PC leadership candidate Stefanson ready to speak out after months of 'healthy debates' behind closed doors

Heather Stefanson, afavourite in the race to lead the governing Progressive Conservatives in Manitoba, won't point fingers at Premier Brian Pallister's sometimes adversarial leadership, butsaidshe'll handle the job differently.

"No approach is right or wrong,I just have a different approach," she said in aninterview Friday with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.

"What I'm hearing is that Manitobans want that kind of collaborative and conciliatory approach, and someone that's going to listen, and I think that that's what I bring forward."

Tuxedo MLA Stefansonis vying toreplacePallisteras leader of the Progressive Conservatives and, by extension, aspremier. The shakeupcomes as the party's popularity has plummeted, with recent pollssuggesting the PCs would be hard-pressed with present leadership to win the next election.

Up to this point, Stefanson's approach was to raise concernsbehind closed doors.

The veteran MLA defended her silence after Pallister's widely condemned remarks in Julythat the peoplewho came here to this country "didn't come here to destroy anything, they came here to build." His Indigenous relations minister resigned after that and the premier announced his retirement from politics a few weeks later.

Asked why she didn't condemn Pallister's remarks publicly, Stefansonrejected the question.

"I wouldn't say that I didn't," she said. "I work, you know, behind the scenes and we have our discussions behind the scenes."

'Healthy debates'

Discussions around the cabinet table are keptconfidential, she said, though she wouldn't condemn thehandful of her colleagues who distanced themselves publicly from Pallister's statements.Stefanson took part in "healthy debates" with her colleagues, she said.

"We have discussions incaucus and cabinet and that's the way we do things. That's fine," she said.

"But moving forward now, absolutely, am I committed tofurther reconciliation and to working with our partners in the Indigenous community moving forward? There's no question about that."

If Stefanson curries favour with enough party members, she will become the first woman premier in Manitoba's history.

She's pledged to heal divisions in the party and abandon the controversial school reforms etchedout in Bill 64.

Her campaign hadthe backing of two-thirds of Tory MLAsonly a week after Pallistersaid he'dstep down.

Former Conservative MP Shelly Glover and PC MLA Shannon Martin have said they are planning to run against Stefanson.

Stefansonwas health ministerduring the pandemic's devastating third wave, in which hundreds of Manitobansdied and the province held dubious distinction of being the only Canadian jurisdiction forced to send patients to other provinces because its health-care system ran out of capacity to treat them.

Asked what responsibility she took, Stefansonsaid there were challenges and "for my part, I takeresponsibility for that."

She then spoke aboutthevaccine implementation task force, which she helpedset up when she took over thehealth portfolio in January.

"What I was pushing behind the scenes was to get as many Manitobans vaccinated as possible, because what we know is that those that end up in the ICU are not vaccinated," Stefanson said.

"That was my primary focus and, obviously, looking to increase capacity within our ICUs, which we did."

The local nursing shortage is a national problemas well, she said.She wants the federal government to step up funding to boostcapacity in emergency departments.

Stefanson said she would not reversethe health-care overhaulin which three Winnipeg hospital emergency departments were converted into urgent care centres. Most of those reformswere completed by2019.

"Prior to COVID hitting, we had reduced [wait times] significantly. The system was working more efficiently and effectively, and then COVID hit."

Emergency wait times made some gradual improvements in the years before the pandemic, though Manitoba's hospitals continued to trail behind most Canadian hospitals.

Stefanson has been the MLA for Tuxedo since 2000, getting re-elected five times. She's served as deputy premier, families minister and, most recently, health minister. Her lengthy experience will be an asset as party leader, she said.

The party has been criticized for rushing its leadership race, which some have said has underminedthe efforts of any challengers.

The rules were announced this week and require candidates to pony up $25,000 to enter, sign up by Sept. 15 and sign up at least 1,000 members by Sept. 30. The new leader will be chosen on Oct. 30.

Stefanson defended the timelines, saying she was just one voice at the table deciding on the rules.

"I think it is very important that we move as quickly as possible," Stefanson said. "Rather than looking internally, we need to look externally and see, you know, who the real competition is here, and that's the NDP.

"We want to ensure that we have enough time to get in and make sure the NDP don't get back into power."

She also wantsthe partyto return to the legislature quicklyto get back towork, she said.