Babel-on-the-Bay – Page 8 – Babel-on-the-Bay is the personal website of Peter Lowry. It is a vehicle for political commentaries.

Finding Ford’s Fault.

November 2, 2023November 1, 2023 by Peter Lowry

Ontario premier Ford’s trials are about to be taken over by the Mounties. We have been racking our brains trying to think of a Canadian senior politician who has gone to jail before. It might be Ford’s legacy. Parents could admonish their children with the threat of being good or going to jail like premier Ford. It could also be a race to see if he gets incarcerated before American Donald Trump.

Oh well, Ford never was much of a politician. He was hardly up there with William Lyon Mackenzie who actually did get thrown into jail by the Americans for violating their neutrality over Canadian rebellions.

But then Mackenzie was a Reformer and he made his bones by taking on the Family Compact that ran Upper Canada in his day.

Doug Ford is running Ontario today for a new kind of Family Compact and he is doing it his way. It might not be a very democratic approach to politics but you have to remember he got all his political training at Toronto city hall from his late brother, crack-cocaine smoking mayor Rob Ford. It is where the younger brother Doug was introduced to all those developers and their representatives who hung out at city hall.

I imagine that some of the premier’s lawyer friends have their juniors scouring the law books trying to figure out with what the premier might be charged. Whomever was the master-mind trying to give those developers a chance at $8 billion in profits out of the Ontario Greenbelt had to be a high-flyer. Frankly, if it was Doug Ford, it would also be vividly obvious that he really did not know what he was doing. It gives new meaning to the James Cagney, 1959 movie: Never Steal Anything Small.

It is easier to feel sorry for the political underlings who thought they were doing something important for their bosses. Not that they don’t deserve the disapproval of their peers. It is likely that they did not know the scope of the effort until it was too late. The perpetrators could never expect that a scheme that egregious could be kept in house—so to speak.

It ties in well with Mr. Ford’s Highway 413. That is also designed to put an un-needed, multi-million-dollar highway in place, from which developers can benefit.

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Alienating Alberta?

November 1, 2023October 31, 2023 by Peter Lowry

It is highly unlikely that many people in eastern Canada would worry about alienating Alberta. Over the years, there might have been some envy of the scenic beauty of the province and the crude oil royalties for the provincial government of the day to spend.

But the truth is that the Alberta government is a minor league player in the hockey game of life in Canada. The province might have two NHL teams but is hardly in a position to dictate to the federal government how Medicare should work, what eastern consumers should tell the “Feds” about the need for electricity and to create its own pension plan with money from the Canada Pension Plan.

And please be assured that for the provincial government to be headed by an aggressive, pugnacious and out-to-lunch person such as Danielle Smith, is not doing much for the good reputation Alberta had in eastern Canada. The province had long been forgiven for the silly “freeze in the dark” business and we all had a good laugh.

Mind you I always thought the best laugh in Alberta was the Fraser Institute. It is the place where thinking tanked in the west. It is a think tank that hires academics to write papers for them to support their libertarian point of view. Mind you, the University of Calgary seems to me to be the perfect breeding place for libertarians.

There are arguments about the amount to which Alberta would be entitled if it bailed out of CPP. This is a complex formula because of the somewhat lower age profile of Albertans to the rest of English-speaking Canada. Yes, technically, there is more being put into the fund by these younger Albertans, but later in life, they will draw more and that is when it all balances out.

Even if we could find a formula for divvying up the CPP, Albertans would still get the dirty end of the stick because of the higher cost for the management of a smaller fund. The CPP is highly rated because it is a well-managed fund, producing excellent results. Both the Canada and Alberta funds would suffer because of the costs of splitting the Alberta fund and establishing separate managements. If you want losses in the millions, that is a good way to achieve them. Alberta could also make lots of lawyers rich when the province and feds go to court to sort out who pays for what.

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Trudeau Turns Tactical.

October 31, 2023October 30, 2023 by Peter Lowry

It caught us by surprise last week when Justin Trudeau caved in on the carbon pricing on heating oil. It was good to see him get off his high horse for once.

What amused me about the announcement was the Toronto Star ran the story on the front page on top of a special front-page advertisement for Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Group—the management service of the major cemeteries in the city. The copy on the ad said: “Burn the candles. Use the good china. The special occasion is always today!”

I could not think of a more appropriate positioning for Trudeau’s conciliatory offer—or depending how you feel about it, his death-bed repentance.

But what we should hope is that this could this just possibly be the beginnings of an offensive against that pathetic Pierre Poilievre and his lies? PP has been getting away with far too much for too long.

