Category: Federal Politics

Pollsters must pull their hair about it. They cannot get reliable readings on the under 30s. They are not sure they understand the mindset. These young people are not easy to survey. The pollsters know that this age group will be a major factor in the next federal election but they remain amorphous.

Politicos agree that this will be the generation that can seal the win for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in the coming federal election but much can happen over the next 20 months. Nothing is static in politics. And we are talking about a large group of Canadians who have no reason to trust any of the current crop of politicians.

We should not forget that these Canadians were among the hardest hit by the economic problems of the past five years. For many of them, the information was strained through their parent’s understanding of the why but they also saw the problems from the vantage point of young people trying to find meaningful work even with the supposedly right education and degrees.

And we should bear in mind this was the generational group that brought down Jean Charest’s provincial government in Quebec when he tried to curtail what they saw as their entitlement in education. They did not directly support Pauline Marois’ péquistes even if she did beat pots for them when marching against the increased tuitions. The advice from Quebec is that the young people are more concerned about their economic future than with separatism for Quebec. They see separatism as something that old people argue about.

The good news for the federal Liberal Party is that Justin Trudeau connects well with this generation. The Liberal Party better be very careful not to turn off this support with the policies they propose at their upcoming Montreal policy conference. These young people care about the environment and they are not going to support any tar sands exploitation in Alberta if there is no environmental protection. They want more federal support for the sciences and education in general.

The really good news is that this is a remarkably interesting generation. When you get them to put down their communications devices for a few minutes you find they are able to carry on quite intelligent conversations. They have inquisitive minds and they are knowledgeable. Do not sell them short.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

It was wonderful to hear that Hayley Wickenheiser will be carrying the Canadian flag at the Sochi Winter Games. The four-time medal winner in women’s hockey will be tall and proud with the pride of carrying our flag.

But there seems to be a flag missing in the planning for Sochi that needs to make its presence felt. What would be more perfect than having Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird following Ms. Wickenheiser with a similar sized gay pride flag? Would that not be a statement that needs to be made?

Mr. Baird should understand that not all pontificating on world affairs need be done in the comfort and luxury of places such as Montreux, Switzerland. He is in that safe haven this week telling the Syrians the way to peace. If you think of all the places in the world conducive to peace and tranquility, it is sure tough to beat Montreux.

It is just that sometimes you have to get to the belly of the beast. President for Life Vladimir Putin of Russia needs to understand that his oppressive treatment of gays in his country is not socially acceptable. It is also quite déclassé to declare a moratorium on gays in Sochi to mollify the Olympics visitors. Good ole Vlad needs to mend his ways.

What better way for Canada to stand up for the oppressed than to put it to Putin when he is basking in the glory of the opening of his personal Olympic Games? While Vlad could quickly remove any other person from the order of march for the athletes, John Baird has diplomatic immunity and Vlad is not about to declare him persona non grata.

Nor would Vlad try to toss all the Canadians out of the Winter Games. Too many of those games are part of Canada’s heritage. It would be a false victory for a team such as the Russian men’s hockey team if they won gold at Sochi because Canada was not there.

So that is the proposition John Baird. You can carry the gay pride flag with pride. Many better men than you have stood up proudly for human rights. It might seem somewhat less than diplomatic to do it but since when have you ever worried about diplomacy?

Canada is waiting for your finest hour.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

They lionized former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien the other evening. Many Conservatives were there to honour him. Not all liberals attended. Some could not afford the $400 per plate tab. Some even disagreed with him being a great prime minister. It did not always seem that he was doing the best he could.

There was an animosity with him that started with his support for the Charlottetown Accord. It was hardly the end of life on this planet as we knew it when Canadians rejected that terrible contravention of all things Canadian. It was only after he was elected with a majority government and dumped his promises from the Aylmer Conference that we sensed his disrespect for Canadians in general and liberals in particular.

The unkindest act was his giving the finance portfolio to Paul Martin Junior. (Paul was not there the other night: no surprise.) It was Jean’s finest Pontius Pilate performance when Paul set out to fix Canada’s budget. He could wring his hands for the all little guys of Shawinigan and across Canada while Paul gave them a really good screwing.

As much as we hate what Stephen Harper is doing to Ottawa, it was Paul Martin who destroyed Unemployment Insurance. He almost ruined Medicare by tightening the screws on the provinces. Paul put deficit cutting ahead of the needs of Canadians. And he turned his back on his old friends who tried to argue some reason with him.

It was Paul Martin with his pseudo-Conservatism that enabled Stephen Harper to get Canadians to vote for a real Conservative. Paul was the doormat welcoming Harper’s Conservatives to power.

It was not until their fight became too public that people realized Jean and Paul were not the best of friends. Jean just did not understand what Paul was doing.

