LARRY ZOLF:
Bob Rae would make a great prime minister
CBC News Viewpoint | May 9, 2006 | More from Larry Zolf
Veteran journalist and Canadian political expert Larry Zolf is a regular contributor to CBC News Online. Larry has been a critic, reporter, producer and consultant for CBC news and current affairs since he joined the CBC in 1962. Born and raised in North End Winnipeg, the hotbed of general strikes and socialism, Larry has covered stories such as integration in Mississippi and the October Crisis in Quebec. He was one of the hosts of the CBCs flagship current affairs television show "This Hour Has 7 Days." He is now retired.
I have never been so influenced politically as I have been by the Rae family.
The first Rae I met was Bob Rae's beautiful older sister Jennifer, who is the most beautiful woman of my generation. I met Jennifer Rae at Allan King Associates in London, England, in 1965. She was my field producer and participated in all my crazy Rick Mercer-style stuff for This Hour Has 7 Days.
In fact, Jennifer was there for my funniest item ever. One day she directed me to the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street, where the Bank of England bankers were famous for their derby hats and umbrellas.
The doors to the Bank of England opened up and out stepped a banker with a derby hat and an umbrella. For this banker I had only one question.
Zolf: "Are you terribly disappointed that the right honourable Lester B. Pearson was not chosen Time magazine's man of the year this year?"
Banker: "Yes, I was terribly disappointed. He's an American senator and opposed to the war in Vietnam. So am I."
Zolf: "But, sir, Mr. Pearson is not an American senator."
Banker: "Then who is he?"
Zolf: "The right honourable Lester B. Pearson is the prime minister of Canada!"
Banker: "Really? I thought it was William Lyon Mackenzie King."
Zolf: "No, sir. Mr. King has been dead for years."
Banker: "Really? I didn't even know he was sick!"
Later Jennifer and I got a call from Pearson, thanking us for our satirical item.
When I was stationed in Ottawa I followed Jennifer's torrid affair with Pierre Trudeau. Jennifer was very much in love with Trudeau. Later in my home in Ottawa I had many interesting conversations with Jennifer about Trudeau.
I met John Rae when he was executive assistant to Jean Chretien, then minister of Indian Affairs. I had done a one-hour special called To be An Indian in Winnipeg. The special was all about the North End, my birthplace, now being the home of very poor aboriginals.
Chretien called me to tell me how much he loved the program. He wanted to talk to me about urban natives and their problems. I agreed to meet the minister at a Toronto restaurant.
At the designated table sat a very young man, a teenager really. I wondered who he was.
Chretien arrived and introduced me to his 21-year-old executive assistant, John Rae, who led the discussion, and was brilliant.
I met Bob Rae through his sister Jennifer. I met the whole Rae family at the Rae summer cottage. The Zolfs were the special guests of the family. The father was Saul Rae, a Liberal mandarin and a senior civil servant in Laos.
At the cottage, Bob Rae and I, as socialists, would tackle John Rae and Saul Rae, who were Liberals. They made mincemeat out of us.
Bob Rae and I remained close friends when he became premier of Ontario. His reign was a disaster.
The best book on the subject is Rae Days by Thomas Walkom of the Toronto Star. Walkom accuses Rae of sucking up to big business and to the multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Rae became so obsessed with his million-dollar deficit he was prepared to subject welfare people to a means test. Then Rae opened up signed labour contracts to fight the deficit.
Rae gave civil servants days off without pay to cut the deficit. The days off, he explained, were better than mass layoffs and job losses.
Walkom paints a grizzly picture of Rae in action, but does not deal with Rae's positive actions, including an anti-scabbing law and laws to make it easier for unions to organize in the service industry.
The labour laws were the real Bob Rae in action, but right-leaning folks went bananas.
The National Citizens Coalition put up billboards with Rae and Stalin side by side, and rich stockbrokers led a protest parade to Queen's Park and shouted for Rae's head.
He never had a chance. Bay Street and big business shunned him and his government like they were lepers. Still, Rae managed to save the jobs of the Algoma Steel Workers in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and the jobs of the workers in the De Havilland plant in Toronto.
The media was hostile to Rae's government. Today the media keeps talking about his NDP government, but never mention that he presided over the worst Ontario recession since the Great Depression.
It's clear that Rae's move to the Liberal party is a very real and natural step for him to take. He has learned from his Ontario NDP experience and admits to having made mistakes.
It's time to forgive and forget Bob Rae's NDP past. Bob Rae wants that and so does the entire influential and wonderful Rae family.
