Manitoba premier faces lengthy return home in event of emergency: travel experts
WINNIPEG — Staff say Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister will catch a commercial flight home if an emergency arises while he is at his vacation property in Costa Rica, something travel experts say could take more than a day because of flight connections.
Pallister has said he plans to spend six to eight weeks a year, not all at once, at his vacation home. Any time he is away, deputy premier Heather Stefanson serves in his place with full authority and, if she is absent, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen steps in.
“In the event of an emergency, the premier has already indicated he would return to Manitoba regardless of whether he was away on business or on personal travel,” Olivia Baldwin-Valainis, Pallister’s communications director, wrote in an email.
“His orders and guidance would be able to be received by either phone or the email designated for this purpose and he would be on the next flight home. The acting premier would continue to perform all of his duties, including the signing of any document, until his return.”