The Black Rod

Corporate documents from Manitoba demanded by a federal government agency have turned up missing. Without them, there's no way to prove that a shadowy committee which oversees the spending of tens of thousands of dollars from Red River College was created legally. If those documents can't be found or it turns out they were destroyed, hidden or never existed , high-level executives and former executives of Red River College could face charges which carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a fine of $5000. This includes the college lawyer, a former vice-president and the Dean of Business. A whistleblower tried to warn Colleges Minister Erin Selby last year that the shady committee was not legitimate and that $275,000 of college money was at risk, only to receive a form letter telling him to take his complaint somewhere else. Once it was clear the minister intended to do nothing about the bogus committee, the whistleblower was dis...

While covering the annual NDP convention last weekend, the Winnipeg Free Press tripped over a story about NDP in-fighting that's pitting the party's labour faction against the Premier. It's a good story. But we're betting its only the tip of the iceberg and some digging would turn up an even bigger story. In a nutshell, the NDP's executive has refused to apply for a public subsidy to political parties despite a binding motion at last year's party convention and again at this year's. Labour is demanding that the party take the money---an estimated $250,000. But Selinger knows the subsidy, dubbed a vote tax by the Opposition, is the third rail of politics in Manitoba : Touch it and risk political death. He's willing to face down the strong labour contingent in the party and suffer a little public embarassment rather than commit political suicide. The subsidy is paid, by law, to any party that asks for it on the basis of $1.25 f...