But when the liberals need the entire Atlantic provinces to support them in the next election, the increase in taxes on heating oil was cancelled—until after the election has to be called. The four provinces in the east are needed to offset the solid conservative attitude of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

What the three years mean is that there is obviously a support payment coming down the pike to encourage people to switch to heat pumps for home heating instead of oil. Heat pumps can save a lot of energy and have the advantage that they also mean easy home air conditioning in the summer.

What we should also remember is that the carbon tax is a very important tool to control greenhouse gases. If we are going to save this planet for future generations, we have to drastically reduce the pollution. Wildfires, Tornadoes, Hurricanes and floods are just being sampled today. Mother Nature is just giving us a small taste of what is to come.

And the serious storm that came up so fast, in Acapulco, Mexico the other day was just one more of Mother Nature’s surprises. You would think that events like that would help convince even a jerk like Pierre Poilievre that global warming is serious.

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Calandra’s Cabinet.

October 30, 2023October 29, 2023 by Peter Lowry

It is obvious that Ontario MPP Paul Calandra is living in the wrong century. He might have been more successful back in the late 19^th Century. It was then, that people would collect curios and display them in their cabinet. Cabinets were the museums of those days. And the more surprises in the cabinet, the more you could charge for the public to see them.

The trick in many of the cabinets of that time where the efforts required to tell whether the display was of something real or something made up to confound the public and the experts. And there are few today equal in skill of Paul Calandra in deceiving the gullible among us.

Paul proved to be that man who was in the right place at the right time. Back when he was parliamentary secretary to the prime minister of Canada, in the Harper government, Paul proved his prowess. He towered over those weaklings who came before him. He proved he knew the difference between right and wrong and he never gave parliament the right answer. If the subject of the day was pigs, Paul would talk about cows. He once broke down and cried in the House of Commons because he claimed his conscience bothered him, but I don’t think he ever did come to the subject of the day’s question.

Premier Doug Ford needed a whipping boy. He was being attacked from the left, right and centre for his obvious scam with the Greenbelt. The media were murdering him. It was time to bring up the pinch hitter. Calandra had been marking time in the Ford cabinet as government house leader, minister of long-term care and minister of legislative affairs. I thought he was enjoying his retirement.

But, oh boy, was I wrong? It was as though the legislature had caught the wild wind. Paul Calandra was ready and waiting to take over as minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs—and he only had to give up long-term care. And he gets to sit up there with the big kids because he is also answering questions directed to the premier. It would take another blog to relay all the made-up stuff he says he is doing to clean up after the mess the previous minister left.

But it is all quite meaningless, just like the new minister.

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Gloves Off for Ontario Liberals.

October 29, 2023October 28, 2023 by Peter Lowry

It had to happen sometime and the tensions in the Ontario liberal leadership race are starting to show. The only surprise is that it is Yasir Naqvi’s team that has decided to break the logjam. There have been some weak digs at front-runner Cinderella at some of the debates but Bonnie Crombie proved to be harder to annoy than expected.

But most would expect that Nate Erskine-Smith would be the one to get edgier. He is considered a bit of a maverick in Ottawa and is probably holding the number two spot in the Ontario race. Nate is also the one with the most to lose.

But Yasir Naqvi’s team are no longer the nice guys. It was a well-planned attack. Your first clue that something was changed was that the person ostensibly sending the e-mail was Linda Jeffrey, former member of the Ontario legislature, former provincial cabinet minister and former mayor of Brampton. I would respect what she has to say if she had not practically handed that twerp Patrick Brown the mayoralty of Brampton.

It reminds me of the time when Bob Nixon was challenged in a race for Ontario liberal leader. I thought I was safe and could stay out of one for a change. No, the phone rang and it was my buddy Bob, saying, “Peter, I need your help.” And, it was once more into the breech.

That was hardly like the events of this leadership event. Early in the game, I was thinking of offering Nate Erskine-Smith some help. What I soon found out was that his campaign is not well organized and so is he.

I have really liked Ted Hsu’s approach, and while it is a case of the wrong man at the wrong time, he is one to watch in the future. I think that next chance is the one he is lining up for. Some experience in cabinet is the seasoning he needs.

I took the wife to a meet and greet for Bonnie Crombie and the wife liked her. I was not as impressed with the set speech but Crombie handled it well. I don’t think I know anyone in her organization. They appear to be doing a good job.

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PP: Not While I’m Eating.

