Image Credit: CPAC

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Manitoba premier’s emotional pandemic plea a hit everywhere but Manitoba

Dec 4, 2020 | 10:53 AM

THERE HAVE BEEN VERY FEW galvanizing moments throughout this whole COVID-19 pandemic — and that’s one reason Brian Pallister got his moment in the sun this week.

Pallister is the premier of Manitoba, the province that, per capita, has been the hardest hit by the pandemic’s second wave.

Manitoba has extremely strict lockdown protocols in place right now because of the rampant spread of the virus.

With limited exceptions, no one is allowed to open the doors of their homes to anyone who doesn’t already live there.

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Retail businesses may only sell essential items and personal service businesses must close.

Even so, the province is still seeing case counts and deaths at a per capita rate far above others and its ICU space is dangerously close to capacity.

In that context, Pallister made an anguished plea Thursday for Manitobans to stay apart.

He admitted to Manitobans he was the guy stealing Christmas from them, and said they were free to dislike him now in hopes that they respect his decisions in retrospect.

Pallister spoke plainly and emotionally, conveying the torturous nature of the decisions leaders have to make in an effort to prevent COVID-19 spread.

But while social media users throughout North America heaped praise on the premier for his speech, that was not the same reaction he received within his own province.

Pallister is the most disliked premier in all of Canada by his own constituents, according to an Angus Reid survey released this week .

While he towers over his contemporaries at 6-foot-8, Pallister stoops far below them with a 32 per cent approval rating. Even Jason Kenney got a 40 per cent rating.

Seeing his viral speech, Manitobans accused Pallister of shedding crocodile tears.

They draw a direct line between deep cuts to health care brought down since his Conservative government was elected and the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facilities find themselves understaffed and without the necessary equipment to deal with surging case counts.

Manitobans found Pallister’s anguish — not to mention the anguish of hundreds of families who have lost loved ones to the virus — a product of his own doing.

It’s a reminder that the right words are all fine and good, but without the right actions, they will just float away in the wind.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.