Category: Provincial Politics

There is a wonderful old expression, still in use today: “Hoisted by your own petard.” It simply means that the schemes you used to harm others can be used against you. And when you consider how wrong it can be to allow third parties to advertise in Ontario elections, the provincial Liberals deserve every dirty trick being pulled on them.

In the 2011 provincial election, the phony Working Families advertising by a group of teachers’ unions helped ridicule Conservative Leader Tim Hudak. While Mr. Hudak is quite able to make himself look ridiculous, the advertising by the teachers should have been added to the election bills for Mr. McGuinty’s Liberals. The Liberals could have put an end to third-party advertising anytime in the past decade and never had the decency or wisdom to understand why.

Now the Liberals are finding out.

Have you noticed the ads about public-private partnerships that the Toronto transit workers union is running? The ads are a direct attack on Premier Wynne. And yes, they are a bit puzzling. At best, most Ontario viewers think that maybe the Liberals are going to allow the private sector to own the streetcars. All you gather from the ads is that the transit workers are against it.

The problem is that the transit workers are showing their ignorance as they obviously do not understand pubic-private partnerships either. The best example of public-private partnerships in Ontario was the building of SkyDome in Toronto in the late 1980s. And the worst example is the Highway 407 toll road. The David Peterson Liberal government practically gave away the public rights in the SkyDome and the Mike Harris Conservative government inexcusably sold Highway 407 to a Spanish company. The only good news about both these selloffs by the government is that the assets could not be moved out of the province.

But we have not seen the end of third-party advertising. And the serious rub is that there is no regulatory agency charged to do anything about it. There are no standards, no policing and no bureau of accuracy. Slander away to your heart’s content. By the time the courts get around to any lawsuit, the questions will be long past being worth arguing.

While it is likely that the transit workers ads are a waste of money, we have yet to hear from the teachers. They are not that happy with the Liberals this time around and you have to admit that their ads can hurt whomever they might be directed against. Premier Wynne had better watch out.

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NOTE: In 1984/85 this writer was volunteer chair of the Canadian government’s study group on public-private partnerships, The Business Ventures Project. One of the findings of the study was that unions not only benefit from this type of activity but there are often opportunities for them to participate as partners. That makes it doubly hard to understand what the transit workers are complaining about.

Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne must be annoyed. Can you believe the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has pre-empted Kathleen’s fight with the Prime Minister? That leaves Kathleen in the dust as the crowds rush to view the battle of the titans.

Few will ever remember what Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin and the Prime Minister were arguing about. It just comes across as an unprecedented spat between people who should know better. With Justice Minister Peter MacKay standing up in the House of Commons (where he has immunity) inferring that the Chief Justice does not understand the Supreme Court Act is the height of ludicrous stands. The Prime Minister (who is not a lawyer) does not decide that he should not talk to the Chief Justice when she calls. And Peter MacKay cannot alibi the Prime Minister for his rudeness.

But where does that leave the Ontario Premier? The original argument between Kathleen Wynne and Stephen Harper was over the Liberals’ Ontario pension plan to boost the Canada Pension Plan. In a media instigated controversy, Harper belittled the Ontario scheme as just being another tax on business. Kathleen was delighted by the opportunity to debate with the Prime Minister instead of the Ontario Conservative leader, that klutz Timmy Hudak. It raises her stature with Ontario voters to be seen fighting with the Prime Minister.

Possibly Stephen Harper could teach Kathleen Wynne something about political put downs. He has been developing his skills in that area for years. He can be disdainful and scathing and scornful and sneering as the need arises. These are not particularly vote winning approaches but with people who oppose him, he could care less.

What Wynne really needs to do is to work with her handlers on a series of one-liners about Timmy. They can be as simple as always referring to his million jobs plan as a ‘million jobs lost plan.’ She has to be careful in these putdowns that she is not being seen as flip or insulting. The trick is to get everyone laughing. It is very hard to vote for someone you have been laughing at.

And frankly, Kathleen Wynne should make a point of looking more like a premier. She cannot always pick the people she has to fight with but nobody needs a long-distance runner in the premier’s job. A real premier works at a desk, orders minions about and talks seriously about serious subjects.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

It was intriguing to read Toronto Star columnist Martin Regg Cohn’s take on the opening of the Ontario provincial election. It was not quite as perceptive as he has been in the past. Frankly most Star readers would have expected a better knowledge of politics.

The give away line in Martin’s column said “Voters tend not to vote against someone, but for something.” That statement would come as a surprise to most politicians. It would shatter Prime Minister Stephen Harper to learn that. Just think of all the money he and his party must have wasted attempting to smear his opponents over the years.

It might surprise you to learn, Martin, there is a definite thrill to going to the polls to make sure someone does not win. Whether it is the candidate in your riding you dislike or the candidate’s party leader, the voting process can be quite visceral. And you can bet that many Ontario voters will go to the polls by June 12 to do their best to ensure someone does not win.

At the same time, Martin, you are quite correct in assuming that the election will not be a referendum on gas plants, eHealth, Ornge Air Ambulance or the Harmonized Sales Tax. These matters might be brought up by a die-hard Conservative voter but this type of thing really serves to erode trust in the entire political body. That is why at this point in the campaign and in listening to people, we are coming to a strong conclusion that most voters want to vote for ‘none of the above.’

Another fact we can pass to Premier Wynne is that the election is not about her. That news can be a disappointment to a politician’s ego but in Kathleen Wynne’s favour it means that she could almost shut up for the rest of the campaign and win, at least a minority government.

That is not true for the Conservative’s Timmy Hudak. It was quite amusing to hear that he thinks he should be running for the premier’s job and not for the leadership of the opposition. If he had not been such a poor opposition leader, he would have a better idea of what it means to be premier. Any voter who is still looking for someone to vote against just needs to be forced to listen to Timmy’s vision for Ontario.

That is not the case with New Democrat Andrea Horwath. There seems to be no reason to expect her to say anything memorable or the media consider worth reporting.

But, Martin, you go ahead with your take on this election. Just do not bet too much on your expectations.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

 

How can you have a race without a morning line? The political parties are at post and the gamblers among us need more than just performance statistics to compute their bets. The morning line gives you a starting point for your betting convenience.

But please remember, these figures cannot factor in the potential fouls, injuries, accidents and sprints that can occur. If you want a sure bet, wait for the exit polls.

Ontario Liberal Party: 2 – 5

As the party presently in power, this is the Liberal’s election to lose. The poor showing in 2011 of only 53 of the 107 seats cost the party the leadership of Dalton McGuinty and the taking of the leadership reins by Torontonian Kathleen Wynne. The staggering cost of cancelling two gas-fired generating plants to try to stave off defeat in the 2011 election is the legacy Mr. McGuinty left Ms. Wynne. It has not been smooth sailing for the first declared lesbian to lead a political party in Ontario.

Ms. Wynne’s main advantage continues to be the weaknesses of her opponents. She has chosen to fight the election from a somewhat left-wing stance. Her party’s promises on transportation solutions are saleable and the retirement pension scheme has potential to aid Ontario retirees in the future.

At this time, we expect the Liberals to hold on to as many as 48 seats in the Legislature.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party: 2 – 1    

This is the sucker bet you do not want to take. Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak leads a mixed bag of out-of-touch Libertarians, Ontario Landowner members and other right-wing activists who can embarrass a Bill Davis era Conservative. Hudak himself is a pale clone of former Premier Mike Harris and he has tried a number of approaches to policy that leave voters either scratching their heads or running for cover. Who knows what clichés he will run on this time but he is expected to lose ground. If the Conservatives do not get 40 seats this time, they will quickly dump Timmy.

Ontario New Democratic Party: 10 – 1

The one thing you can say about Ontario’s New Democrats is that they have nowhere to go but up. And where is Bob Rae now that they could really use him? While the party has an embarrassing lack of direction and no real leadership, Ontario voters might be inclined to give the party a bit more support this time out. What Ontario would really like is a working coalition of the New Democrats and the more progressive Liberals. That could happen if the New Democrats can come back with more than 30 seats.

But we will get into this a little deeper during the campaign. It should be interesting.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

Ready, aim, smear. The campaign has been launched in Ontario. Soon all the candidates will be down in the muck wallowing in the futility of claim and counter-claim. And the losers in this mud wrestling contest are the people of Ontario.

Ontario deserves better. After more than two years of turmoil at Queen’s Park, Ontario voters are looking for stability, direction, honesty and straight talk. They need a return to economic growth, high employment, intelligent governance and a more promising future.

But what party can honestly promise that? They have all shot themselves in the foot on the way out of the starting gate. The Liberals came out with an angry diatribe against both their opponents. The New Democrats resurrected the gas powered generating plants of the McGuinty era that seems to be stuck in their craw. The Conservatives were alternating between sneering and jeering but delighted to see the end of any projected populist measures in the budget that might have done some good.

The Conservatives under Leader Tim Hudak lead the race in the excesses of dishonesty. He dumped all over the Liberal plan for a provincial pension supplement. It was not as though he had checked with businesses to be sure they do not want a decent retirement for their workers. He has already made it very clear that if he ever gets into the Premier’s chair, he will declare war on unions and fire civil servants, nurses and teachers to give more tax relief to the rich. Maybe his million jobs plan is really the number of jobs he would cost us.

New Democrat Andrea Horwath’s day has come and gone. She gets the credit for calling the election and nobody knows what she intends to do for an encore. If the Liberals really run on the New Democrat inspired left-wing budget goodies, what does that leave for the New Democrats? Andrea Horwath can hardly go around the province for the next five weeks simply reminding people how incompetent the Liberals are at running Ontario’s electrical supply.

Nor can Liberal Leader Wynne spend all her time attacking Horwath and Hudak. It seems pointless to attack Horwath as we might have to wait a long time for Horwath to come up with something positive to discuss. And nobody wants to take Timmy Hudak seriously. That is much too frightening a proposition.

And that is why none of the pundits can really tell you where this election is headed. We will do our best to analyse it as it goes along but the good news is that if one party by chance comes out with a majority, you are guaranteed new leaders for the other two. That might help.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

A budget is not a budget when it is being offered as an election program. While overly exploited and old news, Finance Minister Sousa’s budget yesterday was stolid and basically ho-hum with a veneer of concessions to the New Democrats. The real question for the Wynne government is whether it has any staying power as an election program?

The best guess is that the budget cannot do the job. Conservative Leader Timmy Hudak is going to complain long and loud about the deficit that nobody really understands. In fact Timmy should know that because he acts as though he does not understand it either. He just says he does.

Timmy will attack the Liberals on the general premise that the budget is bloated but keep as far away from specifics as possible.

An exception is that we can expect him to keep swinging against the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). He will call it a payroll tax and an imposition on peoples’ rights but you can be sure the Liberals have tested it thoroughly in focus groups and are ready with easy answers.

With much of the budget goodies aimed at the New Democrats, one would hardly expect them to be overjoyed with the Liberal generosity. Sousa’s budget nickel-dimes them on the programs that need much higher investment. How much improved is the situation for the poor with another $8 a month in the Ontario Child Benefit?

While many writers are seemingly impressed with the left leaning nickels and dimes in this budget, it does not by any stretch indicate the reform of Ontario’s Liberals. They are still the mean penny-pinching bastards of the Dalton McGuinty era. Ms. Wynne is certainly no reformer and she remains the reactionary, boring choice of the Whigs who have been in control of the Liberal Party in Ontario for the past 20 years.

As things stand at this moment, if New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath had not pulled the plug on this terrible government, Kathleen Wynne would have done it herself. You really did not expect her government to want to live with all this left-wing stuff did you?

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

Casino gambling is an excellent aid in the attainment of enlightenment. If you do not obtain direct insight into the teachings of the Buddha at least you gain some respect for the law of averages. This thought comes to mind after a recent trip to Casino Rama outside of Orillia. It must be the worst run casino in Ontario.

Yet you really do not want to be critical. Only 30 minutes from home, Casino Rama provides interesting entertainers, pleasant restaurants and sometimes a profitable gambling experience. (Why so many people think they should win all the time is something of a mystery.)

But the other evening the place was proving how stupid gambling can be in Ontario. After giving an unsuspecting pit supervisor an earful about how bad it is, the Tao of Casinos tells us it is bad karma to gamble in anger. Responding to the advice of the Tao, it was an opportunity to mull it over on the way home. After all we had already won a bit and enjoyed an excellent dinner on the casino.

It is always difficult to place the blame for problems with Ontario casinos. You are really dealing with three separate entities. Your direct contact is with the management company. The management company, hopefully, are the people who understand gambling and this company is under contract to Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG). This is a government agency reporting to the Ministry of Finance. These people are under the gun to make lots of money off the avails of something that used to be a crime in Ontario.

