In the travel business, it is always best to choose where you are going first and then you choose the person to serve as guide. It just makes sense. It is the same in politics. Is it really practical to choose a leader for your party before you know where the party is headed?
Former Ontario liberal premier Dalton McGinty enforcer, Greg Sorbara, tells reporters that the Ontario liberals should have a leadership contest this year. That is Greg for you. He always was more interested in the fight than the ‘why’ of it. This is the guy who cancelled two gas fired electrical plants in Mississauga and Oakville rather than taking a chance on losing two legislative seats. And who cares if it cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions and dogged the liberal government for the next six years?
What Ontario liberals have to come to grips with is the degree of neoliberalism to which the party has succumbed. Admittedly, neoliberalism was necessary to bring the Canadian economy to the level that could support high immigration and rapid growth after World War II. Back then, business cooperated with government and government knew where it was going
Today though, we have to recognize that the excesses caused by the unnecessary freedom of business and capital is causing serious damage to our Canadian society. When they can no longer trust business, people look to government. And when they no longer trust their politicians, all bets are off.
We saw this growing distrust in business and in politicians during the late 1900s. Promises were hollow from both. Business, large and small, failed us. General Motors is a good example. The huge auto company was rescued by our governments only to then disrespect the very people who built and bought their products. The orderly structure of thousands of lives was turned and twisted. Their future was insecure.
People have been acting out their frustrations with various efforts since the Occupy movement. People have found that the financial markets dance only for the One Per Cent. We learned that the millennium threat to computers was false news. Social media is now the political Pablum. New political parties offer simplistic solutions and voters move to them. Stand-fast governments are turfed. Their neoliberalism approach has much to answer for!
-30-
Copyright 2019 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]