Jean’s major problem was his key advisor was on Paul’s side. Neither in life nor after Mitch died did Jean understand the basic conservatism of his friend Mitchell Sharp. While Jean’s instincts might be liberal, Mitch Sharp had little trouble talking him over to the dark side. Jean was surrounded and controlled by the Liberal right.

Practically from his first day in Ottawa until he left, Jean Chrétien was never his own man. He was 80 years old on his birthday. Maybe we just celebrate that?

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was born too late. There was little left of the anti-Semitism of the 1930’s and 40s in Toronto when he was born in 1959. He lacked the opportunity to learn first hand what it means. He had no understanding of the images he was using when his talk to the Knesset turned to what he called the new anti-Semitism.

There are few Torontonians left who would be able to recount what happened at that fateful baseball game in Christie Pits in August 1933. It was wrapped in the arguments over Hitler’s successes in Germany at the time and the emergence of some foolish Swastika clubs in Toronto’s Beach area. The event at Christie Pits was not the finest hour for the city but afterwards few of the bully-boys were foolish enough to take on the city’s Jewish youth.

The signs warning off Jewish patronage disappeared by the early 1940s but it was Toronto’s heroes in the Jewish community that really turned the tide. People such as politician David Croll with his famous “I would rather walk with the workers than ride with General Motors” and the many war heroes who put an end to overt anti-Semitism.

Toronto has become one of the more cosmopolitan cities of the world since that time. It is home now to peoples from all countries, religions, ethnic origins and colors and shades of colors. It is too bad that Stephen Harper left this mix for the more Americanized Calgary. Living in Toronto might have given him a much broader understanding of the world and its peoples.

His unfettered loyalty to Israel and his zeal for Zionism are friendly and nice but it is not Canadian. Canada is not part of the Middle East. We are a long way from the reality that Israel has to live with every day. It is obvious that there will be no lasting peace for that part of the world until everyone comes to the table to make it happen. Canada cannot be a surrogate. Nor can we be a barrier to peace. We can only be a supplicant—and a neutral arbitrator and resource.

For Harper to label those who want to question his position and that of the Israelis as anti-Semitism is to build walls to dialogue.

We Canadians know that walls do not work. The wall did not work in Berlin. The wall will not work on the American-Mexican border. Only the foolish build walls; the wise build bridges.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Always looking for material pro or con the royals, there was a web site discovered the other day that looked like a goldmine of liberal thought on Canada’s relationship with the monarchy. The immediate disappointment was that the last posting was over a year ago. Regrettably the search was in the Liberal Party of Canada website. If any party needs to take a clear stand on Canada and the royals, it should be the Liberals.

But it’s another “Ho-hum, who cares?” news day for the rusty, retro royals. Too bad Prince Harry had to abandon his jog or ski or whatever to the South Pole because of inclement weather. (What did he expect to find in those climes?)

His grandmother is over her year of jubilee and is setting out on making it through a 61st year on the throne without too much difficulty. The problem is that most of her Canadian subjects really do not care enough to be interested. Oh sure, they are polite about it. We all know that Canadians have a world-wide reputation for being too damn polite.

Yet those pickle-up-their-arse monarchist Conservatives have been spending taxpayer dollars to put the word “Royal” on everything except Tony Clements’ G8 Memorial Toilets.

Canadians will also be honoured this year by a visit in May by Prince Charles and his lovely wife Camilla. This year it is the turn of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Manitoba to do the meet-and-greet thing. Charley will pontificate while saying bloody well nothing and the lovely Camilla will simper along.

But what is this in aid of? While the monarchists think everything is bloody lovely, Canadians cannot understand why we bother. And the monarchy is a bother. It is getting in the way of reform of how this country is governed. It has to be brought forward as one of the governance factors that Canadians have to address.

Canadians, English, French, aboriginals and everyone else have to start thinking about constitutional repair. We need an elected congress of voters to come together and plan how Canada should be governed for the future. And everything has to be on the table. At a time when the Conservatives have destroyed any value we might have been getting from the Senate of Canada, Canadians want something done about it. It will take time, it will take argument, it will require a plan that Canadians can vote on. It has to be their plan to be approved and implemented. It probably will not include a monarchy.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

We hear that Prime Minister Harper filled his A310 Airbus for his historic trip to Israel. This marks a new trend in tourism for the Prime Minister. Until the trip to Nelson Mandela’s funeral, he was content to take his hairdresser and a few lackeys to help carry his luggage. It was the funeral in South Africa that showed him that a full plane can get him even more publicity. And the lackeys love it.