Just to keep everyone honest and lawyers employed, a third group, working for the Ministry of the Attorney General, known as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), makes the rules. These are the kindly but somewhat anal people who ordain that you get a separate bill after your meal for any alcoholic beverage you might consume. They also make sure you pay, generously, for any alcoholic beverage consumed at the gaming tables.

But Casino Rama needs to learn that the financial rape of gamblers does not need to be conducted in the twilight zone. The place needs to spend more on lighting. It needs to consider the comfort of the suckers. Sometimes you only want a coffee but a few more wait-staff around the tables would be nice. And the recent renovations on the property are a list of mind-boggling errors in design, feng shui and logic too long for this blog.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

The recent audit report on Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) proves once again that you should not audit something you do not understand. Gaming is based on promises of riches. It takes a gamer to understand that not everybody can win.

And you are hardly going to win when the politicians interfere with the promises. You cannot win when the reins are handed to civil servants. When Premier Kathleen Wynne fired Postmedia newspaper head Paul Godfrey as chair of OLG a year ago, it should have been understood that all bets were off. In gaming terms the dice had been thrown off the craps table. Wynne thought she was making Godfrey the scapegoat for what was going to happen.

But politicians have to pay for their own mistakes. And this was a big one. Godfrey’s plan was going to double OLG revenues for the province. That plan was worth almost $2 billion a year and it could have been done. It just needed a gamer such as Paul to carry it off. He was willing to brazen it out. He could have stared down the unrealistic dreams of the horse breeders. He could have talked turkey with foolish municipal politicians. One thing you learn in gaming, everyone has their price.

The one thing that auditors should talk about is money. That is their job. You verify the receipts, you check the expenses, you find out what is still in the bank. It is hardly the role of an auditor to tell you your plans are ‘overly optimistic.’ Why an auditor is even reporting on a now dead modernization plan for OLG is ‘problematical.’

That is just a small bonus for Wynne rivals Horwath and Hudak. Does an auditor time these things for the eve of an election?

The point is that the OLG is in trouble. It is ill-run, kicked around by politicians and on a down-hill slide unless somebody knowledgeable gets control of the situation. The big money lotteries are losing traction and support, the casinos are out of control as they scramble to meet business objectives and there is no growth offered in the planning.

The casinos are of special concern as they are inflicted with the cross control of two major provincial government departments as well as the interim civil service managers at OLG. The only problem is that the casino professionals who are supposed to be under the control of all these civil servants are a hell of a lot smarter than their bosses.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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

Public opinion polls can never replace voting. And the provincial election is not going to happen until New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath says it will. So, you might as well cool it. There will be lots more promises made and polls taken before the voters make the decision. Ontario voters might be conflicted and confused but they are not too complex.

And how much choice do they really have? If a born-again conservative gets to listen to Tiny Tim Hudak, he or she will realize that jumping off a cliff is also an option. It is when you know that Timmy is not even a reasonable clone of former Premier Mike Harris, that you understand the desperation. The last Ontario election was a trip downhill for Timmy and his troopers. If his campaign team gets smart this time and sends him on a family safari in Africa during the campaign, the Tories might have a chance.

Nobody knows where to send New Democrat Andrea Horwath. She will have the usual pocketful of goodies to scatter during the campaign but without a theme or focus, her campaign will be a yawning waste of time and money. She reminds voters of the Pillsbury dough boy. No matter where you poke her, all you are going to get is a giggle.

And speaking of giggles, have you met Ontario’s most earnest premier? In a series of convoluted backroom deals at the former Maple Leaf Gardens last year, she became leader of the Ontario Liberals and head of our provincial government. She has been clinging to power ever since. And the good ship Liberal has been sailing some stormy seas over that time.

But she has met the challenge with a constant series of financial promises that would be a stretch for the federal budget. She has been noted for her street scene commercials. If she could not get the police to close those roads for her, she would be road kill by now. Maybe she can get better writers and producers for her election campaign commercials.

But the truth is that if Ontario voters were all forced to go to the polls today to elect a new legislative assembly, most of us would be inclined to mark our ballot for “None of the above.” It might be time to go back to voting for the person in our riding who best represents us and our concerns. We could at least send some people we like to represent us at Queen’s Park.

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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry

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