October 28, 2023October 27, 2023 by Peter Lowry

There is a video clip doing the rounds of MP Pierre Poilievre eating an apple while being interviewed. He should only hope that the other guy in the clip knows the Heimlich Manoeuvre. Not that I was hoping that he would choke to death but to teach the little twerp not to be so damn arrogant.

He keeps getting more and more pleased with himself every time you see him in action these days. He is certainly taking the arrogant approach to politics to new heights.

It is unusual. The last time we saw that kind of right-wing arrogance was when Donald Trump first won the republican nomination in 2016. I think the Poilievre touch is a bit lighter. His lies are more poetic. He uses a feather duster where Donald Trump uses a meat axe. I think Trump gathers his flocks a little further down intellect from those Poilievre targets.

Mind you, you need to be ‘kinda’ dumb to buy into the BS of either one of these guys. Their basic problem is that they feel they have to lie to make their point. If they were in opposing businesses instead of politics, Trudeau would have dragged Poilievre into court for defamation a long time ago. American politics seems to have no boundaries.

Donald Trump has the singular honour of being the only American president to be impeached twice. I am not sure just what could happen to Poilievre in the Canadian parliament. You can get rid of a prime minister with a simple vote of non-confidence.

And most Canadians seem to understand that the majority of the popular vote does not necessarily win you the government. The Canadian electoral system has its own quirks. The American system of government seems to be built on quirks.

Up here, we blame the errors in our constitution on Queen Victoria and her 19^th Century politicians in the United Kingdom of England and Ireland. In the United States of America, it was a bunch of white male landowners who gathered in Philadelphia and left the entire country in a constant state of confusion.

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Ontario’s Leadership Quest.

October 27, 2023October 26, 2023 by Peter Lowry

It seems to be a universal quest these days. Whether country, province or municipality, we are desperately in need of effective leadership. I feel embarrassed that I bitched about Jason Kenney as premier in Alberta. Compared to Danielle Smith who replaced him, Kenney was a saint. Even in Ontario, when I complained about Kathleen Wynne, the party gave us a turtle named Stephen Del Duca. He seemed reluctant about getting in the legislature, so the voters re-upped Doug Ford. I might never complain again.

And while I much prefer Marit Stiles to the previous NDP leader, it has become increasingly obvious that Stiles is very nice but definitely out of her league. I can’t imagine the unionists in the new democrats giving her the time of day.

And that brings us, reluctantly, to the current liberal crowning. I have watched grass grow faster than this leadership race. Not only is it a terrible waste of time but we all know who would win if it was a true ‘One supporter/One vote’ proposition.

I was laughing last week when I got an unabashed e-mail pitch from Ted Hsu for my second vote. Ted had obviously done the mathematics and realized that this stupid conservative voting system favours the candidate with the most second votes, if nobody wins on the first vote count. Mind you, there is no logical way to fix the outcome when each electoral district is weighted according to how bad they are at signing up new party members. The idea of considering all ridings equal is likely the stupidest idea anyone has ever dreamed up. Why you would want to have ridings that don’t give a damn about their membership numbers to have extra voting strength is totally illogical.

The one candidate who seemed to recognize the problem of the ridings with the smallest memberships was Bonnie Crombie. One of her all-supporter e-mails made reference to ridings with small memberships. She was looking for help getting more support in those ridings.

Mind you it is obvious that Bonnie Crombie is by far the front runner in the liberal race and the sooner she gets into the legislature, the better.

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How the Game is Played.

October 26, 2023October 24, 2023 by Peter Lowry

In Ontario, the rules are different—especially in Toronto. We play lip service here to freedom of speech. You can say anything you like but do not publicly criticize the State of Israel. I think of it as an open apology for the obnoxious antisemitism I witnessed in this province in my youth. I did not understand it as a child. I consider it despicable as an adult.

But when up-front coverage of the debacle in Ukraine disappeared from the Toronto Star in favour of the new war in the Middle East, I began to wonder. Where is the balance here? Does there have to be exceptions to free speech?

What we need is to be able to discuss the Middle East situation as adults, who understand both sides. I, for one, take a dim view of Hamas and Hezbollah and their ilk. Nor do I particularly like Mr. Netanyahu and his right-wing supporters. Israel has had better leaders in the past.

What I hate to see are bands of Arabic supporters or Israeli supporters demonstrating in Canada for one side or the other. And I don’t think we should all support Israel right or wrong. There is a humanitarian concern in all of this that turns my stomach.

