Provincial Politics – Page 75

Money has its privileges.

September 12, 2017 by Peter Lowry

They named the provincial Conservative candidate for York-Simcoe the other day. There will be no sweaty contested nomination meeting for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s kid. Caroline Mulroney got a free pass. And just to drive the point home, at the announcement, she harangued the provincial Liberals for wanting to raise the minimum wage in Ontario.

Obviously Caroline Mulroney has never walked in shoes where the soles were falling off. Her life of privilege at the Prime Minister’s residence and at university in Boston and New York hardly prepared her for the ardour of representing the rural and the rich in their estates in York-Simcoe.

Or is she still remodeling that estate in Georgina as a weekend home for her family? Her husband works for New York’s Blackstone Investment Group of hedge fund fame and probably will want to spend the work week in Toronto.

But maybe it all depends on the schools their four pre-teens are attending?

It is what Caroline Mulroney can possibly contribute at Queen’s Park that has us stumped. She has absolutely no grounding in provincial matters. Reading what someone else thinks about the raising of the minimum wage in Ontario would take a lot more understanding of what poverty means and the trials of living on less than a minimum wage.

Mind you Caroline Mulroney will make an attractive candidate for Patrick Brown to hide behind. He wants people to forget the sleazy way he swamped the membership of the Ontario Conservatives to take the leadership by default. Nobody had thought of signing up more than 40,000 temporary members of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. They were mainly from the Indian Sub-Continent and nobody questioned whether they had paid their own membership or not. The 20,000 long-time members of the Conservative Party never had a chance.

But that has nothing to do with Caroline Mulroney. She had to listen to people commenting on how sleazy her father was all her life. She probably learned to ignore it.

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The reluctant reformers!

September 11, 2017 by Peter Lowry

It must have confused Justin Trudeau’s campaign team in the 2015 federal election when they realized that Thomas Mulcair and his New Democratic Party were running to the political right of them. Their first problem in that overly long election campaign was how to stretch out their planned promises. And obviously more supposed reform promises had to be added.

But promising reform and delivering on the promises are different things. Policies that are proposed just to make the party look like reformers are often hard to deliver.

The most obvious slip from cup to lip was Justin Trudeau’s promise of voting reform. Whomever came up with that idea without thinking it through is no genius. And giving responsibility for the file to a political newbie was a disaster. For those who took the time to follow the special parliamentary committee’s hearings and carefully read its comprehensive report, would have found a wealth of information. The solution will be there when Canada finally corrects its out of date constitution.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau seems to be in the hot seat more than anyone else in cabinet but Canadians are still waiting for him to produce more than an update on the old-fashioned Baby Bonus. He let us all down by not ending the stock option payments for the one per cent and now he is under fire for wanting to do something about our privileged private corporations.

It warms the cockles of our hearts when those earning vulgar incomes are told they might not be able to sprinkle money around the family just to lower their taxes. If a convenience store really pays family members for their work, they deserve it. You can hardly suggest that a brain surgeon’s family are helping out in the operating room.

The Trudeau government’s most serious failures as reformers are in the environmental and the marijuana files. Justin Trudeau blew away all his credentials as an environmentalist when he approved pipelines for diluted bitumen from the tar sands.

And our sense is that it was a bad idea to rely on a retired cop to figure out how to legalize marijuana. The involvement has gone a long way beyond the original intent to simply decriminalize weed. And turning the individual provinces loose to make money on pot does not make the federal government less culpable. Judging by the Ontario government’s planned role out of legal Mary Jane, this looks like a marketing disaster.

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The Conservative knives are out for Brown.

September 6, 2017 by Peter Lowry

Have you figured out why Ontario Premier Wynne is looking so smug lately? It has finally occurred to her that she not only has a chance to hold on to power in next year’s election but she is even getting help from Conservatives. Rather than support some of the extreme right-wing splinter parties that are forming, such as Trillium, these Tories will give Wynne more time to hang herself while making sure they have an honest choice to replace Tory leader Patrick Brown. And believe us, the political knives are out for Brown.

Those of us in Brown’s Barrie area electoral district could almost form a three-party campaign to ensure that Brown is defeated.

From the first time I met the little weasel 13 years ago, I wondered why anyone would ever want to vote for him. It took a short time to find out that he was a user and he used whatever lie was needed to bring people into his web. There are hundreds of people here in Barrie waiting for the opportunity to turn the tables on him. They are a force.

