Federal Politics – Page 55 – Babel-on-the-Bay

O’Toole should cool it.

June 27, 2020 by Peter Lowry

It is a pity to waste good political advice on conservatives but MP Erin O’Toole’s current hissy fit with Peter MacKay’s leadership organization could cause irreparable harm in Canadian politics. And rather than being amused by the lack of political smarts of the Erin O’Toole leadership organization, most knowledgeable politicos are appalled by the growing rift.

I am not sure how many times I have given people in the liberal party the lecture about contests between people of the same political party. There is nothing that people in the same party love to do more than to gossip. At political meetings the most important conversations take place in washrooms, hallways and hospitality suites. (Those that take place in convenient beds during gatherings are a subject on its own.)

The point is that, no matter how hotly contested an issue such as the party leadership might be, these are the same people with whom you are going to be working side-by-side in the next election. You should never annoy a fellow party member in any manner that cannot be laughed about or walked back.

And, for heavens sake, never, ever involve Elections Canada or any police. It is only the campaign manager’s responsibility to always be able to lie to any regulatory body with a straight face. And nobody else needs to know everything.

The good news is that Elections Canada and the various police departments in this particular case have a far more sophisticated view of these matters. They are most unlikely to find any wrong doing has taken place. They certainly do not want to charge anyone with what would be a minor offense.

What I would recommend to the conservatives at this time is that they cancel their leadership contest for lack of interest. It might embarrass the party a bit but it is far less embarrassment than having MacKay or O’Toole running the party. In fact, Andrew Scheer is a better interim solution than either of those chuckleheads.

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Morneau: the angst of things to come.

June 26, 2020 by Peter Lowry

Are you ready for the flip side of the pandemic coin? Finance Minister Bill Morneau has promised Canadians a financial snapshot of what the pandemic has cost. The bad news is to be presented on July 8. I wonder though if he will recognize the value we have been getting for the money spent and what future expenditures can achieve.

A hint of what our more neoliberal finance minister intends is his comment to a Toronto Star reporter that he wants to impose some fiscal discipline going forward. He says there is a need to ‘reset.’

The concern is that the finance minister might be more interested in solving business needs than those of individual Canadians. Despite the Trudeau government’s frequently stated concern for the vaguely described ‘middle class,’ our finance minister appears to lack any knowledge of what that means. Born to wealth and privilege, neither Morneau nor Justin Trudeau seem to know much about the middle class or the strains of poverty.

With a deficit heading toward $250 billion in this pandemic year, we have been in serious danger of the neoliberals taking charge of our finances and cutting the country off from the expenditures needed to get our economy growing again. It is quite unlikely that Canada would suffer any great concerns with doubling that deficit.

What we have proved in building the deficit is that a balanced budget is a myth spread by conservatives and neoliberals. Federal deficits are the same concept as a homeowner having a mortgage. Nobody expects it to be paid off in one year.

If, for example, the federal government decided to fund a cross-Canada high-speed electric train service, that would hardly be paid for in the same year as the expense. It would do wonders for the Canadian economy and it would promote Canadian tourism and cross-country travel as well as speed the transport of goods. It would be important to bringing Canada out of any possible recession after the pandemic has run its course.

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A future built on nostalgia.

June 24, 2020 by Peter Lowry

The measure of another person’s intelligence is often measured on his or her ability to agree with you. That was why I was delighted the other day to receive a proposal from a regular reader for electric high-speed passenger rail service across Canada. I have always felt confident that I am hardly the only Canadian convinced of the importance of the idea.

In my case, it is partly nostalgia. As a youngster I spent time with my father when he was working on the electrical requirements of manufacturing operations in what is now the Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo area of Ontario. At the time, Cambridge was known as Galt, Preston and Hespeler. These municipalities were interconnected by highways and the Grand River Street Railway.

First incorporated in 1895, the electric street railway in the area was an efficient conveyance for people and goods between a growing network of municipalities. It lasted until the passenger service was discontinued in 1955, as it was no longer profitable.

But high-speed passenger rail service is profitable in most major countries of the world. Why not in Canada? While there have been many high-speed train proposals, particularly in the Windsor-London-Kitchener-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City corridor, we have never had politicians with the will to carry the idea forward.

But any politician who really cares about the environment has little choice. Airplanes pollute, diesel trains pollute. And any frequent flyer can tell you that flying any distance less that 500 kilometres is slower and less efficient by airplane. It is the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor that should be first to have high-speed train service.

As our first prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald knew in 1867, Canada needed a railroad to tie the country together. Today, we need modern trains to continue to bring our country together.

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American Lemmings.

June 22, 2020 by Peter Lowry

American supporters of Donald Trump only act like lemmings. Lemmings are rodents that live in northern tundra areas, are very stupid and have about a 12-month life cycle—even if they survive their natural predators. They are not necessarily suicidal creatures but have been known to fall off cliffs and into the sea when on one of their frequent migrations. That might help you understand why some people think of Trump supporters as lemmings.

Take the other night in Tulsa, Oklahoma. How smart do you have to be to camp out in rain storms and oppressive heat during the week to get a good seat to see your hero? How smart do you have to be to really want to risk catching covid-19? Hell, just before the event, they found some of Mr. Trump’s workers had caught the virus getting the place ready for the faithful.

Did it not give the attendees a clue when people were taking their temperature on the way in? How could they avoid knowing that this event was not endorsed by the American Medical Association?

And why did the man who promised to make America great again, seem so pissed with the low attendance? He took every one of those empty seats as a personal insult.

It reminded me of back in the days in Toronto when we would fill Maple Leaf Gardens for real politicians such as Pierre Trudeau. The secret was that we always invited three times the number of people needed to fill the place.

But we were kind, we would always have a flatbed truck with a sound system on-board for the candidate to address the overflow. That always caught the attention of the media. And the Toronto cops were good sports about it when we blocked Carlton and Church Streets with the overflow.

In fact, the more I think about how long ago that was in the past, some one should tell Donald Trump how far he is behind times.

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A small apology: I got complaints yesterday about my poor arithmetic. I was calculating the CERB payments without tax because the student was going back to school as soon as possible. I am embarrassed but any employer who pays minimum wage, that nobody can live on, should be more embarrassed.

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CERB opens the door to a new Canada.

June 21, 2020 by Peter Lowry

For all the weaknesses, errors and misunderstanding of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the program is the solution to Canada’s future economy. And when the government extended the program the other day, it put the country on the road to build that new economy.

What the government has done with CERB is set a new base level for a minimum wage and opened up opportunities for a healthier, happier society, with better opportunities for higher education.

As one young man told me recently, he never has been better off. He is making more money from the government than he has ever been paid before. No company is going to hire him at minimum wage while the government is paying the equivalent of $20 per hour. This kid is not lazy. He is enjoying his summer, despite the pandemic, and will be heading back to university in the fall with some money in the bank to keep him going. Are there smart businesses that will offer him more?

And by no means do I believe that the government is paying him too much. Though the impact might be more inflationary than intended.

While I have to admit that I was initially shocked at the potential impact of CERB, I recognize it now as genius. It has broken the barriers to the fiction of the ‘middle class.’ It has created options for all. It has opened doors to true democracy. CERB is the first step to an effective guaranteed minimum wage for Canadians.

That does not deny that it creates problems for seniors. These are the people left in the ‘middle class’ economy. They are still waiting to be paid that placebo for seniors of a one-time covid-19 $300 or $500. It is just a prize that seniors are getting for missing the cull of the pandemic. The government will have to seriously address the need for improved old age security (OAS) payments in the future.

We should all tell Justin Trudeau how smart his government is to have come up with CERB.

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Grocers exploit the ugliness of capitalism.

June 20, 2020 by Peter Lowry

Nova Scotia-based Empire Company is better known to Canadians as grocery stores under the Sobeys, Safeway, IGA and FreshCo labels. You might have missed the business news the other day about the company’s highly profitable fourth quarter and past year. Not many companies in the food business get to announce a 43 per cent increase in net earnings in just one year.

We also hear that Sobeys and the rest are now cutting the pandemic increase that many grocery store employees have been earning since the pandemic hit Canada in March. It has kept them competitive with each other in the business by adding $80 to $100 per week to employees pay for the past three months.

Now that the crunch (or at least the first wave of the novel coronavirus) is on the wane, even companies such as Loblaws—which includes Zehrs and No Frills, are eliminating the bonus. It was really nice that Galen Weston, of the third richest family in Canada, made the announcement to the companies customers who use its ‘Optimum’ loyalty program.

When asked by the media why the company would not continue the improved salary program, the Weston heir, worth about $13 billion, responded that he is a strong believer in a progressive minimum wage and “would support any government-led effort to establish a living wage.”

While there is an assumption that Loblaws-owned stores are among the most expensive stores for Canadians to shop for their groceries, there has been a constant increase in food prices across all grocery stores this year. Any house holder who pays attention to the weekly flyers and in-store prices can attest to that. And any large chain that wants to argue that can check with their own comparison shoppers to verify it.

To cut back now on their employees’ salaries shows their greed.

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Lessons in Leadership.

June 19, 2020 by Peter Lowry

New democrat leader Jagmeet Singh got himself thrown out of our socially separated house of commons the other day. He called a fellow parliamentarian a racist. That is not leadership. That is desperation.

Jagmeet’s explanation of his obduracy on the subject was also wrong. How can he insist on saying that the RCMP is systemically racist before the accusation has been proved?

People have been throwing the word ‘systemic’ around quite carelessly and I believe it is best to make sure before making the charge that the blot of racism pervades the organization as a whole. Should that be the case, it would oblige our politicians to do away with our fabled Mounties.

I think the point is that it is the responsibility of our politicians in Ottawa to discuss the subject seriously and without self-indulgent and personal argument.

We need to remember that the house has been meeting these days as a pandemic committee. Not all of our MPs are in the commons. Most are taking part by remote television. Those actually in the house have a special responsibility to those members who are there only electronically.

