Category: New

Following the Math.

by Peter Lowry

I made a mistake last week and you would have thought I would have had a bunch of e-mails having a laugh at my expense. I got none. It was only today that I realized the error. The earlier commentary had stuck in my mind and I checked back on it to see if there was a logical bridge to re-introduce the subject.

What I found was a silly error. I was writing about the penchant of conservatives to use preferential voting. I checked a report on the Alberta leadership voting and it said there were six vote counts for the six candidates. That did not seem right but I was rushed. I still had the thought in the back of my mind that I was saying something wrong when I posted that blog.

It was only today when I reread the blog that the error was clear; you can’t have six counts for six candidates. And besides, I knew that there were seven candidates to replace Jason Kenney.

But the point of that commentary was to reinforce my argument that in preferential voting, the losers in the race can, too often, be the choosers. And, it was the losers who chose Danielle Smith.

Smith was in the race all the way to the sixth ballot count. It was that final count that gave Smith over 50 per cent. She won by 53.77 per cent. That meant that she only won by being the second, third, fourth or fifth choice of voters who actually preferred one of the other candidates.

What always seems to be left out of the party’s reporting is the number of ballots in this final count. There must have been many ballots without all the choices indicated. They might have counted over 85,000 first votes but some of the ballots would not have all seven preferences. That means they had to be set aside in the later counts.

I have attended more than a few liberal party leaderships and been an observer at those for other parties. Many were delegated conventions when a sub-set of party members were elected to make the decision. I was always appalled at the sleaziness of deals that saw losers go openly to this opponent or that one. I always believed that delegates needed time to reassess the needs of the party—not the directions of a failed candidate.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Trump Disease.

by Peter Lowry

It has travelled far. It has infected many. They call it the Trump disease. It infects the incompetents, the crazies of world politics. It encourages them to reach for the brass ring on the merry-go-round of leadership. There are no tombs of honour for them. Their light flashes across the night sky and leaves us in darkness.

The infliction of the Trump disease can be at all levels. They challenge village councils and great nations. Their weapons range from sling-shots to rockets with nuclear warheads. They are all braggarts and brook no dissent.

They can use the bigotry and tribalism of a François Legault in Quebec to refuse the tolerance and openness and bilingualism of Canadian society. They can choose the path of a Poilievre in using the freedom convoy’s ignorance to further his ambition. Or is it as silly as the Wildrose retread, Ms. Smith in Alberta, who talks of an impossible separation by a land-locked province. Her sympathies for the unvaccinated falling on deaf ears.

Closer to home here in Barrie, we have a failed councillor, a failed MP, a boy in need of a job, his name is Nuttall, seeking to follow his mentor Patrick Brown into Barrie’s mayoralty. I could not think of a less competent person for the position.

The Trump Disease rampages world-wide. Modi, a religious intolerant rules the crowded lands of India. Liz Truss, a foolish libertarian, is the un-elected leader of the United Kingdom. Xi Jinping thoughtfully considers the offer of another five years as dictator of China.

And, worst of all, dictator Vladimir Putin of Russia threatens nuclear holocaust if he is not allowed to destroy the Ukraine for rejecting his offer of annexation.

It all comes back to the Trump debacle in the United States. He proved while in the White House that American politics are more corrupt than anywhere else in the world. From the pleasure domes of Las Vegas to the crumbling streets of New York, the almighty dollar rules. In lands without compassion, without love and without democracy, our world has little future and little hope.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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A Tale of Two Cities?

by Peter Lowry

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” No, no, not in those cities as told by Charles Dickens. This tale is of two cities in Ontario. We are talking here of Brampton, a city near Toronto, and of Toronto. Both cities are in the process of electing mayors. They have challengers and they have incumbents. One of the winners will become a super mayor. The other can only complain from the bleachers.

John Tory in Toronto wants the super mayor title. He has already served two terms as an ordinary mayor. In this observer’s opinion, he has done a good job. He deserves a third term with, or without, super powers.

The other incumbent is Patrick Brown in Brampton. Brown has spent a distracted and controversial four years calling Brampton home. Between troubles in Brampton city hall and a failed run at going back to federal politics, Brown has not made many friends in Brampton. He is the last person I would choose as mayor.

But then, nobody is perfect. John Tory in Toronto has his detractors. He would certainly earn an extra credit from me if he ditched his side job of advising that kid trying to run Rogers Communications. He obviously does not need the money.

