Randy Hillier Turns On His Own

Three would-be leaders of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives made obeisance to the Ontario Landowners Association last weekend, horrifying their caucusmate who helped found the group.

Christine Elliott, Vic Fedeli and Lisa MacLeod, all senior Tory MPPs, went to an “international property rights conference” the association held in Kanata Saturday. Speakers included former Australian politician Len Harris (the only senator ever elected by the nationalist One Nation party, who served one term), Oregon mining-rights activist Ron Gibson (who advocates for private claimants’ right to prospect and mine on federal property) and U.S. environmental thinker Michael Coffman (who promotes a “Judeo-Christian” idea of stewardship that’s opposed to the “pantheistic” religion of modern environmentalism).

On Twitter, Elliott called it a “very informative day.” “Interesting speeches!” Fedeli gushed. MacLeod posted a grinning selfie there.

They must have all made some sort of mistake, says Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington MPP Randy Hillier.

“I would be devastated if any of them knew just what (the landowners’ groups) are promoting these days,” he says.

I'm not sure I buy Randy's claim that he tried to discourage nutbars when he ran the OLA.  However, his break with them took place several years ago and if you read this you'll see his concerns (the landowners focus on the mysterious powers of Crown Land Patents) have remained the same during the intervening period.

Randy Hillier On PCPO Reform: Still Crazy After All These Years

Randy, like many PCPO mpps lately, has been advocatin' democratic reform for the Ontario Progessive Conservative party.  No concrete new policies on offer yet, unless you count ditching all the old policies.  I took to twitter, and noted how, as part of this repositioning, Randy seems to have softened his views on union bashing and other issues since June 12th's inglorious defeat.

Debate ensued:

For old times sake (but not that old--it's from 2004), here's Randy arguing that rural Ontario has to get out from under T.O.s socialist nanny state booty.

Randy Hillier Speaks! Points Finger Of Blame!

Guy's definitely got class.  All of it 3rd.

From his facebook page; he's referring to this article.  Worth noting that, when Hudak was an advocate fior ditching the Rand formula, Randy was behind him 100%.  Randy's usually just right of Attila The Hun, but in the wake of the PCPO ass-whupp'n he's gone all soft and sensitive.

And its funny that today we learn that Tim Hudak considered naming the civil servants he intended to fire.  Randy talked him out of it but, apparently, he's willing to name a few names of his own:

This guy's the new PCPO leader.  Mark my words.

Ah Well, We Still Have Randy Hillier

Doug Ford is not running for provincial office. Says focus is on getting his brother re-elected
— Ben Spurr (@BenSpurr) February 20, 2014

Time to step up, Randy.  Say something barbaric that will kill PCPO chances in the GTA.

Randy Hillier: Ontarions, You Are Lazy

Follow the man's argument:

The proverb “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” refers to a family’s generational cycle through poverty and prosperity; does this proverb also reflect Ontario’s political generations?

The proverb demonstrates a timeless truth that the family’s first generation start off with little, and with hard work create a financial fortune. The second generation continues to work but also enjoy the benefits and the family’s wealth plateaus. The third generation, with no direct experience of work, consumes the family fortune. The fourth generation either returns to work to build a new fortune or begs for alms on the street.

In our case, things went South when Bill Davis got in power:

For some time now, Ontario politicians have been acting as the spoiled third generation, consuming the financial fortunes and equity our ancestors created, while holding the values and economic lessons that produced that wealth in contempt. The first of the third generation policies occurred during the Bill Davis years; the Niagara Escarpment Commission, imposition of rent controls and the purchase of Suncor marked the beginning of this new political generation.

And here's the kicker:

The present political generation, like the first, is also a reflection of the people today. 

And finally:

With certainty, this third political generation cannot last forever. What is unknown is this: Will our next political generation be personified by the proverb’s fourth generation, begging and pleading for federal alms, or will the people resolutely find and elect first generation-type politicians who can build a new fortune?

This is Mitt Romney style politics, pure and simple.  You're all lazy welfare bums.  Pull up your socks and vote for my guy!  Hardly the kind of appeal that is likely to attract a non-Tory to the Tory cause.  So hardly the kind of appeal Tim Hudak needs to make.  Randy must be assuming that the province's hard-core rightests will be able to vote twice, or that by voting really, really hard they can carry the day, though they be outnumbered.  We saw how that worked for Mitt.

OHRT Reform: Randy Hillier Comes Back Small

From his website:

Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, introduced a Bill to reform Human Rights Tribunals in Ontario. This Bill would allow the awarding of costs to the defendants in a Human Rights Tribunal if their defense is successful. Currently only plaintiffs are awarded costs. This is inconsistent with all other courts.

Not necessarily a bad idea, though I think the last two statements are incorrect.  Or at least I'm pretty sure that the B.C. tribunal has ordered costs to the defendant, though I can't find the link, and I'm not entirely sure the OHRT is prevented from doing so.  More important, however, is how far Hillier has come in the past four years.  When he ran for PCPO leader he was going to abolish the Tribunal, which inspired a whole orgy of stupidity from the other potentials, including current leader Tim Hudak prior to the 2011 vote.  Years of touting an unpopular cause seem to have evolved Randy towards something approaching civilized thinking, at least on this issue.  Good news, I suppose.

