The Globe's "O'Toole Paradox"

 


The Globe editorial board is giddy at how Tory backbenchers have gotten, "out from under the thumb of domineering party leaders who view them as little more than biotic voting devices."

On the face of it, MPs speaking their minds and showing some independence is how Parliament is supposed to work. Loyalty to party and leader, while an important part of playing this team sport, is not supposed to be unconditional.

Add to this the welcome fact that Conservative MPs used the Reform Act after the election to give themselves the power to call a leadership review at any time, as well as the sole power to throw a member out of caucus, and Parliament suddenly has a party whose members are not as typically bovine as those, say, in the governing Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau.

So far, so good - right up until the point where those Tory freedom fighters flexed their newfound muscle in a predictably boneheaded fashion. 

Calling it the “civil liberties caucus” is misleading, based on kooky claims that public-health authorities are waging a war on individual rights. The nearly 90 per cent of eligible Canadians who’ve been vaccinated aren’t buying it.

A better name for the group would be the “highlighting the reasons we lost the election caucus.” Or perhaps the “People’s Party of Canada caucus,” after Maxime Bernier’s vehicle for anti-vaccination victimhood that once again failed to elect a single member to Parliament.

But this group is a part of the Official Opposition, a.k.a. the government-in-waiting.

O'Toole gone to ground, hiding from his own caucus.

Mr. O’Toole’s problems largely stem from the fact that candidates for the party’s leadership in 2020 had no choice but to pander to the views of the small, crankish and highly unrepresentative group of party members empowered to chose a leader. (Who chooses local candidates? Same problem.) After becoming leader, Mr. O’Toole had to switch positions on carbon taxes, gun control and other issues in order to appeal to a broader range of voters.

And now, as he tries to prepare for the return of Parliament, a group of rebel Tory MPs is choosing not to focus on the postpandemic recovery or other pressing matters, but on irresponsible fringe opinions not shared by the vast majority of Canadians.

The Globe editors suspect Mr. O'Toole will have a little something extra in his stocking this Christmas - a big "thank you" from Justin Trudeau. And why not?

Comments

  1. TrailblazerNovember 8, 2021 at 5:30 PM

    Calling it the “civil liberties caucus” is misleading,

    Interesting how US euphemisms creep into Canadian politics.

    That said do not underestimate the Tories.
    Harper amalgamated the greedy bastards club some years ago!!

    Greed has a nasty habit of winning against ideology.

    TB


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibNovember 9, 2021 at 7:24 AM

      It was Harper's overarching goal to shift Canada's political centre well and permanently to the right. He did achieve that goal but not without help. Instead of bolstering progressivism Harper's opposition followed in trail. Liberals became Conservative Lite while Layton's NDP, sensing their moment to grab the brass ring, morphed into Latter Day Liberals. The political left was largely discarded, an unwanted artefact.

      When the 2nd gen Trudeau became Liberal leader I had great hopes he would put Canadian politics back on an even keel. That didn't happen.

      Delete
  2. TrailblazerNovember 9, 2021 at 6:12 PM

    Sad to see that the NDP finished up as born again Blairites.
    Sad to see a worldwide swing to conservatism under the banner of you name the game!

    When resources become limited humanity circles the wagons .

    TB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibNovember 9, 2021 at 11:12 PM

      The sad irony, TB, is that so many shy away from this climate emergency because they fear giving up the status quo even as that is pulled out from beneath their feet. The deer caught in the headlights invariably gets run over.

      Delete

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