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 Crises in Liberal Politics

By Munyonzwe Hamalengwa, August 21st, 2007

Guess which government had its work all cut-out for it--it needed to just fill-in the blanks, but which it has not taken any advantage of? But instead has squandered the opportunity? The Ontario Liberal Government! This government was voted into power to reverse the damage to the political, legal and economic fabric wrought by the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves governments. Yet the liberal government has not aggressively done anything to fulfill its mandate but instead has backpedaled on its promises. When did you hear Dalton McGuinty say or do anything dramatic since election day? Now that the election is in October 2007, he is scrambling, promising to assist the Municipal government meet its financial goals. He is even stating openly that he will spend millions of dollars on social welfare if the Liberal government is reelected! Why wasn't this done earlier. This "John Come Lately" make people sick of politicians because they can see that politicians only care about being elected and reelected.

Remember how the Tory government of Harris tore into the pillars of the previous NDP government legacy and the urgency with which it did it in order to fulfill its mandate? In no time the Tory government repealed the NDP labour and employment equity legislations amongst numerous other pieces of legislations. The Courts all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the repeal of the Employment Equity legislation. Consider how the Tory government amalgamated the City at break-neck speed. You can now point to a solid legacy, positive or negative of the Tory dynasty. Are you confident that you will be able to point to any legacy of this liberal government at this rate of sheer inactivity? Strike the iron while it is still hot. The liberal government has let the iron of the election mandate go cold. It may now be too late. But while the liberals were sleeping at the switch, Tory leader John Tory, as befits his name was busy canvassing all ethnic and cultural groupings since day one after being elected Tory leader several years ago. You would find John Tory at almost every community function and he would be given a forum for a speech. John Tory has hit the pavement as it were. He appears to be friends of ethnic and cultural minorities, issues appropriate messages consonant with the occasion for which the event he attends was organized and then goes back to issue more voluble messages of assurance to his key constituencies: Bay street and corporate Canada.

Conservative politicians never forget their constituencies unlike the Liberal and the New Democratic parties. These parties could learn a lot from conservative politicians who stick to their constituencies through thick and thin while making volleys into constituencies that properly belong to other parties. In close elections, the ethnic vote can make a difference in the political fortunes or misfortunes of a party contending for power. The separatisf forces in Quebec reportedly lost the last referendum on separation because of the ethnic vote.

The Federal liberals of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin slept at the controls. What legacy can you point to as having been left by Chretien or Paul Martin. The Tory government of Mulroney can point to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Chretien promised to repeal the GST regime. He left power after 10 years without touching or upsetting any of Mulroney's legacies for which he had been elected to reverse.

Prime Minister Paul Martin rode the ship of state without leaving any legacy of any sort whatsoever. Martin ended up leaving  an avalance of Inquiries (Arar being one of them) without a mandate to do anything to the body-politic.

Despite Peter C. Newman's telltale book about Mulroney (THe Secret Tapes), and my utter disdain of the Conservative Party, Mulroney did a lot for diversity and multiculturalism. A few examples will suffice: Mulroney appointed the first Black person to a cabinet post (Honourable Lincoln Alexander); he brought in the war crimes legislation to prosecute war criminals from all over the world while the liberals had been dithering for over 45 years; Mulroney compensated the Japanese Canadians for the injustice they suffered during the second world war while the liberals had prevaricated for 40 years; Mulroney imposed sanctions against South Africa; Mulroney granted a mini immigration amnesty that the liberals never repeated ( but instead brought in a fee for immigrants to pay totaling $1475 for permanent residence); Mulroney strengthened the Multiculturalsim Act; Mulroney never imposed an immigration application tax like the liberals did when an applicant started to pay $1475 for permanent residence; the Mulroney government was corrupt but less corrupt than the liberals under Chretien became. Steven Harper apologized to the Chinese Canadians and compensated them for previous injustices they had suffered like the head tax; Harper compensated Maher Arar for the torture he suffered in Syria with the connivance of the Canadian government;  Harper reduced the amount of GST because he knew it was hated and so on. The Tories however have been a disaster in foreign policy .I could go on and on. The point I am making is: when are the liberals going to stand up for their constituencies. Why are they being outdone by the Tories on issues that are properly within the ideological promise of liberal philosophy? If the liberals want a free consultant to advise them on how to acquire and keep power, I am available. I am not available to the Tories because they already know what they are doing.

It is time to get into comparative politics.