Brian Pallister to run 2016 election on 'trust,' he says in year-end interview
Chris Glover | CBC News | Posted: December 30, 2015 11:30 AM | Last Updated: December 30, 2015
Brian Pallister fights back as Manitoba NDP consistently paint his values as out of touch
Manitoba PC Leader Brian Pallister said his biggest challenge is balancing his work life and his personal life during an annual year-end interview with CBC, but in many ways, his greatest challenge will be winning over Manitobans ahead of the 2016 provincial election.
Consistently painted as "out of touch" by the governing New Democrats, Brian Pallister used the annual year end interview with CBC news to try and prove them wrong.
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Pallister said he will continue to sway Manitobans in the early part of 2016, travelling across the province to meet with constituents.
If they're not ridiculing you, then they're probably not afraid of you
- Brian Pallister PC Leader
"That outreach isn't something that's going to stop, if we're successful in the next election," he said. "I already have plans to expand that outreach."
Throughout the course of CBC's half-hour interview with the leader, he continually cited the New Democrats lack of credibility. Pallister said the Selinger government has broken Manitobans' trust because of the increase to the PST and his party is the only way to restore that trust in government, he said.
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Pallister reiterated a promise expected to be key during the election campaign in the New Year, the reduction of the PST from 8 per cent back to 7 per cent within their first mandate.
Pallister said he would balance the books, but not necessarily right away.
"I haven't been against running deficits, I'm against perpetual deficits," the PC Leader said.
In order to get out of debt, the NDP has said Pallister will have to make massive cuts to public services like health care and education. But the PC boss said he'll find savings elsewhere, though he wouldn't be specific.
Pallister took the opportunity to dispel any notion that he would dismantle the public healthcare system.
"We have two-tier by neglect, because our wait times are so long that people who can afford to, and many people who can't, are going and getting their test done faster somewhere else," Pallister said.
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If elected premier, a first move will be to establish a hospital wait times task force, Pallister said. He's also repeatedly mentioned a PC government would lower ambulance fees.
"I'll be announcing platform items closer to the election so I won't get into specifics today," Pallister said during the annual interview.
- Watch the full year-end interview here: