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FIGHT BACK

Eves must go!

by Jeff Goodall

October 6, 2003

The destruction of the Mike Harris Common Sense Revolution could not have been any more complete than if Ernie Eves had deliberately planned it that way.

I remember getting up early on a Saturday, a work day as it happened, to go and vote for Eves to replace Harris as the steward and champion of my ideals. Eves' campaign indicated to me that he would continue in Mike's footsteps, and I still have an Eves button saying "Ernie. Because We've Come So Far." He was even quoted as saying "We cannot let all we have achieved in the last eight years go to waste." Well, what a fraud, and what a disgusting betrayal; if I had known in March of 2002 what I know now, I would have voted for Jim Flaherty.

The Liberals have no need to increase their majority, they can rule unchallenged for a full five years if they want, and heaven only knows what mess will have to be cleaned up afterwards. Such tremendous strides were made by Mike Harris in balancing the budget and getting Ontario's house in order after the disastrous Liberal / NDP years, and now it has all been thrown away by one man in just a year and a half.

It's believed in some quarters that the Ontario Progressive Conservatives are experiencing a civil war between "red tories" and "blue tories", and it was a battle between the reds and blues that resulted in the fractured right wing on the federal scene. I am sure my protest-vote for the Freedom Party sent a message, and the mere existence of such a party will help to keep the PC's honest . Paul McKeever, Oshawa's FP candidate, has already indicated his satisfaction with the results, telling me that the campaign and the 500+ vote turnout for the FP was a good "first exposure". Also, I notice that his wife Kathy, running in neighbouring Durham riding, scored not quite 700 hundred votes. Paul tells me that he is "confident that we impressed far more people than voted for us: strategic voting is what keeps newer parties from leaping into the big votes at first. We are in a better position now than ever to have an impact in the next election."

In Oshawa, PC Jerry Ouellette was elected with 37.32 percent of the vote, and only 1,021 votes more than leftist militant Sid Ryan of CUPE, who scored 34.71 percent. The PC's have no reason to be happy in Oshawa, and Jerry is on notice. Next time, a stronger showing by the Freedom Party could put him on the trash heap next to Ernie Eves.

The next issue after the Provincial Tories settle their affairs is the upcoming federal election, and the possibility of a unified force of Alliance and Tory supporters going into battle against the Liberals. Will Mike Harris come out of retirement and be willing to take on the leadership of such an endeavour? I surely hope so!

And now, back to the municipal elections!

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.