He is one of the most seasoned politicians in the land and will make a great Liberal leader and a great prime minister who will position the party a bit left of centre.
Bob Rae will not frighten the business community this time because he can now play Bay Street politics with the best of them.
Rae's campaign includes all of Chretien's top people and he has Paul Webster, a leading Paul Martin figure, at his side.
Bob Rae is too good of a man to be done in by his NDP indiscretions. With the help of the formidable Rae family, Bob will be number one or number two.
It's only a matter of time before the media will cease its unrelenting focus on Bob Rae and "Rae days."
LETTERS:
I am an Ontario civil servant who happened to like our Rae Days. And I am not alone. Ask any one who was working on the front lines, those who serve the people of Ontario every day, on the phone or in person. The clerical people who are the backbone of the government.
I can't name one person in our office who was happy to see Rae Days end. All of us enjoyed the extra time off from our stressful jobs, and most of us didn't suffer that much financially. Others, while bemoaning the loss of pay, were grateful that at least they were not "surplused" instead. A compromise that worked well for everyone.
The union leaders were, and still are, so out of touch with their members. Seniority seems to be all that matters. I thought unions were all about looking out for each other. Rather than some people losing their jobs, we all shared the pain of losing 12 days pay a year. But unions didn't want compromise. The union leaders were livid, and they played a large part in making sure Mike Harris was elected to replace Bob Rae.
Well, we all know how well that "shot in the foot" worked out. Unfortunately, although I share the view of many people, we can do little to help Bob Rae in his bid for the Liberal leadership. The media, the NDP, big unions and big business have more influence than we do. Sadly, David Broughall is right. Bob Rae can't win. And that will be not only Rae's loss, but Canada's as well.
—Ali Dijkstra | Kingston, Ont.
There is a great deal to bemoan about the Rae government in Ontario. The violated contracts, the backtracking, all of it was disappointing. And Bob Rae has confessed his errors now more than anyone should have to. He will continue, no doubt, for some time.
That's because he has learned his lessons. I wish that I knew at 30 what I know At 55 I suspect that I will look back on mistakes and marvel.
I think many of those at the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) convention were impressed by Bob Rae and they quickly added him to their lists or promoted him higher.
He continues to set himself apart from the field and that is a very powerful fact. Bob Rae has always been a politician with great gifts. Now he has added wisdom and experience.
—Greg McGillis | Ottawa
I am pleased Mr. Zolf has come to the defense of Bob Rae. He makes points I have made while in discussion with others, the most important of which was the state of the economy left him by the previous Ontario government. I do not believe there is a politician who could have fared much better. Yes, he did make mistakes and has no doubt learned from them.
In my opinion Bob Rae could reinvent the Liberal Party as a national entity, not an urban or regional one. To do so is to take the Liberal party forward from its current state of stagnation. He needs the strengths of consensus builders like Belinda Stronach more than the nod of the former Martin or Chretien camps.
He needs to put forward a strong vision for the party that recognizes the Canadian values placed on our social system while maintaining a strong business and economic climate.
He needs to sell this not just to the party faithful but also to the Canadian public. Many Ontarians (myself included) do remember his tenure as Premier. Many overlook the root causes instead focusing on the actions taken in desperate times.
Yes, Bob Rae needs Ontario. He also needs both urban and rural support in every province in the country. When he can convince them of his ability to lead, the Liberals will again see the support of the media.
The key is and always will be to first convince the media. Prime Minister Harper used it as did Paul Martin and Jean Chretien before him. Bob Rae is not scary, he is underestimated and unfairly judged by all, particularly the media.
—Harold Hotham | London, Ont.
Dream on, my socialist friend. Many of us feel that perhaps the fellow we have now is doing a pretty good job of it. Besides, no matter the virtues of Mr. Rae, admittedly a decent man, the Liberal Party is hardly a party worth considering as a government for years and years.
It has not yet cleansed itself of the stench of Mr. Chretien, Mr. Gagliano, Mr. Corriveau, Mr. Coffin, Mr. Guite, Mr. Martin and the host of others involved with the stealing of millions upon millions of dollars.
—Rick Shapka
Bob Rae may well make a great prime minister, but Mr. Zolf can’t seem to get it through his head that, as with Robert Stanfield, we will never know.
Because Bob Rae is perceived as one of the worst premiers ever, he cannot win Ontario. He will drive left of centre Liberals to the NDP, and right of centre Liberals to the Conservatives. The NDP in Ontario will do everything in its power to bury him, to their detriment.
So, if he can’t win Ontario, he can’t win Canada.
—David Broughall | Woodbridge, Ont.
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