The Price of Politics - Kathleen Wynne and a tail of two governments In his recent book, The Price of Politics, journalist Bob Woodward investigates the failure of the United States Government to come to a consensus on the national debt. He laments “its a fact that President Obama was handed a miserable, faltering economy and faced a recalcitrant Republican opposition. But presidents work their will—or should work their will—on the important issues...There is occasional discussion in this book about President Reagan and Clinton, what they did or would have done. Open as both are to serious criticism, they nonetheless largely worked their will. Obama has not.” Woodward, a journalist, made famous for his coverage of the Watergate Scandal, eventually brought down the Nixon administration. In his book he approaches the issue of the ‘fiscal-cliff’ in a non-partisan way. He is fiercely critical of Republican and Democrat inaction and their need to play politics at the expense of the national interest. In Woodward’s conclusion the failure of both parties to reach a consensus stems from a failure of Obama to ‘work his will.’ Occasionally, when I speak to my colleagues at the University or even those actively involved in politics here in Toronto, there is this smug sense of Canadian electoral superiority. A sense that somehow our electoral and government system is above this sort of political game-playing. But rather, it is our lack of checks and balances that makes our system so much less refractory to change when compared to our counterparts in the US. Our officials play politics constantly, but they thrive in a system that makes it easier to do so. A strong example of the ‘price of politics’ here in Toronto is the inaction by the municipal and provincial governments on the transit file. Rob Ford blames the province for not producing sufficient funding and Wynne’s Liberals blame Ford for sitting on tremendous funding already promised by the provincial government, delaying the Metrolinx endorsed crosstown LRT. Meanwhile our city suffers from overcrowded subways at rush-hour and near paralyses in our streetcar system. The crosstown LRT is meant to replace the aging Scarborough LRT but has been met with significant opposition by residents and MPPs in Scarborough who appear hungry for an extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway line. The subway extension would cost nearly a billion dollars more than the Metrolinx proposed LRT and move no-faster than the LRT. The only significant difference between the right-of-way LRT proposal and the subway extension is that those traveling on the Bloor-Danforth line would not have to transfer at Kennedy station. And the cost, the subway runs at about $1 billion more than the LRT. Wynne’s Liberals came out strongly in favor of the Metrolinx plan and have said that if the City wants to forego the LRT and build a subway they must fund it themselves. However time has conspired to change the winds that blow from Queen’s Park to City Hall and Wynne and her Liberal party have now come out in favor of building a subway extension to Scarborough. The timing is highly suspect. Mitzie Hunter is running for the Liberals in an Aug. 1 by-election in Scarborough-Guildwood. The upcoming Aug. 1 by-elections, 5 in total, come as the first test of Wynne’s mandate as premier. A mandate she now appears desperate to earn through political pandering. The subway extension will ensure Hunter’s victory and delay construction on whatever Scarborough transit solution is eventually agreed upon. The lack of ridership in Scarborough will make any extension of the line another Shepherd debacle but in the short-term ensure Wynne’s Liberals a victory in the Guildwood election. What made Wynne such an impressive leader was her ability to stand strong on political issues, compromising when necessary, but moving forward in the best interest of the province. Whether on the transit-file or on raises for public servants, Wynne appeared willing to make the decisions that were right, balanced and fair. Wynne’s wavering on the issue of the crosstown LRT demonstrates that she is a politician through and through, willing to compromise her beliefs, the interest of the province and the city to ensure political victory. Dalton McGuinty is now infamous for his decision to shutter two Toronto-area gas plants to ensure victory in the previous election. The decision came with a $585 million dollar price-tag that ensured Liberal victories in those ridings. When Ms. Wynne stepped in to fill the vacuum created by McGuinty’s departure she seemed a fresh alternative however with her decision to shutter construction of the LRT to Scarborough and begin again with a brand new and ill-conceived subway, valued at $1 billion, she seems capable of the same political calculus that cost McGuinty his political future. It would appear that their is a price of politics here in Ontario, it is somewhere between $585 million and $1 billion per seat.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 17:37:20 +0000
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