'You have the power of one': An outgoing MLA's advice to the lone Liberal in Manitoba's Legislature

This First Person column is the experience of Jon Gerrard, who was the only Liberal member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2003, and again from 2010 to 2016. He lost his seat in the Oct. 3, 2023, provincial election, and offers this open letter to MLA Cindy Lamoureux, the only Manitoba Liberal to win a seat in that election.

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To Cindy Lamoureux, 

Congratulations on your re-election as MLA for Tyndall Park. It is sad no other Liberals were elected. But I will be there for you and will support you. 

The challenges you will have will be similar to what I faced as the lone Liberal MLA for all those years (from 1999 to 2003 and again from 2010 to 2016). 

Some will apply to any new MLA. Some, however, will be unique to you.

As the sole Liberal MLA, you will learn every aspect of how the legislature functions — from the minutiae of legislative rules, acting as your own House leader, attending a wide range of committee meetings and on top of that, being the lone spokesperson for our party.  

Through it all, you will need to pay attention to every single bill put forward.

And so I offer you advice:

1. Develop a good relationship with the NDP and PC House leaders. This is important for the smooth working of the Manitoba Legislature, and for you to be fully informed about what is coming up.

2. Don't hesitate to get advice from the clerk and/or deputy clerk. They are non-partisan. They do not give advice on strategy. But they are very helpful on procedural and other legislative matters. 

3. Be on your guard for surprises every moment you are in the chamber.   

Once, during a vote, I was distracted by an MLA from another party. He was sitting next to me and he deliberately (as he acknowledged later) engaged me in conversation during the vote. The result of this was that I did not stand to vote when I meant to. I learned the hard way that if you are sitting in your seat, you cannot abstain on a vote.  

It was an embarrassing moment, but one I learned from. 

Stand up for yourself when you need to.- Jon Gerrard's advice for MLA Cindy Lamoureux

4) Be prepared and ready to comment on matters which come up, including points of order and matters of privilege.  

When I was first elected, I received no notice of upcoming ministerial statements — since, as the only Liberal MLA, I did not have official party status in the legislature.  

In recent years, we've had advance notice, even without official party status, and this has been helpful. Regardless, be ready and prepared.

5) Stand up for yourself when you need to.

6) Apologize if you make a mistake. It's the best way to put those mistakes behind you.

Once, I used the word "schizophrenic" to characterize the twisted comments of a government MLA. I was rightly criticized for offending individuals with schizophrenia. I apologized. The issue never arose again. Later, I worked closely with and advocated for individuals with a variety of mental health issues. 

7) Think ahead. Politics is like a chess game. You need to consider your next moves and those of the other two parties, several steps ahead of time.

For example, a former NDP premier once used his party's majority to change an Opposition motion. The motion originally requested greater clarity of the financial arrangements with respect to the government's support of the True North Entertainment Complex. But it turned into a vote on whether or not to support the government's financial arrangements, without any more details being provided.   

The Progressive Conservatives and I, the lone Liberal, wanted more financial scrutiny of the deal before providing support, so we voted against the revised motion.  

For years afterwards, we were taunted for voting against the arena, when this was not the intention of the original motion. Indeed, in this circumstance, the Opposition wound up voting against something they actually supported.  

(The rules were subsequently changed, so Opposition motions could not be amended and manipulated in this fashion.) 

8) You have the power of one. 

Many aspects of the legislature's function require the unanimous approval of all MLAs. Elijah Harper used the power of one to stop the Meech Lake Accord. Use this power sparingly.     

9) Keep physically fit and eat healthy food. I'm fortunate enough to have a hobby banding bald eagles. This involves climbing tall trees to reach their nests. Only many years later did I realize this was actually central to my keeping physically fit and ready for the rigours of politics.  

10) Make sure you make time for yourself and your loved one. Your marriage is precious. Marriages don't work automatically. You have to continually work on a marriage. Support each other.

I have had incredible satisfaction supporting Naomi in her art, her nursing, her travelling and mostly recently, in her being chair of the board of the St. Norbert Arts Centre.  

11) Be your authentic self. Don't pretend to be someone you are not. If that means driving a motorcycle, going to McDonald's and having fun, then do it. 

At the same time, always remember that as a member of the legislature you are held to a high standard and that everything you do is "public."

12) Be ready to compromise to achieve good ends. I have succeeded in getting bills passed for this reason. 

In 2023, when I introduced the Personal Care Home Accountability Act, I consented to amendments put forward by Scott Johnston (then the PC's minister of seniors and long-term care). The bill passed unanimously.  

In 2006, I introduced the Good Samaritan Act to protect individuals who help others. An NDP MLA at the time then, independently, brought in an almost identical bill. Because my bill had been introduced first, it had precedence. But when my bill came to second reading, it was blocked from going further by the other MLA.

The next year, I again introduced my bill. Again it had precedence. However, realizing it would just be blocked again, I withdrew my bill. The other MLA introduced their bill again. This time, it was seconded by me. It was passed.  

It was more important that a bill was passed to protect Good Samaritans than for me to get credit for introducing that bill.  

13) Support your staff well. They are there for you. (You already do this, Cindy, so this will not be an issue.)

14) Keep your sense of humour. Humour can be like the grease to get through difficult situations. Criticism using humour is often more effective than criticism coming from anger. 

Good luck. I am sure you will do well. 

Signed,

Jon Gerrard.

This column is part of  CBC's Opinion section. For more information about this section, please read this editor's blog and our FAQ.

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