Tough Love

After watching the dynamic between Jim Flaherty and Dalton McGuinty these days, I'm torn between assessing it as a parent-child relationship and at other times I wonder if Jim Flaherty feels he needs to take over the role of the Ontario opposition parties, which occasionally need a little instruction on how to critique Liberal policy.

McGuinty's effectively boxed himself in a financial corner and can't afford to cut taxes, so he goes crying to the feds.

Now that Dalton's whiny 'Gimmee Ottawa' attitude threatens to affect the rest of Canada, I think that the Premiers in other provinces should be backing Flaherty in driving home the message that Dalton needs to be accountable for his actions. The Big Federal Liberal Nanny State is not in power at the moment, but Dalton just doesn't seem to get it.

He's still acting like a spoiled little child trying to defy his parents, and expecting a bail-out at the end.

By contrast, the Federal Conservative approach is to allow the provinces the freedom to make their beds, but they have to lie in them afterwards - even if they wet them. (I could throw in a Smitherman- diaper reference here, but I won't.)

So Daddy Flaherty is now trying to guide little Dalton and Dwight on how to make the best of the mess they find themselves in now. Raising their allowances won't teach them a thing about responsibility and the consequences of pandering to special interest groups and other bullies that steal their lunch money.

And if Ontario voters finally wake up one day, perhaps we can even take some responsibility ourselves, and get rid of a provincial government still caught up in the whining-entitlement era.

Until that day, we may as well get used to Rick Mercer's chant, "Ontario is the last place where, we don't check the rear view, no one there!"

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Update: Great little gem from comments in the previous post:

aek said...

From Joanne's CTV link, it looks like the feds, meaning all Canadian taxpayers, have already kicked in $26 million on top of Ontario's $50 million.

Do we have a new federal "equalization for incompetence" program?

Wed Mar 19, 03:31:00 PM EDT

Brilliant!



On a more sombre note - Economic growth seen at only 1.1% this year: TD.

B.C. will weather economic downturn - Vancouver Sun.


Thursday Update: Lorrie Goldstein - Don't look, bring money.

Ottawa Citizen - 'Don't panic' over economy, McGuinty says. (With TD references to 'ugly duckling' Ontartio and Quebec.