Category: Provincial Politics

“We Have Met the Enemy”

by Peter Lowry

Recently the wicked witch of the west told us that her Land of Oz was beset with arsonists who were razing millions of hectares of her beautiful province. She told us that she is going to hire investigators to find these evil doers. If she was older, she might have remembered the sage wisdom of Walt Kelly’s indomitable opossum, Pogo. He told us many years ago that “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

What Alberta premier Danielle Smith does not seem to understand is that those lovely people who pour millions of dollars into the Alberta treasury—for her to spend so frivolously—are the incendiaries. With every barrel of ersatz oil garnered from the oil sands, they push Mother Nature into pushing back with climate change.

What I fail to understand is the willingness of Alberta’s voters to blame all the ill effects of climate change on those damn liberals. Here Kenney and company were draining Alberta hospitals of competent staff and they were still only electing conservative governments. I could have told them that they would end up hating the man for his hypocrisy, and cheap conservative patter. Yet they cheered when he united the right against the NDP.

And I am not saying that all the conservative premiers of Alberta were wrong. Some wiser premiers even warned against the practice of cutting taxes and using the oil revenues to buy votes.

But don’t try to tell Danielle Smith that. That woman is having a ball. She is drunk with her supposed power in that office and she belittles Albertans in the process.

An Alberta writer recently wrote that there would be no way that Alberta could shut down the tar sands operations overnight. And no thinking Canadian in the east would expect that to happen.

But some sensible forward planning is necessary. What is their future in Alberta when the tar sands are stripped of their benevolence? What happens when there is no more production to send down to the ships that will take bitumen to foreign ports?

Nobody expects the premier to suddenly act more intelligent or more gracious. That would be asking too much of her.

(With thanks to L. Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz books, and Walt Kelly, the cartoonist who showed us the wisdom of Pogo, for helping me mix my metaphors.)

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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Does Sir Douglas Do It?

by Peter Lowry

It all started with the conservative Ontario attorney general. He and some of his fellow conservative lawyers in Ontario wanted to be able to use the ‘King’s Counsel’ designation.  It could help fool the public into thinking they were the more important lawyers in the province. They would be allowed to wear silk robes in court. This honorary title had been stopped by the liberal government back in 1985 because it had been abused as cheap political patronage for too long. It cost nothing for the conservatives to reinstitute it and suddenly there were 90 lawyers in Ontario showing off their new ‘KC’ title.

But this left premier Doug Ford out in the cold. He complained to the news media that he had not even been consulted about the ‘KC’ for lawyers. And attorney general Doug Downey KC said that was true.  There was little that Downey could do for a premier who was not a graduand of any college or university.

But when checking the statue of Sir Oliver Mowat outside the Queen’s Park legislature, the premier got some ideas. The Nickle Resolution passed by the federal government in 1917 was to specifically ask the United Kingdom to stop bestowing titles on Canadian citizens.

There were exceptions, of course. There always are. And nobody has ever said that provinces cannot have a system of honours for people of exemplary character and of service to their province.

While, this writer does not like to promote gossip, the rumour out of Queen’s Park is that the province might expand its provincial honours system to include the bestowing of provincial knighthoods. No doubt the editors of a certain American-owned Postmedia chain are champing at the bit to release the story of this new honours system for Ontario.

There seems to be few objections to the conferring of provincial knighthoods for men but the debate continues with the cabinet members who object to women being called “Dames.” We would not be surprised if the objectors where being led by Caroline Mulroney KC. Mind you, we are not sure if this is not because she already has her ‘KC’ title. She got it when she had only been an Ontario lawyer for three days.

But, no doubt, Doug Ford already has the premier’s office staff used to calling him ‘Sir.’

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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Doug Ford’s Summer.

by Peter Lowry

This could be Ontario premier Doug Ford’s last best summer on the Muskoka Lakes of Ontario. As he speeds around the lakes on his personal water scooter, the storm clouds are gathering. Doug has made it a better time for the liberals to sign up those disquieted voters who do not buy into his schemes for the Ontario Greenbelt, for our highways, laying waste to our hospitals and schools and privatizing Medicare.

The good news is that the Ontario liberals are choosing a new leader before the year ends. There are already five strong contenders. One will be a potential premier and the other four are a good core group for a strong cabinet.

