Rod McQueen's Blog, page 26

Chaos: the sequel

So, let’s get this straight. Patrick Brown has been thrown out of the Progressive Conservative caucus, will sit as an independent, but run for leader of his former party. Except for fringe candidate Tanya Granic Allen, the rest of the candidates don’t like the idea of him applying for his old job. Little wonder. The Toronto Star’s vote-on-line survey had him leading all declared candidates with more than 35 percent of the vote on Friday night at 9 p.m.

For the Tories, to quote Yogi Berra, it’s deja vu all over again. As regular readers of this blog know all too well, I used to work for federal PC leader Robert Stanfield. He had a little trouble, too. Not the Patrick Brown variety of trouble. Just the opposite. He was seen as too withdrawn, a man with no sex appeal. Party stalwart Eddie Goodman tried to spread the rumour that Stanfield snuck home for nooners with his wife, Mary.

But sex wasn’t Stanfield’s biggest problem, it was his caucus. Former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker held sway over about fifteen Tory MPs who did everything they could to bring Stanfield down. It gave rise to the line, I think coined by the late Larry Zolf, that the Tories got things so wrong that they stabbed people in the front.

In the world of politics, everything old is new again. For the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party to go through this kind of public agony will almost certainly reduce their chances of victory in May. At this rate, Kathleen Wynne could become the first female premier in Canada ever to be re-elected. All she has to do it let the other side implode amid civil war.

Verdict shrugged

On no other occasion that I can recall has a Prime Minister of Canada met with the family of a victim when the accused had recently been found not guilty by a jury. Yet there was Justin Trudeau in his Parliament Hill office today embracing and consoling members of the Colten Boushie family. Not only is this unheard of, it is unconscionable. It may even be unconstitutional.

Stephen Harper got into an imbroglio with Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, but that was nothing compared to this latest intervention by an elected leader into the judicial system. To be sure, everyone knew what the trial outcome would be for Gerald Stanley when an all-white jury was picked. You’d think it would be impossible not to include a few indigenous people in that part of the world, but the defence used peremptory challenges and that’s how jury selection turned out.

It’s one thing for a government to set out to change the law about jury selection, if that’s what Trudeau plans to do, but to so openly contest a trial outcome will surely make any appeal unlikely. I cannot disagree with Trudeau’s heart on this issue, but where was his head? We all want the lives of Canada’s indigenous people improved. But this high profile performance art by the prime minister does not bring to an end even one of the dozens of boil water advisories on reserves. That’s where the crusade is needed. At home, not in court.

 

Seizing the moment

With a race on for leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, where a few days ago there wasn’t even a track on which to run, I choose Caroline Mulroney. So do others who could have offered such as Lisa Raitt and Rod Phillips. Interesting that for all the sudden chaos in the party, there are so many thoughtful people stepping into the breach. That’s a good sign for any organization.

Let me quickly declare my conflict in supporting Caroline. At one time, she worked for my son at Wellington Financial (now CIBC Innovation Banking) and my grandson is a friend of one of her sons. That’s surely enough inner circle connections to make some people suspicious of my support. But I’ve met Caroline many times over the years, encouraged her over lunch last year to run for MPP, and believe she has the royal jelly for the top role. I was in politics myself in the 1970s and have been a close observer ever since. I recognize potential when I see it.

As for her famous name, she embraces it, as well she should. Shakespeare had some lines that apply here: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” In Caroline’s case, all three apply. For those with talent, when greatness is thrust upon them, they grow in office. I’ve seen it in politics as an insider and I’ve seen it in business as a journalist.

After the alleged shenanigans of Patrick Brown and Rick Dykstra, Caroline Mulroney is just what the party and the Province of Ontario need right now: clarity and class in the clutch.