I have listened to John’s detractors and I am amazed that they should blame him for the state of things after the worst of the pandemic. Have you seen New York, London, Paris or Rome lately. Big cities are always a work in progress. You cannot stop the process of building and rebuilding. Cities are a challenge to manage, maintain and to control. John Tory has brought Toronto through tough times; huge challenges and he has been with Torontonians every step of the way.

And Patrick Brown is not fit to shine John Tory’s shoes.

I have no insight into the current problems of Brampton City Hall. I just know that having Brown in the mayor’s chair would not be pleasant. I imagine, he would be sitting in that chair during council meetings wondering what was in it for him.

The only redemption I could imagine for him is to withdraw from the mayoralty race. As he leaves the mayor’s office, he could quote Charles Dickens with the line: “It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done.”

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Price of Freedom.

by Peter Lowry

Justice Paul Rouleau provided a very informative and thorough discussion of the why, what and how of the Emergencies Act inquiry last Thursday. It was a step forward in Canada for an act of parliament to require such an inquiry to be conducted after the act has been used.

One can only wish that we could retroactively have had such a clause in force in the previous War Measures Act that was brought into use by Pierre Trudeau in 1970.  I felt very strongly, at the time, that such strong actions should not have been taken. Yet, to be fair, I did feel the act of 2022 was necessary. The difference was that in 1970, I did not feel we had given the Sûreté du Québec time to do its job. In 2022, we gave the Ottawa police service more than enough time to do its job. There was also the matter of the border blockades in Manitoba and Ontario as well as the one that Alberta did get cleared as the act was brought into force by Ottawa.

Along with millions of other Canadians, I was angry with the Ottawa police service for not doing the job they were paid to do. You did not have to be a follower of Canadian politics to be angry at police who were not doing their job. I am sure most of us will be particularly interested in their excuses for failing to act when they knew what was coming and the intent of the convoy.

I might live today in the middle of Ontario but I know every foot (or metre) of the area in Ottawa being occupied by those convoy people in their ignorance. Those loud and obnoxious boors were insulting our parliament, our parliamentarians, our flag, our country and our law-abiding citizens.

This might seem like a strange comment to add to this commentary, but I sincerely hope that this inquiry will not become politicized. It might be too late already. On the very first day, we were told by three provinces that they objected to the utilization of the act. These three provinces with their conservative governments were obviously not there to listen.

We already have too many divisions in this country. In English and French, we desperately need to work together. City and rural, we desperately need to work together. East and West, we desperately need to work together. We have a great country, with endless potential. We have built our country with the peoples of the world. We will only enjoy the bounty of this land if we work together. Shame on our neighbours to the south for being so divided. Shame on us if we follow.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Brown Out.

by Peter Lowry

Yes, we are aware that the Ontario government is concerned about the supply of electricity to the province. The question is: Can we get the Brown Out we need? We are talking here about the beautiful city of Brampton. Can we get that Brown out?

Just four years ago, Patrick Brown was scurrying around Ontario looking for a new political hole to crawl into. The former city councillor from Barrie, the former MP from Simcoe County, the former MP from Barrie, and former leader of the Ontario conservatives and former MPP has not had much experience at holding a real job.

The Ontario conservatives refused to let him run for his old job again. He tried for the new job as chair of Peel County in 2018 but the new conservative leader, Doug Ford, nixed that idea. Brown’s solution was to run for mayor in the city of Brampton, the second largest city in Peel County. Despite some confusing excursions into federal politics over the past four years, Patrick Brown’s name is on the ballot again this year in Brampton. And this year there is some fierce competition for the job.

I met Patrick in Barrie when he first ran for federal politics in 2006. I did not like him then. To me, he represented the sleaziest aspect of politics. I have met politicians of all stripes in 60 years of politics. I have always been repulsed by those who made a career of it. I hardly see the point of people under 30 seeking political office. There have been very few who have proved worthy.

Brown’s reputation was already there to see. He was considered a retail politician. He told you what he thought you wanted to hear. He played the game on the edges of legality. He found out you cannot charge a trip to the United Nations as an MP when all you are going to New York for is to run in a marathon. How much time his staff spent on his promotional fund raising for charity was always in question. More than once I came close to demanding an audit on some of his claimed expenses in various campaigns. I resented the government expense charges for his trips to India to build his contacts among the south Asian diaspora in Canada.

And there was no surprise that he swamped the Ontario conservative party’s membership with temporary sign-ups among that south Asian diaspora to win the Ontario leadership. He seemed to have limitless funds available, as I was told paying party membership was optional. He obviously got caught when he tried similar tricks for the federal party.

But it’s up to the voters in Brampton to turf Brown out in this election. Please.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

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The Fruit-Cake Carries On.

by Peter Lowry

Bet you thought the fruit-cake would change her tune as soon as she became premier of Alberta? Nope, no such luck. This is libertarianism at its nuttiest. Danielle Smith is telling us that she is going to protect the anti-vaxxers. She says they have the right to kill themselves. She keeps talking about some sovereignty act. She’s dumb.

Did you know that vaccines were discovered more than 200 years ago? The world has wiped out small pox. Can you count the number of children’s diseases that we are controlling today? And yet she supports the idiocy of those who are afraid of vaccines?

Don’t join one of Canada’s military services if you do not like vaccines. I’m ex-air force myself. They shot me so full of vaccines for diseases. Some, I didn’t even recognize. I feel like I am falling behind the curve, not having my fifth shot yet for COVID. I might be more confident if the anti-vaxxers had to wear a sign stating the danger they represent to the rest of us.

I am most concerned that premier Smith wants to turn one of my favourite provinces into some sort of a leper colony.

And where did she ever get the impression that provinces could pick and choose between federal laws? We thought someone might set her straight once she took office. Many were under the impression that she was kidding.

Was she aware that the three prairie provinces were created by acts of the Canadian parliament? Manitoba became the fifth province in 1870 and Alberta and Saskatchewan, numbers 8 and 9, in 1905.

And can you imagine a provincial premier who thinks that the unvaccinated should be allowed in long-term care homes? Isn’t she the one who wants to fire the province’s medical officer of health? We will all wonder just what qualifies Danielle Smith to decide to fire the province’s medical officer or. to choose a replacement?

It seems that Jason Kenney has refused the opportunity to meet with her prior to her signing in to have a ceremonial passing of the washroom key in the premier’s office. I think he feels insulted that she was chosen to replace him.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

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Putin’s War.

by Peter Lowry

Where does Putin get off here? He is losing a war that Russians do not want. He murders civilians and complains when somebody attempts to damage his bridge to the Crimea. His Russian conscripts are adding to the refugee crisis in neighbouring countries. He is no Josef Stalin.

Josef Stalin won with starvation. He is reported to have starved 3.9 million people in the Ukraine in the early 1930s. He took their crops and left them to starve. While Putin was celebrating his false annexation of more of Ukraine, the Ukrainians were busy taking some of the area back.

What we have learned from Putin’s war so far is that the Russian Army is a sham. The conscripts do not want to fight. There is no honour for Russia in Putin’s war.

Putin is waging a war of rockets against a civilian population. If the West could have closed the skies over Ukraine at the beginning, the war would be over by now.

Throughout the Cold war of the late 1900s, the West was threatened in Europe by Russian tanks poised to sweep across the continent. They turn out to be a sham. Tanks need intensive training. When they sit, they rust.

The difference we see in this war is that the Ukrainians have a leader. The Russians have a dictator with delusions of grandeur. The Ukraine is fighting for its homeland. The Russians are fighting for a dictator they dislike.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Next Can of Worms.

by Peter Lowry

Just when you think things are going to quiet down a bit, we have another Ottawa can of worms being opened. Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star tells us that conservative leader Poilievre and prime minister Trudeau want to start duking it out over the convoy to Ottawa last February. It sounds about as useful as the House of Representatives in the U.S. studying the attack on the U.S. Capitol of January 6.

It is not as though there were no acts to be passed this year according to the liberal-NDP pact that is keeping the liberals in power. If the NDP don’t keep Trudeau’s feet to the fire, we will be lucky to see the beginnings of dental care this year. Without that beginning, we could be into an election before spring of 2023.

Neither Poilievre nor Trudeau would come out well in a head-to-head battle. Both men carry baggage. Poilievre just needs an election before his truckers lose interest. Trudeau needs to find someone to rebuild the liberal party. It is going to take time to repair the damage he has done to that venerable party. You can hardly treat all those workers like your personal ATM and keep them to help liberals get elected.