But like most of Brown’s problems, he brought it on himself. His upbringing is as a right-wing Catholic. He has proved to be anti-abortion and anti-same sex marriage. Not that he has any success with the ladies. What we hear in his home town is that women do not like him. Even the ones on the religious right are just not interested.

That enables Brown to concentrate on politics. That seems to be his primary and only love. He never seems to let the truth stand in the way of a good story. He certainly used dishonest tactics to win the Ontario leadership. When confronted on issues, he tends to consider a nimble turn-around to be the best defence.

Brown is a marathon runner and a mediocre hockey player. He has never contributed any thinking to Conservative party policy and has always avoided getting involved in it. He is desperately hoping that the Conservative Party will come up with some ideas for next year’s election. He is a political organizer, not a thinker.

The preliminary website for the Conservatives creating “I’m Out.ca” for Ontario Conservatives is honest and straightforward. They certainly do not like Mr. Brown. It will be fun to see how that movement grows before next spring and the June 7 election.

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What is the price of one child?

September 5, 2017 by Peter Lowry

Children are returning to school at this time of year. In our wisdom, we Canadians have two types of school boards. (In most provinces.) We have a Catholic Board and a public board. The Catholic board must be the junior kindergarten of politics. It is where the wannabe politicians go to make their mistakes.

And they made a lulu of a mistake recently. The Catholic Board in Toronto caved in to unreasonable pressure and blocked the police and their school resource officer program from their schools until they get around to discussing the program at their next meeting. They were caving in to the demands of people with a bias a mile wide, using American statistics and who are not interested in the needs of our children.

These people are claiming that “putting police officers in schools puts vulnerable and ‘racialized’ students in danger…” Oh! What about the vulnerable children it helps? And who is really ‘racializing’ these students?

The only people we know who are forcing racial stereotyping are these writers in Toronto who write ‘black’ with a capital ‘B.’ They are the people who go to the Police Services Board to cause trouble and radicalize the proceedings. They are not there for the children. They are there to make a name for themselves. And they might not like the names they are earning.

These writers, who all seem to be black (without a capital ‘B,’ dear editor), are using American statistics to make their case. When they try to import these statistics, their case fails.

What about the kids we hear saying of the program that “That cop is my friend.”? That is the report that makes the case for the program. For every child who is told he or she should feel threatened by the police in schools, there must be two or three who feel safer. Who are we serving in these cases?

Frankly, if at least one child’s life is saved from getting involved with gangs and guns because of the police program, we should feel strongly about supporting it as citizens.

If we err in this, let us err on the side of the children.

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Fear of Ford.

September 4, 2017 by Peter Lowry

Is he, or isn’t he? Is Doug Ford running for the mayoralty in Toronto next year or for the Progressive Conservatives in the provincial election? And who cares anyway? Oddly enough that is a matter that is mainly of concern to provincial politicians. Incumbent Mayor John Tory, who wants another term, could care less. The fact is that nobody expects Doug Ford to discover a magic elixir for winning in politics.

Doug Ford will let us all know where he is headed at Ford Nation’s annual backyard barbeque later this week. The reality is that Doug Ford reminds us of the old story about the erstwhile fisherman who goes to the fishing hole where his brother could always catch fish. He spends a day fishing with no luck. He is giving up when a fish jumps above the water and calls out: Where’s your brother?

Well Rob Ford is dead and Doug Ford in no fisherman. And Ford Nation is just a bunch of freeloaders.

The reality of the story, as any knowledgeable political apparatchik can tell you, is that Doug Ford is appreciated for his money and his name but he is a political liability. If there is fresh dog poop anywhere within range of the political Doug Ford, you can be sure he will step in it.

Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown is running a fragile campaign into next June’s provincial election and he hardly needs a loose cannon like Ford on his team. The younger Ford brother is a guy who thinks of Donald Trump as his hero. Brown wants the kind of candidates who can slide in under the radar. His campaign will be built on vilifying the Liberals and creating a massive vote against them. It is the only way a putz like him can get elected.

Patrick Brown is the type of candidate whom nobody has ever voted for as an individual. He is a wasted vote. He offers nothing other than a vague support for his party and not being the other guy. He is a user. And he is dishonest. He took the leadership of Ontario’s Conservatives by skulduggery—signing up temporary members of the party and paying for most of their memberships. His hero is former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.

But as much as Doug Ford would worry Patrick Brown, John Tory could care less about him. Lord knows, John Tory is not the perfect mayor. It is that Doug Ford is the kind of candidate who makes John Tory look good.

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For love of country.

