With the current slump in the fortunes of Ontario’s Liberal government, Premier Kathleen Wynne has an uphill climb for the last two years of her mandate. Her problem is that while she fancies herself as a reformer, she really out conserves the Conservatives. Her basic problem is that what she sees as progressive is perceived by the public as dawdling and manipulative.
Wynne is no progressive. It is not how she thinks or how she deals with political questions. Her entire political career has been reactionary. She started out working against former Premier Mike Harris’ amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto. While he did the deed for all the wrong reasons, it was probably the best thing that could be done for the city.
She went on from that protest experience to the public school board. And there is nothing more reactionary and slow moving than Ontario school boards. They have no real power and mainly look after the facilities for the education of our children. Kathleen Wynne fit in well there.
Wynne was barely noticed in the McGuinty government until, as Minister of Education, she defeated Ontario PC Leader John Tory for her North Toronto seat in the 2007 general election. That set her up to succeed Dalton McGuinty as premier. Her manipulative deal with fellow leadership candidate Glen Murray from the adjacent electoral district was the icing that locked her into a position to win.
She floundered at first with the legacy of the gas plants from the McGuinty era but overcame that more because of the weaknesses of her opponents than any winning strategy. Her appearing to be fighting Prime Minister Harper over the inadequacies of the Canada Pension Plan helped her win the 2014 election almost as much as the foolish promise of Conservative Tim Hudak to fire 100,000 civil servants.
What the voters have seen in Premier Wynne over the last couple years has been her scheming for political advantage. Her decision on the Sudbury by-election was seen as vicious when she dismissed a paraplegic as a candidate and appointed a former New Democrat Member of Parliament. And the provincial police investigation did not help.
But her supposedly progressive efforts have appeared to be smoke and mirrors as they are all half or quarter measures instead of action. Like, nothing much is happening in the pension file and beer and wine in grocery stores seems to be nothing more than a glacial creep toward half measures.
The one thing for sure is that energy costs are escalating more because of Wynne’s actions and selling off Hydro One is just adding to the upward cost pressure. And there seems to be no way that she can get farmers to buy into wind farms or solar panels across the province.
And if you think Wynne’s government will close all the loopholes in Ontario’s outrageously corrupt political fund-raising, just wait and see.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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