But what is the new democrat leader doing but having a personal fit about his perceived racism of a block Québécois MP. At a time when his leadership responsibilities are under a much greater challenge, Jagmeet Singh really does not know what to do.

The NDP leader asked for the responsibility to lead. It is something he has never seemed to be doing while in his present position. His party has continued to be reduced in stature, at a loss for clear policies and less relevant for Canadians. It is not an ideal situation.

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A pandemic is no time to be Tory.

June 17, 2020 by Peter Lowry

You need to be considerate of your conservative friends in these troubled times. You might even think kindly of inviting some conservatives into your circle. Share the lottery of covid-19 with them. They are suffering the conviction of their politics.

Their American hero Donald Trump is scraping the nether regions of the American polls. Our federal conservatives have attracted but a few losers to their leadership contest. The conservative premiers are lining up with the liberal PM. These are sorry Tory times.

And let us not forget the mayor of Canada’s largest city. John Tory seems to be struggling with his conservative ideology during these troubled times. And here is a man who stood so tall just a year ago in feting our basketball Raptors.

We might as well face the facts that the liberals under Justin Trudeau have proved that they are the spending champions. Not since World War II has our government worked the printing presses for money so tirelessly. The Bloc Québécois have been asking for an accounting but it is probably more out of curiosity than any idea that it should embarrass the liberals.

But what does all this sudden money say to conservative supporters? What is all this foolishness about balancing budgets? Why are conservative leaders still talking tax cuts? When this pandemic is over, we are going to have to keep spending to rebuild our economy. Balancing the books will require a long run of a robust economy.

The facts are that despite the seeming neoliberalism of finance minister Bill Morneau, billions more will be needed in infrastructure spending after the pandemic is declared over. And there will be little savings in monies needed to keep the vulnerable in our society alive and well. I am not sure the London School of Economics or any university-level economics course teaches how to spend our way into a better future for all.

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The embarrassment of Justin Trudeau.

June 16, 2020 by Peter Lowry

You do know, do you not, that in a time of pandemic, prime minister Justin Trudeau is quietly building an abomination of a pipeline across our magnificent Rocky Mountains. There is no excuse for this. It can hardly be to please those climate change-deniers in Alberta. They will hate the name Trudeau, no matter what he does for them.

Justin Trudeau has to quit talking out of both sides of his mouth. You cannot be an environmentalist and do what he is doing with the Trans-Mountain pipeline. The twinning of the old pipeline and the addition of heaters and high-pressure pumps is the abomination. It will triple the capacity of the old line to enable it to ship tar-sands bitumen to foreign ports. It is no gift to British Columbia home owners to have that crap piped through their backyards.

And it is no gift to Vancouverites or to the Orcas of the Salton Sea. The damn pipeline now spells trouble for all to see. Just one burst seam out of thousands will create an unerasable pollution scar that will be with us for many years. Fresh water courses can be fouled, salmon runs could take decades, if ever, to be restored.

The oil tanker traffic alone through Burrard Inlet is of deep concern. A spill of diluted bitumen from a tanker will float for a while and then sink to become part of an ecosystem less supportive of the local creatures of the sea.

I am sure that what concerns most liberals in this is that they are, to some level, concerned environmentalists. I like to think of liberals as forward-thinking Canadians who are worried about the vagaries of climate as more and more carbon is thrown into our air. We are not so foolish as to want to melt the ices caps of our polar regions?

I like to think that being liberal means you care.

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Please Justin, get a haircut.

June 14, 2020 by Peter Lowry

We hear through the grapevine that Justin Trudeau and his liberals are thinking election. Since I am supposed to have an opinion on this proposal, I will need to reach deep into my conscience to see if I could support such foolishness at this time.

The one thing that is clear to me is that Justin Trudeau needs tonsorial intervention. A decent haircut and the removal of that facial hair would be a good beginning. I was practically sitting on my barber’s stoop yesterday when she re-opened her business. Let me assure you, it felt wonderful. Life is lighter when the pigeons no longer look at your head with thoughts of nesting.

But now to the question at hand. Should there be a snap election during a pandemic?

The answer is an unequivocal: No. I might be a liberal but that does not require me to approve of stupidity.

It hardly makes sense to call an election as the major opposition party (that actually had the largest vote in the last election) wastes its time in a leadership contest to go nowhere. It hardly matters who wins in the conservative race. The contestants are all losers.

The guys who really need a new leader are the new democrats. If they are too slow to recognize their leadership problem, they deserve the lack of respect they get.

The only party that has really gained ground in Ottawa is the Bloc Québécois. Blanchet and his team are having far too much fun with their new found power to want an election.

But you cannot blame the conservatives and new democrats for being annoyed with Trudeau’s popping in and out of the cuckoo clock at Rideau Cottage. Nor can you deny the need for speed in rescuing Canadians from the serious financial impacts of the pandemic. That does not mean that some of these financial rescue programs do not need a serious second look and adjustments. The opposition are entitled to their views and their criticisms. Justin needs to continue playing nice.

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