It is not that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is not smart. Never having the opportunity to meet her and talk with her, it is not even fair to say she is politically stupid. It just seems that she comes at political questions from a very narrow perspective. And that could be because of limited political experience, bad advice or lack of judgement.
Politicos need broad political experience for success. Wynne’s North Toronto electoral district is about as bland and predictable as they come. It elects right-wing Conservatives and right-wing Liberals. It elects reactionaries. She got involved in politics of the area in reaction to Conservative Premier Michael Harris’ forced amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto. It was one of the very few actions of the Harris government that made sense. The only mistake was that Toronto was never given a workable form of governance. It remained the ugly stepchild of the province.
Wynne has done little more than throw money at the City Of Toronto since becoming premier. She obviously has no concept of what the city needs. Even her advisors keep telling her to throw more money.
There is one thing for sure: Wynne gets bad advice. Kicking a quadriplegic and his wheelchair under the bus in Sudbury so you can appoint a former New Democrat for a by-election was a desperation move that was unnecessary. Nobody can figure out what Wynne and her advisers were trying to prove. It was the unnecessary kind of move such as her advisor David Peterson used to make in his brief stint as premier.
Wynne seems quite sanguine about her staff being investigated by the police for her errors in judgement.
But it is her reliance on former TD Bank chief Ed Clark that is hanging Wynne out to dry. Clark’s idea of selling off part of Hydro One is guaranteed to put pressure on electricity pricing across the province. His piecemeal approach to liberalizing beer and wine sales through grocery stores is a sad joke.
And now we have a “Liberal” budget to discuss. People have quickly seen her Cap and Trade environmental plan as nothing but a crude cash grab. The new plan for a seniors’ drug plan has most seniors outraged at the price increases. And the feeble attempt at a means test for university access will be a bureaucratic nightmare.
If Wynne had any real political experience, political smarts or political judgment, she would hardly be in the mess she is in today. It raises serious concerns about the next provincial election.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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