Rod McQueen's Blog, page 41

Catch this, Bucko

The baseball season’s only a month old and already I’m sick of Sportsnet announcers Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler. All Martinez does is read potted bios and say “And you can forget about this one” when there’s a home run. Tabler musters little more than repeating what Martinez said earlier in the broadcast or reads stats about pitchers that appear on the screen so hardly need to be read.

Where are the anecdotes, the insights, the sense of the locker room? I know, I know, ball players notoriously have little to say, a fact made hilarious in Bull Durham when Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) teaches Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) the three cliches he needs to answer any questions reporters will ever ask. Example: “We gotta play it one day at a time.”

Sportsnet analyst Greg Zaun is far better, but he gets about one minute for every boring hour of Bucko. Zaun’s comment yesterday about keeping Dalton Pompey in Toronto rather than sending him down to Buffalo was spot on. Zaun said it was a mistake like the Jays made with Travis Snider – and look how that turned out for us. As a former catcher, Martinez should have an opinion why pitcher Mark Buehrle blew up in his last two outings but all we get are banalities like, “He’s not hitting his spots.”

Far better at the game is Jerry Howarth on 590 Sportsnet The Fan. Howarth not only has a great voice, but also can set the scene and knows good stories. Moreover, he has a sense of humour, something that Martinez sorely lacks. A few days ago, rain began falling and the wind was driving some of the moisture into the press box. Quipped Howarth, “It’s making the ink run on my ad-libs.”

Here’s my solution. The radio broadcast runs about eight seconds ahead of the television version, so I mute the TV, listen to Howarth, and turn to watch when something interesting happens. It’s the best of both worlds and could only be made better if the Jays won more often or Martinez got fired like happened in 2002 when he was manager. Then we could forget about that one.

A flawed and dangerous foreign policy

I’m certainly no expert on the Middle East but it doesn’t appear as if anyone else in the West is either, given the chaos in that region. I join many others in saying that George W. Bush started all this by attacking Iraq and throwing Saddam Hussein out of power. Now the Shias and the Sunnis, sworn enemies for 2,000 years, are destroying what little is left of the country. At one point, under Hussein, Iraq had the best education system in the Middle East. There are times when a dictator is the only solution and we should leave well enough alone.

Canada wasn’t involved in the Iraq war but we were on the ground in Afghanistan. Our goal seemed to be so that girls could go to school. Laudable, but impossible. The Soviets, who may have had other goals, lasted a decade in Afghanistan then finally pulled out, unable to control the regime. Why did we think we would succeed? After nearly ten years and 158 deaths among Canadian forces, the situation is not only worse, Pakistan, a nuclear power, has been destabilized.

Libya was another terrible blunder. Even though we were operating under a NATO umbrella, there was never any master plan. Our CF-18s helped bomb the country, got rid of Gaddafi, but we had no one lined up take over. The country has descended into tribal warfare. We are making an even worse mistake in Syria where we’re attacking targets with limited success in a place with hundreds of independent, armed groups. Assad has all but flattened his nation, ten million people have been displaced, and we are among those attacking a sovereign power – which is illegal under international rules – again without a plan.

Canada’s help for the Syrian people has been pathetic. After four years, fewer than 200 immigrants have arrived in Canada. Compare this to other, similar situations: Jack Pickersgill went to Europe to help Hungarians after the Soviets beat back the 1956 rebellion, Bryce Mackasey greeted at the pier in Montreal Ugandan Asians fleeing Idi Amin, and Vietnamese boat people were welcomed into thousands of Canadian homes. We’re big-hearted, given the chance.

I liked better the action of Lester Pearson when he refused to help the U.S. in Vietnam or Jean Chretien when he said no to the U.S. on Iraq. We’re better off staying out of such melees while instead helping those in need. At the moment, we’ve got both ends of the equation wrong.

Join the rat race

The Ontario Securities Commission is circulating for discussion a proposal that would pay up to $1.5 million to a whistleblower who feeds the regulator information about a serious misconduct of securities law. Comments are accepted up to May 4. Here’s my view right now: stuff and nonsense.

Is the OSC so desperate that they will entice stoolies with cash? Whatever happened to good old-fashioned investigative work? I guess the OSC is so unhappy with its track record that it’s considering this wrong-headed course of action that involves providing confidentiality and protection. I envision a whistleblower given a new name then relocated from Bay Street to Hudson’s Bay while waiting years for finality in the matter.

To be sure, the OSC needs to do something. The last big insider/tipping victory was Andrew Rankin’s settlement in 2008 when he paid a $250,000 fine and was given a lifetime ban from the securities business. The friend who profited from the stock tips, Daniel Duic, made $4.5 million from the information that Rankin passed along. Duic got protection from the OSC against charges and was allowed to keep $1.2 million of the ill-gotten gains in return for testifying. Maybe this is where the OSC got the idea for this foolish new scheme.

Proceedings against big financier names, such as Frank Dunn and others (Nortel) who were acquitted and Garth Drabinsky and Myron Cohen (Livent) who were found guilty, were criminal charges. The OSC was not part of that action. The only other recent big fraud case brought by the OSC that comes to mind is Sino-Forest Corp. The last I heard, the Chinese officials involved weren’t even showing up for the hearings. Success only seems to come for the OSC when they chase down a no-name broker who bilked clients with some pump-and-dump deal.

To my mind, paying a whistleblower is little better than a running a sting operation. Who knows, maybe the OSC will soon ask for comments on that approach, too.

Speech impediments

When my wife Sandy died almost four years ago, I received numerous emails and letters of condolence from friends. Others, who were not as close, tended to use a particular phrase when they saw me. "Sorry for your loss," they would say, without the slightest flicker of emotion. Initially, the words were consoling, but after a while I gritted my teeth every time I heard what came to sound like nothing more than an empty banality.

Members of the armed forces in the U.S., and increasingly in Canada, must feel the same short shrift after they've been told, for the umpteenth time, "Thanks for your service." Such platitudes may be well meant but they come to mean nothing. 

So, too, with other automaton comments such as "Have nice day," which has been inflicted upon us since at least the early 1980s, and sounds thinner and thinner with every passing year. Or how about when you thank a cashier for taking your money and she says, "No problem." No problem? What ever happened to "You're welcome?" The Italians have it right with the multipurpose prego that can mean anything from "At your service" to "Here's you order" or "You're welcome."

Neil Postman famously worried that society was going to amuse itself to death. My concern is that on the way to that dire end, our communications have become little more than a bunch of bromides. Recently, as I sat on a park bench eating my packed lunch, a man about my age walked by. He looked at me, pointed a finger in my direction, and declared, "You've got it made!" Now, there's a greeting.

 

 

The Hilary candidacy

Now that Hilary Clinton has announced she'll run for president, what kind of candidate will she be? At first blush, she appears cautious and not at all the confident public person you'd think would be the result of being First Lady, an elected Senator, and Secretary of State. Why, for example, would she use a videotaped message for her launch and then follow a schedule of low-profile events? 

Maybe she doesn't want to peak too soon or maybe she's worried about having to face some things in her past such as her email habits at State, the lies about the time she was under fire, her vote in favor of attacking Iraq, and her inexplicable capacity to forgive Bill Clinton all his lusty wanderings. Any one of those issues would be enough to keep the most nervy politician out of the race.

Moreover, it's not clear what kind of campaign she'll run. The last time around, when she faced Barack Obama, she didn't play the female card. That now is seen as a mistake and her advisors are suggesting she focus on her emotional intelligence. Will she be bossypants or bouffant? And what about Obama? Should she embrace his views as her party's leader or should she distance herself from him and go for the anti-Obama vote. And what about her sense of humour that people who know her say she should share with voters?

After all these years in national public life, ever since Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992, do we really know Hilary? My sense is that she might win the Democratic nomination but not the presidency. My Democratic friends in Washington, D.C., tell me that America is not ready for a female president. Of all Hilary's qualities, that's the one she cannot escape.

 

 

 

 

 

A day’s pay for a day’s work

People come and people go, but the culture at CIBC never changes. Succession is poorly handled. Senior executives seem more attuned to internal politics than corporate profits. The board of directors rarely reacts. Maybe this is why CIBC has shrunk in size and stature from second-largest of the Big Five Banks in the 1980s to fifth place today when measured by assets. 

The most recent goings-on, as revealed in the current proxy statement by Tim Kiladze of the Globe and Mail, are certainly the most expensive. Former CEO Gerry McCaughey and former COO Richard Nesbitt were paid a total of almost $26 million, apparently because of inappropriate succession planning. Both announced their retirement in 2014, but promised to remain in their jobs. Then suddenly, the board made up its mind about a new boss, so accelerated the departure of the duumvirate. In return for leaving early, the board approved the massive payouts.

No institution of such size should be so bereft of planning or talent but CIBC has been thus for decades. In 2002, then CIBC CEO John Hunkin approached Dominic D'Alessandro, CEO of Manulife, about a merger. Hunkin promised D'Alessandro that he would be CEO of the merged firm. D'Alessandro had the distinct impression that Hunkin just wanted to get out and get on with the rest of his life. The deal did not go ahead; politically it was a non-starter. 

An even screwier scenario occurred during the regime of Russ Harrison who was CEO from 1976-1984. He appointed Don Fullerton as CEO, then deposed him. This time, the board reacted, fired Harrison, and reinstated Fullerton. They just made one mistake; they left Harrison on the board. The tone of subsequent meetings was toxic.

But at least the directors acted. Others have done so, most recently Amit Chakma, Western University president, who voluntarily returned nearly half his almost $1 million salary after a brouhaha arose over the fact that he was paid for a leave he did not take. If McCaughey and Nesbitt won't volunteer, the board should conscript and take back the payment for the time they did not work.

 

Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled

It may have escaped your attention, but in Canada this is National Tartan Day, launched in 2010 by the Harper government to celebrate the contribution of Scots in Canada. I'm only speaking for myself, not the two million Canadians of Scottish descent, but I have to say this is about as silly as it gets.

The reason for so doing was to mark the little-known Declaration of Arbroath when Scotland sought independence in 1320 by writing to the Pope. How did that work out? Not so well as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Bonnie Prince Charlie can attest. None of their efforts succeeded in gaining independence either. Last year's referendum was just the most recent of many valiant, if failed, attempts by Scotland to be a sovereign nation.

There are always shenanigans in Parliament and parades elsewhere on St. Patrick's Day, why not salute we Scots on St. Andrew's Day, a national day in Scotland on November 30, or Robbie Burns Night on January 25, rather than commemorate something that didn't work out seven centuries ago?

On the other hand, National Tartan Day probably doesn't cost taxpayers much. Any Scot worth his sporran can salute that.  

Top ten things about Toronto

Christopher Hume has written a piece in the Toronto Star listing the ten things he hates about Toronto. Who cares? Let's celebrate our city. Here are the ten things I love.

1. The TTC. As a senior, I ride for half price. I take the car downtown rarely, less so with the Gardiner under construction. But I'm downtown three times a week on average. The service disruptions are infrequent and even then I always have plenty to read to while away the time. 

2. The interior of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, North Tower. Formerly a branch, it now houses wealth management offices, and paintings of former CIBC CEOs. I often go in, admire the domed ceiling and look at the oil paintings of executives I interviewed: Page Wadsworth, Russell Harrison, Don Fullerton, and John Hunkin. Not all of them liked me, but I make no faces.

3. The Toronto Islands. Once a year I start at Ward's Island and walk all the way to Hanlan's Point, usually during spring migration. On a good day, you might see 50 different birds. I pack a lunch, meander, and enjoy peace and quiet for eight hours.

4. The Flatiron Building. Meant to be the office of George Gooderham at the beginning of the twentieth century, he died before he could occupy it. He didn't dwell long in his Romanesque house at the corner of Bloor and St. George, either, now home to the York Club. The front view of the Flatiron Building with the downtown skyline behind is breathtaking.

5. A few food items come mind: bacon on a bun at St. Lawrence Market; fish and chips at Kingsway Fish and Chips in my west-end neighbourhood; Dover sole (baked) and the rice pudding at the Toronto Club; ribs at St. Louis; a hot dog and fries from Don Juan on Front Street before the Blue Jays game.

6. The TD Centre buildings, designed by Mies van der Rohe, and overseen by Allen Lambert, then the bank's Chairman and CEO. New York has only one Mies; we have have five. Lambert single-handedly ensured King and Bay would be the focal point of downtown Toronto, not the pretender intersection of Bloor and Yonge. Lambert lived into his 90s, never lost a step, and once told me: "There are three ages of man: youth, middle age and 'You're looking well.'"

7. The ravines. It doesn't matter where you live in Toronto, a walkable ravine is not far away. Leave urban stress behind, traipse with your eyes open, and see what you see. Plus there's The Path for underground walkability in the winter.

8. The hospitals. Every family has at least one amazing story to tell of how a child, a mother, a father, was saved from a likely death or cured of a difficult disease.

9. Culture with the Toronto Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet and other fine musical emporiums like Massey Hall.

10. The Gardiner Museum, particularly The Monkey Band and the decorated trees at Christmas.

I feel like I'm just clearing my throat.

 

Mon pays, c’est l’hiver

During a walk in the sunshine this afternoon, I saw my first robin of spring. He was sitting alone in the middle of a baseball field in my neighbourhood so he was unlikely a wintering robin, or he would have been surrounded by a flock. He sat for the longest time, hoping to find a worm, but finally flew away, empty-beaked. Maybe he will fill up on berries before nightfall.

This has been the winter of our discontent. February was the coldest month ever in Toronto with an average temperature of –12.6C. As a boy growing up in Guelph, the coldest I can remember was –13F (–25C) so I've survived worse.

And deeper snow, too. When we moved to Ottawa in September 1970, the snowfall during that winter of 1970-71 set a record of 181 inches. The drifts reached second story windows but the city was prepared, the plows got through, school was never cancelled, and daily life carried on.

I know lots of snowbirds who pass their winters in Florida or Arizona. And over the years I've spent the odd week myself on a beach or watching spring training. But I don't mind Canadian winters. They remind me of who I am. I have been fortunate to live in England, the United States and Italy for long, enjoyable stretches. But something always brings me home. It must the snow. And that first robin.

The Agenda

No journalist in Canada knows more about politics – and a lot of other topics – than Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda on TVOntario. In addition to being an excellent broadcaster, Paikin has written several books including Public Triumph, Private Tragedy on John Robarts and Paikin and the Premiers, a personal reflection on the last 50 years of Ontario politics. He is currently working on a biography of Bill Davis, Ontario Premier from 1971-1984.

So it was a pleasure and a privilege for me to be asked by Paikin to come into the TVO studios to talk about my most recent book, Thumper: The Memoirs of Donald S. Macdonald. Paikin had not only read the book carefully, we also had almost 30 minutes to talk about the many themes in Macdonald's life. How different an experience than the usual fast-and-furious five-minute dash before which the the interviewer takes you aside and says, "I'm sorry, but I haven't had a chance to read your book." 

You can watch the TVO interview here. 

In addition to serving in four cabinet posts in the government of Pierre Trudeau, Macdonald was also chairman of the Royal Commission in the 1980s that lead to free trade with the U.S. From 1988-1991, he was Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. At the time, he and his wife Adrian lived in Macdonald House (named after Sir John, not Don) on Grosvenor Square in London's Mayfair. The rest of the offices were in Canada House, on Trafalgar Square. The government has since sold Macdonald House while renovating and expanding Canada House that was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen last month. The website makes the place look like a foreign presence about which any Canadian can feel proud.