Month: September 2022

The Stalking Horse.

by Peter Lowry

The stalking horse is a strategy that has been used in politics over the past 200 years. A stalking horse in politics appears to be a candidate for an office who builds a base of support but delivers the support to another candidate in the actual vote. We will soon know if it worked in the Canadian federal conservative leadership being decided later today. The stalking horse was former MP and Brampton mayor Patrick Brown. He was doing the stalking on behalf of his friend, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest. The prize at the end of the game was for Charest to win the leadership against MP Pierre Poilievre.

While people such as former prime minister Brian Mulroney were working the conservative party sign-ups in Quebec for Charest, Patrick Brown was signing up temporary conservatives across Canada—supposedly for his own campaign. His main target was the sub-continent diaspora of almost 2 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs who are concentrated in Toronto and Vancouver and other cities such as Montreal in Quebec and Brampton, Ontario. Brown signed up more than 100,000 temporary conservatives and renewals.

There are many theories as to why Brown was turfed from the conservative contest. There were rumours of illegal acts and there were rumours of rules violations. I think Patrick Brown set up his own ejection from the race. The problem was that with his sign-ups voting for him on the first ballot, he was risking coming second to Pierre Poilievre. For the stalking horse effort to work, Jean Charest had to come first or second on the first ballot. All was lost though if Poilievre had more than 50 per cent of 338 electoral districts on the first ballot.

Brown had no problem asking his temporary members to vote for Charest second to him. They would also accept his advice to vote for Jean Charest after he was out of the race. It did not matter that his name was still on the ballot. It is his second vote that is counted.

What is not clear is the obvious animosity between Brown and Poilievre. Neither of the two men are particularly likeable. Neither has much life experience. They both have had a life dedicated to politics with a conservative flavour. Brown’s conservatism is that of a smarmy, middle-of-the-road retail politician and Poilievre’s is to the extremes of the right wing of conservatism.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Hypocrisy of Premier Ford.

by Peter Lowry

Has Ontario premier Ford found out that organized labour matters? As much as it might gall some Ontario voters, there were conservative members of the Ontario legislature in Labour Day parades this year. They were marching with the workers. They want you to believe they are pro-labour. They are far from pro-labour.

Conservatives such as Doug Ford know little about organized labour, its origins, its reason for continued existence or its objectives. What Ford and his cronies want are the votes of organized labour. What begs the question though is why does the Ontario government mistreat some of the largest union groups in the province?

This is where the hypocrisy is hard to take. The treatment of nurses by the Ford government is discriminatory and has been driving vitally needed nurses out of hospitals. It is hampering the efficacy of our entire healthcare system. We are not out of the pandemic yet and we have growing numbers of medical procedures becoming urgent. Hospitals are being forced to turn patients away from poorly manned emergency departments. Entire wards are without staff and they are closed.

What the Ford government has done is broken faith with the people of Ontario to provide an available, fair and competent healthcare system. And the threat to send convalescing patients to long term care facilities is risking the lives of patients without adequate medical staff and facilities at hand. And what long term care facility has the physiotherapists and equipment to get these people up and back in their communities?

 And the gamesmanship continues in the education system. Some of the largest and determined unions in Ontario are the teachers and the support staff. They are in a game with the government where neither wants to be blamed for children missing any more of the education they need as they grow.

The Ontario government has insulted the first group of teaching assistants, caretakers and clerical staff with an offer of two per cent for those earning less than $40,000 per year and the others just 1.25 per cent.  

Facing rampant inflation, the teachers and support staff are faced with no choice but upcoming strike votes. The first 55,000 Ontario education workers could be out on strike for Christmas.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Protesting Protests.

by Peter Lowry

Every day someone, somewhere has come up with something new to protest. Maybe there needs to be licensing arrangements for protests before it gets completely out of hand. The latest annoyance this week was the people protesting the fighter jets at the Canadian National Exhibition.

If I had been down to the Ex this year, I would have gone to see the air show. As a one-time member of the Canadian air force, I am fascinated by the latest fighter aircraft. And, of course, they are powered by pollution-creating fuel.  Let’s face it, war is hell in more ways than one.

But I can assure you, RCAF pilots probably waste less fuel than a teenager with his first car. And the very idea that people who have been in war zones would not want to see friendly planes up close, is ludicrous. Besides, those jet planes you see at Canadian air shows have probably never fired a shot or projectile in anger.

And while we are at it, I have a word for people who think they have the right to block roads or trains or in any other way to block fellow citizens from lawful entry or egress. I’m not sure I am spelling it right but it sounds like pssssssssfffffffffft.

Of course, I am fully in agreement with your right to inform others of your displeasure with an employer or a government.

And I reserve the right to ridicule those who insist we defund the police. I agree that police are not suitable for certain calls. I very much want them to be accompanied by people trained in handling mental illness and anger issues. You just better be prepared for the costs of that next time you pay your municipal and provincial taxes.

Speaking of that, just wait until your community ratepayers take your nimbyism too far. If you want to block reasonable in-fill, moderate apartment projects, granny flats and other schemes to provide more reasonable accommodation for people in your community, please be prepared to pay the real cost. Status quo has to be taxed too. There are no gated communities in Canada where you can hide from the realities of life and death and taxes.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Is Conservative Winter Coming?

by Peter Lowry

In viewing the Netflix Game of Thrones, I always felt the chill in the dire prediction that Winter was coming. In a mix of medieval knights, giants and fire breathing dragons, it was just another conservative leadership contest writ large.

Conservatives put too much stock in their leadership contests. Everyone waits with baited breath before the three-car garage of the conservative mansion. And what comes out, but a bicycle. The fire-breathing dragons are, in reality, just pussycats.

Maybe, the evil doctor Poilievre has wormed his way into the spotlight, this time. Yet, what is he going to do if he has won? Can he continue to enthrall the freedom convoy participants? Can they be trained to do the boring chores of the politically faithful? Are they even trainable?   

And what if Jean Charest should win because he has more ridings in his basket than does Poilievre in this quaint Easter egg hunt of a conservative leadership? Will the freedom convoy crowd go home in disgust and distrust. Do they even have a home? Or do they have kennels? Will Poilievre be satisfied with being finance critic instead of the Grand High Poobah of the conservatives?

Or is there a middle ground between these two leading contenders? Is there a kinder, gentler conservative party that really wants to lead Canadians down a conservative path to a Canada that cares?

Do conservatives really give a damn about the World Economic Forum and the Great Reset? Do they even know what it means?

And just how many real conservatives have their undies in a knot over vaccines? They cannot all be conspiracy theorists.

The biggest joke of all is that Pierre Poilievre is some sort of economist. He has been lauded in conservative circles lately for his taking Justin Trudeau to task for the high price of breakfast cereals. He hardly gets his facts and figures from the late Milton Freidman. And it is hard to imagine any monetarist who would have anything to do with promoting cryptocurrencies.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Trudeau’s Choice.

by Peter Lowry

It looks like the churn is working but that is hardly butter we are getting. There is a demand for change in Canada and it need not be change for the worse. I will admit that I am not overly optimistic about the current trends in the conservative party federally or in Alberta. There are frustrations that people need to handle.

But we still have time to respond. The Trudeau government has to move ahead with some of the NDP objectives and keep that liberal-NDP accord in place. It is Justin Trudeau who has to make the Hobson’s Choice—his long-term determinations. He has used up his family franchise. He is not his father’s son. His only choice is his timing to resign. He has to leave the party with the question of succession.

Sometime in the next four months, Trudeau has to announce his end-date. He has to ask the party to replace him. Of course, the party has to be rebuilt so that a proper transition can take place. Trudeau has been using the party as an automated teller machine instead of a source of electoral and policy support. We have to rebuild with real liberals, not rented supporters just for the leadership event. That could take us until 2024 when we are due for an election anyway.

And if anyone wants to question Justin’s legacy you only need to say he brought us through the pandemic. He might have resembled a cuckoo popping in and out of Rideau Cottage, but he was the face of government relief throughout those bad times.

Regrets, he might also have had a few. Who can forget the events of the Jody Wilson-Raybould tenure as justice minister? Strange doings for a professed feminist! Then, there was a trip to India with the ‘dress-up’ family. And what environmentalist would purchase a trans-mountain pipeline?

But we should remember the good with the bad. There was sunlight dancing through the leaves of a verdant Rideau Park on the way to Rideau Hall for the swearing in ceremony—because it was 2015.

There was much promised in 2015 and we need to uphold those promises. Because Canada is a democratic country, a progressive country and a country that has promises to keep with the rest of the world.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Matches of the Month.

by Peter Lowry

September is promising to be the most exciting and maybe the most terrifying month for political liaisons Canadians have seen for a while. It was kicked off by the reported bromance between Justin Trudeau and his new BFF premier Doug Ford in Ontario. It gets weirder though when you consider the heating up of the relationship between Pierre Poilievre of federal conservative fame and Danielle Smith of the Alberta’s dis-united conservative party.

Just when you think prime minister Justin Trudeau is the loneliest guy in the country, there he is all buddy-buddy with Ontario’s Ogre-in-chief at Queen’s Park. We see Quebec’s Legault has kicked off his re-election campaign bad-mouthing his fellow Quebecer, the prime minister. So, Justin shows up at Queen’s Park—saying not a word about Ford’s passing a bill dumping seniors and bed holders from hospitals into long-term care homes. Nor was there any comment about the use of Medicare money instead of provincial funds for this abuse of the sick and elderly. And, of course, you don’t rudely ask your buddy where he expects to get the medical and support staff for the long-term care homes?

But they got some great selfies!

You wonder though if anyone is getting the picture in Alberta with Poilievre’s buddy Jason Kenney going out the door of the premier’s office while Danielle Smith of Wildrose fame looks like the probable winner of the key to the premier’s office.

Nothing is guaranteed here as both federal and provincial conservatives like to use a preferential ballot system. That can guarantee you the worst of results.

Danielle Smith has been wooing throngs of Albertan conservatives with her fanciful stories about pandemic lockdowns that never happened, weird stories about machinations by Ottawa to destroy Alberta’s economy and her ludicrous sovereignty bill that the most avid Quebec separatist has only dreamed of.

But it is the combination of Poilievre federally and Smith provincially that makes me wonder what this world is coming to. The two Albertans are reflecting badly on the residents of the wild rose province. The loonies are coming, ta-rah, ta-rah.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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What Open Border?

by Peter Lowry

I was trying to figure out the ArriveCAN app today and I think this border-crossing nonsense would be appropriate for a police state but it really does not belong between Canada and the U.S. I grew up in this country when crossing into the United States was about as formal as saying ‘Hi.’ I remember more than a few times heading for Niagara Falls teaching the kids with foreign-born accents how to say “Toronna” in case they were questioned as to where they were born.

And that is all it should be between countries such as Canada and the United States.    I was hardly inconvenienced when we started using passports at the border but I thought of it as unnecessary. By that time, I had been on business or holiday to all but three of the states of the union. I have no idea what would attract me to Rhode Island and, maybe I shouldn’t count Wyoming, as I don’t think I even stopped for gas crossing that state. Though I bet I am the very rare Canadian who has ever addressed a state police convention in Salem, Oregon.

I should hasten to add that the border needs to have barriers against COVID 19. Proof of vaccination should be sufficient. My opinion is that ArriveCAN is excessive, intrusive and stupid. And the assumption that everyone has a smart phone is the most stupid. This government has the nerve to think that all Canadians are so self-important as to pay the outrageous cost of smart phones and usage charges of the telecoms in this country.

And for the agist idiots who think the smart phone is an inconvenience for seniors, I should mention my oldest brother was having fun with his smart phone at 93. He found it was a great toy. And that is what it is, a toy. And whomever dreamed up the idea of putting a camera in cell phones must have been a sadist.

Have you ever noticed that when you are checking an app to see if it suits your needs, you find there is more than one source offering to help you download the app. Most of these secondary sources are just trying to get your information for their own usage. Many of them profit from selling the information.

But then a smart phone is, by its nature, like wearing the story of your life on your sleeve. It might seem a boring subject to you but there are people who want that information to sell you, to influence you, to manipulate you or to steal the money recorded in your bank app. You do not have to be paranoid about this. Your cell phone can tell them all they need to know.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Welcome Back Chrystia.

by Peter Lowry

It looks like the kids have forgotten their manners since finance minister Chrystia Freeland was at home in Alberta. For someone to accost her and spew invective at her is not the Alberta that I know.

But, just as bad as the manners of the stupid fool who caused the scene was the ignorant woman who raced to the door of the elevator with her phone to record the deputy prime minister’s reaction. It took the man in his undershirt and that woman to make a lie of Alberta hospitality, for all to see.

It reminds me of my late friend, MP Bob Caplan, when he was solicitor general of Canada. I bumped into him at Ottawa airport, one time, when we were both headed for Toronto. I noted that he had an RCMP constable with him, carrying a couple cases. I nodded towards the Mountie and asked Bob if he was in custody?

It turned out he was taking some seriously secret stuff with him to Toronto and had to have the Mountie for protection, and to carry the files. It was one of the very few times I had seen any protection arranged for any member of the cabinet, other than the prime minister.

And did you know that when Lester Pearson was prime minister, he drove himself to work from Sussex Drive to parliament in the old family car?

