TORONTO (March 28, 1995) - Fp president Robert Metz and Fp vice-president Lloyd Walker were among a small group of organizational leaders, writers, and public advocates who participated in a closed-door meeting with PC leader Mike Harris at the campaign office for the Progressive Conservatives. Most of the attendees at the meeting were representatives of the various groups mentioned in our last issue of Freedom Flyer. Also present were authors Joe Armstrong and William Trench.
Coordinated by Craig Chandler of the Progressive Group For Independent Business, the meeting was ostensibly held to give attendees a direct opportunity to discuss their main concerns and issues with PC leader Mike Harris. However, most of the meeting was taken up by PC organizers Gerry Redman, Leslie Noble, and Tom Long outlining PC election strategy and expectations.
PC organizers repeatedly emphasized that their "Common Sense Revolution" was strictly a FISCAL plan and presented meeting attendees with copies of their PC "Ammo" document, a five-point plan listed as: "(1) Lower Taxes, (2) Cut Spending, (3) Remove Government Barriers to Job Creation, (4) Doing Better For Less, and (5) Balanced Budget." When asked questions about issues that were included in their "Common Sense Revolution", the PCs were quite clear that they would eliminate employment equity laws and kill Bill 40. However they were incredibly vague on social policy, referring only to a "sharing of common values" that were left undefined.
John Furedy of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship noted the PC's silence on Ontario's Human Rights Commission (HRC). He joined with Dick Field of the Voice of Canadians Committees in asking Harris what the PC policy on the HRC would be. Harris stated his SUPPORT for the HRC, arguing that it was a handy mechanism to "keep the courts unclogged" and to "prevent discrimination." (Ed: During Election'95, the PC's, in direct contrast to Fp's policy of abolishing the HRC, campaigned to STRENGTHEN the HRC, apparently continuing in the direction already established by the NDP.)
Most attendees left the meeting quite disappointed with the Harris' lack of commitment to conservatism. Although PC organizers stressed that "we believe in something," Harris proudly boasted that the PCs have people who are "far-left from time to time, but that's the beauty of politics." Mixed signals such as these are a warning sign that there is still a great philosophical division within the ranks of the PC party. Voters beware.
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last updated on April 28, 2002
