Category: Federal Politics

Playing the Numbers.

by Peter Lowry

The numbers game, as run by organized crime across the U.S., throughout the 20th Century, never really got a foothold in Canada. It looks like it has finally come today under the auspices of the conservative party of Canada. They have put together a numbers game that can outdo anything the Mafia dreamed up in the U.S. and could even compete with Lotto Max. The only difference is that the players pay substantially for the right to sell tickets and don’t even get a commission on their sales. It is called a leadership contest.

As an organizer of major events for a political party, I often started the process with a sit-down with the financial head of the party to discuss budgets and anticipated revenues. And while we never called it ‘profit,’ funds left over for the party’s election coffers were a major objective every time. And it was always serious.

I will never forget one time at a convention at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, I very publicly ejected the then mayor of Toronto, my friend, Phil Givens, and made him pay the convention fee. Phil and I had not pre-planned it, but it made the point that everyone pays. Phil was a good sport and we had a good laugh about it later when I also got him to buy my lunch at Toronto’s Island Yacht Club (IYC).

But I guess we have been out-gunned by the conservatives these days. They have turned leadership contests into a very large profit-making organization. They strictly vet all candidates, make them pay sizeable amounts for the right to be in the running, demand a cut of the donations the candidates get to pay for their campaigns and then they keep all the membership fees for the temporary conservatives the candidates sign up for the voting. This is a multimillion-dollar operation.

Mind you, the conservatives seem to be getting more practice these days. No doubt many of those organizers were very surprised when the candidates this time brought in more than $6.5 million in fees for new members. The party is going to need lots of that money to meet its September deadline for announcing the winner.

Like the Mafia bosses of old, the conservative organizing group has a way to keep up the suspense. They weight all the memberships to a maximum of 100 points per electoral district. Pierre Poilievre can chew his nails until September.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Destroying Democracy.

by Peter Lowry

Is Canada a land that tolerates demagogues and populists and bigots? And do we know one when we see one? Demagogues are politicians who tell you what they think you want to hear. A populist is a demagogue who appeals to the lowest common denominator among voters. And a bigot is a politician who sorts the population into groups and tries to turn one group against another for political advantage. We would like to think of Canada as a land free of such chicanery.

But sorrowfully, it is not. And if we continue to let these people go unleased and brazen and with power, we could be signing the death warrant of our democracy.

No doubt you can add more to the list but let me name three of these people who are a serious threat to-day to democracy in Canada.

The first is MP Pierre Poilievre. This man has weaseled his way through the political systems of our country to the point where he is on the brink of becoming leader of the conservative party of Canada. He is a demagogue. He has used the frustrations that people feel in coming through a deadly pandemic to build a following of discontents.

He tells these followers that it is the present government—the one that brought us through the pandemic, so far, with fewer deaths than most advanced nations—is responsible for the current ‘world-wide’ inflation. He also lies about the Bank of Canada and lauds cryptocurrencies.

The second is premier Doug Ford of Ontario. This man has bluffed his way in politics. He poses as a populist. He makes promises for the simple minded. Nobody would vote for him who would think through all his promises. He has no compassion for the environment or for people. His party’s slogan in the last campaign was that the conservatives will “Get it done.” He forgot to add the words: ‘For their friends.’

The third of these politicians is premier François Legault of Quebec. Legault is a demagogue, poses as a populist and is a proven bigot. In pandering to the francophone population in Quebec, he discourages freedom of religion, fails to protect the rights of people who speak English and even wants Quebec’s language police (l’Office québécois de la langue française) to search without warrant.

I expect that democracy only becomes precious when you lose it.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Brown-Out for Brown.

by Peter Lowry

From the first meeting with Patrick Brown some 15 years ago, I did not like him. He was a sallow-complexioned little man with a bad haircut. He wanted to shake my hand and I rudely pulled my hand back. I’m not usually so rude but I must have seen the conservative blue of the pamphlets in his other hand. It was the first federal election in many years where I did not have a horse in the race. I knew I would never warm to this guy.

In subsequent years I have never changed my opinion. Seeing Brown around Barrie did little to change my mind. Watching how he behaved in Ottawa put me off even further. One time, I was sitting behind him at a Canadian Radio Television-Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing in Gatineau, Quebec. He never caught on to where he had seen me before. I watched him deliver a presentation to the commissioners that was most likely written for him by Bell Canada writers. He had difficulties with some of their words. I wasn’t impressed with the way the Bell people fawned over him.

When he knew he was in trouble, was in 2015 when he saw it would be tough getting re-elected in my Barrie riding. That was when he decided to take a run at the Ontario conservative leadership.

He must have used the same tactics at that time as he used earlier this year in the federal conservative run-up. In the Ontario contest, it was easy for him to swamp the signed-up conservatives with members of the South Asia diaspora in Ontario. A Sikh friend told me that in one of their communities’ house parties, they were asked to sign up to support Brown. They were told that paying the membership fee was optional. I wish I had been on the inside to tell you how he pulled that off but paying for membership has always been a no-no.

I am not sure that the conservatives insiders will ever say exactly why he is out but I expect they have been looking for a way to block him.

I am more interested in where that leaves former Quebec premier Jean Charest. The deal was that when Brown dropped out, his votes were supposed to go to Charest. I wonder if Brown is going to keep the scam going and get his legal sign-ups to vote for Charest. Would there be enough legal conservative voters to matter? I expect Pierre Poilievre is smiling.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Flying False Flags.

by Peter Lowry

There is a discomfort in seeing hockey stick-mounted maple leaf flags flying from pick-up trucks. Maybe the flags that simply say ‘F*ck Trudeau’ are a clearer message. In any case the flags that some politicians seem to be flying today differ strongly with the parties to which they tell us they belong.

Take the top four contenders for the federal conservative leadership. Front-runner, MP Pierre Poilievre flies under the flag of the freedom convoy. How he can pander to these extremists and run for the conservative party, while bad-mouthing the Bank of Canada and promoting Bitcoin, is something of a puzzle.

Former Quebec liberal premier, Jean Charest flies under the flag of the former Mulroney conservatives of 30 years ago. It seems he is finding that politics have changed.

Charest’s friend, Former MP and mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, is the retail politician who delivers down the middle of the road. In his campaign website, he describes himself as a successful businessman. That is a rather odd claim for someone who has never run a business.

The last conservative contender worth mentioning is MP Leslyn Lewis. She is probably the best educated in law and appeals to the anti-abortion side of the conservative party.

The most controversial of conservative flag wavers is the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford. Ford is a populist. His only flag is that of Ford Nation, a Toronto-based support group, in that he supports and they benefit.

The conservatives in Quebec fly many flags but the right-of-centre Coalition Avenir du Québec flies the confused flag of discrimination against those who wear religious symbols or speak English. As premier Legault is facing an election later this year, he is promising inflation bonuses of $500 each to Quebecers if they re-elect him.

Prime minister Trudeau waves the flag of environmentalism. He tells us how much less pollution there will be in the future despite his spending billions of taxpayers’ money to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline. The dual pipeline will be completed next year to take Alberta tar sands bitumen to Burrard Inlet to export to Asian refineries.

It would seem that we need to check and see exactly what flag our politicians think they are operating under.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Calling for “Free (the) Dumb”.

by Peter Lowry

We think of Canada as a free country. And it is in many ways. Yet, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms notes in its first paragraphs that our freedom is subject to reasonable limits. While there are different opinions about what constitutes reasonable limits, there are also reasonable ways to express concerns about those limits. It is when unreasonable people defy the law with noise and inconvenience for others, that we can have problems.

The one thing for sure is that people who break the law by blocking access to border crossings and occupying the streets of our capital city are not using reasonable methods. And federal politicians who support them should be subject to censure in parliament for failing in their responsibilities in office.

And what is of special concern is when politicians take advantage of these unreasonable people to further their own agenda. There are actually elements of the conservative party of Canada, led by MP Pierre Poilievre of Carleton who fawn over and encourage these unreasonable people. Poilievre also tells us he has signed up some 300,000 of these malcontents and others as temporary members of the conservative party. He expects them to make him the leader of the conservative party.

As of the last update from Health Canada in June, 2022, 85 per cent of Canadians (over five years) had been vaccinated at least once against COVID-19. Most of our seniors have had three and even four shots. It is why Canada’s mortality rate for the pandemic has been less than many other G-7 countries and even the United States.

But we can never get rid of COVID and its variations as long as Mr. Poilievre’s friends are voicing their objections to vaccinations, mask mandates and other attempts to curb the disease. Who gives these people the right to continue to spread disease to others? And who says they can force change to these attempts to protect Canadians?

We are always a stronger nation when we work together to get things done. As long as demagogic politicians such as Poilievre seek to channel distrust and dissatisfaction to assist their objectives, a stronger future for our country is delayed.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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But Not in Canada, Eh?

by Peter Lowry

It was a hundred years ago when demagoguery was being preached in Munich. It was six years ago when a demagogue won the republican party nomination in the United States. Canadians said it could never happen here. And what do you think is happening in Canada today?

The greatest challenge to Canada is what is happening in the conservative party of Canada. In a leadership contest that uses the same rules as failed the party in the selection of its last two leaders, we see front runners who defy all that the party stands for. With its membership swamped by temporary sign-ups, it is no longer a party of conservatives but a party belonging to those seeking power.

And who are theses seekers. They are MP Pierre Poilievre of Calgary who represents the Ontario riding of Carleton and former MP and mayor Patrick Brown of Brampton.

Both men are creatures of politics. They have never held a real job.

Patrick Brown is a retail politician from Barrie, Ontario who manipulated his way to into parliament where he became an acolyte of Jason Kenney. Kenney showed him the value of ethnic groupings in politics. Brown curried favor with those from the Indian sub-continent. He used them to swamp the membership of the Ontario progressive conservatives and win the party’s Ontario leadership in 2014.

Poilievre has also had his heart set on the leadership of the Canadian conservatives. He made his name in parliament challenging the finance portfolio. He has no background or training in the field but falsely charges the Trudeau liberals of causing the current inflation in Canada. He supports Bitcoin while maligning the Bank of Canada. He uses the term ‘Freedom’ in welcoming the support of the purported Freedom Convoy and border blockades of those fighting the restrictions of masking, lockdowns and vaccinations during the pandemic.

Either of these two men will take the conservative party into unchartered waters. Neither bring the party a better direction. Neither has plans for the future beyond their own reach for power. Canada can do better.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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Is Trudeau Sliding to Anonymity?

by Peter Lowry

Watching the TV clips of prime minister Justin Trudeau’s recent travels, you have to wonder what good they are doing. His hobnobbing with the elites of the Commonwealth and the G7 is not solving Canada’s problems with inflation. We are not hearing better news from Ukraine. He appears to lack concern for the tensions and speeches heard in Canada’s beer halls.

There are flags flapping on pickups that say F*ck Trudeau. Are we splitting into vulgar political divisions as are our neighbours in the United States of America? Are we incapable of reining in the divisions between provinces and the federal government? Must these provincials see the federal government as the source of all that is wrong with our country?

And does a demagogue such as MP Pierre Poilievre continue to defame, deny and disrupt our parliament with his lies and illusions. Do conservatives really support bitcoin over the concerns of the Bank of Canada? Doesn’t anyone have the fortitude say enough is enough?

How can any party—so long established as Canada’s conservatives—give credence and support to demagogues and phony populists in parliament and in many of our legislatures? Is bigotry and English language suppression the only answer for Quebec? Are we to be left at the mercy of so-called trucker convoys?

Is détente Justin Trudeau’s only defence? Does he continue to need the backing of the new democrats? Can he and his faux party survive the next election?

If he had a functioning party behind him, he might. Yet he has humbled and destroyed the party that once rallied to his father’s call. The younger Trudeau uses it as one might use an automatic teller machine.

Functioning liberal riding associations once picked strong candidates to support the political left of centre in Canada. The party made decisions about policy that were visionary and important to Canadians. They picked leaders of merit—leaders who could lead and help build our country. And they got out and knocked on doors across Canada in support of their vision. They helped build this country

But, no more.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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In Defence of Democracy.

by Peter Lowry

It’s Canada Day, 2022, and never has Canada’s democracy been under greater challenge. While we try to lay to rest the vestiges of a pandemic, we find the burial sites of un-named aboriginal children from our time of colonialism. We face the anger and confusion of a convoy of truckers seeking redress for what, we do not know.  Ours is a troubled planet, and our tenure on it is being tested.

Are we not but tenants on this dying planet? Must we continue wasting its resources on fleeting pleasures? We waste food in the Americas as Africa starves. Mr. Putin makes war to advance his quest for power and prestige. The Chinese elite use their people as expendable units of labour in their factories. Americans argue about abortion rights while murdering their children with an over-supply of guns. The Saudis of Arabia build luxury yachts to deny they are products of their over-rich deserts. We burn the forests that give this world life. We dump tons of plastics into the oceans to kill the life that struggles there to survive.