September 2, 2017 by Peter Lowry

Travel in Europe, Asia and throughout North America has helped strengthen my love for Canada. When people in other countries tell me how much they admire our country, I rarely try to explain that we are still a work in progress. There is no need to tell them that we could certainly ratchet up our efforts for our aboriginals, improve the foundations of our democracy, facilitate better communications between provinces and build on the benefits of our two languages. We are a country that needs to concentrate more about what holds us together rather than what can drive us apart.

This was the thinking when reading an op-ed about Quebec secularism by Quebec M.P. Guy Caron yesterday in the Toronto Star. I am not sure whether I was angered the most by his hoary old chestnut about the Church of Rome or his ignorant comment about the rest of Canada’s paternalism towards Quebec Province.

For the last century, the Roman Catholic Church has been in a losing race to catch up with an increasingly secular world. Even religion has to modernize to keep up with a changing world. The problem in Quebec is the same as noted in many church dominated societies. As the church fails, the faithful become more secular and experiment with other leaders.

And Mr. Caron can talk around the subject all he likes but the church fostered much of the bigotry that exists today in Quebec. It is a small step from railing against the ‘blockhead’ English to antisemitism. Bigotry is fed by ignorance and denied opportunity.

Leaders such a Wilfrid Laurier and Pierre Trudeau offered Quebecers a world of opportunity. Yet Caron sees the NDP’s pandering to Quebec with the Sherbrooke Declaration as some sort of answer. It is not. It insults.

Quebecers will have the respect of all when they recognize that their home is Canada. They have the charm of the Atlantic Provinces in their front yard and the strength and scope of Ontario and the west in their back yard. Anything Quebecers want to achieve, they can do better as Canadians. Because Quebec is the keystone that holds the country together.

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The Tories’ Brown can’t get traction.

August 23, 2017 by Peter Lowry

You would think that Ontario Conservative Leader Patrick Brown would be sitting pretty these days. We have Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne clinging to power and the New Democrat’s Andrea Horwath disappearing from the radar. It spells nothing but opportunity for an eager leader nobody knows.

But one of our readers said it best last time we talked about Brown. The reader wrote: “My nightmare is that the next Ontario election will be about punishing the Liberals, resulting in a backlash majority Conservative government.” And that seems to be the consensus across Ontario among progressive voters.

With more than two years in as leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives now, Brown is still largely unknown. Luckily, the thinking voter is growing increasingly sceptical of Brown’s delays in answering some of the simplest questions. His problems within his party have caused him to be cautious and slow to appoint loyalists. Meanwhile his party has succumbed to chicanery and complaints about cheating in the selection of candidates. He has few name candidates to-date and this is not inspiring confidence out in the electoral districts. His Tories are splintering.

Meanwhile, this has hardly solved Premier Wynne’s problems. She recently gathered together her caucus at Queen’s Park and invited the news media to watch while she gave the caucus a pep talk. It was one of those “Once more for the Gipper” speeches and the news media just yawned.

But Wynne did make a few important points. She talked about change and how the voters are hungry for change. She believes that the voters are starting to see her government as the instrument of change. And, in a way, she is right. While progressives might ridicule her speed of change, the voters are starting to recognize it as change. She can talk about a $15 minimum wage, a start towards Pharmacare, more free university, easing of distribution of alcoholic beverages and despite the molasses-like progress, she has been an agent of change.

Brown has no change to offer except back to the days of former Premier Mike Harris. The only change he understands is to the conservative right and back to the past. He can only offer a bleak future to Ontario.

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In the Fascist Fashion.

August 22, 2017 by Peter Lowry

We should be worried about what happened in Quebec City the other day. It was not just unseemly. It certainly was not funny. They came for a fight, to create and to foster mayhem. For an insular society, these Quebecers brought dishonour to their country and their province.

The fascists, who call themselves La Muete (which translates to: The Pack) should have been ignored. The media had a light day. They gave both sides opportunities for publicity. Bored teenagers came for the thrill. Thugs came for the brawl. They all brought their weapons of choice.

The first problem was that it was hard to tell the Pack from the counter-protestors. They both wanted to rough up the news media. The police, in their European style riot gear, tried to keep the peace by taking the Pack out of sight. Pleased with themselves, the Pack went along.

The anti-fascist protestors were bored and they took out their frustrations on police and media. These protestors came for a fight and they felt they were being denied. The police finally got tired of the troublemakers in the counter protest and declared that protest to be an illegal assembly. They chased the trouble makers away after making a single symbolic arrest.

