H
Hydrogen
Guest
The Conservatives are working hard to preserve their poor showing in Ontario.
|
|
|
Tory Plan to Boost Alberta, BC in Parliament, Reduce Ontario
- Thread starter unimaginative2
- Start date
Dan416
Senior Member
Ontario needs its fair portion of seats. Especially in Mississauga 
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Harper writes off Ontario
JOHN BARBER
November 22, 2007
Conventional wisdom says the Harper government has "written off Toronto." The recent Hazel McCallion eruption against Ottawa suggests the government might also have written off the whole seat-rich Golden Horseshoe. This week's performance by Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan shows the government fully prepared to write off the entire province.
Mr. Van Loan's defence of Bill C-22, a brazenly anti-Ontario electoral gerrymander, was openly contemptuous of not only Premier Dalton McGuinty - who rightly complained about the bill - but virtually all Ontarians who failed to elect Conservatives in the last election.
The content of the new bill helps explain why the government feels so confident in behaviour that might seem reckless: It deliberately targets and saps the voting power of the same constituents the government is most willing to "write off." Thus the Tories will pay the political price of their coup in devalued dollars.
They can afford to behave as if we don't matter because, once Bill C-22 and other mooted reforms come to fruition, we won't.
There is no reason to plumb the shallows of Mr. Van Loan's argument that one-person, one-vote is a sacred principle universally applicable everywhere except in Ontario, which history demands be cheated - and that Mr. McGuinty is a "small man" for objecting to such treatment.
"That's unfair, and there's no way to justify it," the Premier replied.
He's right, end of discussion.
To get some perspective, imagine any federal government treating Quebec the same way, in policy or insults. The only thing that makes treating Ontario that way possible is the fact that so many other Canadians, especially Quebeckers, support it.
They may differ on how best to accomplish the task, but Canadians from every other region agree that the purpose of democratic reform is to suppress the influence of Ontario. Even the Supreme Court has blessed the most corrupt gerrymandering in that cause.
The result, according to Professor Sujit Choudhry of the University of Toronto, is a gaping mismatch between demographic reality and political representation.
In a paper last year, Prof. Choudhry argued that visible-minority Canadians were the biggest losers in the national game of urban vote dilution, which had created an apartheid-like image of the electoral franchise. The good news is that Bill C-22 will fix that for non-white and urban Canadians living in British Columbia and Alberta. But the target remains, intensified, and it is us: the country's most populous, ethnically diverse and, in absolute terms, fastest growing urban region.
The province estimates 11 new ridings would appear in Ontario if it were to achieve parity with the western provinces. Almost all of the new seats would go to the 905. In terms of numbers at least, the city region could not fail to be seen, felt and known in Ottawa.
To understand how strong an impact one-person, one-vote could have on Canadian politics, consider the extraordinary efforts taken to pervert the formula. The Conservatives aren't even trying to justify their bias, content to substitute insults for argument. They know the Liberals, fearing a Quebec backlash, will let them get away with it.
Prof. Choudhry applauds Mr. McGuinty for daring to be the small man out. "The province has twigged to the fact that ultimately the distribution of power in the House of Commons directs the shape of public policy," he said, adding that Mr. McGuinty is the first Ontario premier in memory to embrace the cause.
Then again, the discrimination has never been more outrageous.
jbarber@globeandmail.com
JOHN BARBER
November 22, 2007
Conventional wisdom says the Harper government has "written off Toronto." The recent Hazel McCallion eruption against Ottawa suggests the government might also have written off the whole seat-rich Golden Horseshoe. This week's performance by Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan shows the government fully prepared to write off the entire province.
Mr. Van Loan's defence of Bill C-22, a brazenly anti-Ontario electoral gerrymander, was openly contemptuous of not only Premier Dalton McGuinty - who rightly complained about the bill - but virtually all Ontarians who failed to elect Conservatives in the last election.
The content of the new bill helps explain why the government feels so confident in behaviour that might seem reckless: It deliberately targets and saps the voting power of the same constituents the government is most willing to "write off." Thus the Tories will pay the political price of their coup in devalued dollars.
They can afford to behave as if we don't matter because, once Bill C-22 and other mooted reforms come to fruition, we won't.
There is no reason to plumb the shallows of Mr. Van Loan's argument that one-person, one-vote is a sacred principle universally applicable everywhere except in Ontario, which history demands be cheated - and that Mr. McGuinty is a "small man" for objecting to such treatment.
"That's unfair, and there's no way to justify it," the Premier replied.
He's right, end of discussion.
To get some perspective, imagine any federal government treating Quebec the same way, in policy or insults. The only thing that makes treating Ontario that way possible is the fact that so many other Canadians, especially Quebeckers, support it.
They may differ on how best to accomplish the task, but Canadians from every other region agree that the purpose of democratic reform is to suppress the influence of Ontario. Even the Supreme Court has blessed the most corrupt gerrymandering in that cause.
The result, according to Professor Sujit Choudhry of the University of Toronto, is a gaping mismatch between demographic reality and political representation.
In a paper last year, Prof. Choudhry argued that visible-minority Canadians were the biggest losers in the national game of urban vote dilution, which had created an apartheid-like image of the electoral franchise. The good news is that Bill C-22 will fix that for non-white and urban Canadians living in British Columbia and Alberta. But the target remains, intensified, and it is us: the country's most populous, ethnically diverse and, in absolute terms, fastest growing urban region.
The province estimates 11 new ridings would appear in Ontario if it were to achieve parity with the western provinces. Almost all of the new seats would go to the 905. In terms of numbers at least, the city region could not fail to be seen, felt and known in Ottawa.
To understand how strong an impact one-person, one-vote could have on Canadian politics, consider the extraordinary efforts taken to pervert the formula. The Conservatives aren't even trying to justify their bias, content to substitute insults for argument. They know the Liberals, fearing a Quebec backlash, will let them get away with it.
Prof. Choudhry applauds Mr. McGuinty for daring to be the small man out. "The province has twigged to the fact that ultimately the distribution of power in the House of Commons directs the shape of public policy," he said, adding that Mr. McGuinty is the first Ontario premier in memory to embrace the cause.
Then again, the discrimination has never been more outrageous.
jbarber@globeandmail.com
H
Hydrogen
Guest
No surprise. The ass-kissing of Quebec is a hard core political habit.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Perhaps what Harper needs now is a constitutional crisis in his hand. McGunity, who've just been handed a majority, does have the currency to make some waves now.
AoD
AoD
Tuscani01
Senior Member
We should hold a referendum to separate the province of Ontario from Canada!
If itworked for Quebec, it should work for us too!
If itworked for Quebec, it should work for us too!
Roy G Biv
Senior Member
The problem is that the Senate is useless, and is supposed to be a vector of regional representation. Because it's not, the HoC has to carry both representation loads on its back, and that's why some want to see Ontario shortchanged. Does this make sense? Not if you abide by the mandate of the HoC.
Senate reform is needed.
Senate reform is needed.
Towered
Senior Member
You say that in jest, but it seems to be a more viable option with every passing day. It's been said a billion times already, but until Ontarians actually bother to stand up for themselves and vote as a block for example, this province will continue to be treated like garbage. It's in our hands.
Tewder
Senior Member
First of all let me preface my comments by saying I am an Ontarian, born and bred, because I know what I'm going to say will not be popular...
I think the comments about Ontario separating from Canada are merely sour grapes (not to mention stupid), and is it any wonder we get the feeling that the rest of the country hates us so? How long have Western Canadians (west of Ontario, that is) complained about having no power and no say in confederation, being perpetually at the mercy of the political hegemony of Ontario and Quebec?? Now, for the first time in Canadian history, it is clear that the West has emerged as a new powerful regional player on the Canadian political scene, one that is enjoying a little control at the helm right now, and how do we respond?... with calls for Ontario to abandon confederation, with demands for changes to the political system that will effectively reaffirm Ontario's control, and with derision and contempt for the political needs and interests of other regions. I understand and sympathize that many in Toronto/GTA are feeling isolated, abandoned and misunderstood by the rest of Canada, and that we are genuinely feeling the sting of political neglect... well, welcome to the club! Isn't this exactly how every other single region in the country has felt at one time or another? Lets face it, tides will change, as they always do, and I for one welcome greater diversity in the political scene and feel that political tension will prove far healthier for Canada than the one-sided, liberal-dominated autocracy that has reigned for so long. No one benefits from that.
I think the comments about Ontario separating from Canada are merely sour grapes (not to mention stupid), and is it any wonder we get the feeling that the rest of the country hates us so? How long have Western Canadians (west of Ontario, that is) complained about having no power and no say in confederation, being perpetually at the mercy of the political hegemony of Ontario and Quebec?? Now, for the first time in Canadian history, it is clear that the West has emerged as a new powerful regional player on the Canadian political scene, one that is enjoying a little control at the helm right now, and how do we respond?... with calls for Ontario to abandon confederation, with demands for changes to the political system that will effectively reaffirm Ontario's control, and with derision and contempt for the political needs and interests of other regions. I understand and sympathize that many in Toronto/GTA are feeling isolated, abandoned and misunderstood by the rest of Canada, and that we are genuinely feeling the sting of political neglect... well, welcome to the club! Isn't this exactly how every other single region in the country has felt at one time or another? Lets face it, tides will change, as they always do, and I for one welcome greater diversity in the political scene and feel that political tension will prove far healthier for Canada than the one-sided, liberal-dominated autocracy that has reigned for so long. No one benefits from that.
ganjavih
Senior Member
If you mean it worked in making Quebec the economic basketcase of North America, then yeah it worked.
adma
Superstar
Well, yes, separatism might have caused some damage (momentary or not) to the Quebec economy; but to claim it as being *the* economic basketcase is a little harsh, especially given a lot of the competition at whatever moment (Rust Belt, oil bust, dotcom bust, etc)
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Well, adma, every part of the rust belt has a higher GDP per capita than Quebec. The areas affected by the dot com bust (Silicon Valley, Boston, etc.) are vastly higher.
JasonParis
Moderator
Who is seriously calling for Ontario to abandon Confederation?
The only demands being made are for this province to be treated equally to the others and that our representation be treated based on the size of our population. That's "democarcy 101" and has nothing to do with contempt for other regions.
TrickyRicky
Senior Member
"I understand and sympathize that many in Toronto/GTA are feeling isolated, abandoned and misunderstood by the rest of Canada, and that we are genuinely feeling the sting of political neglect... well, welcome to the club! Isn't this exactly how every other single region in the country has felt at one time or another?"
True enough but what gets me is that the political neglect felt by regional interests is largely emotional while in the GTA it is largely emotional but partly factual. At the same time regional players delude themselves into thinking that the system is set up to punish them and reward Toronto and the GTA.
True enough but what gets me is that the political neglect felt by regional interests is largely emotional while in the GTA it is largely emotional but partly factual. At the same time regional players delude themselves into thinking that the system is set up to punish them and reward Toronto and the GTA.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Changes to the political system? Changes like restoring representation by population? They'll reaffirm Ontario's control because Ontario has by far the most people! Nobody has ever successfully managed to explain to me why a westerner (or anybody else) is worth more electoral representation than me.
A "hegemonic" Ontario would never, ever plot a deliberate strategy to screw the west out of its parliamentary representation. In fact, Ontario has repeatedly offered to give up things like Senate seats just to placate the West and other regions.