This trip, even the Bobbsey Twins are allowed to share the treat. Imagine the excitement in Foreign Minister John Baird and Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s offices that they were to be part of the Hair’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While not quite the equivalent of a Muslim Haj, it is a unique opportunity to visit the birthplace of both Christianity and Judaism. Mind you, lots of stones have been thrown at many different devils there over the centuries.

It will be a busman’s holiday for John Baird as he gets to see how the Hair handles diplomacy. Mr. Harper will, of course, be lionized by the Israeli politicians for being such a stalwart, unquestioning friend of Israel. They have even decided to name a bird sanctuary in Israel after the Canadian Prime Minister. The Israelis have been assured that no other part of the world would honour him with anything that reflected on the environment. As Canadians know all about Mr. Harper’s concern for the environment, they can see the humour in the Israeli politicians’ choice.

One of the other cabinet ministers who is getting a free tour of the Holy Land at taxpayer expense is Toronto’s Joe Oliver, the Hair’s ersatz minister of natural resources. What unimaginable purpose the Hair would have for taking Mr. Oliver with him is explained by the fact that almost 25 per cent of Oliver’s voters are Jewish.

The Hair’s big moment will be when he is allowed to address the Knesset—the Israeli Parliament. You can be assured that the hairdresser will be at the top of her game that day and not a strand will be out of place. Most of what the Prime Minister will say will be platitudes as he has neither wisdom nor insight to share. His assurances of support against the more aggressive Israeli neighbours in the Middle East will also be hollow but his easy access to the Americans gives him a bit of leverage.

The Israeli politicians can be assured that they will hear no criticism of the wall they erected against their neighbours. There will be no criticism of their obduracy in negotiating fairly with the neighbouring states. They consider the Hair a mensch.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

It was a headline in the Toronto Star Business Section: “Now or never for oilsands, executives say.”  The answer that came immediately to mind was “How about never.”

The Toronto Star story was quoting Brian Ferguson, chief executive of Cenovus Energy  and Russ Girling, chief executive of TransCanada, the pipeline people. They were speaking to a Canadian Club meeting—spreading propaganda like farmers running the manure spreaders through their fields.

And it is propaganda. People who refer to the Athabasca Tar Sands as oilsands are trying to paint a false picture. TransCanada’s Girling was quoted as saying that the tar sands are responsible for only seven per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. He says that hardly makes the tar sands the world’s biggest carbon culprit. That is an interesting claim when you realize that tar sands production is currently in a slump because of the lack of transportation for the output. Using the industry’s own figures it means that the tar sands are going to be responsible for over 20 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions when they get into full production with access to pipeline and rail shipping capabilities.

At a time when the world is facing the challenge of trying to reduce global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these men are talking only about the challenge of capturing market share. They are putting their greed ahead of world need. Their only objective seems to be profit.

Their rationale is that if Canada does not supply the raw materials, the Americans will source them elsewhere. This is despite the fact that most American refineries do not want tar sands material to refine. All the proposed new or reversed or revamped pipelines are designed to export the tar sands output. TransCanada’s Keystone XL is designed to feed tankers in the Texas Gulf ports. Northern Gateway and the twinned Kinder Morgan lines in British Columbia are designed to feed Chinese tankers. The Irving interests in Saint John, New Brunswick have agreed to build a tanker port to transfer the output from the Enbridge and TransCanada eastern pipelines to ocean-going tankers.

But these seemingly smart business opportunists are going to face reality one day soon. They needed to pay attention to a news clip on television the other day about the pollution in China. The announcer explained that in the nearly deserted streets of Beijing with its more than 11 million people, the smog was at a pollution level about 20 times that which is considered safe. The Chinese really do not need to add refining tar sands bitumen to that mix.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

In a rushed lead written in Twitter yesterday, there was some unnecessary meanness. It was not intended. It just appeared in the Twitter space and was carelessly left there because there were other things needing attention. What started as humour became something else. It is a very human fault.

The meanness of the comment was not apparent until watching the local Global News segment at six pm and there was a news item about teaching children about kindness. The clip brought home the feeling that we were possibly handling the problems with Stephen Harper and his Conservative henchmen and women entirely wrong. Instead of ridicule, derision, mockery, blame and criticism, we should be showing them more compassion and kindness. If nothing else, it could start an entirely new trend in Canadian politics.

An example of this new trend could start with the next time Justice Minister Peter MacKay has an announcement on the government’s campaign against cyber-bullying to make. We could counter with a very positive statement about his lovely wife and their sweet new child. That would be far better than noting that the announcement was just another series of desperate advertisements that will be used to try to re-elect the Harper government. Can you see the difference that this will make?

And we could be nicer to the Bobbsey Twins. Foreign Minister John Baird and Employment Minister Jason Kenney are stalwart members of the Harper Cabinet. And we know they are loyal to a fault. There is no point in deriding them at every turn. When Jason Kenney announced the other day that the federal government might not bother with involving the provinces in its all-important Canada Job Grant Program, we could have been polite and not laughed.

