Social Policy in Ontario

Stephen Harper discovers Ontario

Posted on January 30, 2015 in Debates

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TheStar.com – Opinion/Commentary – With oil prices dropping and an election approaching, Stephen Harper looks to Ontario’s manufacturing sector for deliverance.
Jan 29 2015.   By: Carol Goar, Star Columnist

The biblical parable of the prodigal son contains a large grain of political wisdom.

The moral of the story — to forgive those who treat you badly — is counterintuitive in this era of caustic partisanship but it is relevant, especially for Ontario.

Stephen Harper, like the prodigal son in the narrative, turned his back on the province of his birth 37 years ago. He became a proud westerner, adopting the anti-central-Canada mindset displayed by his Alberta compatriots. He changed parties — he was a Liberal in Ontario — and climbed the political ladder, eventually becoming prime minister. His goal was to make Canada a “global energy superpower.” His plan was to speed up the development of heavy oil and export Alberta’s black gold to a fuel-hungry world.

Of late, things haven’t been going well. Alberta’s petroleum is landlocked. Foreign buyers aren’t clamouring for Canada’s “dirty oil.” For the last seven months, international oil prices have been dropping, blowing a hole in Harper’s economic strategy and leaving Ottawa unexpectedly short of revenue.

Last week, the prime minister changed his tune. “The oil industry isn’t remotely the entire Canadian economy,” he told an audience in St. Catharines after the governor of the Bank of Canada had called the 57-per-cent drop in petroleum prices since last June “unambiguously negative for the Canadian economy.”

Finance Minister Joe Oliver echoed his boss’s message: “We have a highly diversified economy. The manufacturing sector is something that we are proud of and will continue to be important to the Canadian economy.”

Other members of cabinet and federal officials are signalling that Ontario will be the focus of the government’s spring budget. Manufacturers and exporters are already benefitting from the drop in oil prices and the value of the Canadian dollar. With a little help from Ottawa, they could generate enough growth to stave off a deficit and save Harper’s reputation as an astute economic manager.

Both opposition parties dismiss the prime minister’s sudden interest in the industrial heartland as pre-election posturing.

“My question is, where have they been for nine years?” asked Peggy Nash, industry critic for the New Democratic Party. “They’ve neglected the manufacturing sector. We’ve lost hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. Families, communities have suffered.”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s tone was more sardonic. “(While) Mr. Harper was busy not caring about the manufacturing jobs drying up, his finance minister was telling Ontarians they had no one to blame but themselves.”

Should Premier Kathleen Wynne — who is a Liberal — take her cue from Trudeau? Or should she welcome the prime minister’s belated bid to rebalance the national economy?

Should Ontarians scorn Harper’s election-inspired recognition of the importance of their province? Or should they, like the generous father in the parable, overlook his prolonged neglect?

So far, Wynne has been magnanimous — despite the fact Harper spurned her requests for a meeting for 13 months; Oliver lectured her on deficit reduction; and the Conservative government ignored the closings of the Caterpillar plant in London, the Kellogg’s plant in the same city, the Unilever plan in Brampton, the Novartis plant in Mississauga and the Heinz plant in Leamington (it was scaled back and reopened by an employee-led group).

When the prime minister finally offered her a 30-minute audience, she was gracious. When Transport Minister Lisa Raitt delivered a $50-million loan to Linamar, a Guelph auto parts manufacturer, Wynne stood beside her. When Oliver took his latest dig — “The province of Ontario has suggested that we go into deficit to the tune of $34 billion every single year” — she held her tongue. Her ministers have followed suit.

This self-discipline may not last as the campaign heats up. But it is smart politics. Ontario could certainly use Ottawa’s help, regardless of Harper’s motivation. The manufacturing sector does need capital. Exporters do need access to foreign markets that the premier can’t pry open.

There will be a time to press for a more far-sighted agenda. Auto plants, construction firms and food processing facilities aren’t a stable, sustainable industrial base. Tax incentives won’t kick-start new industries.

But for now, the best thing Ontarians can do take is play nice and keep their electoral options open.

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/01/29/stephen-harper-discovers-ontario-goar.html >

Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology

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