PHOTO: John Tory's platform. Too much thinking involved.
John Tory was Kim Campbell's campaign chair in the 1993 federal election campaign.
It was, by all accounts, one of the most inept campaigns in Canadian history, and Campbell was hindered further by the fact her predecessor Brian Mulroney had handed her the reins to beaten, nearly-dead horses.
One of the reasons those sick and broken horses died on the campaign trail was this oft-quoted pearl of wisdom from Campbell herself: "An election is no time to discuss serious issues."
Those words killed her. Problem is, they're true, and Tory, who should've known better, is finding out just how true.
There are two complex issues in particular that fooled with the basis of who we think we are.
The first was his offer to fund faith-based education. Granted, he said he was going to do it back in February 2006 at the party's policy convention, but he knew it wouldn't matter until the election, when people actually started weighing policies.
Tory's plan takes a lot of time to understand and a lot of time to think through. One has a gut reaction to it, and, if one has the time to do the research or read the newspapers, one may then have an intellectual reaction to it.
There are two reasons why people don't like Tory's plan:
1. Most of us think of ours as a society that can bring in people from all over the world, learn about those people, learn with those people, and create a society in which all of us, regardless of creed, colour, birthplace, or religion, have the same opportunities and can live peacefully together. Together is the key. Tory talks about inclusion and making these religious schools part of the system, but the students would still be learning in separate classrooms, with separate teachers, with only students who look like them and believe in what they believe in. In Ontario, and Canada, we mix it up. We learn about each other, and learn to respect and live with one another. People think religious schools destroy that idea of Canada.
2. Some of us think of ourselves as a country and province that already does too much for and gives too much money to special-interest groups. In this case, and in most of these cases, this argument is racism in disguise. There are many racists amongst us, though.
The second thing Tory started talking about was opening up private health care clinics for procedures with long hospital waiting lists, and allowing doctors to work at both hospitals and private clinics.
Patients would still use their health cards at these clinics for the services, but the idea still doesn't sit well with Ontarians. There is a gut reaction against it, and though there are valid arguments to be made for such a plan, most people will not get past the idea that private health care means American health care, and that's bad.
Sadly, in order to win votes, plans have to be easy to grasp and involve little thought. Stephen Harper's plan last federal election to cut two percent from the GST, even though pretty much every economist said it was a dumb way to cut taxes, played well. He stood there with an easy-to-understand sign, explained the policy in one sentence, and everybody nodded comprehendingly.
I don't agree with Tory on how he wants to fix Ontario's problems, but I like that Tory is questioning the way we do things, and that he's making us think.
Unfortunately, it's simply not going to fly. He should have listened to his old boss - an election really is no time to discuss policy. It is, instead, a time to state as simply as possible as little as possible.