Every month that goes by will spell trouble for Poilievre. He is no Stephen Harper. Harper was always in trouble with women voters but Poilievre is in worse shape. Women simply don’t like him. His token wife can’t help him here.

It really is funny when you think of it. Poilievre has his path to power all mapped out and the fates are not cooperating. He did not realize that he could get stalled at the starting gate. Every day that Trudeau stays in power is a day when Poilievre loses more of his angry entourage. They wander off, they are too impatient. They need disciplined brown shirts to keep them tense and ready for the combat to come.

It is almost the reverse for Justin Trudeau. His strength in the cities is ebbing. He isn’t connecting the way he is capable. He is disappointing the Ukraine diaspora and yet really doing all that he can to help.

Where I think Trudeau is seriously losing ground is with the G-7 leaders. I think they are perceiving him as lots of talk and little action. They soon lose interest.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

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When Losers Are Choosers.

by Peter Lowry

If there is one thing consistent among conservatives in Canada, it is the way they choose their leaders. There were seven candidates for leader in the latest round in Alberta. And once again, the conservatives got the worst possible result from six rounds of preferential voting.

There is a little solace for Jason Kenney in this. He, at least, got 51 per cent support from the conservatives in Alberta. Danielle Smith was the choice of losers.

You have to admit that in the last federal conservative run-off, Pierre Poilievre brought in his own crazies and won on the first ballot. Frankly, Poilievre is hardly worth the price of membership in the conservative party. The other problem is that few of those temporary members will stick long with a party that is mired in dogma dedicated to a losing past.

But the problem in Alberta is preferential voting. Preferential voting is based on the voters, instead of marking an “X” beside their choice, they put the number “1.” They are then asked to number the other candidates so as to indicate their preference.

What is wrong with preferential voting is the backward objective of artificially giving approval to a candidate who was not the first choice of the voter. When a candidate comes last on the first ballot, their name is taken out of the list of eligible candidates. What, in effect, happens is that the second choice of the removed candidate’s ballots are then counted in a second round and a new winner is chosen. Again, if the winner does not have 50 per cent or more of the vote, the second loser’s vote is distributed to the remaining candidates. This process continues until a candidate has 50 per cent or more of the votes. In effect, it can be the voters who chose the losers, who ultimately choose the winner.

What concerns me the most in the Alberta vote was that the winner was not selected until the sixth round of voting. It means that the final votes that put Ms. Smith over the top were the number 6 votes of a field of seven candidates. If I were voting in preferential contest between seven candidates, I would leave the number 6 and 7 slot for the candidates I wanted the least to win.

Between Ms. Smith’s screwball ideas of Alberta’s importance in Confederation and her plans to assert that importance, I wish my friends in Alberta lots of luck.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

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The Evil Twins?

by Peter Lowry

Let’s hear it for Ford and Legault. The premiers of both Ontario and Quebec sailed through elections this year with increased majorities. It seems the anger of the voters was not directed towards those two.

But, if not, why not?

Neither of the right-wing provincial leaders were condemned for the ineptness of their management during the depths of the pandemic. Whether to lock-down or open up seemed to be more political than medically inspired. They both survived.

Doug Ford of Ontario could call for a lock down and tell people to stay away from the summer lake country. It did not seem odd to Ontario voters that he then headed north to enjoy a little leisure time on the lakes. Hell, in Alberta, an alfresco lunch, during a lockdown, cost premier Jason Kenney his job.

It would hardly matter to François Legault in Quebec City that there was some rioting in Montreal. He would have said it was just a bunch of anglophones and allophones venting. They are not his voters.

After all, Legault’s success in politics is in dividing people, not bringing them together. He has to keep the Anglos and the immigrants from corrupting the purity of Quebec. One wonders why he bothers talking to some reporters in English?

One difference between the two premiers of Canada’s most populous provinces is that Ford has been known to back down when the going gets tough. He has been known to offer to throw money at problems to make them go away. Whether that money is actually ever spent is another matter.

Legault doesn’t make mistakes and he will tell you so himself. He hardly believes he is a bigot. Even though the evidence of his tribalism and bigotry is mounting. He is trying his utmost to wrest control of immigration from the federal government.

Legault panders to his rural strength in Quebec while Ford just accepts that in Ontario as his due.  Neither is a man you would want for a friend.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

[email protected]