Listen up! Two political surprises | Commentary

There have been a few election surprises this past week, at least one of them locally and the other nationally.

In Muskoka, John Klinck has announced that he would not seek re-election as Chair of the District Municipality of Muskoka. I wasn’t expecting that. In fact, rumors that were circulating suggested that he would seek another term.

And who could blame him if he did? It has to be one of the cushiest jobs in municipal politics. All an incumbent chair in Muskoka has to do is keep 11 of his District councillors happy and they are a shoo-in for as long as they want to be with an annual salary north of a hundred grand plus perks. John Kink was very good at that.

 However, after 12 years as Chair of Muskoka and a total of 22 years in municipal politics, Mr. Klinck has decided it is time to hang up his hat. We can only wish him well.

Hopefully, this election in the fall for a new District of Muskoka Chair will be the last one where the winner will be elected only by members of District council. It is time for that position to be elected at large across Muskoka. It almost happened four years ago until newly minted Premier Doug Ford cancelled elections at large in a few regional government races, primarily, in my view, because he wanted to stick it to his then nemesis, Patrick Brown, who was running to become Chair of Peel Region.

But Doug Ford has mellowed since then and he has grown into his responsibilities as Premier.  He also pictures himself as a man of the people and surely, he would now agree that it is the people who should choose the highest-paid municipal politician in Muskoka. On top of that our member of the Ontario Provincial Legislature, Graydon Smith, clearly has the ear of the Premier, and that too should make a difference.

Over the years, District government has grown by leaps and bounds, taking an ever-increasing portion of municipal tax revenue, with little oversight or direct accountability. District councillors are also elected to their area councils. At best, they have split responsibilities and loyalties, and most would admit that their major areas of accountability are at the local level. Indeed, it is my belief that every mayor in Muskoka receives, and must deal with, more ratepayer complaints about District responsibilities such as sewer, roads, health care issues, and so on, than does the District chair.  

The only way to get real accountability for what happens at the District (regional) level of municipal politics in Muskoka is for the chair to be elected at large. Quite likely, with an election taking place in the fall, it cannot happen this time around. It can only be hoped that the next District chair, will smell the roses, and campaign for direct election in 2026.

The other election surprise this week was the expulsion of Patrick Brown as a candidate in the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. It has been a tough road for Mr. Brown which brings to mind the old adage of three strikes and you’re out!  First, in 2018, he is tossed out of the Provincial Progressive Conservative leadership race. Then he is shut out of a race for Peel Chair having to settle for a consolation prize as Mayor of Brampton and now he is shuffled out of his candidacy for the leadership of the federal Tories.

I am no fan of Patrick Brown and never have been. I would not want to see him as leader of the Conservative Party and had he been left in the race I do not believe he would have won. But one does not have to like someone to believe that they should be treated fairly, and at this point in time, it is hard to know if that is the case when it comes to Patrick Brown.

All we know to date is that there was a single allegation that a member of the Brown campaign team was being paid by a corporation, contrary to the leadership rules and the Election Finances Act. Even if that is accurate, the question remains if it rose to the level of expelling Brown from the contest, costing him and his campaign hundreds and thousands of dollars, let alone likely having a serious impact on Patrick Brown’s political career.

Since the allegations have been handed over to the Chief Election Officer of Canada, it will not only be important to see whether Brown’s campaign violated the Act, but also if the Chief Election Officer had jurisdiction, whether he would have found the infraction sufficient grounds to throw him out of the leadership race.

In my view, the Conservative backroom people should have waited for that decision before booting Patrick Brown out. They should also have been much more transparent about their process and their specific findings. Without that, it appears they were just waiting for something to pounce on.

More importantly, this decision and the timing of it has significantly changed the dynamics of the leadership race. Some believe it will put Pierre Poilievre over the top. Others think that Brown’s expulsion will help Jean Charest or Scott Aitchison. Either way, it changes things, and given the lack of transparency, one has to wonder if those backroom folks had an agenda.

For certain, however, all of this does not help the image of the Conservative Party of Canada; a change of horses right in the middle of the race, ballots for a September 10th election out, way too early with Brown’s name still on them and all of this on top of a divided Party steeped in acrimony.

It would be nice to think that some of the remaining candidates, perhaps Jean Charest and Scott Aitchison, can still turn this around, but time is running short to do that, especially with people already voting.

What a gift to the Trudeau Government.                                               

Hugh Mackenzie

Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.

Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.

In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.

Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.

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