by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
December 24, 2004
Those who can — do
Those who can’t — teach
Those who can’t teach — teach gym (Woody allen)
Those who can’t teach gym — become Liberals and enter politics.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who bills himself as the "education premier" for reasons best known to him, has announced that he wants Ontario schools to teach respect, honesty, fairness and responsibility. This stems from McGuinty’s idea that Ontarians who come from all over the world should share a common set of values.
While McGuinty is not quite the reptilian kitten-eater he was described as during last year’s election campaign, some of his ideas seem to have off-world origins. This is Canada; home of the tolerant and land of diversity. We aren’t supposed to have a common set of values; our values are everyone else’s values.
What, of course is more problematic is McGuinty’s wish to teach such things as honesty and responsibility. While not disputing that those values are important, perhaps McGuinty should learn them first before he advocates that they be taught. Honesty--McGuinty has broken most of the major promises that he made during the 2003 election campaign. and it doesn’t bother him that he did. Honesty means absolutely nothing to the Ontario premier. He has on occasion half apologized for his lies and deception on such issues as the Oak Ridges Moraine, Highway 407 and taxes where candidate McGuinty looked into the cameras and told Ontarians that they wouldn’t pay one penny more in taxes. He then increased health taxes that he called a premium until it became more advantageous to call it a tax. His half apologies were made in an attempt at political rehabilitation; he didn’t apologize because he thought he did something wrong. after all, McGuinty rationalizes his reneging on promises by smugly saying "it was the right thing to do". It seems as if saying that makes everything alright.
Responsibility--responsibility is as foreign to the premier as honesty is. Well over a year since he was elected, he and his government still blame every miscue, no matter how small, on the previous Conservative government. Even conceding that the province’s deficit was greater than the Tories said it was, at some point, McGuinty is going to have to acknowledge that he is the premier; not Mike Harris or Ernie Eves, and take responsibility for his government’s actions. If he won’t take responsibility in year two, he is unlikely to take it in years three or four.
Respect--although respect can perhaps be taught, it has to be earned. Lying, breaking promises and blaming someone else for your actions does not earn respect. McGuinty was willing to trample on the rights of Ontarians with his aborted ban on non frozen sushi; a ban that was based on little more than the overactive imagination of a medical officer of health. His willingness to ban something on the flimsiest of evidence means he has absolutely no respect for the people that he governs. His government is quick to ban products and activities because it makes them feel good and that’s what it is all about.
Fairness--as a provincial premier in a country that defines itself by its state funded medical services, McGuinty didn’t flinch at delisting optometry, chiropractic services and physiotherapy and requiring Ontarians to pay for those services on top of his new health premium/tax. Is it fair that lower income earners have to go without these services while they struggle to pay more in taxes? Fairness, according to McGuinty, is anything that helps get him out of a jam.
His idea of teaching respect, fairness, responsibility and honesty definitely has some merit; as long as it doesn’t interfere with students learning the 3 Rs (racism, recycling and reproduction). If only it could be made mandatory for McGuinty and his cabinet to take the course, it would be well worth the inevitable tax hike to pay for it.