Is Ontario Ready for Collaborative Change?

The idea is to remove barriers to employment for everyone — not just able-bodied people, but also those with obvious physical or hidden mental challenges. With ODSP caseloads growing by 5 per cent a year, and most of the new and returning recipients coping with mental issues, it is no longer sensible or sustainable to hive them off and write them off.

 

There's growing consensus that the systems we have here in Ontario aren't working.  Healthcare is too feudal, social service supports are too fragmented - the list goes on.  The system that worked well enough once upon a time is past it's best-before date.  The problem, however, is the political risk that comes with big change.  In today's polarized, hyper-partisan political climate, it's guaranteed that opposing Parties will decry anything that speaks of bold reform.  But we can't go on as before. 

 

What's a province to do?

 

Here's a radical notion - picture we had three political leaders that thought more of achieving results, even if through working together, than of scoring political points by working against.  Imagine there was a core set of values that the Liberal, PC and NDP leaders all held and were willing to build shared solutions around.  Why, if there was an attempt by all three Parties to find and communicate consensus to stakeholders and voters, those big changes everyone says are necessary might just be doable - and with all Parties working together, we could actually get viable solutions that would be both effective and have longevity.

 

Of course, that's not doable with the current configuration - just witness the goings on at Queen's Park of late.  With Premier McGuinty exiting the stage, there will soon be a new leader for the Liberals, likely to be one of a few women with track records of finding shared solutions.  Andrea Horwath, for her part, has occasionally played the role of peace maker.  That leaves Tim Hudak as the sole leader who is adamantly committed to an election and hasn't exactly carved out a reputation as a team player.

 

Hudak has committed to a Spring election, no matter what happens between now and then.  Like Rob Ford, he's not interested in working together - he just wants to win.  Especially for Hudak, it's critical he does; if he doesn't, that's two general election losses and a lost by-election against him.  It would be the end of his political career and result in a PC leadership race.  IF that scenario were to play out, a strong contender for the PC leadership role would be the amazing Christine Elliot - a woman who is unquestionably in politics for the right reasons and willing to work with anyone to address the issues that matter.

 

 I'll get in trouble for writing this, surely - in partisan politics, you're supposed to wish the worst possible leadership on your opponents, not the best.  I'm terrible at being self-serving that way - besides, I actually love the idea of a Legislature that functions the way parliaments were intended to.  It might make for boring TV or news, but so what - you want spicy political entertainment, watch Game of Thrones.  Just imagine the possibilities if Ontario had three women leaders with shared goals willing to put the best interests of the province ahead even of their own partisan aspirations. 

 

It might just be the only way Ontarians can move forward - together.

 

Deeds, Not Words, Define You

It speaks to the culture of fear in the capital, this government’s predilection to demonize its opponents and makes a mockery of what is left of its pledge of accountability and transparency.

 

You know what's ironic?  Many a bureaucrat I know at Queen's Park felt the same way under the Harris government.  I can think of a couple of folk in particular that singled out Tim Hudak for his "management style."  Hudak would never carry the hammer - he'd walk around and be chummy with the bureaucrats.  He always wanted to be seen as likable.  Seeing him, though, sparked fear in the hearts of staff, for shortly after Hudak passed, his Chief Bulldog would come behind and bark orders and lay down the criticism.

 

There's a modus operandi here - not one reflective of the Conservative Party, but the current crop of political operators specifically.  They see government as a business and employees as just another resource to be used and abused as they please.  These folk see the public as consumers - so long as you give them bread and circuses, the process doesn't matter.

 

It's not your words, but your actions that define you - and the same actors that were behind Mike Harris and are propping up Stephen Harper now are the same ones working the Hudak PC machine.

I Don't Think So, Tim...

 

Tim Hudak can't say nobody warned him.

 

 

On just this wee blog, I tried to offer some advice to the PC leader; I actually want to see effective Oppositions, as that's what makes our democracy work.

 

 

I told him he has to stop jumping on every opportunity to stick a finger in opponents' eyes. 

 

I encouraged him that it's delusional and harmful to your brand and your own conscience to assume you can do no wrong, that there's always someone else that's at fault.  Leadership, after all, isn't about avoidance, it's about ownership and responsibility.

 

Alas, Tim chose not to heed this advice, or any of the similar advice that's been directed his way.  In his response to the recent by-election results in Kitchener-Waterloo, he had this to say:

 

“Tonight’s result has shown that public sector unions from across Ontario were provided with the perfect opportunity to concentrate their resources and lash out against the wage freeze we’ve been consistently pushing. They bought Kitchener-Waterloo and now we can expect the rest of Ontario taxpayers to pay for it as the NDP cut more budget deals to keep the Liberals in power."

 

In one foul swoop, he's done the eye-poke and deflected responsibility with nary a mention of Elizabeth Witmer, the PC MPP that held that seat for so long an certainly deserves some emotional support from her former leader.

 

None of this helps his Party's fortunes, helps Ontario in these challenging times, nor is his performance as PC leader doing anything other than tarnishing his personal brand.

 

It's not too late for Hudak to change his ways, in one context or another.

 

I truly hope that Tim Hudak has devoted himself to some introspection; going forward, he needs to either drastically revisit his leadership style or perhaps ask himself if being the boss is really a good fit for him, for his Party, or for Ontario.  He surely has much to offer the Province - just not as a political leader.

 

A Lesson In Leadership For Tim Hudak

“Less than 24 hours later, Mr. Hudak’s caucus launched a campaign demanding that the province continue gambling on horses.”

Adam Radwanski, Globe & Mail

Leadership is the ability to unite people behind a common vision and inspire them to work proactively and collaboratively to achieve that vision.  To make this happen, the temptation to react, to jump for the small victories that detract from the actualization of the vision must be suppressed.  A good leader provides his team with hope, empowering them to forgo the seed and wait for the fruit. 

This is a lesson Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Party need to take to heart.  So far, Tim Hudak’s performance as leader has been nothing but reactive; reactive to foreign workers and foreign students, reacting to sex education, pushing the fear and anger buttons over crime, jumping with vigour on whatever rakes the governing Liberals put in his path.  This reactionary behaviour doesn’t get you anywhere; it just gives you a headache and eventually, becomes painful for an audience to watch.

What vision does Tim Hudak have for a strong Ontario?  Advocating for cuts alone isn’t a plan – again, it’s a reaction.  How would cuts fit into a broader plan?  What are the other pieces of that plan?  To date, he has not articulated a plan for where he wants to take our province.  While reactiveness and attacks might be enough to sustain a frustrated, scared and angry base, it’s not enough to win the province on.

Dalton McGuinty (who does have the advantage of time and experience on his side) has a clear vision for where he wants to take Ontario, whether it is universally agreed with or not.  McGuinty sees tomorrow’s Ontario as embracing the Knowledge Economy and pursuing innovation into emerging sectors, like clean/green tech.  He sees diversity as the foundation of knowledge, so is supportive of ethnic communities and art industries like film.  To embrace this opportunity, people need to get along – which means a high quality-of-life (healthcare, anti-bullying, strong social services) but also a responsible, affordable, sustainable one.

McGuinty has the vision – it’s what he unites his people behind.  It’s those people who provide the ideas and wherewithal to make that vision a reality.

Tactics in the absence of a strategy is no plan at all.  It’s time for Tim Hudak to articulate his vision for our province; his real test of leadership won’t be how successfully he can attack the Liberals, but rather, how efficiently he can unite his own team behind that vision.