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This article was published 15/8/2019 (407 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANITOBA Hydro has postponed sharing the results of an employee-engagement survey with its staff until after Sept. 10, citing "an abundance of caution" as to not interfere with the provincial-election process.

The Crown corporation originally set Aug. 14 as the date it would release survey results, but employees were informed of a delay until mid-September following the Monday writ drop.

Mike Espenell, business manager at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034, which represents hundreds of Hydro workers, said the survey asked staff at all levels about their thoughts on a broad section of workplace issues, including employee resources, safety and morale.

"Everybody was looking forward to getting this feedback," he said Thursday.

Premier Brian Pallister’s self-imposed blackout on government announcements and advertising came into effect June 12 — 90 days before the election. The rule affects all government departments, Crown corporations and regional health authorities.

However, Espenell said he does not understand why the review session was delayed, since it wasn’t made for external parties.

"Having it cancelled, with very little notice, was a direct result of interference," he said, adding Hydro workers have raised concerns about the Pallister government’s involvement with the Crown corporation.

Pallister has faced allegations of interference with Manitoba Hydro previously, amid a number of board resignations in 2018. The Progressive Conservative party did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The Election Financing Act restricts Crown corporations from advertising or publishing information about programs and activities during a campaign.

However, this rule does not apply to matters including those required by law, part of ongoing programs, and others of public health and safety.

"We are rescheduling the release of the results to our employees out of an abundance of caution as to not interfere, or even give the appearance of interfering, in the provincial-election process," Manitoba Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said.

Manitoba Hydro declined to provide details of what exactly employees were asked in the survey or of the results to be released next month.

It also declined to comment on the survey’s timing, but a post advertising an employee-engagement survey on the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 website dates to June 10.

Powell said pushing the results back several weeks will have no internal impact. Instead, it will give more employees the opportunity to view the live presentation after the summer vacation period, he added.

However, "I think we owe our membership more of an explanation on what this has to do with a provincial election," said Michelle Bergen, president at CUPE Local 998, one of the unions that represents Manitoba Hydro workers.

Government blackouts have raised controversy in recent provincial elections, with bureaucrats appearing uncertain about what information can and cannot be released to the public.

During the 2018 byelection, a blackout was cited as being the reason St. Boniface residents weren’t alerted sooner about a report of high levels of lead in their soil. Media was also told not to take photos of the premier posing with Order of Manitoba recipients at a non-partisan event during last summer’s campaign.

Agencies such the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority are also known to withhold information during campaign periods. A WRHA spokesperson said it was advised releasing monthly wait times during the 2019 writ period would not be in compliance with election rules.

The premier-appointed clerk of the executive council will advise government bodies about the appropriateness of their releases, said Paul Thomas, a professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

Thomas said the Election Financing Act’s restrictions on government advertising aim to maintain a level playing field between the government in power and opposition parties but he said the law is flawed in its clarity.

"There shouldn’t be a complete halt to the release of routine information that’s gathered and published for the benefit of how their government is functioning," he said, adding Manitoba Hydro’s employee-engagement survey results should not fall under the restrictions.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca