Retirement at 57: Ontario's Premier McGuinty calls it quits
"Premier Dad" has officially walked out
on us. On Monday, October 15, Ontario's
Premier for the last nine years announced his
resignation. The nature of politics is such
that it's impossible to determine the intent of
a person or party. There's a distinct possibility
that the Liberal Party thought that
McGuinty was the only one capable of winning
the provincial election. If this were the
case, they would get McGuinty elected and
then a short time into his term (i.e. now)
have him resign, then appoint a party member
to office until the next provincial election
date in 2015.
An alternative theory is that McGuinty was interested in the federal Liberal leadership but, due to recent publicity disasters, realized he'd be unable to challenge up-andcomer Justin Trudeau and called it quits. A third possibility is that, in light of backlash against London West MPP Chris Bentley, McGuinty decided to resign and thereby escape any committee hearings on the matter that might implicate him.
McGuinty has been taking devastating blows to his public image all year culminating in losing his shot at a majority government. Two of the many debacles that led to his retirement came in the form of London MPP's Deb Matthews and Bentley.
Matthews came under fire for not being informed on how tax dollars being paid to ORNGE Air Ambulance were used and came out looking uninformed and slightly incompetent. Bentley's disaster was more recent as he claimed to be unable to provide documents pertaining to the closure of several Ontario power plants due to client/contractor privilege. For this reason the opposition initiated a contempt motion against Bentley for intentionally misleading them. While neither of London's own is fully responsible, they were steps on the path to this destination.
The timing of McGuinty's announcement was the primary source of confusion because, believe it or not, his retirement could be a boon for the provincial Liberals as his public appeal continues to shrink. The party is currently operating a minority government after losing the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election that could have put them in a slim majority in the Ontario Legislature. This was a tremendous setback because there was a lot of opposition at Queen's Park to virtually any legislation the Premier tried to pass.
The Premier also took the step of proroguing the provincial legislature, which has been the source of much contention and criticism from the opposition. Proroguing is a step that effectively shuts down any debate or procedure that's going on. The committees that were meeting, including the one examining Matthews, have been disbanded and any actions taken against Bentley will have to be restarted when the legislature meets again.
The provincial Liberal Party is now going to begin a frantic search for a leader and the options are limited. Former Winnipeg Mayor and current minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray and former Deputy Premier George Smitherman are among potential candidates. In an interview with Global Toronto last month, Smitherman said he had no aspirations of leadership at the time but, as McGuinty proved, you can't always see the next move coming.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
An alternative theory is that McGuinty was interested in the federal Liberal leadership but, due to recent publicity disasters, realized he'd be unable to challenge up-andcomer Justin Trudeau and called it quits. A third possibility is that, in light of backlash against London West MPP Chris Bentley, McGuinty decided to resign and thereby escape any committee hearings on the matter that might implicate him.
McGuinty has been taking devastating blows to his public image all year culminating in losing his shot at a majority government. Two of the many debacles that led to his retirement came in the form of London MPP's Deb Matthews and Bentley.
Matthews came under fire for not being informed on how tax dollars being paid to ORNGE Air Ambulance were used and came out looking uninformed and slightly incompetent. Bentley's disaster was more recent as he claimed to be unable to provide documents pertaining to the closure of several Ontario power plants due to client/contractor privilege. For this reason the opposition initiated a contempt motion against Bentley for intentionally misleading them. While neither of London's own is fully responsible, they were steps on the path to this destination.
The timing of McGuinty's announcement was the primary source of confusion because, believe it or not, his retirement could be a boon for the provincial Liberals as his public appeal continues to shrink. The party is currently operating a minority government after losing the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election that could have put them in a slim majority in the Ontario Legislature. This was a tremendous setback because there was a lot of opposition at Queen's Park to virtually any legislation the Premier tried to pass.
The Premier also took the step of proroguing the provincial legislature, which has been the source of much contention and criticism from the opposition. Proroguing is a step that effectively shuts down any debate or procedure that's going on. The committees that were meeting, including the one examining Matthews, have been disbanded and any actions taken against Bentley will have to be restarted when the legislature meets again.
The provincial Liberal Party is now going to begin a frantic search for a leader and the options are limited. Former Winnipeg Mayor and current minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray and former Deputy Premier George Smitherman are among potential candidates. In an interview with Global Toronto last month, Smitherman said he had no aspirations of leadership at the time but, as McGuinty proved, you can't always see the next move coming.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
