Issues surrounding health care provided the most animated moments of a televised leaders debate as the province nears the stretch drive to Election Day on April 19.

NDP Leader Greg Selinger and Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister were the primary verbal pugilists who consumed most of the air time Tuesday night, while Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari and Green Party Leader James Beddome were occasionally left trying to force their way into the discussion.

Pallister teed off on the NDP’s track record on ambulance wait times and fees, deflecting a question from Selinger about the potential for two-tier health care under a Tory government by suggesting the province already has two tiers under Selinger and the NDP.

Selinger upped the rhetoric in a post-debate scrum with media, suggesting Pallister has no plan, while calling his answers Tuesday night “babble.”

“He’s a risky prospect, because he says nothing,” Selinger said. “He talks about his 10-point plan, can anybody tell me what it is? It doesn’t exist. It’s just a number of bullets, a number of one-liners. There’s nothing tangible there.”

Through most of the debate, it was Pallister who was getting the attention from the other participants, which he acknowledged felt like he had the target on his back.

Pallister rejected the notion raised by his opponents that he dodged their questions.

“I was speaking about the issues that matter to Manitobans because we’ve been listening to Manitobans and we’ve designed a platform based on what we’ve heard,” he said. “We’re going to act on what we’ve heard.”

Bokhari said her focus on Pallister was not to do with the Tory being the perceived leader heading into the polls.

“I think Manitobans are very clear about the premier’s history,” she said. “... I think the real question right now is Brian Pallister because there seems to be a lot of unanswered questions. He seems to pivot away from questions. You saw today that any direct question posed to him, you never really got a direct answer.”

The topic of a leader releasing their tax returns publicly, as Selinger has, also got the participants talking — with Beddome quipping that Selinger’s tactic was a flimsy stunt.

“If people had money in off-shore tax havens, they’re not going to record it on their tax returns,” he said.

Afterward, Beddome said he felt he took advantage of a rare chance for a Green candidate to stand out in such a venue.

“I think sometimes you do have to interject, particularly when we’re getting non-answer answers from our politicians,” he said.

“I try to answer questions as directly and straightforward as I can, and I don’t know that we were always getting that from them so there was a need at times to interject.”

QUOTABLE:



“Brian Pallister has an agenda that would turn the clock back on Manitoba ... back to extreme and divisive social policies.” — Greg Selinger

“Mr. Selinger can’t listen. I have five cabinet ministers as example.” — Brian Pallister

“For the first time in a very long time, we have the opportunity for meaningful change.” — Rana Bokhari

“If people had money in off-shore tax havens, they’re not going to record it on their tax returns.” — James Beddome

“I acknowledge that we caught Manitobans by surprise on that (PST hike), and I take responsibility for that. We made a difficult decision. We listened to Manitobans and what they said is if you’re going to raise that revenue, put it into things.” — Selinger

“(NDP and Liberals) believe the money of Manitobans is better on the cabinet table of government rather than on the kitchen table of Manitobans.” — Pallister

“We recognize that Manitobans want the politics of possibility, not the politics of power.” —Bokhari

“I’m Robin Hood and you’re the Sheriff of Nottingham.” — Beddome to Pallister

Exchange between Pallister and Selinger:

BP: “It wasn’t a question, of course, it was a speech with about 17 attacks in it.”

GS: “Just answer the question.”

“We can’t let Harper happen here.” — Selinger

“Let’s not fall back to the same old, same old.” — Bokhari

“The premier is using civil servants in a campaign based on fear.” — Pallister

“You're wrong in your premise, and you're wrong in all the things you just said.” — Selinger to Pallister.

“We never hear from either of these guys on mental health. Mental health is the greatest challenge of the 21st century.” — Bokhari

“(Manitobans are) fed up with the three major parties and they’re looking for someone else.” — Beddome