This is the new era of Federal/Provincial co-operation???

Since the Harper Conservatives were elected to the minority government that they now enjoy, Stephen Harper boasted that he would repair the relationship between the provinces and the federal government. With an example like demolishing the Atlantic Accord and those provinces to sue over it, we were seeing just how dedicated the Conservatives truly were to bringing the provinces together. Then there was the example of the Prime Minister calling the NDP Government of Saskatchewan "ungrateful", which was another great move to unite these two groups. Needless to say, tact is an area in which this government has been lacking.

Now in today's Peterborough Examiner, I got to see another great example of this. The McGuinty government back at the end of July made one of it's policy/pre-election vote buying announcements, this one being removing the PST on Stop-Smoking aids. Not a bad idea, although the timing of it was extremely smelly and suspect. The suspect nature of this announcement was only heightened when Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson called on Ottawa to do the same with the GST. Nothing wins you points in a provincial election campaign anywhere in Canada like going after the Feds, especially an unpopular government like this group.

Well, my former (thank sweet God I can say that) MP Conservative Dean Del Mastro of Peterborough, never one to shy away from a chance to get his name in the news, decided to reply to Mr. Watson's claim. He came back with a true gem of Conservative Party wisdom, saying "taking the GST off nicotine replacement products such as the patch would do little to help people quit smoking". Now, I agree that it can be extremely difficult to quit smoking, but the fact is that cost can be a major factor that keeps many people who want to quit from trying. To make a statement like Mr. Del Mastro made is quite shocking given the fact that he ran on the policy of cutting the GST, saying just how great it would be for all Canadians, especially the poorer among us. I guess that either he has changed his mind on the value of a GST cut, or maybe he believes that GST cuts are only good for the purchases of Suzuki Cars and RV's.

If that was where this story stopped, well, lets just say it wouldn't be very typical of either the McGuinty Liberals or the Federal Conservatives. Minister Watson replied in kind, taking another poke at the Conservatives in a Letter to the Editor in Friday's Examiner. Watson came back with this bridge-building retort: "As opposed to welcoming this move-forward and understanding the positive impact that removing the PST from Nicotine Replacement Therapy will have on smoking cessation; Del Mastro turns his back on Peterborough's smokers and plays politics. Shame." Yes, this comment just proves that the McGuinty Liberals can't take the high road themselves (of course, they would have to know what that high road looked like in order to be able to take it).

Of course, Mr. Watson's letter must have made Mr. Del Mastro's day. In today's Examiner, Del Mastro came back with more childish name calling, stating that he would be actively endorsing the Provincial PC's (lol!!! wow, thanks for the message from the Department of Redundancy Department... he said that like that was in doubt... who was he going to campaign for??? The Liberals?? lol!!!). He went on to spew more of his enlightened views on the track record of the McGuinty Liberals. He went on to say the following: "I feel that your government's poorly focused approach to the Ontario economy is disturbing....In less than four years you have managed to render Ontario to last place status for forecasted economic growth from a position of leading the G8; nice job!". Of course, this constructive blurb by the MP for Peterborough (hard to believe, but true) doesn't make any mention of the hand that this Conservative Government has had to play in that downfall, with the loss of Forestry jobs thanks to the Softwood Sell-out that his party (and many Liberals) agreed to. Of course, lets not forget about the effect of the whole Income Trust fiasco. But hey, why should we let facts and the truth get in the middle of an old-fashioned pissing match, right?
Of course, good Ol' Dean could stop there. He continued with accusing Watson of setting a new standard for political cheap shots and low blows. He described Watson's letter to the editor as classless and disgusting. And he also said Watson apparently lacks the ability to read. Wow, way to raise the level of debate Deano.

Of course, in this whole little week long pissing match (which is exactly what this), how much has been accomplished? Nothing, except to prove that both the Federal Conservatives and Ontario Liberals have a childish streak in them that is so beneath what any politician should be stooping to. It is with comments like these that it is little wonder that Stephen Harper has such a tight muzzle on the mouths of his MP's. But at the same time, Jim Watson has done nothing except to stoke the fires of provincial/federal division. I doubt that he made the comments that he did in an attempt to negotiate with the Feds, because if he was, that would have to be one of the worst examples of negotiating that we have witnessed in years. I can't help but feel that Mr. Watson poked his hands the proverbial Conservative Bee-hive to try to win votes, not to actually accomplish anything. If Mr. Watson and his government had announced this policy back during the budget and not during the run-up to an election, I believe that Mr. Watson's plea for Ottawa to cut the GST on these stop-smoking aides would have been better received than this.

Venom begets venom, and it should be no surprise that in these circumstances that these two "gentlemen" behaved so poorly. While I don't agree with the tact of Mr. Watson or the McGuinty Liberals, it was Stephen Harper who promised us a new era in Federal/Provincial relations. I can't help but feel that the impulsive nature of this government, along with it's stubbornness and rigidity when it comes to policy, cannot bring that era about. Frankly, Harper knows this already, and really doesn't seem to care. So, I guess if the next Ontario Government decides that this last minute attempt to buy votes before an election described as policy is the way to go, and want the Feds to cut that GST, maybe they will just need to take Stephen's advice to Atlantic Canada, and sue him. Let the childishness reign.Recommend this Post