 

Men overboard

In a #metoo measurement where Harvey Weinstein is a 10, Patrick Brown is a 1. But no matter the level of their past proclivities, the number of Canadian politicians who have fallen from grace because of alleged sexual misconduct has risen to three in recent days. They include Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Brown, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leader Jaimie Baillie, and federal Liberal Sports Minister Kent Hehr.

In addition to the immediate repercussions, such news will have a lasting impact beyond getting men to clean up their act. It’s already hard enough to get good men to run for office. The comparison of past politicians with today’s is odious. The problem had been that people didn’t want to take a reduced salary or put themselves in the public eye. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is an example of the sort of successful, public-spirited private-sector candidate who should run. But who would want to follow his example after the conflict botch over his previous investments?

Now, any man about whom there is the slightest whisper of stupid, rude or worse sexual behaviour in the past is likely to be outed. That’s a high bar for any hopeful male politician. The upside of all this is that more women will run with the likelihood of increasing their representation in various legislative chambers. The Ontario PCs, for example, would do well to choose a female leader from the several possibilities that exist.

To have a world run by women might not be a bad idea. These days, what man in his right mind would say them nay.

The long goodbyes

Is it just my imagination, or is every singer you ever heard of out on a farewell tour? Ozzy Osborne begins his in May and continues to 2020. Elton John’s starts in September and will go for three years at which point he says he wants to spend more time with his family. We’ve heard that excuse before but not usually from a gay man.

Some farewell tours are celebratory. The Tragically Hip, for example, even with Gord Downie’s brain cancer. Others are gut-wrenching, like Glen Campbell with Alzheimer’s, forever captured in the documentary, “I’ll be me.” Was the family really interested in his well-being, or was that tour just one last grab for revenue from sold-out concerts and associated merchandise? Neil Diamond has just quit touring after 50 years but it took Parkinson’s to stop him.

None of this is new. Sir Harry Lauder, the Scottish vaudevillian singer, went to Australia in 1925 for what was billed as his “farewell tour.” He was back four years later for what he jokingly called “another farewell tour.” He retired in the 1930s, sang for the soldiers during the Second World War, and was last on stage in 1947, three years before he died at 79. His most famous song says it all for any singer: “Keep Right on to the End of the Road.”

Put a lid on it

So the City of Toronto has dispatched snoopers to peer into our blue bins set out for pickup to see if we’ve included anything not able to be recycled. If they spot something, they tag the bin and leave an educational pamphlet. Second offence, the bin is not collected, the owner has to sort through and eliminate the wrongly deposited items. For repeat offenders, fines might be levied.

The city says 26 percent of what’s in the bin shouldn’t be there. For every percentage point of garbage reduction, the city could save up to $1 million. On paper, recyclable of course, this makes eminent sense. After all, the main problems are things like black plastic, clothing and mayo jars that haven’t been washed.

I don’t know about you, but every time I spend thirty seconds rinsing a mayo jar with hot water pouring from the tap I wonder if, on balance, recycling gets us very far. As for the green bin, don’t get me started. Do they really create usable compost that finds its way back onto city gardens?

Here are two better ideas. If the city is serious about saving money, force Starbucks and Tim Hortons to use recyclable coffee cups. Or stop sending both the fire department and an ambulance to a 911 house call. Lifting the lid on bins (they don’t even paw around inside) should be kicked to the curb.

Fearless forecast

It’s time for my annual forecast of events, both political and economic, in the coming year.

The S&P/TSX 60 Index will finish the year down 15 percent.

The Canadian dollar, now sitting just over US80 cents, will rise two cents then edge back down again, ending the year at US78 cents.

Patrick Brown will become the 26th premier of Ontario in the June election.

Oil from Canada will continue to sell at a deep discount compared to strengthening world prices. The U.S., now a net exporter, no longer wants our product and all our ambitious proposals for new pipelines to the Atlantic or Pacific have been stymied.

There will be renewed debates and temptations to sell our water.

Donald Trump will continue to disparage and disgust but get things done.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will be gone by yearend. Her successor will not be Boris Johnson, it will be someone we never heard of.

NAFTA will be cancelled. No one will care.

Just remember my record: 217 wrong, 12 right.

Lang may yer lum reek.

 

 

 

 

 

The year that was

A lot has happened in 2017. Earlier this year, Barack Obama was president of the United States. Here’s my top ten list of memorable events.

Best TV series: The Crown.

The celebrity I miss the most: David Letterman.

Worst thing that did not happen: Nuclear war with North Korea.

Best thing that did happen: Recently learned about 75 boxes of files helpful for my current book project.

Best day: Boat trip under sunny skies skippered by Aeneas to Little Fogo Island, Newfoundland, amid Northern Gannett, Atlantic Puffin and Razorbills along with cod hauled up from the deep.

Best Book: Hero of the Empire, by Candice Millard, a gripping tale about Winston Churchill as a journalist covering the Boer War.

Biggest disaster: Donald J. Trump.

Biggest disappointment: Justin Trudeau.

Best thing I did: Volunteered at the Daily Bread Food Bank.

Best time: Anytime I’m with my partner.

Best wishes to all for good health and much happiness in 2018.

The view from here

The Globe and Mail must be desperate to find additional revenue for their newly designed newspaper. You know, the paper that’s so small that if it’s mailed, there’s no room for a postage stamp? Their new venture is offering the top floor of the Globe building on Toronto’s King Street East for corporate events, bar mitzvahs and gatherings of that newest group, Readers No More.

While the ad say it’s the top floor, the photo shows the roof. I can just imagine the TTC drivers’ Christmas party up there this month trying to keep the barbecue going on a breezy evening after the sun has gone down at 5 p.m. And taking turns keeping warm by standing on the exact spot where editorial writer Tony Keller gets his inspiration for those long-form screeds on climate change.

Next week, the Globe will expand its rental offerings to include chairs from the newsroom for an event to be held in your own home. Please note that all chairs must be returned by noon the next day when staff begins to struggle in before heading out again to find a Starbucks. There will also be newsroom tours. Forget about the view up top, imagine seeing rows of grown people staring at screens. It’ll be way better than Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in All the President’s Men.

If these new schemes pay off, the Globe has other ideas like paying you five cents for every used paper you bring back for recycling. And there will be a reduced subscription rate if you come in to the office, read the provided paper, and leave it behind. They’re calling the special room where that happens – the library.

Backbone before brain

I don’t like Donald Trump. No one I know does. He’s a groper, a blowhard, and a liar. But, you know what? He’s getting things done. They might not be what you or I would want but they are what he said he would do. He’s designated Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, taken two million acres of national monument and turned the land over to strip miners, altered the makeup of the Supreme Court, and may get a tax bill that pays off his oligarch donors.

Meanwhile, Ottawa has become Never-Never Land. As one of those who voted for the Justin Trudeau Liberals, after two years in office I am disappointed in how few major campaign promises have been kept. I believed he would act with some haste to improve the lot of indigenous people and begin a massive program of infrastructure projects. Instead we have fruitless attempts to tell China how to handle human rights and the welcome mat rolled out for returning Canadian citizens who fought with ISIS. I believe in the redemption of man, but those who took up arms for the other side should have their citizenship and passports revoked.

And as for Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Trudeau’s defence of his actions has gone beyond the pale. Morneau should resign. I’d like to think if I were Morneau’s chief of staff and was told I had to be the gatekeeper on some issues because my minister – the wealthiest member of cabinet – would not put his holdings in a blind trust, I would have said, “Minister, this will catch up with you. Don’t do it this way. Establish a blind trust.” Apparently no one had the courage or the conviction to make the case.

No, I don’t want a Donald Trump running our country. But despite my Pearsonian Liberal, Red Tory, bleeding-heart tendencies, I’d like Justin Trudeau to show a little more toughness and lot less naiveté.