Yes, there is a lesson to be learned from the B.C. provincial election by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The lesson is that when voters are mad, you best get out of the way.
Take a page from former Premier Dalton McGuinty’s book: he knew when to get out of the way. Except for the gas-powered electrical generation plants, he gave Kathleen Wynne a fairly clean slate.
But few were impressed. If it had not been for the very bad campaigns of Tim Hudak’s Conservatives and Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats in 2014, Wynne might not have scraped through that last election. And we can hardly count on Brown and Horwath to be so careless this time around.
Brown is not likely to be such an easy target as Hudak next spring. This guy will never be where you expect him to be and he will be a fast-moving target. He is currently attacking Yasir Naqvi Ontario’s Attorney General over inadequacies in Ontario’s parole system but it is more the man he is attacking than the parole needs. Undermining strong cabinet members at any opportunity is just a strategic move rather than any concern.
Brown and his people would also recognize Naqvi as a strong possibility to replace Wynne and they are trying for two birds with one stone.
But there are some even stronger Liberals ready for the top job in Ontario and Wynne is in their way at the moment. She needs to resign before the end of June so that the party can set up a convention by November. If we can get an every-member votes race without artificial constrictions, we have the chance of choosing a younger, more progressive Liberal leader than we have had for many a year. What we have to make sure of is that the supposed powers-that-be are kept from manipulating the convention.
What we need to hear from liberal candidates for Wynne’s job is their ideas of about where Ontario is headed. As the industrial and financial heart of Canada, we have to take the lead. A small step towards Pharmacare based on looking after our young people has to show a path for full Pharmacare across Canada. This would contribute considerably to lowering and controlling healthcare costs for the entire country.
Ontario need never take pride in just where we are but has to have a vision of the future. That takes leadership.
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Copyright 2017 © Peter Lowry
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