Pitiful politicians accuse each other of ignoring their publics while pandering to their sources of funds and power. They have raised political dogma to a level where they think citizen contributions to law-making becomes unnecessary. They want us to argue about how we vote instead of how to make our vote count.

Canada could be an example to the world of diversity working in harmony under democracy. Yet we insult the intent when we sign-up thousands of people of one ethnic group or another to win political position.

Canada should not be shamed by its politicians. We have the capability in this country to weigh the strengths and merits of the individuals seeking to represent us in political office. We send individuals to municipal councils, to provincial legislatures and to federal parliament. Each candidate can be weighed in background, knowledge and those lacking in strength of purpose can be set aside. It is our right to question our representatives. It is our right to question their actions. It is our right to vote. Not voting can be a failure of democracy. You can always defend our democracy by casting your vote. Just be sure to know what you are voting for.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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A Pipeline’s Progress.

by Peter Lowry

With parliament paused for summer recess and the prime minister off, playing with prime ministers and presidents in foreign climes, we hear more bad news about our government’s favourite pipeline. It seems that the parliamentary budget office is now estimating the value of the Trans Mountain pipeline at minus $600,000,000. I am not exactly sure how you get rid of something of negative value. Is that what you have to pay someone to shut it down?

When this fiasco started, Justin Trudeau announced that the pipeline only cost Canadians $4.5 billion. The plan was to double the present pipeline and increase the capacity from 300,000 barrels per day by almost three times by adding heaters and higher pressure for a capacity of 890,000 barrels per day. And this grandiose plan was only going to cost an additional $12 billion. It is expected to be completed in the late summer of 2023 at a final cost of around $22 billion.

While the prime minister is away, the office of his deputy prime minister swung into action with a release claiming that two of Canada’s major banks (BMO and TD) consider the planned expansion to be commercially viable. These two banks, that claim they are conscientious about the environment, made no mention of the environmental consequences of the millions of tons of tar sands bitumen that would have to be shipped through the finished pipeline, to make it commercially viable.

It has never ceased to amaze this writer that our prime minister, his deputy prime minister and our minister of the environment all seem to ignore the consequences of this action. You can hardly send that much greenhouse gas emissions to off-shore refineries and not be responsible for the accelerated destruction of our world.

Last thing we heard on saving the planet was that we were going to meet some target in 2030. That is eight years away. Many of us are curious what the Trudeau government is doing now?

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

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A Toxic Parliament.

by Peter Lowry

When parliament broke for a summer on the barbeque circuit the other day, the MPs did not get high marks for civility or decorum. And to my surprise, one of the most boring people I have ever seen in politics was in line for criticism. It appears that the current conservative house leader MP John Brassard from Barrie has been part of the problem instead of setting an example. While you hardly get the tone of parliament from Hansard, I would have expected Brassard to be just as boring as a member of parliament as he was when a Barrie city councillor.

While I always thought of Brassard as a stuffed-shirt conservative, he seems to have found his “Mr. Hyde” persona in parliament. Reporter Althia Raj of the Toronto Star tells us that Brassard accuses a liberal cabinet member of “lying” and says “the country is in chaos.” Frankly, I was in downtown Ottawa the day he said that and things were quite pleasant as far as I could see.

When I used to watch Brassard in ‘in-action’ at Barrie city council meetings I thought he might have been of more use to the city in his role as a fireman. A fireman, which was his occupation, is of more value fighting fires. At the time, we already had a preponderance of conservative wannabes on city council. After making a presentation to the council one time, I swore I would bring fire crackers with me next time to make sure they were awake.

But Ottawa is seeing an all-new John Brassard. He got very lucky in 2015 and won a recently gerrymandered riding that included half of Barrie and a person I had trained on the political ground game. She was one of my best workers in the 2010 campaign for the mayoralty in Barrie—and she told me she was a liberal. I was set back a bit when she called me and thanked me for the training and then told me she was working for Brassard.

I quite agree with Ms. Raj and the pollsters who report that Canadians are exhausted with the pandemic, with galloping inflation and our sour parliament. I dearly wish that we had some parliamentarians who would respect our parliament—and work for us instead of their damn political party.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]