Hudak Boots Hillier To Back-Bench! Will Randy Bolt?

TORONTO - It’s been a week for tough decisions for Tim Hudak.

Days after he was forced to drop Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman from the prestigious finance critic role, the PC leader has dumped controversial rural maverick Randy Hillier from his critic portfolio, moved him to the backbench and stripped him of his committee responsibilities.

Sources say Hudak was forced into the move because Hillier broke the cardinal rule of caucus secrecy, leaking inside information about what was discussed by Tory MPPs to the media.

Sounds like Tim thinks the leaked emails came from Hillier himself.  Most interesting bit is the suggestion that Hillier fed information to the OLP.  Almost treasonous, if this is in fact the case.  Least interesting bit is...

[Hillier's] website had no mention of his PC party affiliation Thursday.

...because I don't think it ever did.  Wayback machine suggests it never did, anyway.

Randy Hillier On Wind: Hypocritical In How Many Ways?

I count at least two:

KINGSTON - If Amherst Island residents opposed to a planned wind project resort to trying to slow down construction by obstruction, their provincial representative says he will be there to support them.

“(Non-violent) civil disobedience is an acceptable means in the right situations,” said Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington.

“Should those situations arise, absolutely I’ll be there.”

The first is that not three months ago Randy was lambasting the Ontario Liberals for not cracking down on the Idle No More protesters:

McGuinty states"In our democracy, we do not direct the police, that would be inappropriate" Either Dalton does not understand his responsibility or is purposely skirting it. The legislature directs police by passing laws and appointing judges and Police to enforce them. Here's my advice - any protest that unduly interferes with economic activity and harms or injures people or property, is no longer a protest but a criminal activity.

...and of course now here he is, condoning and encouraging what by his own definition amounts to criminal activity.

The second is that Randy is the guy who founded the Ontario Land Owners Association. for chrissakes, their mission being to ensure that the property rights of Ontario land-owners are respected and protected. This presumably includes the right to host a wind turbine should you so choose.  Because nobody on Amherst Island is being forced to put one of these things on their lawn.  They're getting compensated for it, and I hear quite handsomely too.  But No.  For Randy, apparently, there are landowners and there are landowners.  Use your farm to sell illegal milk, and you're in; use it to generate green energy, and Randy will stand with the mob of NIMBYS that's trying to shut you down.

Randy Hillier, Then And Now

Tory MPP Randy Hillier has been taking some flack over on his Facebook page for condemning Idle No More  protests after having  having engaged in some highway blocking himself back in the day.  Here's his initial statement:

McGuinty states"In our democracy, we do not direct the police, that would be inappropriate" Either Dalton does not understand his responsibility or is purposely skirting it. The legislature directs police by passing laws and appointing judges and Police to enforce them. Here's my advice - any protest that unduly interferes with economic activity and harms or injures people or property, is no longer a protest but a criminal activity.

And you can see part of the exchange between him and one Andy LaPier below:

Well, here's the statement from the old "Rural Revolution" website:

Canada's busiest Highway 401 and the International Bridge  at Johnstown Ontario to the USA 
were closed for 3 hours by 270 vehicles and 50 tractors in show of the demonstration of rural dissatisfaction. 

Closing a bridge sounds a lot like "interfering" with economic activity to me.  And as to "keeping a lane open for emergency vehicles", I'm not sure that's relevant if its even true.  Here's a shot of the 401 that day from the same website:

Looks pretty damned closed to me, and anyone travelling West would have had their "economic activity" pretty thoroughly interfered with.

Which Federal Conservative MP Spoke At Illegal

...401 blockade.  This one.  Mind you, Scott Reid is still a back-bencher.  The whole illegal protesting gig didn't work out for him as well as for some.

Which Ontario Conservative MPP Did This?

Canada's busiest Highway 401 and the International Bridge  at Johnstown Ontario to the USA 
were closed for 3 hours...

Hint: Tim Hudak gave him a position in his shadow cabinet.

Randy Hillier Has Left The Building

 ...or at least quit the OLA.  Over this.

Randy Hillier Breaks With Ontario Landowners Association

...over Crown Land Patents. 

While IANAL, some of the powers ascribed to these documents by people at the OLA--wave it in front of a government official trying to gain access to your property and he will apparently melt--seem downright bizarre.  Furthermore, Lanark MPP Randy Hillier seems to have contacted a real lawyer, and as a result is now expressing doubt over this particular arrow in the OLA's strategy quiver:

Dear friends in the Landowners; 

There has been much written and said regarding Crown Land Patents, but most, if not all, that you have heard is either false or misleading. As the founding President of both the Lanark and Ontario Landowners, I feel I have an obligation to caution you regarding much of the information that is out there, and provide you with some facts and informed positions on Crown Patents.

