Pallister during the pandemic: Protecting the public purse, ceding the safety net to Ottawa

More than a month after Manitoba reported its first case of COVID-19, the people responsible for public health in this province have proven more than competent.

The COVID-19 growth curve that saw caseloads double every four days in March is now as flat as the view in any direction from the top ofVirden's grain elevator.

Hospitalizations due to the disease in Manitoba are equal to the number of players on a pair of curling teams.

The number of active cases of the disease is dropping slowly and steadily, which is precisely what Manitobansneed to see if they ever want to stand in line again for ice cream at BDIon Jubilee Avenue without starting at Pembina Highway.

The physical distancing measures put in place by chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin appear to be working and enjoy broad acceptance by the public, even if they are not popular.

The socio-economic response by the Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government, on the other hand, is much more difficult to appraise. And it is clearlyPallister's government, especially asintelligent and capable ministers such asCameron Friesen andHeather Stefanson have become as scarce as Winnipeg Transit passengers during the pandemic.

During the first two weeks of this plague, Pallister appeared to be sitting on his sizable hands while his counterparts in other provinces unveiled aid package after aid package.

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Throughout the monthof March, the premier appeared reluctant to crack open the provincial piggy bank, either out of fiscal prudence during the early stages of the pandemic or because he was still stunned bythe pandemic-inducedcollapse of his long-term plan to balance the provincial books.

At the beginning of April, the premier loosened up the provincial purse stringsto provide money to protect homeless people exposed to COVID-19 and to purchase hospital supplies. These are not luxuries, but necessities during a pandemic.

• Money for local hospital equipment, shelter beds, tax breaks announced to help fight COVID-19 in Manitoba

Now, a full month into what's become adisaster for every segment of the economy that doesn't involve streaming video and door-to-door food delivery, the premier's primary concern continues to be the provincial balance sheet.

The reduced work week he's proposed for Crown corporation employees could save hundreds of millions of dollars. That would take a sizable dent out of what he has described as a potential $5-billion deficit this year.

• Manitoba looks at reduced work week for public sector to save money during COVID-19 pandemic

Pallister's ask of public servants is considerable. He's portrayed it as a fair sacrifice in light of the employment bloodbath taking place in the private sector.

Tinder, but for volunteers

What the premier has offered to Manitobans in the wayof aid, however, is on an entirely different scale say,like the Stonehenge set in This Is Spinal Tap, or Paul Rudd'sAnt-Man character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Early on in the pandemic, the premier announced the creation of a volunteer-finder app that seems redundant in the age when most Manitobans tend tomultiple social networks.

As of Wednesday, 6,370 people registered to use what could be described as Tinder for volunteers.

The province also awarded a $4.5-million contract to a company called Morneau Shepell to deliver online therapyto Manitobans suffering from mental-health issues during the pandemic.

Presumably, one large multinationalcompany based in Toronto is better positioned to meet the needs of physically distanced Manitobansthan a number of psychologists based inWinnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach or Thompson.

The province also awarded a $4-million contract to homegrown call-centre company 24/7 In Touch to help businesses and non-profit organizations access federal wage subsidies and the Canada Emergency Business Account.

"On the surface, people would say, 'Well, why are you simply tendering to promote a federal program while we're all in this together?'" Pallistersaid earlier this week, recognizing the unusual optics of spending provincial money to help Manitobans access federal cash.

• Manitoba government to help small businesses, non-profits apply for federal aid

"If you understand that there are literally billions of dollars at stake, you'll understand that investing one one-thousandthof that money and promoting and co-ordinating the program to help Manitobans makes good sense, rather than duplicating a program or topping it up."

Falling through the cracks

Some small businesses cried foul, claiming they're falling through the cracks of federal aid programs.

Pallister, however, insistedthere's nothing he can do to help.

"We can't possibly design a plan that effectively fills in the cracks when we don't understand where the cracks lie," Pallister said on Thursday.

"As recently as yesterday, the federal employment minister announced other changes to the federal plan. More recently, this morning, the prime minister announced other changes to the federal plan. Each time that happens that creates uncertainty as to where the cracks may lie."

What Manitoba's premier found impossible was accomplished a week ago in Saskatchewan, where Premier Scott Moe's small-C conservative governmentis offering businesses up to $5,000,with no strings attached.

• COVID-19: Sask. announces $50M small biz grant that could pay up to $5K with no strings attached

Perhaps there is no point for Manitoba to offer something similar at this stage. Some Manitoba businesses mayhave suffered too much alreadyfor a little bit of liquidity to make a difference.

But that's not the point. The premier's primary objective does not appearto be aid.

Health carethe top priority

His first priority is health care. His secondappears to be reducingthe pandemic-induced financial hemmorhagingto the point where Manitoba can recover more quickly from what's expected to be a brutal, drawn-out recession.

For example, there is a provincewide effort to claw back or eliminate spending on all government service providers that are not deemed essential during this pandemic. An internal government memo, obtained by CBC News, asked every department to tally up the potential savings.

• Manitoba seeks to claw back or cancel funding for 'non-essential' service providers during COVID-19 pandemic

On Thursday, when Pallister was asked to state how much money the province could expect to save from this exercise, the premier claimed this squeeze on service providers is the normal course of government business.

To be clear, cancelling or clawing back contractsmidstream is not normal government business. There is nothing normal about a pandemic and the premier can not be faulted for that.

Time will only tell whether the fit and feisty Pallisteris right to remain relatively idle while Justin Trudeau's Liberals who have never been afraid of spending money weavetogether a pandemic social-safety net.