Opposition in Manitoba says questions remain over premier’s hiking accident

Great to be home. Appreciate all the well wishes and the help from New Mexico authorities. #mbpoli pic.twitter.com/9iWdhUBVyn

— Brian Pallister (@Brian_Pallister) November 17, 2017

WINNIPEG—Manitoba’s Opposition NDP says Premier Brian Pallister needs to clear up some details about his recent vacation in New Mexico where he broke his arm.

NDP critic Andrew Swan says questions remain, including whether the premier is using a government cellphone following controversy over his availability at his vacation home in Costa Rica.

Pallister was injured Nov. 13 when he fell during a solo hike in New Mexico.

When he didn’t turn up as scheduled, his wife reported him missing and was he eventually located at a trail head by a state police officer.

A government spokesperson responded that Pallister wasn’t carrying a phone during the hike because the signal on the trail was spotty, but that the premier was carrying a phone the rest of the time.

The premier has not been available to the media since the accident but he did post a Facebook video update over the weekend with questions posed by a government staff member.

“Expecting that you can keep the media out and manage things with a four-minute interview with questions that you’ve written for your own staff would be a departure from the way we do things in Manitoba,” Swan said Monday.

Swan also asked who was in charge while the premier was incapacitated. He further wondered why Pallister went away a week before the Speech from the Throne and why it took four days to alert the media about the accident.

“When something like this happens you would expect that there would be more effective communication with Manitobans so they could know how the premier is doing,” said Swan.

The government spokesperson said the tone and substance of the throne speech were already completed before the premier left for the holiday.

The spokesperson also noted that Pallister has been told to rest at home by his doctor, so a quick video update was the most effective way to provide information to Manitobans.