The main problem with these protestors was that many of them had their faces covered. They did not seem to understand that you do not cover your face nor should you bring weapons to protest fascism. Fascism uses bullying tactics. All you have to do is stand up to them and say ‘No.’ You have no need to hide your identity. When you fail to show your face, you are showing fear. You are letting the fascists win.

And the fascists won in Quebec City. They made the anti-fascists look foolish. They gave the finger to the news media. They had their march. It ended in front of the empty National Assembly buildings. It proved nothing other than that they could. The news media had little else to cover on a summer weekend. It got reported.

There are really many better things to do on a pleasant summer weekend in Quebec City.

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The trial of Kathleen Wynne.

August 17, 2017 by Peter Lowry

The trial is set to begin in Sudbury, Ontario on September 7. We would ignore the trial and its political implications if it did not involve the present Premier of Ontario. Mind you Kathleen Wynne will spend most of the trial on the sidelines. She is not charged with a crime. She has lackeys for that.

Standing in for the Premier is a long-time staff member, Patricia Sorbara. Pat has been in and around the Ontario Liberal Party at Queen’s Park since the mid 1980s. She has risen slowly from minor roles with junior ministers to the premier’s office. Choosing her to tell a former candidate to back off from a byelection was not exactly the vote of confidence that any political apparatchik wants to hear. It means you can be disavowed if things go wrong.

Sorbara and her local contact, a prominent Sudbury undertaker and Liberal fundraiser, Gerry Lougheed were just that. If anything were to go wrong with the Premier’s plan, those two (as they say in politics) were there to be thrown under the bus. And Sorbara and Lougheed were.

There does not seem to be any denial of the facts of the conversations with former candidate, Andrew Olivier—who, as a quadriplegic, records important chats rather than taking notes. There seems to be no way though to lay a charge against the Premier for what she might have told them to say.

Another unindicted defendant in this trial will be Ontario’s minister of energy, Glen Thibault, the winning Liberal candidate in that Sudbury by-election. While there were some carefully worded criticisms of his role from his former friends in the New Democratic caucus at Queen’s Park, he records nothing and remembers nothing improper being offered to him to encourage him to run for the Liberals in the by-election.

But it will be the news media and the public who will make that connection after the trial is over. And if there is even the hint of a criticism of the Premier in the judge’s ruling, it will be embellished and shouted louder by the opposition in next June’s provincial election.

And then the election itself will be the severest test of all. Because no matter who wins next year’s provincial election, the losers will be the Ontario voters.

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Barrie’s Bad Boy Brown.

August 15, 2017 by Peter Lowry

There is no reason to worry. The next provincial election is not scheduled until June 7 next year. By then, we should expect that far more Ontario voters are going to realize what a screw-up Brown would be as premier. It is not that he is dishonest, devious and dumb, we have had all those traits in previous premiers. Hell, just look at President Trump in the United States. He beats Brown six ways to Sunday.

But at least everyone knows what Donald Trump wants. You cannot say that for Patrick Brown. Sure, Trump lied all the way to the White House. We know that Brown simply stole the leadership of the Ontario Tories by swamping their membership. He signed up close to 40,000 new immigrants from the Indian Sub-Continent and nobody checked to see if they paid their own memberships.

Recently an interviewer noted that Brown was there in the front row at the Barrie Country Club when former Tory leader Tim Hudak announced his ill-fated pledge to fire 100,000 Ontario civil servants if he won the last provincial election. It was very funny when Brown said how concerned he was about this policy—despite the television people having the shot of him being the first to jump up to congratulate Tim Hudak on his brilliant speech.

But you can hardly deny that Tim Hudak had some ideas—as bad as they were. Brown is not giving us anything other than platitudes.

All we have to go on with Brown is how he voted in the House of Commons on free votes on subjects such as women’s rights—he is against them. Since then he has kept flip-flopping on subjects such as sex education. His remarkable conversion to recognizing gay rights seemed to be based on how many times he could get the news media to get another picture of him in Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade.

Politically, Brown is a user. He uses people. He uses charities. Instead of putting forward proposals to help people live better, he uses their problems to promote himself. Later this month, he will once again be taking the credit for a hockey event in Barrie for charity that we suspect his political staff organizes. He promotes it but seems to have stopped taking the direct responsibility for it. This might be because some people have been wondering what an audit over the years of the of the event might reveal.

But if you think we are being unfair to Mr. Brown, we would certainly like to know about it. My e-mail address is below.

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