In the Pearson-Trudeau era of Liberal politics in Canada the chief political apparatchik of the times was the later Senator Keith Davey. He was a friend and a mentor. He often told us that the greatest political failing in politics is loyalty. It was only after he departed into the fog of Alzheimer that we understood what he meant.
This thought comes to us when reading about one of the new federal Liberal cabinet members from Quebec who is a political neophyte. He considers his greatest challenge is to remember that politics is a team effort. Yes it is. What he also needs to understand is that the team effort does not prevent him from being true to himself.
This came to mind the other day when bantering with a well-known Liberal apparatchik from Toronto. He and an entourage from Queen’s Park had come to Barrie to help us poor rural townies with a judicial recount. Ours was the kind of light banter you might get into with someone you distrust. It was light but the words were cautious. He must have sensed the distrust. He ended the byplay with the comment “We are on the same side, you know.”
The reality is that we are not on the same side. That apparatchik is a key advisor to the Wynne Liberals at Queen’s Park. This writer regularly questions if Wynne’s Whigs are Liberals at all. Calling yourself a Liberal does not make you one. Being a Liberal requires certain standards in regards to human rights and concern for the individual in society. Liberalism might be something of a moving target but Premier Wynne and her gang seem to forget what they are in power to do.
And they dislike dissent. They do not like being challenged. They dance to their own music. It is a private club and nobody else is welcome. They revile and disassociate themselves from those who question their actions, interests and motives. At one time, we had many friends at Queen’s Park, people we respected and supported. No more.
The only reason Wynne’s government runs the store at Queen’s Park is because of the awful opposition. There are three parties to choose from. We think of them as worse, worser and worst. Ontario voters elected the Wynne Liberals last year in self defence.
The only effort that was close to being Liberal was their effort to improve on the Canada Pension Plan. Their hiking the minimum wage in Ontario by 25 cents to $11.25 per hour was a travesty. Nobody can live adequately on that wage in Ontario. Their selling off some of Hydro One is a Conservative plan that flies in the face of liberal logic. This is a government that listens only to Bay Street.
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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