McGuinty: Do as I Say, Not as I Do

This week Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is once again hitting up the federal government for increased funding in his province.

A few months ago McGuinty made no bones about his feelings when it came to resource dependent provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador retaining 100% of non-renewable resource revenues. A plan that would have seen the cash strapped and debt ridden province take in about $1 billion over the next decade and drastically improved its financial position.

According to McGuinty the concept was nothing more than another taxpayer funded handout and he wouldn’t stand for it.

Today, in a clear case of “do as I say and not as I do”, Dalton McGuinty is telling the federal government his province wants $2.85-billion in funding NOW to help the struggling manufacturing sector (with over $650 million to go directly into the auto industry) and improve Ontario’s unemployment rate, a rate that must be terrifying to the premier as it hovers at about half that of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He also would like Ottawa to lower the number of insurable weeks necessary to collect EI in Ontario.

Mr. McGuinty’s only explanation for this latest round of begging is to say, “It worked in the past”.

During Paul Martin’s reign McGuinty convinced Ottawa to increase funding for immigrants in Ontario from $819 per person to just over $3,800 and in the last budget he convinced Stephen Harper to provide additional funding for everything from health care to post secondary education. Now he wants billions more in funding.

The sad thing is that he’ll probably succeed, even after destroying the economic ambitions of Atlantic Canada. With a federal election coming sometime in the next 2 years, and Harper dead in the polls, there’s little doubt the PM will pander to vote rich Ontario as a matter of course.

It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with helping to curb unemployment in Ontario or anywhere else but for the Ontario premier to demand billions of dollars while other provinces are far worse off and after ensuring that those provinces would lose out on their resource revenues is almost as low as any man can sink. I say “almost” because I’m convinced we’ll see McGuinty’s level far exceeded by the generosity Stephen Harper will soon display to him.

It begs the question: If allowing poorer provinces with truly high unemployment to use their own resource revenues is a hand out, what is it when a rich province with lower unemployment expects the Canadian taxpayers to cut them a cheque every time they turn around?

Since hearing about McGuinty’s latest round of begging I’ve been trying to come up with a solution to Ontario’s problem that will save taxpayer’s like myself a ton of money. I think I found it.

With all due respect to the people of Ontario, when Newfoundlanders and Labradorians dare to speak about high unemployment the average Ontarian responds by brushing it off as “East Coast Whining.” Their typical response is to say, “Hey, if you really want a job why don’t you move to Alberta, there’s plenty of work there.”

Maybe that’s the solution is for Ontario as well. Perhaps McGuinty should give up his attitude of, “Do as I say and not as I do” and listen to Newfoundlanders like myself who are saying, “do as I say and as I do.”

Fort Mac can use a large influx of Ontario Labour just as well as workers from Atlantic Canada.

Alberta will provide an opportunity to put those unemployed Ontarians back to work without costing taxpayer’s a dime.

It’s a sound solution, and besides, I’d hate to see the people of Ontario cause a drain on the system by becoming too dependent on welfare and EI.

School Yard Stevie's Ottawa Adventures

As much time as I spend exploring politics, and endeavoring to cut through the rhetoric and lies that abound there, today I find myself deferring to my better half with regard to Stephen Harper and in getting straight to the meat of matter.

Since Harper arrived on the federal scene I’ve been at a loss to figure the guy out. Not so with my wife. By no means a political animal, I suspect she most often listens to my ramblings out of a mixed sense of charity, duty and kindness, but she never the less she has the innate ability to size up any situation quickly, succinctly and accurately at a glance. Her take on Stephen Harper is no different.

When the topic of Canada’s self described “new” PM came up the other day, as it often does in my company, my guiding light simply looked at me and said, “You know he’s like a kid who never had any friends and wasn’t allowed to play with his toy soldiers growing up. He still doesn’t play well with others but now he’s got thousands of real soldiers to play with.”

Well said honey. You said a mouthful and you hit the nail on the head.

Since narrowly slipping into office, hot on the heels of the Liberal spending scandal 18 months ago, Stephen Harper has been the picture of an angry, frustrated unsocialized child who is getting far too much of his own way.

His handling of the Afghan mission bares witness to his lack of military and political understanding (read: never played with toy soldiers) and his willingness to tag along at George Bush’s coat tails speaks volumes about his hunger to be accepted and to find a buddy (read: never had any friends).

Harper’s apparent lack of socialization as a child seems to have followed him into his adult life and is quite obvious in his handling of any conflict situation he encounters. A clear example of this is his refusal to hold a first ministers conference since taking office and his propensity for quietly slipping in and out of places like Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador without informing the leadership there. These acts show a clear preference to run and hide from any and all confrontation rather than facing it head on. Not a laudable leadership trait.

Stephen Harper’s lack of self confidence is clear in his dealings with his own MPs as well. He is afraid to let anyone in his party speak publicly to the media without first clearing it through his office. Some have speculated this shows a lack of confidence in his party but taken in conjunction with Harper’s other character traits it seems more likely he’s afraid of losing control of the situation and having everything he holds so dear slip away from him. Something a person who has never been accepted by others simply cannot face. In his handling of the media we once again see his “run and hide” response to pressure situations.

Like any outsider Harper will do or say almost anything to be accepted by others. This explains his willingness to make solid and clear election promises across the country and his propensity for breaking them as soon as an opportunity arises where he believes he can please an even larger number of people.

It’s a little sad in some ways. I can almost picture young Stevie Harper standing on the playground at school back in his day. A lone figure by the school steps, hands thrust in pockets, hoping someone, anyone, will ask him to join in the latest game of red rover or dodge ball, only to be forgotten, or more accurately ignored, once again.

