I think Urquhart nails it.
One slight too many
Mar 30, 2007 04:30 AM
Ian Urquhart
It is appropriate that Tim Peterson chose to bolt the provincial Liberal caucus with Aretha Franklin in town, because his departure is all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T, or the lack of it.
Simply put, Peterson, a member of one of the country's most prominent Liberal families, felt disrespected by Premier Dalton McGuinty.
And Conservative Leader John Tory, who appeared beside Peterson at a joint press conference yesterday, said he promised just two things to the new member in his fold: "To listen to him and to respect him."
Peterson raised policy differences as his reason for defecting from the Liberals. But there are few discernible differences between the Liberals and the Conservatives on the issues he cited: pooling of welfare costs across the Greater Toronto Area, underfunding of social programs in Peel region, plans for a gas-fired power plant in his riding, and nuclear power.
But in an emotional meeting Wednesday night with the executive of the Liberal association in his riding (Mississauga South), Peterson had plenty to say about the way he has been treated by the premier.
"He said he felt dismissed," said Tanya Zaritzky, past president of the riding association.
Among the slights mentioned by Peterson were that McGuinty didn't speak to him at the annual caucus Christmas party last December.
Peterson was also reportedly miffed because he was kept waiting for a meeting with McGuinty yesterday and the meeting was cut short.
This all has a ring of truth. McGuinty has many strengths as a political leader, but one of them is not his ability to connect with cabinet and caucus members and make them feel, well, respected. His fellow Liberals – in cabinet and on the back benches – describe the premier as a remote individual with a small circle of confidants.
Some of the other departures from caucus on McGuinty's watch – Joe Cordiano and Tony Wong last year, for example, and Richard Patten's decision earlier this month not to seek re-election – could be blamed on this lack of empathy.
But Peterson is the first Liberal MPP actually to cross the floor, so that makes it hurt more.
An aside: As a fig leaf lest voters be offended, Peterson will sit as an independent, not a Conservative, for the rest of the legislative session. But since Peterson has already announced that he plans to run in the upcoming October election as a Conservative, yesterday's move was effectively a floor-crossing.
Compounding the injury for the government is Peterson's impeccable Liberal heritage, with one brother (David) a former premier, another (Jim) a former federal minister in the cabinets of both Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.
As well, David Peterson's sister-in-law, Deb Matthews, is a Liberal MPP and past president of the provincial party.
The Liberals responded by privately dismissing Peterson as a lightweight and publicly damning him with faint praise. Health Minister George Smitherman called Peterson "the most gifted natural athlete in caucus." Peterson was Smitherman's parliamentary assistant.
They also pointed to thwarted personal ambition as the chief factor in Peterson's decision.
The spin from the premier's office was that Peterson wanted assurances that he would be promoted to cabinet either before the fall election or immediately afterward, and McGuinty was not prepared to make that commitment.
At yesterday's press conference, Peterson flatly denied this version of events and asserted: "I never expected to be in cabinet."
But others painted a different picture of Peterson. Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, for example, said that Peterson told him before the 2003 election that he expected to get a cabinet post.
And Smitherman said Peterson has been an "unhappy camper" ever since being left off the list when McGuinty named his first cabinet back in the fall of 2003.
"He's always wanted to play with the big boys," concurred Zaritzky.
Of course, that could be said of all 42 Liberal backbenchers (41 with Peterson's departure). The grievance is most keenly felt by Liberal MPPs in the 905 ridings around Toronto, as only three of them are in cabinet compared to 10 from the 416 area code.
And one of those three 905 ministers, Michael Chan, is a rookie MPP who just won his seat in a by-election fewer than two months ago.
This appointment was widely viewed as McGuinty making up for the mistake of not elevating Tony Wong, Chan's predecessor as the MPP for Markham and the only Chinese Canadian in the Legislature. But the naming of Chan to cabinet left a lot of noses out of joint among 905 Liberals who have been in the Legislature for more than three years.
Of course, the test for any premier is to coddle disgruntled backbenchers and keep them in line. In Peterson's case, at least, McGuinty failed the test.
Ian Urquhart's provincial affairs column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
iurquha@thestar.ca.
