Manitoba PC leadership hopeful Daudrich says there's porn in school libraries. Opponent Khan says that's false

A candidate for leadership of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives says there are books describing bestiality and incest in school libraries.

At a leadership debate in Brandon on Wednesday, Wally Daudrich claimed there's "pornography in schools," and alleged his rival in the PC leadership race, Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan, was told about the books as a government minister but failed to remove them.

"You were approached by some of the mothers in Manitoba about pornography in the schools — pornography so egregious that it actually describes to 13, 14, 15-year-olds … how to have sex with an animal and how to have sex with your parents," said Daudrich, a Churchill hotelier and ecotourism operator.

Khan responded that Daudrich's comments are "factually incorrect."

After the debate, Daudrich said he's seen the books, and bestiality is "what they're promoting and that's part of what the book tells."

He didn't say where the purported books are located.

An audience member approached CBC News later in the evening to show a copy of Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationship, and Being a Human, a graphic novel with sketches that include depictions of genitals, intercourse and masturbation. 

The book was taken from South Central Regional Library, which has five branches in southern Manitoba but none in schools.

Daudrich didn't specify if this is one of the books he was talking about. CBC News couldn't immediately confirm if the book described bestiality and incest in any way.

Sandy Nemeth, president of the Manitoba School Boards Association, said no books with that type of explicit content would be on the shelves of school libraries.

"At the end of the day, there's a great deal of misunderstanding about not only the content, but what is actually in the school libraries," she said in an interview.

"Mr. Daudrich does everybody a great disservice by spouting off the way he has without any sort of proof or anything to back up some of the comments that he's making."

Nemeth said libraries have books that discuss sexual identity and gender identity, but any literature is carefully screened to ensure it's appropriate for students.

Autonomy over book choices

Khan said it is up to municipalities or school divisions to decide which books belong in their libraries.

As the former minister of sport, culture and heritage, Khan said he recommended books about sensitive topics be moved into age-appropriate areas of libraries.

He told CBC News after the debate the former PC government was trying to develop these rules but they weren't finalized before the Tories were defeated in the 2023 election by the NDP.

During the hour-long debate, attended by nearly 100 people and live-streamed online, Daudrich continued to characterize homelessness as a lifestyle people choose.

Living on the streets, Daudrich said, is a "compilation of choices in our life," and people should "take some responsibility for our actions."

Daudrich also dismissed Khan's request he apologize for his earlier joke that homelessness in Winnipeg could be reduced by letting polar bears loose downtown.

He said he likes to use humour to make his point, before adding "it's a decision for a government, whether it's Winnipeg, Thompson or Brandon, if you're going to have homeless people. That's your choice."

His remarks prompted Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza, who has endorsed Khan's leadership bid, to heckle "wow" a few times, and moderator Deveryn Ross, a political commentator, to ask if Daudrich would repeat his comments to a family whose breadwinner has terminal cancer and is on the verge of homelessness.

Daudrich interrupted Ross, accusing the moderator of taking sides, which prompted applause from some of his supporters.

Daudrich then asked Khan to look at him as he said he donates more money to charity every year than the annual amount he made in the first 30 years of his life.

That was an attempt to counter Khan, who he felt was alleging he's an uncaring person, Daudrich said after the debate.

The event, hosted at The Dome Building in Brandon, proved to be the most heated affair of the six-month race to replace Heather Stefanson as leader of the Tories. Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko has served as interim leader since Stefanson's resignation in early 2024. 

The two candidates have until Feb. 28 to sign up new party members. Voting starts in March and a new leader will be announced April 26. 

Verbal jabs were flying within the opening minutes of Wednesday's debate, with Daudrich saying there's two types of people in the world, talkers and doers, and "my friend Obby is a talker."

"He talks about how his experience as a sitting MLA qualifies him to be our party's leader and Manitoba's next premier. Obby, you're a great guy, but the Blue Bombers would never hire a head coach and general manager with one-and-a-half years' involvement in football."

Daudrich then spoke of his 30 years running a successful business and wondered how many fundraisers Khan has hosted for the PCs or how much money he's raised.

"You've already seen the class of my opponent," Khan said in response, "taking shots right off the bat, insulting me by talking about talker and doer. I will let him talk about his leadership style. I will talk about mine."

The MLA proceeded to repeat some of his refrains from the campaign trail, including that he's running an inclusive campaign focused on bringing people together and that he could be more effective as a leader than Daudrich because he has a seat in the legislature.

Khan was first elected in 2022.

He said if Daudrich was serious about leading the Tories he'd seek to be the party's candidate for the Transcona byelection on March 18. 

Daudrich, who ran unsuccessfully for federal office in Churchill as a Conservative candidate in 2008 and 2011, has portrayed himself as the only true conservative in the race and the sole person with the business acumen to grow the province.

In response to several debate questions, Daudrich touted his support for the NeeStaNan project, a second deepwater port on Hudson Bay that would include a shipping corridor to transport bitumen or natural gas. He said it would be an economic windfall for the province.

Khan alleged the project, which has yet to be approved, is Daudrich's only plan to grow the economy. 

If the Tories are elected in the next election, Daudrich also promised to raise the corporate tax rate's threshold in Manitoba, so only businesses with at least $1 million in income, higher than the current $500,000 threshold, would pay the levy.

Khan, who vowed to reduce "punitive" taxes on businesses, spent time during the debate criticizing Daudrich for previously arguing some Tory caucus members weren't working hard enough.

He said Daudrich wouldn't be a successful leader if he insults the MLAs he seeks to represent.