Time to investigate the gravity of scandalous waste

It's funny to wonder how many apples fell on heads before one sparked Isaac Newton's curiosity about gravity. Here's a less humorous question: when will a Manitoba scandal spark the curiosity of a provincial politician?

Here's the latest: the $118.7-million loan the provincial government provided for Investors Group Field isn't going to get repaid. The province funnelled the money through the University of Manitoba and claimed tax revenue from the old stadium site would cover the payments. The site remains largely undeveloped and now taxpayers are stuck with nine-digit bill. Unfortunately, the stadium isn't the only example. The original price tag for the police headquarters was $130 million while the final price soared to $214 million. Then there's the grand poobah of inexplicably exorbitant expenses: Manitoba Hydro. The unnecessarily elongated route for the Bipole 3 transmission line inflated costs by $900 million. The Keeyask Generating Station was supposed to cost $6.5 billion, but the final bill is now projected to be up to $10.7 billion. The list could go on. Despite flurries of questions, there are few answers. On the stadium loan, former Progressive Conservative finance minister Cameron Friesen accused the previous NDP government of constructing the complex deal to "mask expenses" with a "deliberate plan to understate the actual financial obligation of the province." Here's the strange thing: the province started writing off the debt in 2013. Yet, two years after the provincial election, it was the Sun's irascibly curious Tom Brodbeck who brought the story to light rather than any illumination from government.

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Apparently, the provincial auditor will report on accounting processes involved, but there's still no word on a comprehensive investigation. The police headquarters situation is under investigation by the RCMP and the investigation was reportedly close to wrapping up – a year ago. In the meantime, Mayor Brian Bowman has asked the provincial government to initiate a public inquiry, but the province won't move until the police are done. The province hasn't even indicated whether it's in favour of an eventual inquiry. Most stunning is the province's apparent lack of curiosity about Manitoba Hydro. Soon after the election, Hydro hired a high-end consulting firm that concluded the Crown's runaway megaprojects were too far gone to stop. But there has been no public inquiry that questioned witnesses, assigned blame and recommended new safeguards. There's more curiosity in other provinces. When the Saskatchewan government paid $21 million for land it appraised at $12 million, the premier asked the provincial auditor to launch an investigation that produced a 78-page report. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador initiated a full judicial inquiryregarding the Muskrat Falls hydro project that's costs soared from $7.2 billion to $12.7 billion. Newly elected Ontario Premier Doug Ford has commissioned the former Liberal premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell, to lead a line-by-line audit of that province's financial wreckage.

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Why isn't Premier Brian Pallister more curious? Perhaps the current government is applying white-knuckled focus to keeping the province on the road rather than glancing in the rear-view mirror. But how can the province fix problems without knowing what caused them? On the surface, it's easy to understand the official Opposition's stony silence on mismanagement that happened under its watch. But newly minted leader Wab Kinew has criticized past leaders on issues such as the PST hike. If he doesn't support accountability for taxpayers now, it'll be hard for them to trust him in the future. This leaves a golden opportunity for newly elected Liberal leader Dougald Lamont. Provincial Liberals had no part in past scandals. Nor is there any reason for Liberals to hesitate in out-flanking the government on accountability. Scandals keep dropping in Manitoba. Surely, eventually, someone in the Legislature will be struck with curiosity. Taxpayers deserve comprehensive investigations into the gravity of this massive waste. This column first ran in the Winnipeg Sun