That all changed with prime minister Pierre Trudeau. He was most annoyed when he was told he had to have a driver, rather than drive his Mercedes-Benz 300SL to the parliament buildings. That was when he was still single and the joke was that little car was his chick bait back then.

My role in the prime minister functions in Toronto was usually to set up facilities for the media, do on-site media briefings and do all the things that somebody had forgotten. For some reason, I was often doing the liaison with the Toronto-based Mounties and police.

One time when the PM was doing a major announcement at the Royal York Hotel, we had invited local liberals and general public. When the prime minister got to the microphone, I was standing at the first step to the stage and one of the plain-clothes RCMP was stationed on the next step up. When the prime minister was well into his speech, I got shoved aside and I looked at the Mountie and shrugged. He then got shoved aside and he looked at me and shrugged back. We were both outranked by a news photographer getting his pictures.

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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Old School, Eh!

by Peter Lowry

Say what you like about us older Canadians, but ours were the golden years. I will never forget the convenience of getting a passport for the wife overnight. And I am certainly nobody important. I once wrote a note to the citizenship minister about an immigration problem. It was about the mother of one of my company’s employees who had been refused entry to Canada because of illness. All I said was that she would be a member of our company medical plan. She was in Canada a few weeks later.

And I am not talking political influence here. I once wrote a very polite note to whom-it-may-concern at City Hall in Toronto. It was about the foolish assumption of some people that there is a 12 am and a 12 pm. I had found a sign saying that you could park on Richmond Street until 12 pm. I got a very expensive ticket for parking there.  In my letter, I told the story of my third-grade teacher who had taught us kids that there was a 12 noon and a 12 midnight and no such times as 12 am or pm.

I got a phone call from a gentleman who worked for the city and he was chuckling over my letter. From his accent, I guessed he attended the equivalent of third grade in another country. Yet he told me that he had also been told his by teacher at about the same age that there was no 12 am or pm. He apologized on behalf of the city and asked me to send him the ticket and not worry about it. He said if I had any further tickets in the City of Toronto, I could also send them to him. It was also good to see shortly thereafter that there were stickers going on parking signs around Toronto saying 12.01, which helped clarify the problem.

I was thinking about this recently after I had a minor accident in a local grocery parking lot. It has been a long time since I had an auto accident. It proved to me that I am past my due date. The gentleman who had caused the accident was loudly proclaiming it was his fault to the point that I told him he should stop proclaiming his culpability. (My wife had enough information on the witnesses at that point.)

But the claims adjuster for my insurance company acted like it was my fault. He said (at first) that I was not entitled to a replacement vehicle and asked me to take pictures of the damage for him with my telephone and e-mail them to him. I told him that I did not have a smart phone, did not do photography and had already rented a car (which was needed, as it took five weeks to get the parts to fix my car).

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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The Confidence of the CAQ.

by Peter Lowry

Welcome to the opening salvoes of the 2022 Quebec provincial election. In his opening announcement, premier François Legault was telling the news media that he is running on his identity issues. He told them that Quebecers are prouder of being Quebecers because of his laws banning religious symbols and the pressures his government has placed on being sure to do business in French.  What he ignored was the possibility of a libertarian emergence on the right of his Coalition Avenir du Québec (CAQ).

The real libertarians are Éric Duhaime’s conservative party of Quebec. Duhaime is going to get a boost if his friend MP Pierre Poilievre comes out as the new leader of the federal conservatives. Duhaime has already got his party noticed and is expected to win a few seats. It is logical that he would find those seats that are currently held by CAQ loyalists.

I think the liberals in Quebec, with leader Dominique Anglade, are also better positioned than the early polls show. As the current opposition party in the legislature, the liberals are targeting the CAQ’s lack of concern for climate change and the current state of the Quebec economy. The further demands by the CAQ on language ‘purity’ in their Bill 96 are hurting businesses at the wrong time.

The fact that the news media gave the liberals the hardest time when making their reply to Legault, tells us much about the campaign. I think the real campaign is between the CAQ and the liberals.

Québec solidaire, on the left, had some improvements in the last provincial election but I think there is also disappointment in their performance.

The once powerful Parti Québécois claims that it has a ‘Cinderella team’ ready to roll. The only problem is that Cinderella is a fairy tale and so is the Parti Québécois.

I was amused by the sign on the lectern used by François Legault. It said ‘Continuons,’ which reminded me of the old Bolton Brothers movie series from England called the ‘Carry On’ series. Wasn’t there one called ‘Carry On Regardless’?

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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

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

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