FIGHT BACK

Time for a change

by Jeff Goodall

September 8, 2003

It's aggravating when we have two different election campaigns at the same time, but there you have it: a provincial vote on October 2nd, and a municipal vote on November 10th.

The mood of change is in the air, and in Toronto, Melzilla is heading off into a well-deserved political oblivion, as leftist front-runner Barbara Hall is preparing to throw more and more money around at a time when Toronto is already riding the ragged edge of financial disaster. At Queen’s Park, there is every possibility of the Liberals taking over, and even the gruesome 'maybe' of a Tory-NDP alliance, which would create a weird and unnatural hybrid that probably wouldn’t live too long. Thus, we may have to go to the polls and do it all again sometime next year.

In my town of Oshawa, Mayor Nancy Diamond could be set for a fall after 12 years at the helm. Allegations of bullying and secrecy are getting louder, and she no longer has the bulwark of zero or minimal tax increases to mollify public sentiment. This could be the year she goes down.

For the first time since I arrived here nine years ago, the provincial Tories will not have a sign on my lawn. I was exposed to some breathtaking arrogance from a member of incumbent Jerry Ouellette’s constituency staff while researching my columnSid Ryan comes to town, causing me to reflect on just how quickly being in office can create contempt for the electorate. And, far more important than my personal take on my local MPP, is the drastic reversal in fortunes inflicted upon the Common Sense Revolution by turncoat Ernie Eves, who ran on a platform of continuing along the same path as Mike Harris, but then took the first left fork he came to. I am bitterly disappointed at his betrayal of the CSR, and his reduction of the Tories to the tawdry, issues-oriented politics of the other mainstream parties. If I want a Liberal, I’ll vote for a real one, not for an opportunistic dilettante who dances to whatever tune he thinks the public wants to hear. He is neither fish nor fowl, a would-be Liberal who hasn’t got the guts to go the whole way.

So, like many voters today, I find myself as a disaffected conservative with no major party worth my vote. Which brings us to Paul McKeever, a candidate in my riding, and the leader of the Freedom Party of Ontario.

Announcing his candidacy in a March, 2003 press release, he made no bones about where he is coming from:

"Jerry Ouellette will be doing his best to sell a very different party than the one he represented in Oshawa over the last couple of elections; a slim majority of Progressive Conservatives replaced leadership, integrity, and common sense with Ernie Eves: a directionless, limp, untrustworthy, opportunistic, cynical crowd-follower; Jerry Ouellette’s party has taken its first steps down the path to the dustbin of history."

Seeking to fill the vacuum left by the disintegration of the Common Sense Revolution, Paul McKeever has an extensive and well-crafted party platform that includes sections on education, federal respect for provincial jurisdiction, property rights (which are not included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms), opposition to the many forms of discrimination to be found in Ontario, free choice in healthcare, opposition to business subsidies, and measures to reduce corruption in government.

McKeever was born in Oshawa, and has a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree and a Master’s in Psychology, as well as a Law degree. He opened his practice in Oshawa in 1997, and scored a ground-breaking victory in 2002, in which the Divisional Court of Ontario concurred with his assertion that a woman’s pregnancy at the time of dismissal is to be considered for purposes of determining how much notice, or pay in lieu of notice, is appropriate. I also notice that in the "fees and payment arrangements" section of his law office web-site is found the following: "In an effort primarily to provide people with access to justice, the law offices of Paul McKeever endeavour to be flexible with respect to payment arrangements. Where, in Paul McKeever’s opinion, a person’s case is particularly strong, but the person has little or no money to proceed with a lawsuit, an arrangement is sometimes made in which no payments will be made until after the person’s dispute is resolved." I think that says a lot about the man as a person.

As a leader, Paul McKeever has provided considerable input in building the Freedom Party, and the 'Party Policies' (platform) section of their web-site at www.freedomparty.on.cademonstrates a solid grasp of the basics, as well as the value of his legal background. After reading the platform, a voter can easily anticipate what stand the Party may take in any set of circumstances.

As the Freedom Party will be running candidates in a variety of ridings, I would like to suggest that you check to see if one is running in your area. I see no virtue in continuing to support a sad and gutted caricature of the Progressive Conservatives, and I no longer see any prospect of good government in the platforms and leadership of any of the mainstream provincial parties.

It's time to come out fighting and vote for a real change, and in my opinion, Paul McKeever and his Freedom Party are just what these difficult and frustrating times demand.

Jeff Goodall worked for the Metro Treasury and City Finance Departments for 25 years, and served as a member of the CUPE Local 79 Executive Board for 14 of those years.