday offered some insights into the lines of communication between local governments and the men who lead them.

First, a gulf appeared between the province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg on the implications of a move into the orange, or "restricted," level of pandemic measures to cope with growing cases of COVID-19.

Following that was a stark glimpse into the relationship between the premier of the province and the mayor of its largest city.

The news conference that addressed the city's role in further restrictions was littered with phrases such as "we will be looking for clarification," along with "we are assessing" and "at this time we understand …"

The only items of substance the city announced Friday were the cancellation of groups over 10 at city-owned parks and reductions to gathering sizes for funerals and weddings on city property and in city facilities. 

Mayor Brian Bowman and Jay Shaw, the city's assistant chief of emergency management, didn't have firm answers to whether the new restrictions affected sports facilities or libraries.

"We just want to get in a room or virtual, for that matter, with some of our provincial officials, make sure we're all on the same page," Shaw said.

Why did the city need to "get into a room" with the province to sort out the messaging on some of the most critical health measures a government can impose?

Because municipal officials and the mayor found out what the province was doing about an hour or so before it was announced.

"Yeah, we're doing the best we can with the information that we get, when we get it," Bowman said.

The province was locking down the region where most of its citizens live — limiting their personal freedom in some respects — and figured that was about enough notice to give the city.

It's hard to see the strategy in that. Health messaging is hard enough. 

On Saturday, how many parents asked if this might close publicly run rinks, soccer fields and gyms while they were at practices across the capital region?

Did Bowman find such an approach to health messaging acceptable during a pandemic?

"There'll be ample time for analysis of all three levels of government's actions with respect to operating in a global pandemic afterwards. Right now, we're doing everything we can to support the provincial health orders and the province of Manitoba," Bowman told reporters.

When asked at a news briefing on Monday, Health Minister Cameron Friesen told reporters he believed the orders were clear, but if the city had specific questions, "the province has personnel and public health personnel available to respond."

When pressed on whether the two governments are having difficulty communicating, Friesen said they are talking — but if Bowman needs to know more, he should give them a ring.

"I think that the two sides [of] government continually communicate with each other. So if the mayor has questions that the mayor feels that he wants additionally answered, the commitment is there to answer those questions," Friesen said.

In contrast to the communications gap the two governments appear to be having, the province's chief provincial public health office, Dr. Brent Roussin, pledged on Friday to consult with bar and restaurant owners before any further restrictions applied to them.

'Some time ago'

The second and perhaps broader insight gleaned from the 20-minute news conference was the canyon-size gap that exists between Brian Bowman and Brian Pallister.

When asked about the last time Bowman spoke to Pallister, he couldn't remember.

"It was a while ago.… I can't tell you off the top of my head. It's been, it's been some time ago," Bowman said.

This in the context of a crisis — of health, of economy, of education — not seen perhaps since the Second World War.

It also bears analyzing the behaviour of other political leaders — both recent and in the past, both local and elsewhere.

In Ontario, the populist right-of-centre Premier Doug Ford shovelled ground-breaking dirt alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who is decidedly none of the those things. Ford also does joint announcements with Toronto Mayor John Tory.

Previous Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz (a decidedly right-of-centre business type) had the mobile phone numbers of both NDP premiers — Gary Doer and Greg Selinger — and they spoke often.

Somewhere on the political road since the Progressive Conservatives took office and Bowman took over from Katz, that back-door — and even front-door — communication slowed to a trickle.

A pandemic health crisis costing the world nearly a million lives and trillions of dollars was not enough to charge the phones.

This is not to say that acrimony and political disdain doesn't exist among leaders across Canada and across jurisdictions — it does, everywhere and always. 

Look at Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Those two fellows snipe at each other a lot.

There are plenty of active files between governments where the elbows always seem to be high. The City of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba are country miles apart on funding for treatment plants and roads and transit and ambulance services.

The question is: shouldn't a pandemic be grounds to get on the same page a bit? Maybe not dinner and a movie, but a call once in a while?

Pallister has been unequivocal in his messaging to the public about obeying health orders.

"Let's be very clear here: we're in this together," he's said.

That edict does not appear to include a meeting or a phone call with the mayor of Winnipeg.