`I was a little too ... partisan'
IN YEAR-END INTERVIEW, O'TOOLE REGRETS `FLIPPANT' RESPONSE TO `SAD CHAPTER'
Conservative Leader Erin O'toole says Indigenous reconciliation is a priority for him and he regrets injecting partisanship into a conversation about residential schools when speaking recently to young party members at Toronto's Ryerson University.
“I was a little too flippant and partisan on an issue that is very, very important and a sad chapter in our history,” O'toole said. “On a sensitive topic like that, you have to show thoughtfulness.”
O'toole made the comments in a year-end interview with the National Post on Thursday, where he also discussed his tenure as Conservative leader so far, the chances of a 2021 election, his view on the federal carbon tax and whether he's had internal backlash over his new tone on organized labour.
But first he addressed the news this week around his comments on residential schools.
In the video, O'toole was speaking to “cancel culture” and the idea of renaming Ryerson University over Egerton Ryerson's own legacy in helping shape the residential school system. He gave tips on how to win debates with Liberals and the “woke crowd” over residential schools and said the initial goal of the system was to “provide education” but it became “a horrible program that really harmed people.”
On Wednesday, O'toole released a statement correcting that stance. “The system was intended to remove children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures,” O'toole's statement said.
O'toole has been trying to change his party's messaging to broaden its appeal, and he said the criticism of his comments in the video was valid.
“For me, tone is very important,” O'toole said. “I've spoken a lot about the terrible record on residential schools. I've spoken a lot about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. My first question as leader was on reconciliation in the House of Commons.”
He said it's a frustrating topic for Conservatives, who feel the Liberals aren't pushed as hard on their own record, but it was still a mistake to let that sentiment take over.
“Even though Conservatives are frustrated that it's Macdonald, it's Langevin, it's never Laurier and Trudeau for example, I can't let partisanship change the tone of an important discussion that deals with reconciliation, because it will be a priority for me,” he said.
“So my tone, I think, may have lost some trust with a few people. I'll earn it back.”
Here are some of the other topics O'toole discussed in the year-end interview, lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Q You were elected leader in August. How would you characterize your first four months in the job?
A I'm pretty proud of how the team has done. Not only have we come through a leadership amidst a pandemic, with a suspension of Parliament, prorogation — it's been a crazy time — but we've been united and quite professional.
We've passed some motions that I think are going to help small business, that are pushing for a better response with rapid tests, to make us stand up and have a more serious position with respect to China. So I think we've accomplished a fair bit, and I'm pretty proud of how the team has come together quickly after a leadership.
Q Polling shows the Liberals largely have the public's backing over their handling of the pandemic. Is that fair to say?
A Well, it is a pandemic, and there is a rally-around-the-flag approach. Look, we've voted for many of the bills related to helping people and helping businesses and saving jobs. Putting the country first is kind of my mantra since I joined the military. So there is that: in a time of crisis, work together.
We are up in Quebec and in the 905 (Toronto suburbs). I think we've got a lot of work to do, but there are early sprouts of green out of the ground, or maybe I should say blue, that show we're looking good in the future. And I'm trying to position us as a government in waiting, professional and ready to lead and to build back after the pandemic.
Q The Conservatives hit the Liberals hard over vaccine preparedness, but for now the vaccines have rolled out quickly. Were you wrong?
A No. In fact, I think our pressure led to a better response and a faster response. Having worked for a large company like a Pfizer, like a Moderna, in the private sector (O'toole was in-house counsel for Procter & Gamble), I knew that our persistent pressure could lead to a small sample of vaccines coming early to help the government. I think that's great, that's the role of the opposition, to push for better, smarter, faster.
Q Do you expect we'll see an election in 2021? More specifically, do you want to see an election?
A I want to see a plan, and success on the vaccination front, and putting the health and economic crisis first. I don't think it's appropriate for an election in the middle of a pandemic and the second wave.
That's what we're going to push for, making sure that we can round the corner in the pandemic by deploying the vaccine in large and consistent numbers. The election, I think, shouldn't come until we've stabilized both the health and economic crises.
Q What is your personal view of the Liberals' hike to the carbon tax? Do you stand by your platform promise to scrap the federal carbon pricing regime?
A I still have the view that the carbon tax is bad policy and makes us very uncompetitive, particularly the Ontario economy, which has been bleeding jobs and investment to border states where there is no input tax or input price for carbon. I think Mr. Trudeau tripling down on the carbon tax is a sign that they know we're going to have a serious environmental policy in the next election.
The early debate on C-12 (the government's net-zero legislation) showed that we're in favour of a net-zero-by-2050 approach, provided we can build in a serious plan to assist industry, and larger emitters develop their plans over that period. We're in the process of creating our policy now, and net zero will be part of that plan.
Q You've been changing your party's message on trade and economic issues as part of your outreach to unionized workers and the working class in general. Have you gotten backlash from within your party?
A Everyone knows I've sparred with (Unifor national president) Jerry Dias. I thought auto should have been a priority in NAFTA negotiations, for example, not the much-vaunted progressive agenda. But I have respect for him. I grew up in a union environment. I see how knowing a union has your back, knowing that there's a sense of community or solidarity or whatever you want to call it, of people that share your goals and aspirations for a job, maybe enough to save for a vacation, a cottage, that is the positivity I saw growing up of unions.
As a new leader, I'm trying to reach out to a whole range of groups that we've perhaps lost trust with in recent years. I'm actually surprised at how little internal questions I've had about it. I do get some, no question. But when they realize what I'm trying to do, which is unite people that want to get the economy moving, particularly after COVID, they get it. We need more votes, and I think there's an alignment with working families.
I'M TRYING TO REACH OUT TO A WHOLE RANGE OF GROUPS THAT WE'VE PERHAPS LOST TRUST WITH.