I can picture him watching the other kids laughing happily while he instinctually feels the dirty little glances occasionally cast his way.

It must have been a cruel existence for little Stevie but somewhere along the line, as the mind of the future PM was maturing, a spark was given to his political life and with it the urge, no the need to gain total power over everyone who ever called him a name or laughed at him in his youth.

These days little Stevie is all grown up and has achieved his burning desire to rule all that he surveys. It seems however that his social skills, mentality and emotional development never progressed beyond that of the little schoolyard outcast. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing history will be left to decide.

Some of the world’s most influential leaders, Napoleon and Hitler included, are believed to have been outcasts as children. They may not have been the most lovable of leaders in history but but I challenge anyone who says they never left their mark on the world. This is not to say Stephen Harper should be placed in the same category as those world leaders, in fact I'm sure there are many differences, not the least of which is his inability to gain the kind of wide spread public support they did. For that we should all thankful.

I have to hand it to my wife. She may not eat, sleep and breathe politics the way some members of our household do, (those who will remain nameless), but she sure knows how to call a spade a spade when she sees one.

Is Harper Breaking Another Promise in Atlantic Canada?

According to recent reports Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after weeks of waffling, has finally made the decision to remove Gordon O’Connor from his post as Minister of Defense. The move comes after many months of inaction, ineptness and inconsistency in the way O’Connor has handled the controversial Afghan mission.

There’s little doubt O’Connor needs to be fired from his portfolio but the move has people in Newfoundland and Labrador wondering what it will mean for Harper’s promise’s for CFB 5 Wing Goose Bay?

After 18 months in office the self described “new” conservative government still hasn’t made any move to live up to its promises for the base and as far as anyone can tell they don’t intend to. O’Connor himself appeared cool to the idea in recent public statements.

During the last election Stephen Harper promised a new life for 5 Wing in the now infamous letter to Premier Danny Williams, the same letter that also promised to remove 100% of non-renewable resource revenue from equalization. At the time Harper promised a rapid reaction army battalion of 650 personnel along with a new long-range aerial squadron (UAV) for 5 Wing Goose Bay and a new territorial defense battalion for St. John’s to include 100 regular and 400 reserve personnel.

Today, just like the conservative’s promises over equalization, the Harper team is backing away from these commitments.

Recently Canada’s “New” government announced enhancements to CFB Baggotville Quebec including 550 new personnel and $300 million in new spending. At the time Minister O’Connor said the announcement marked a new era for the Air Force and that the announcement would help ensure the long-term life of CFB Bagotville. “Today’s announcement once again demonstrates this government’s commitment to further strengthening Canadian Forces units in Quebec, to make up for the previous government’s years of neglect,” said O’Connor.

The announcement, and statements made since then by both the Minister and by General Rick Hillier, have people wondering why nothing is being done to live up to their commitments in Labrador or to “make up for the previous government’s years of neglect” at the base there.

With thousands of miles of coastline and hundreds of miles of eastern Canada largely unprotected and dependent on forces staged further inland, the only possible reason for opting to increase the military presence in Quebec and not in Labrador is a political one. Simply put, Quebec has more voters and more federal ridings. In a nutshell, votes trump security.

According to a recent article by Rob Antle of the St. John’s Telegram, General Rick Hillier appeared to have confirmed the province’s worst fears recently when he said, “We’re not in the business of creating new units. We have sufficient units.”

In the same article Antle reported that an internal Defense Department analysis uncovered by the Telegram was cool to the idea of a new battalion for Goose Bay. That analysis cited problems ranging from a lack of housing in Labrador to worries about native land claims and possible morale problems for soldiers transferred to such an isolated setting.

The analysis, though very telling, contains nothing more than convenient rationalizations and excuses. First of all Goose Bay, while not exactly a thriving metropolis, is not as remote as the pencil pushers in Ottawa might think. Since when has the military shied away from posting personnel in remote locations anyway? When it comes to protecting a nation only the government of Canada would try to do it by posting everyone in the middle of the Country rather than on its borders.

When did the military become so concerned about having to build or renovate new housing units for its service men and women? They’ve done it at every base in Canada.

Finally, why would native land claims have any impact on their decision? 5 Wing is an established base that’s been in existence for decades. It’s just a matter of using it.

With their excuses in place and with Rick Hillier making the statements he has the outlook for Goose Bay, once again, is a dark one. Some are wondering if anything will change with O’Connor being shuttled out of his position but the answer is likely no. The strings on this file, like so many others, are clearly being pulled from inside the PMO and nothing is going to change that.

As things stand Harper is rightfully being held to task for his sell out of Newfoundland and Labrador over equalization and the Atlantic Accord. In this atmosphere he’s not about to do anything to improve the situation in the province unless his hand is forced.

It’s unfortunate that Mr. Harper’s narrow view of the world doesn’t allow him see that by living up to his promises, including those for Goose Bay, he has a much better chance of gaining public support in Atlantic Canada than he does by acting like a spoiled child who continues to hide from anyone who disagrees with him and pretend everything is just fine.

If the most recent polls are any indication things are not fine at all. Mr. Harper is now 2 points behind where he was when his minority government was elected. He may believe pouring more money into Quebec will solve the problem for him but he’s wrong. Voters throughout Canada are tired of politics as usual and the payoffs that go along with it. Mr. Harper would be much better off simply living up to his promises instead of walking away from them at the first opportunity.