But they have to show that they are all liberals. They need to be advocates for human rights. They need to showcase their progressive views. They need to show how Ontario grows and progresses under liberal governments.

A liberal supporter asked me the other day how he is supposed to prove he is a member of the Ontario liberals. I asked him, “Do you get e-mails from Ontario liberals asking you for money?”

“All the time,” he said ruefully.

“Congratulations,” I told him. “That proves you are a member of the party.”

I remember many years ago when people paid an annual membership in the party and we had some by-elections coming up. I thought at the time that the party should put the arm on our 75,000 members to contribute money to the effort to win those by-elections. As this was before e-mail, I soon had all the begging letters ready to go to the post office lined up on the party headquarters’ boardroom table.

The party treasurer came in, looked at all the piles of letters, shook his head, and said, “You’re doing it all wrong, Peter.”

I will admit that the results to that first letter were not earth shaking. It has taken a long time to change the financial structure of our political parties across Canada. We need to remember that seniors and others without a lot of discretionary funds, who are willing workers at election time, also make a very large contribution in terms of their time and efforts. So, our candidates should bear that in mind when asking, nicely, for funds.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

by Peter Lowry

You need rules in politics just as you do in boxing. And if there are none, we need to write some. I note this because the chemistry of the Ontario liberal leadership has gone off track. A gentleman, for example, does not comment negatively on a lady’s age. It is especially inappropriate when the lady’s predecessor as mayor of Mississauga was a highly productive mayor into her 90s.

It reminds me of the time that True Davidson, long-term mayor of East York (later part of Toronto), was running for the provincial liberals in that area. She called me and said “I’m turning 80 during the campaign, how do I handle it.”

I told her to throw a party. I also advised her not to put 80 candles on the cake. It could be considered a fire hazard.

But I am not going to be overly critical of MP Nate Erskine-Smith for his oblique criticism of fellow leadership contender Bonnie Crombie. He should have been prepped better for a one-on-one interview with Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star. Bob is a very experienced reporter and while he might have buried the remarks Nate made about Ms. Crombie in his think-piece for the Star, he would have been remiss to exclude them.

Hepburn tells us in his article that Bonnie Crombie’s leadership bid is obviously weighing on Nate Erskine-Smith’s mind. At the same time, Bonnie might be shooting from the hip and not waiting to assess the needs and concerns of party members. I think both candidates need better communications advice.

For Bonnie to deny the progressive side of Ontario liberals makes no sense. The liberal party of Ontario is a big tent party and progressives make up a large share of that membership. You piss-off progressives at your peril. For a candidate to say they are not needed is seriously paring down the percentage of liberal votes she needs to win the leadership.

She also needs to bear in mind that the Ontario liberal hierarchy has blundered badly in opting for the conservative’s ranked ballot approach to voting. It leaves the candidates having to worry not only about that first vote but second choices as well.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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Doug’s Deniability.

by Peter Lowry

“I know nothing,” claims Ontario premier Doug Ford. He reminds you of the role of Sergeant Shultz in the popular television series ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ that ran from 1965 to 1971. The fat concentration camp guard always blustered that he knew nothing. Just like Ford who told the media that he had more important things to think of than the machinations of his attorney general, who had appointed himself to be a King’s Counsel (KC).

Since one of the recipients of the privilege of having the KC initials after his name was the premier’s personal lawyer, he might, at least have heard a ‘thank you.’ And since Mr. Ford could hardly fall asleep at all cabinet meetings, transport minister Carolyn Mulroney’s acceptance of being called to the bar in Ontario—without any of that troublesome bar admission stuff—three days before receiving her KC—must have been remarked on in cabinet.

And obviously, Mr. Ford has hung his hand-picked attorney general out to dry. If he was really the instigator behind the return of the King’s Counsel designation for conservative lawyers, he is going to get laughed out of my electoral district. The liberals in my riding might have more than a few annoyed lawyers to chose from for a candidate in the next provincial election.

When liberal David Peterson was elected and won the premier’s office in 1985, he ended the, at that time, Queen’s Counsel (QC) designation. He said the designation had become corrupted and was seen by the public as a patronage tool. And besides, the conservatives had already given Peterson the QC title as a courtesy when he became opposition leader at Queen’s Park.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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When in Doubt, Nuke It.

by Peter Lowry

The conservatives at Queen’s Park have played the nuclear card in trying to solve Ontario’s electrical power problems. The incompetents have grasped at the most expensive to build, bought into the centuries of after-life in the fuel and the least favourite solution of Ontario voters. Their less than brilliant solution adds a larger reactor on the Bruce Peninsula and some smaller reactors to be added down at the Darlington nuclear plant on Lake Ontario.

It was not the solution that the government would be smart to promote just before a provincial election. I doubt the public attitude towards nuclear plants has changed very much since I last studied the situation.

It was 35 years ago that I wrote a report for the then Ontario energy minister about the attitudes of experts and citizens about nuclear power in Ontario. The liberal government of that day was struggling with the same questions as today.   

While many would assume that the assignment was something of a pay-off for my helping the energy minister get elected, they would be right. I was so annoyed at that appearance of patronage that I deliberately ran the expenses on the project over budget. It annoyed my partners in the firm but it produced a report that surprised the deputy minister and the civil servants in the ministry.  

Instead of a few pages of boiler plate, I gave the ministry a lengthy and detailed analysis. One of the steps in the process was a series of focus groups. I wanted to find out the why’s of the negative reaction to nuclear electrical production. It turned out that the respondents did not care if the nuclear plants were as far away as the North pole, they were not happy with nuclear power.

At the time, there was little hope for the ability to store electrical energy in the quantities needed to make wind or solar power an adequate solution. We ended up recommending negotiating the integration of the water power of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec into an interlocked grid that could answer the need for electrical power for many years.

But that did not happen then. And when the conservatives took over at Queen’s Park in 2018, they cancelled all the plans the liberals had for wind, solar and the better electrical storage capability.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry

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The Wicked Witch of the West.

by Peter Lowry

We’re not talking Kansas here, Toto. It’s true, blue Alberta that is today’s Land of Oz. And its yellow brick road meanders through the tar sands that can destroy our planet. And the wicked witch of the west is the premier who denies global warming. She can even deny the tornado’s path of destruction through central Alberta on Canada Day.

You also had to wonder at the symbolism of Canada’s prime minister wearing the white hat at the opening of the Stampede in Calgary while the Grinch who heads the conservatives wore the black hat and dark glasses. Calgary is Mr. Poilievre’s home turf. You would have thought he would understand the symbolism.

While the world is being consumed in forest fires in the east and west, and the air pollution hangs heavy in the air, that witch Danielle Smith told the prime minister that he was attacking Alberta with his ask for the tar sands industry to lower its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the world burns, Alberta wants to keep pumping more bitumen up from the depths to fuel the destruction.

The witch denies the power of the winds that blow across the foothills of the Rockies to offer sustainable, non-polluting electrical power to the province. She scoffs at the power of the sun to turn the mills of industry. She would rather deny Mother Nature’s anger at the abuse of pollution by the greed of tar sands exploiters.

The witch envisages a spiderweb network of pipelines putting some of the polluting carbon back underground. The very cost of capturing and storing a portion of the GHG will eventually make bitumen cost far more than any other fossil or other polluting fuel.

You get the impression that the wicked witch might have signs made for the Trans-Canada highway, where it enters Alberta, saying there is no fuel in this province for electric vehicles.

There is a serious global shift away from fossil fuels around the world and the Wicked Witch of the West needs to get with the program.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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

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Protecting Provincial Powers.

by Peter Lowry

The other day, I mentioned that Oliver Mowat, Ontario’s premier for much of our country’s formative years back at the end of the 19th Century, fought with prime minister John A. Macdonald over provincial rights. At the time, he was right. In today’s world, he would be very wrong. What is very wrong today is that we have been left with a constitution that is almost impossible to fix. We end up trying to work around the country’s constitution.

The problem is that our major social programs, that are more of a right than a ‘like to have,’ have to be negotiated piece by piece with the provinces and territories.  It has become a form of self abuse that most federal politicians enter into with caution.

Every few years we re-open the arguments over Medicare. And yet we want to add a national drug plan. People would have laughed at you if you brought it up as Queen Victoria’s ministers were writing our constitution. So, what if daycare was only something a neighbour would offer at the time? Our constitution split the responsibilities of the different levels of government as they were viewed in the 1800s. Aldous Huxley, and his book Brave New World, were not born yet.

