Premiers’ meeting shutters Manitoba Legislative Building

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This article was published 06/07/2023 (303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba lawmakers, political staff, civil servants and journalists are being forced to clear out of the seat of government as Canada’s premiers descend on the province.

Almost everyone with an office at the Manitoba Legislative Building has been told to stay away July 10, owing to security protocols for a Council of the Federation event at the property that day.

COF is comprised of the 13 provincial and territorial premiers, and is chaired by Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson.

The premiers are scheduled to discuss affordability, health care, economic growth and competitiveness during their summer conference in Winnipeg next week. The group will also meet with national Indigenous organization leaders at the Leaf horticultural attraction at Assiniboine Park.

A memo circulated last month to all building occupants stated no one could remain in the legislature past noon to accommodate the event and access would be banned until 10 p.m. The building was scheduled to resume normal operations July 11.

However, staff with the premier’s office, clerk’s office, intergovernmental affairs deputy minister’s office, protocol office, and legislative security will be permitted on the property Monday.

Ministers, deputy ministers, MLAs and all government staff were encouraged to make arrangements to work remotely to avoid disruptions to normal operations. Legislature security and law enforcement were also scheduled to conduct an office-to-office security sweep to confirm the building was empty.

No one from the premier’s office was made available for an interview Friday. A request for comment from the protocol office was not returned.

Restricting access to the building in order to host the 13 premiers is not surprising and not entirely unprecedented, according to former chief of protocol Dwight MacAulay, who organized the visits of numerous dignitaries to Manitoba, including two by Queen Elizabeth.

Security requirements and access restrictions can vary based on who is visiting the building, the time of their visit, but generally police will conduct a thorough security sweep ahead of a dignitary’s arrival, he said. “Each visit is a case unto itself.”

Over his nearly 20-year career managing diplomatic and Royal visits to Manitoba, MacAulay said he can’t recall a time when access by elected officials and government staff was prohibited for an extended period of time.

“But I can’t say it hasn’t happened before,” he said.

“This is not new. I’ve seen this level of security in the legislature building before.”

However, NDP justice critic Matt Wiebe said the temporary expulsion is not acceptable and could have been avoided.

The MLA for Concordia argued the ban on access to the building is an attempt to restrict access by elected officials to participants in the COF meeting. MLAs should have ongoing access to their offices in the people’s building to carry out their work, he said.

“There is a (security) structure that’s available and there’s no reason why this would be any different than any of these other circumstances where we’ve welcomed dignitaries into the building and other guests.”

Wiebe said he cannot recall a similar directive being made since he was elected in 2010, and legislators have not been barred from the building during visits by prime ministers and princes.

“Overall, the enhanced security that we’ve seen at the building, it’s created an atmosphere of a detachment from government for a lot of people.”

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the restriction on access is not a major inconvenience, however, and security concerns are legitimate when there are so many premiers involved.

A similar approach was taken during past visits by the English queen, he said.

“I don’t like the idea of turning the legislature into a bunker, but we do also have to be realistic,” Lamont said. “This was also a building that had an occupying protest during the (so-called freedom) convoy, where there were a lot of threats being made to politicians.

“It’s a reasonable step to take,” the St. Boniface MLA added.

A spokesperson for Stefanson’s office refused to say what type of event was taking place Monday.

“COF 2023 presents a number of unique scenarios — logistical and security related. Specific details cannot be provided so as not to compromise security and policing operations,” press secretary Miranda Dube said.

Dube said the Leaf will remain open to staff and the public during the premiers’ meeting with Indigenous leaders, but a portion of the facility has been reserved and will be inaccessible to the public.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca