Watch your step
If the Ontario Progressive Conservatives nominated a seedless watermelon to run against Premier Kathleen Wynne in the 2018 provincial election, the party might have its best chance yet to finally defeat the Liberals.
The good t hing about seedless watermelons is that they can’t, for example, promise to publicly fund all religious schools in Ontario, fire 100,000 government workers or repeal the provi nce’s new sex- education curriculum.
Seedless watermelons, in fact, can’t do much of anything except be delicious, which would only be a problem if and when the Ontario PCs decide to host a campaign barbecue in the lead- up to the election. But even in that case, if the five-kilogram Ontario- grown candidate were to be properly labelled, and if it indeed made it to the ballot in the fall of 2018, there would be a real possibility that the Liberals’ reign would be over, at last.
The Ontario PCs, however, seem determined to trudge along with their tried- andt rue campaign strategy, which is to face off against a scandal- plagued, increasingly unpopular premier, and forfeit the election over some controversial proposal that somehow manages to eclipse the billions of dollars in waste and mismanagement that should really earn the Liberals the boot.
Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown’s recent entry in this self- demolition derby was the promise that he would scrap the Liberals’ new sexed curriculum if he became premier. He made the vow in a letter addressed to parents last week, before Thursday’s byelection in Scarborough-Rouge River. “When it comes to sexual health education, parents should have a say on how much their children are taught, and at what age,” he wrote.
Brown then took to Twitter to repeat the myth that parents had not been consulted on the content of the curriculum — which is demonstrably untrue — before performing a complete about- face and declaring that he was, in fact, “strongly” in support of the updated curriculum. “I believe it’s important to admit mistakes when they happen,” he wrote in a letter to the Toronto Star.
So let’s review: in less than a week, Brown managed both to alienate moderates who are wary of where he stands on social issues, and anger parents upset at the sex- ed curriculum ( whose vote he probably had anyway), by performing a complete 180 on their top political concern. Had Brown said nothing, much of the province would continue not knowing who he was, while he enjoyed the support of a vocal group of parents who decided to vote PC the second Wynne green-lighted the new sex-ed program.
Brown certainly deserves credit for admitting his mistake, but he would deserve more credit had he used the more than a year that he’s been at the helm of the PCs to clarify his message and get the rest of his party on track. Tuesday, he opted to go on a sex- ed apology tour, during which he revealed that the letter suggesting he’d scrap the new curriculum went out without his knowledge, and indicated he thinks his party might lose the byelection over its hamhanded handling of this issue.
The PCs are fortunate that there’s still a long way to go until the next provincial election, by which time this misstep will probably be forgotten. But this sort of slapstick campus- style campaigning can’t continue; indeed, if there’s one thing the Ontario Liberals understand, it’s how to run one hell of an election campaign.
For years, the Wynne government has been practically begging to be kicked out of office, corrupting nearly every file — education, health care, environment, energy — with scandal, mismanagement and waste. The PCs will undoubtedly be tempted to introduce, for example, a position on transgender washrooms three weeks before election day, but they should resist for the sake of every Ontarian who has long prayed for just one normal alternative on the provincial ballot. As of now, it looks like the best option would be a PC-branded seedless watermelon. I am absolutely serious when I say: it would have my vote.
THE ONTARIO PCs CAN BEAT THE LIBERALS, SO LONG AS THEIR LEADER RESISTS PUTTING HIS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH.