Liberals Make It Federal

This is the kind of thing that makes me happy that Iggy's keeping Kinsella around:

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper must assure Canadians that he does not favour scrapping the Canadian Human Rights Commission in light of the fact that 20 of his MPs have endorsed plans to eliminate the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Liberal MP Bob Rae said today.

Just a reminder. There's two human rights radicals in the Tory race--Tim Hudak and Randy Hillier--and two purported moderates--Frank Klees and Red Tory no-hoper Christine Elliot. Its a testament to how far the PCPO has drifted right that the kind of OHRC "reform" suggested by one of these moderates, Klees, would involve lifting the prohibition signs advertising "Whites Only Served" and "No Irish Need Apply".

So far:

Eugene McDermott, Candidate of Record, Conservative party of Canada Don Valley East
Kevin Nguyen, 2008 Conservative candidate, York West
Lois Brown, MP Newmarket-Aurora

...are down with that lovely idea.

Ontario Tories Have More Fun

In which anonymous Tories re purpose a "Notice of Criminal Investigation" issued during the Sask. NDP leadership race and send it around to ethnic Tories in an attempt to put them off voting.

Note the cop who wrote the letter; he's definitely Sask. RCMP. Although it looks like some local (Ontario) content has been added.

Man this leadership campaign rocks!

One Issue Leadership Campaign => One Issue Election

Fate of Human Rights Tribunal dominates Tory leadership debate
Hudak's rights plan called 'toxic' politics

Meanwhile, the Natty Post says lick that 3rd rail--but carefully! PS. They still haven't figured out Klees' position yet.

Man That's Cold

P.C. Leadership Candidate Tim Hudak was building his leadership campaign website even as John Tory was in the process of flaming out.

Comes The Dawn

I wanted to take another crack at the results of an Ipsos poll that came out yesterday. It asked Ontario voters:

Would you consider voting for the Ontario PC Party in the next election if its newly elected leader supported scrapping Ontario's human rights tribunal?

...and they basically responded (75%) with a hearty "Hell no!". Some PCPO supporters are just coming to realize what's happening with their leadership race. From the BT forum:

Its a very stuipid political plan. While the plan may resonate with an element of the base, and make you party leader, its something the Liberals will beat you over the head iwth in a general election.

[...]

Promising to `scrap`them is a huge strategic mistake which gives our opposition a huge target in the next election. I would question the leadership ability of anybody who promises to scrap them.

From Christian Conservative:

It's still bothering me, I thought it had been all sorted out, but I heard Tim talking about the HRC issue again. To me, it's the third rail of this race... you touch it and you're dead.

And (just to sum up) what has happened is that two of the four leadership candidates (alleged front runner Tom Hudak and rural seperatist Randy Hillier), who have vowed to abolish the tribunal, have rendered themselves unelectable in Ontario. I would further argue that Frank Klees' more modest proposal, to allow "Whites Only" signs and "No Irish Need Apply" want ads back in the province, would prove similarly unpalatable to Ontario voters should he become PCPO leader.

That leaves us with Christine Elliot--moderate, female--the McGuinty government's worst nightmare (and Warren Kinsella's!). But, no! She may be among the front runner's at this point, but Christine is too damn Liberal and incorrectly gendered for the PCPO base. Watch an "anyone but Christine" movement to appear between now and the convention. Whispers of rebellion are already in the air!

So in the end we will wind up with the Ontario Conservative Party embracing a totally toxic policy, making Kinsella's job in the McGuinty war-room next time out trivially easy, and a Liberal government in Ontario from now until the cows come home.

I remember a case on our side of the fence, when the federal libs ran on a "tax on everything". We knuckled down and maintained a brave face and prayed that the whole damn thing wouldn't go nuclear. Fun stuff! Soon it will be the turn of my Ontario conservative brothers to learn what happens when you walk up to one of the third rails of Canadian politics and start licking it.

PS. A bit of a mini-kerfuffle blew up last when it was revealed that he Elliot campaign paid for the poll in question. Mind you, IPSOS has a rep to maintain and probably wouldn't juice its questions too severely, and in any case (see 1st link above), Elliot's people have released the poll. Other than the use of the term "scrap", which Hudak and Hillier have employed on several occasions, nothing seems too untoward about it.

So Go Ahead Make My Day

Asked if they'd consider the Ontario PC Party as an alternative to Dalton McGuinty's Liberals in the next election, 42.6% of respondents said yes, 38.8% no.

Asked whether they'd consider voting the same way if the PC party's new leader wanted to scrap the [Ontario Human Rights] tribunal, that support plunged to 25.2%. In that scenario, 44.5% said they wouldn't vote for the PCs.

Hope they're listening on Parliament Hill.

Christine Elliott Attacked By Far Right Freak For Her Mainstream Views

Mark (resemblin' hate speech) Steyn tees off on Ontartio PC Leadership Candiate Christine Elliot:

In Ontario, Christine Elliott, a candidate for the leadership of the so-called "Conservative" party, is praised by the media for offering a more emollient conservatism predicated on "the need to take care of vulnerable people."

Look, by historical standards, we're loaded: We have TVs and iPods and machines to wash our clothes and our dishes. We're the first society in which a symptom of poverty is obesity: Every man his own William Howard Taft. Of course we're "vulnerable": By definition, we always are. But to demand a government organized on the principle of preemptively "taking care" of potential "vulnerabilities" is to make all of us, in the long run, far more vulnerable. A society of children cannot survive, no matter how all-embracing the government nanny.

Mark sees an ideal society as a scene from 300, where suppressed homosexual beefcakes run around in their briefs culling the herd waving very large, very sharp swords.

Meanwhile, Frank Klees is promising more magic--A CHARTER OF ONTARIO PROPERTY RIGHTS, no less--to appease the rural separatists out in Lanark. Next he'll repeal the law of gravity.

h/t Perez Hudak, who dishes all the dirt daily.

Hillier Sees Through Klees

Looks like Mr. Hillier reads BCLSB:

As the four-way Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership race begins to tighten, Eastern Ontario MPP leadership hopeful Randy Hillier is calling for clarity regarding a new Private Member’s Bill introduced by leadership opponent Frank Klees’. In the bill, tabled last week, Klees urges limitations on the powers of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the repeal of Section 13 of the Ontario Human Rights Act. Hillier argues his leadership opponent is confusing Section 13 of the Ontario Human Rights Code with Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. As Hillier notes: “In the first place, there is no Ontario Human Rights Act. There is an Ontario Human Rights Code, but Section 13 of that Code has nothing whatsoever to do with freedom of speech. Mr. Klees is clearly confusing Section 13 of the Ontario Human Rights Code with Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act which has been used extensively to limit freedom of expression in this country.” Getting to the crux of the issue, Hillier adds: “The Canadian Human Rights Act is a federal law and cannot be amended provincially.” Hillier is arguing Klees’ Private Member’s Bill is a misinformed attempt to score political points with key Tory supporters who oppose human rights commissions.


Well, firstly, Hillier is not entirely correct about section 13 of the Ontario code having nothing to do with speech. It basically prohibits you from publishing materials that announce "an intention to discriminate--signs reading "whites only served", and so forth. And in a coda to his private member's bill, Klees explicitly notes the purpose of the section. So, while misleading eager to be misled Tory supporters is almost certainly part of Klees goal, perhaps he really is OK with such signs.


(Although, to be fair, Hillier's proposal--abolishing the OHRT-- would also make it easier to post racist signs and emblems. Among other things.)

Ontario PC Leadership Race Gets Weird

We've got leadership hopeful Frank Klees proposing legislation that would bring back "whites only" signs, murmurs of a new, break-away party should Christine Elliott win the leadership (she's too damn Liberal!), Randy Hillier's promise to reduce Ontario's property tax assessment system to anarchy (this one deserves a post of its own)... and now anti-Hudak attack ads on youtube!

Might as well crown Dalton Emperor for Life!

h/t to this guy, whose commenters consider, and then more-or-less abandon, the notion that this last effort could be a Liberal smear job:

paulsstuff — I hesitated to even post on this but I thought I should do it to expose what is going on. However, there is one problem with the idea that it is a Liberal smear job. The person [who authored the clip] used a very private e-mail which is only known at PC headquarters. So, how would the Liberals get access to the PC membership list?

Frank Klees Will Lift Prohibition On Racist Signs?

At least I think that's what he's proposing:


(Queen’s Park) Newmarket-Aurora MPP and PC Leadership Candidate Frank Klees tabled a Private Member’s Bill that is an essential first step to refocusing the Ontario Human Rights Commission on its original mandate and it received First Reading in the Ontario Legislature today.

The Bill, entitled the “Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2009” will remove Section 13 from the Ontario Human Rights Act. This is the section that Klees and many observers of the Human Rights Commission and its companion, the Human Rights Tribunal, point to as the section of the Act that has given rise to what Klees refers to as the “over-reach” of the HRC Commission into matters dealing with freedom of expression and freedom of speech.


Actually, though, this is incorrect. As I have written previously, section 13.1 of the Ontario Code prohibits you from publishing materials that announce "an intention to discriminate". It reads:

A right under Part I is infringed by a person who publishes or displays before the public or causes the publication or display before the public of any notice, sign, symbol, emblem, or other similar representation that indicates the intention of the person to infringe a right under Part I or that is intended by the person to incite the infringement of a right under Part I. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 13 (1).

But 13.1 does not cover broader forms of free expression, as Barbara Hall noted in her critique of Mark Steyn's writing in Macleans:

Section 13 of the Code makes it illegal to display or publish certain kinds of offensive material. But its limits on freedom of expression are narrow. For the Code to apply, the offending item must be a notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other similar representation that indicates an intent to infringe, or incite others to infringe, a right under the Code. Therefore, a sign would fall within this section, but a five-page article conveying the same message would not.

So, in Klees Ontario, would it become possible to have signs like "No blacks need apply" hanging from your shop window? Or, as I wondered here, has Mr. Klees simply confused the federal with the provincial human rights code?

Or, is he assuming that Ontario PC rank and filers, the folks whose votes he is trolling for in his quest to become party leader, are too stupid to distinguish the one from the other?

Wells' Law In Action In Ontario PC Leadership Race

Erie-London MPP Tim Hudak was listed at the top with 26% for a first-choice candidate, followed by Whitby-Ajax MPP Christine Elliott at 22%. Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees was at 17% and Randy Hillier, who represents Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, at 14%.

Canadian politics tends towards the most boring possible outcome. Still, Hudak is a Mike Harris mini-me that hates human rights. Easily dealt with, therefore.

(hint: to figure out how this will wind up, ask yourself where the Hillier vote will go when he drops off the ballot. It won't be to Ms. Elliot. She's too damn Liberal.)

News Flash! Not All Ontario PCs Crazy!

Mr. Bibicis suggested the tribunal issue could dominate the next provincial election campaign, just as the Progressive Conservatives' plan to extend public funding to religious schools became the overwhelming issue in the 2007 election.

"I think [Mr. Hudak's] policy proposal could lead to a one-issue election and I don't want that to be the one and only thing focused on," Mr. Bibicis said.

Common sense is not entirely dead among the Ontario PC leadership candidates.

Note that Ontario does not have a section 13 analogue, although you are not allowed to publish material announcing an intention to discriminate (like signs reading "No blacks need apply" and that kind of thing). Since there is no other one element of the Ontario code that excites Speechys the way a hate speech provision would, PC candidates, if they want to go trolling for the Speechy vote, have to take the more radical approach of a Hillier or a Hudak (ie. abolish the whole thing).

Hudak Off Hook

...for submitting his paper-work late. But if he can't run a leadership campaign, how can he run the province of Ontario?

Also, Perezhudak is a neat site, where we learn that Randy Hillier got bounced from the Ontario Legislature last week "after calling Liberal cabinet ministers liars". We also learn that Randy is writing for CanadaFreePress. A good sign, then, that his supporters are crazy.

Hudak Would Scrap Ontario Human Rights Tribunal

Not the provisions related to hate-speech, the whole darn thing, to be replaced with " a court-based system operating under the rules of evidence" with "specially trained judges". So, scrap one system that alleged "cost millions" with an entirely new system that will, presumably, cost millions.

Not much excitement from the usual Speechy gang. I guess they are starting to smell the bullshit. If a Tory majority in Alberta won't move, what hope is there in Ontario? (Answer: none. This is a transparent attempt to out-flank Randy Hillier in time for the PCPO convention.)

Welcome To Hell, Mr. Hudak

In the poll of 501 Ontarians conducted April 23 to 25, the Liberals have support of 47 per cent of decided voters, compared with 31 per cent for the Tories, 16 per cent for the New Democrats, and 5 per cent for the Green party.

...or whoever the Ontario PC leader turns out to be.

Meet Tristan Emmanuel

"While Hillier undoubtedly has a solid base in rural Ontario, particularly rural Eastern Ontario, Tristan Emmanuel, the man running Hillier's campaign has a solid base of a different kind. As the founder and past president of The ECP Centre (Equipping Christians for the Public Square), Emmanuel has his own following of socially conservative, politically active Christians. Like Hillier, Emmanuel comes into this race with his own massive mailing list which he's already tapping into."

Here's Tristan on Canada:

Take Canada, for example. I'm a Canadian, and we don't have an "illegal alien" problem. However, we suffer from something just as bad – a form of Anglo-Saxon self-hatred. We call it multiculturalism. This is the politically correct way of saying white, English-speaking culture is bad.

Here's Tristan on homosexuals and Svend Robinson's private member's bill C-415

In fact, Bill C-415 is another example of how sexual deviants are seeking to reorder Canada's criminal law to suit their own objectives. The bill exposes to criminal prosecution anyone who makes statements that could he construed as 'promoting hatred' against homosexuals: a nebulous and ill-defined crime if ever there were. Mrs. Landholt predicts it will 'close down public debate on the homosexual issue.

And, one thing I didn't know (from Tristan's website): apparently Mr. Hillier was one of the brave 300 hundred to attend Speechypalooza in London on April 13th (along with Shaidle, Levant and Co.).


Lets be clear: the Randy Hillier/Tristan Emmanuel team will not win the OPCP leadership nomination. It does tell you something about the party, though, that they're considered a part of the OPCP family.



On the upside, Neil Young can demand his side-burns back.

H/T Mr. Smith.

The Nuts Begin To Cluster, Part II

Mark (resemblin' hatespeech) Steyn praises Conservative leadership candidate Randy Hillier!