There follows a recitation of these facts, after which Randy concludes that Crown Land Patents do not override the principles of common law, and cannot therefore keep the government off your land.

This has not made them happy at the OLA, and today President Tom Black posted a response.  It begins:

It is with great sadness that I respond to a letter that was sent to the Ontario Landowners Association (OLA) members on Sunday, March 11, 2012. In this letter, Randy Hillier MPP for Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and one of the original founders of the OLA informed the membership that he no longer supports the direction of the OLA and specifically our quest to discover the value of the Land Patent/Crown Grants as per our property rights.

Mind you, some of the OLA membership have not taken Hillier's musings with such equanimity, and have lashed out instead.  For example:

Nick Vandergragt I am very sorry Randy, but you blew it big time with this. I only hope we can do enough damage control to avoid a major setback.

...and:

Andrew Phillips: Randy Hillier is a sell out. You could tell that when he backed off on closing the Ontairo Human Rights Commission.

Who says they don't know how to have fun out in Lanarck?

What's On Randy Hillier's Mind?

A rocky economy?  Declining manufacturing numbers?  Wind farms, even?  No!

For anyone interested, Mr. Schmidt has ended his hunger strike.

Monday Morning Notes

 Junk-mail: this piece of homophobic drivel is circulating in a number of Brampton ridings.  It has been officially sanctioned the the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (note the boilerplate text at the bottom).  It is bullshit: parents are informed at the start of every semester re the "equity topics " that will be covered during the term (see page 14 of this document).  They are not informed in advance of each lesson that, for example, homosexuality will be dealt with during that lesson.

A truly ugly piece of campaign literature.

Meanwhile, Tory MPP Randy Hillier ends this campaign as he began it: in dutch with the law.

Your Daily Hillier: A 2 Hillier Day!

From his Facebook page today:

Seems like Randy hasn't got the ixnay on the mudfolksway message from Hudak Central; as of this morning he was still claiming that the McGuinty No Skills Left Behind tax credit was aimed at foreigners, rather than available to Canadian citizens.

Mind you, fellow Ontario Landowners Associaition alumni Jack MacLaren had an even worse flub up.

Ah well.  Maybe its time to cue it up.

Your Daily Hillier: Tim Gives Randy A Few Extra Strikes

Key Gray on Randy's issues with the CRA:

So OK. Taxes aren’t being paid in the household. There’s a strike. Hillier misread the form. There’s a strike. Hillier neglected to tell the integrity commissioner. Strike three. You’re out. Resign.

But of course the rules aren’t the same for everyone. Conservative leader Tim Hudak won’t throw him out because of his tax woes.

And that’s because he will likely win this eastern Ontario riding. In fact in some quarters of the landowners rights movement, Hillier (or his wife) might be a hero for neglecting to pay the CRA.

Win in the riding, maybe, but cost the PCPO 5 ridings elsewhere in the province.

Meanwhile, does anyone know what the count is against Jack "I am a Canadian and I believe charity should start at home" MacLaren?

The Tories Can Only Hope Hudak Unleashes Hillier And MacLaren

Because only more of those guys can turn these numbers around.

h/t

PS. Ipsos-Reid also has the Libs up a bit.

Your Daily Hillier: Tea Party Torys Celebrate Randy Hillier, Trash Ernie Eves!

Dave Krayden from the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies opines:

Do you remember Ernie Eves? Yes, he was that Red Tory who helped destroy what Mike Harris had produced over two terms of true conservative government in Ontario. He inherited the Mike Harris file and promptly reduced it back again to Liberal Lite, thinking that conservatism could never win in Ontario despite the overwhelming evidence of the last decade that had allowed him to remain in government. You lost, Ernie and you lost because you refused to stand for conservative principles. Now you are at again.

Why are you trying to destroy the campaigns of Jack MacLaren and Randy Hillier in my backyard? You just cannot abide the fact that a democratically elected nomination rejected your favourite candidate and nominated a real conservative. Jack and Randy are probably two of the only true conservatives on the block this autumn. Don’t take that happiness away from me. Yes, I know you are upset that the democratic process prevailed in the nomination of Jack MacLaren. I know that the Progressive Conservative establishment wanted Norm Sterling to win because he was more in keeping with the Red Toryism and the status quo of this party. But guess what? The people have taken the party back. They are in control. For a change. Get used to it.

Which brings me to Tim Hudak. Mr. Hudak you are not gong to win this campaign by default. You will not find electoral success by pretending that you are just as liberal as the opponents. You will not win by refusing to stand as a principled conservative.

You know, I don't know what more Tim Hudak could do to prove his "Principled Conservatism" bonafides short of personally hurling a brick through the window of an East Indian restaurant. 

And maybe his newly inflamed rhetoric is having its intended effect.

Your Daily Hillier: Randy Still EvadingTaxes

I guess the question is: will Randy pay his taxes before the end of the campaign?  Day three after the big revelation, he still seems to be on the dodge.