Just because the money is going to come out of the provincial funds one way or another, provinces—other than Alberta and Saskatchewan—have made derogatory remarks about the heavily advertised program. And because the federal government spends so much money advertising the program does not mean it needs to exist. Did you note though the very fine cut to the new suit Jason was wearing when he made the announcement. It is by noticing these things that will enable us to be nicer to him.

Now that we have had a chance to think about this, it is unlikely that we will always find something nice to say about the Harper government. We will do our best.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

Is a Conservative Party uprising in the offing? No. Is there dissension in the ranks? Yes. The importance of this for their opponents is that we have to pay attention and help keep the scabs from forming over these tears in the fabric of Canadian Conservatism. Nobody wants to smooth the ride for Stephen Harper when Canada goes to the polls next year.

From the roots of the Conservative Party in Alberta to the anti-Conservative streets of Toronto, there is rebellion and the challenge to Stephen Harper is to prevent the spread of the discontent. While in Alberta, the arguments might rage between the extreme Conservatives and the more extreme Conservatives, Harper’s major challenge is to hold together the soft underbelly of the Conservative Party: the oft-mentioned ghosts of conservatism, the red Tories whom we only hear about but never see these days.

In Alberta, the fights between unreformed Reform, Conservative and Wild-Rose Party adherents are becoming the stuff of sleepless nights for Stephen Harper. Mind you, not all Albertan MPs are as narrow-minded and unreformed Reform as Rob Anders MP for Calgary West. He is facing a serious challenge for the new Calgary Signal Hill electoral district by Conservatives who are tired of him embarrassing them.

Not all government MPs are running into fights over Alberta’s new ridings but some of them are quitting the rat race rather than face another term of being treated like a trained seal by Harper and the Prime Minister’s Office lackeys. Some of these people ran for nomination and election as Conservatives thinking they could go to Ottawa and make a difference. They were not allowed to make a difference—particularly if they thought they could change Canada’s position on abortion or same-sex marriage.

Potential Liberal and New Democrat candidates are watching some Western Canadian ridings with interest as the internal Conservative fighting is leaving the ridings open to improved possibilities for other parties. The work that Justin Trudeau has done in Alberta might have been questioned by Liberals at the time but if it can produce three or four victories in that province, the effort will be worthwhile.

While the Liberals expect to do better in the Atlantic and British Columbia, the major gains will be made in Ontario and Quebec. In Quebec, the Orange Wave will disappear into a sea of Liberal red, leaving the decision on the election in Ontario. Considered the heartland of fiscal Conservatism, Ontario is the one province where Harper can ill afford arguments between the religious right, libertarians and red Tories. Maybe, we should stir the pot for him!

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]

It was back in the 1970s in an advertising agency boardroom in New York, the president of the Canadian Multiple Sclerosis Society was being given a preview of that year’s proposed advertising campaign for the U.S. Multiple Sclerosis Society. The ads, headlined by Frank Sinatra and similar luminaries, were slick and professional. We thanked the Americans for their generosity but turned down their offer.

The show the other day by Neil Young reminded us very much of the incident. And do not get us wrong, Neil Young is a great talent as Frank Sinatra was back in his day. The problem is that Neil Young is no expert on tar sands in the same way as Frank Sinatra was no expert on Multiple Sclerosis.

The difference was that Neil Young was using his musical talent to raise money for a court challenge by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. These people needed help and he was helping in the only way he can—using his talent. Where he might have erred was in comparing Fort McMurray to Hiroshima. That type of hyperbole might seem effective but it is taking the argument to a level that leaves little room for sensible discussion.

What the first nations people want is for the Canadian government to come to the bargaining table. They want the government to pay attention to the environmental and health problems that are arising because of the unfettered exploitation of their lands and rivers. The government, according to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, is claiming that the economic benefits outweigh the aboriginal concerns.

It is good that Neil Young is concerned. All Canadians should be concerned about the exploitation of the Athabasca tar sands. It is not only a continuing concern for the environment of these sensitive lands but the bitumen dug from the sands is an environmental hazard that keeps on polluting. Whether shipped by inadequate railway cars or through jury-rigged oil pipelines at high temperatures and high pressure, bitumen is a dangerous soup of toxic chemicals. When refined, it creates mountains of carbon slag that continue to pollute.

And, in case you think the Canadian Multiple Sclerosis Society was wrong to turn down Frank Sinatra, we can tell you today that it was the right decision. The realistic campaigns over the years for Multiple Sclerosis have made the society the third best known health charity in Canada. The society is a leader in the world-wide fight to end multiple sclerosis. Progress is being made.

-30-

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to  [email protected]