So, where does that leave Canadians? I doubt we would have a revolution. Hell, we get into better brawls in hockey games. It is doubtful that we are going to start a civil war. The péquistes in Quebec City have proved they are just a malicious bunch of bigots who want power exclusively for themselves. Compared to them, that silly woman who is premier in Alberta and her “Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act” has people across Canada laughing.

Our world has just muddled its way through a deadly pandemic and our constitution proved to be a barrier to healing for Canadians. We had the federal government trying to shore up the country’s economy while the provinces struggled with trying to support our medical delivery system. Here in Ontario, we had a conservative government bleeding out the healthcare system. They blocked the hospitals from the extra funding needed to encourage medical staff. They just watched as our hospitals fell into disrepair.

But the feds and the provinces remained true to our outmoded constitution.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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Waiting for Some Leadership.

by Peter Lowry

This is not to complain about John Fraser’s performance as interim Ontario liberal leader at Queen’s Park. John has been doing his usual good job without much resources. It is just that the sooner we can have a new leader in place at Queen’s Park the better. We have to ensure that Ontario lives up to its liberal heritage.

And it was that liberal heritage that built this province. It was my relative Oliver Mowat, who was a Father of Confederation and who served as liberal premier of Ontario for almost 24 years at the end of the 19th Century. It was his determination that strengthened provincial rights in those early years. From the Upper Canada Rebellion onward, it was the early liberals who pushed to create the open and progressive type of government that liberalism offers Canadians today.

It is why I was so disappointed with Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie’s opening salvo in the current liberal leadership contest. She actually complained about the McGinty – Wynne years in the premier’s office in Ontario being too left wing. If either Dalton McGinty or Kathleen Wynne were left wing, then I must be a butterfly.

Sure, the last two liberal premiers at Queen’s Park did some things that might have come across as progressive, but in balance they were certainly not aggressive lefties. McGinty might have moved us forward on the Greenbelt and ended the era of coal-generated electricity in the province but I got the feeling from him that if we did not go along with his concern for the environment, we were in for a spanking.

And as a lefty, Kathleen Wynne was a joke. I could never think of her approach to beer and wine in grocery stores as anything more than a yawn. That was not only silly the way she did it but it made progressiveness a joke.

And if any other politician ever concedes an election before the polls close, they should be pilloried for the rest of their lives.

There was some good young talent running to replace Kathleen Wynne, but the powers-that-be in the liberal party hand-picked Steven Del Duca to replace her—which was a really dumb move. He never went back to Queen’s Park, he never talked like a leader and he never looked like a leader.

This time, the party has a chance to pick a real leader. I think there are a couple good possibilities in the race already.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry

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

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Is Brown on the In or Out?

by Peter Lowry

You are never sure who is in with Ontario premier Doug Ford. Here he is breaking up the confusion over who does what for whom in Peel Region. He is making Brampton and Mississauga free-standing cities. He has even appointed an expensive group of overseers to make it all happen expeditiously.

We know that Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie doesn’t care what Ford does as she is going for the brass ring of Ontario liberal party leader. She wants to get into Queen’s Park where she can go after Doug Ford mano-a-mano, so to speak.

But that leaves Patrick Brown with Brampton as a form of booby prize. And we all know that Patrick has much greater aspirations than just mayor of Brampton.

He still wants to get even with the conservatives on the committee that kicked him out of the last federal conservative leadership race. That guy is so desperate for publicity, I am surprised he wasn’t the judge for the latest hotdog eating contest, or one of the contestants.

But we were all surprised that if Caroline Mulroney can get an instant promotion to Ontario lawyer and a King’s Counsel without bothering to pass the bar admission, why was Patrick overlooked. He is not embarrassed that he graduated from Windsor University and in all those years in politics in Barrie, he never seemed to bother to pass the bar admission to practice law in Ontario. His buddy, Walied Soliman, had acquired the legal credentials to be chair of his law firm and was one of the few who might have deserved having a KC designation—for something other than being a good conservative.

There was a bit of confusion about former premier David Peterson already having a KC designation. He was given that in an era of progressive conservatives in Ontario who gave the designation to the new liberal party leader at Queen’s Park. They had no idea that he would have the support of the new democrats after the election, to push them out of office.

They also did not know that he would cancel all the KC foolishness that had become such a joke to the legal profession.

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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry            

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

[email protected]