And what I am especially concerned about is blind support from our politicians. I think they need to show more concern for the unarmed innocents in this bloodshed. I am appalled that Hamas would deliberately attack civilians in Israel for the purposes of inflaming and stimulating the hatreds. They are like a cancer and the Israelis need to be more surgical in taking them out.

In the years since the United Nations created the State of Israel there has not been enough effort to establish peace with the Palestinians. We can hardly be proud of the situation that since the time of the Crusades, Europeans have been less than successful in brokering peace in that part of the world.

But what do you expect when university professors in Ontario are criticized by their Queen’s Park minister of colleges and universities for making supposedly antisemitic and pro-Hamas statements. Our universities appear to be the last bastion of free speech in this province. We certainly need better cabinet ministers, who can understand that.

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Piss Off Danielle et al.

October 25, 2023October 24, 2023 by Peter Lowry

What’s with all these economic experts in the conservative parties across this country? Their ignorance amazes me. Probably the most dangerous is Pierre Poilievre who is currently spending millions on an advertising campaign telling Canadians what a sweet guy he is. Doug Ford in Ontario is so out of touch with reality that he thinks the Bank of Canada is going to pay attention to his nonsense. And then there is that Looney-Tunes premier in Alberta who goes on about Alberta’s pension plan.

I’ve got news for all these people: Butt Out. None of you know what the hell you are talking about.

Let’s start with the Canada Pension Plan. It does not belong to Alberta nor to Canada. The Canada Pension Plan belongs to me, to my next-door neighbour and Canadians from coast to coast. We put our money in. We get money out. To-date, we have put in billions. It is an excellent example of what a properly funded and managed pension fund should look like. And the clueless statements we hear from the Alberta premier are nothing more than blather that she hopes will convince Albertans to give her more money to mismanage. I wouldn’t trust her with a Canadian Nickel.

And then there is that dumbass premier in Ontario who doesn’t know how to keep himself out of trouble. The other day he was shouting from the roof top at Queen’s Park that the Bank of Canada should not raise interest rates this month. I wouldn’t trust that fool to make sure his wife has enough money for this week’s groceries. He doesn’t seem to understand that even the prime minister in Ottawa would not tell the bank’s governor anything so stupid. The Bank’s board is specifically kept at arm’s length from the politicians in Ottawa. I am not sure that they are even allowed to admit that there are provincial governments.

My sense on the current inflation problems is that, with the segments of the economy currently affected, is that raising interest rates would not help. We’ll see who is right.

And that leaves us with the Ottawa cowboy who so desperately wants to be prime minister of this country. I think he has proved conclusively that he does not understand this country. He has never held a real job. He thinks fictitious Internet money such as Bitcoin is a great idea. He is promising freedom from saving our planet’s ecology and freedom from any regulations. He is just boy wonder!

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Consensus Crombie.

October 23, 2023October 24, 2023 by Peter Lowry

I might have been the first to concede that Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie would win the current liberal party leadership contest in Ontario but the idea has been getting a lot of support lately. The other day, Bonnie’s campaign released a letter signed by more than 20 present and past MPPs recommending her candidacy. Their best argument is that she scares Doug Ford and his conservatives. The key is to getting her into the legislature as soon as possible.

What is missing though is a strong and aggressive party to back her. I sure as hell was not impressed when the party trumpeted that this leadership contest had increased party membership—without a fee—to over 70,000. Back when I was editing the liberal party newspaper at the end of the 1960s, the circulation was to 75,000 liberal households in Ontario. To-day, with double the population in Ontario, they seem to have a problem giving away memberships for free.

Because free membership is idiocy. I thought when Justin Trudeau cancelled the membership fees for the federal liberals, he was expressing his dislike for the party. I was watching him closely up to the election in 2015 and the disdain he felt for the party was easy to see.

For the Ontario liberals to also cancel their fees was just plain stupidity. After all, if somebody gives you something for free, how do you treat it? Do you respect it? Do you make an effort to give it support? What’s it worth to you?

We used to send people who joined the party a membership card. They kept them and brought them with them to party functions. They used to turn out for pubic meet and greets with cabinet ministers. In the largest riding in Canada, at one time—York Scarborough. We held a huge annual event at one of the big hotels and monthly public meetings with our liberal MP when the House was in session. We didn’t just send some meaningless drivel to voters, we kept in touch. We had training sessions on door-to-door canvassing. We held policy development meetings, we were active on boards and committees of the party. We were real liberals.

Pierre Trudeau used to joke with me about where we met. It was at a meeting in Peterborough of a group of MPs, party officials and activists. It was called the GOYA Group. It meant ‘Get Off Your Ass.’ We need that group again today.

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