chameleon

Tuesday March 8, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday March 8, 2016 Patrick Brown sees a new, inclusive Ontario PC party Taking aim at climate change, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is signalling his party will propose a ÒsensibleÓ price on carbon emissions. ÒWe have to do something about it,Ó he told about 1,700 delegates Saturday evening at the first PC annual meeting since taking the partyÕs helm in May. ÒSensible carbon pricing doesnÕt have to be a contribution in terms. But it cannot be a cash grab,Ó he added in a reference to Premier Kathleen WynneÕs cap and trade plan, which will add an average 4.3 cents to a litre of gasoline and $5 to homeownersÕ monthly natural gas bills. The line drew lukewarm applause and a shout of ÒnoÓ from one vocal skeptic and some groans in a crowd that came to its feet several times during the 26-minute address. ÒI spoke from the heart,Ó Brown told reporters later, noting he had briefed his MPPs about the stance and got Òpractically universalÓ support. ÒWe have a grassroots party. People are entitled to have divergent opinions. ... ItÕs healthy.Ó Although Brown did not detail how his plan would work as the party begins deliberations on an election platform for 2018 and freshens its face with a new logo, he promised a carbon tax that is Òrevenue neutralÓ to the government and will come with Òcorresponding tax cuts for individuals and businesses.Ó Promoting himself as a ÒpragmaticÓ Progressive Conservative, Brown said the Liberals, who have trounced his party in four elections since 2003, are not expecting a more nimble and canny rival than in years past, when Tory campaigns were scuppered by ideas that flopped. ÒThere is one thing that Kathleen Wynne fears more than anything else: a Progressive Conservative Party that has the courage to change,Ó he said to a standing ovation at a downtown convention centre. In a reference to the ill-fated Tim Hudak PC election promise in 2014 to cut 100,000 p

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 8, 2016

Patrick Brown sees a new, inclusive Ontario PC party

Taking aim at climate change, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is signalling his party will propose a “sensible” price on carbon emissions.

“We have to do something about it,” he told about 1,700 delegates Saturday evening at the first PC annual meeting since taking the party’s helm in May.

Wednesday May 13, 2015“Sensible carbon pricing doesn’t have to be a contribution in terms. But it cannot be a cash grab,” he added in a reference to Premier Kathleen Wynne’s cap and trade plan, which will add an average 4.3 cents to a litre of gasoline and $5 to homeowners’ monthly natural gas bills.

The line drew lukewarm applause and a shout of “no” from one vocal skeptic and some groans in a crowd that came to its feet several times during the 26-minute address.

“I spoke from the heart,” Brown told reporters later, noting he had briefed his MPPs about the stance and got “practically universal” support.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday September 15, 2015 Patrick Brown is headed for his biggest face-off away from the rink. When MPPs return from their summer break Monday, the hockey-playing politico takes a seat in the legislature across from Premier Kathleen Wynne for the first time since being elected Progressive Conservative leader May 9. BrownÕs performance will be carefully scrutinized and the more experienced Wynne will get a flurry of questions on the $9 billion sell-off of Hydro One, her Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and the economy. With the issues spilling over to the Oct. 19 federal campaign trail, rival party leaders are as eager to score points as Wynne is to stand her ground, with polls suggesting the Hydro One sale is not as popular as she would like. ÒWe will very clearly point out how we should take a different approach,Ó Brown said, dubbing the hydro deal a Òfire saleÓ and the pension premiums that employees and employers would have to pay a Òjob killer.Ó He also pledged to set a different tone by not being Òblindly partisan.Ó New Democrats said Hydro One, in which Wynne plans to sell a 60 per cent stake to raise money for transit and debt reduction, is their Òbig pushÓ because they fear it will lead to higher electricity prices. ÒHydro bills are through the roof,Ó said NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson. In an interview Friday in Quebec City, where she was attending a joint cabinet meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, Wynne said she is will not Òback downÓ on Hydro One. She defended eventual proceeds from the sale as crucial to improving public transit and reducing gridlock that is costing the economy billions in lost productivity. ÒThe building of infrastructure is a high priority for us...and so I am going to be talking to the people of Ontario through the legislature about the work that we're doing on that front,Ó said Wynne. While the government plans to sell off 60 per cent of Hydro

“We have a grassroots party. People are entitled to have divergent opinions. … It’s healthy.”

Although Brown did not detail how his plan would work as the party begins deliberations on an election platform for 2018 and freshens its face with a new logo, he promised a carbon tax that is “revenue neutral” to the government and will come with “corresponding tax cuts for individuals and businesses.”

Promoting himself as a “pragmatic” Progressive Conservative, Brown said the Liberals, who have trounced his party in four elections since 2003, are not expecting a more nimble and canny rival than in years past, when Tory campaigns were scuppered by ideas that flopped.

Tuesday March 10, 2015“There is one thing that Kathleen Wynne fears more than anything else: a Progressive Conservative Party that has the courage to change,” he said to a standing ovation at a downtown convention centre.

In a reference to the ill-fated Tim Hudak PC election promise in 2014 to cut 100,000 public sector jobs, Brown said, “The public sector should be seen as a partner, not an adversary” and insisted that “never again” would candidates have to defend a promise like former leader John Tory’s 2007 push to fund faith-based schools.‎

The first PC leader to lead an official delegation of his party in Toronto’s Pride parade also sent a message of inclusivity.

“It doesn’t matter who you are … it doesn’t matter who you love, it doesn’t matter if you belong to a union … it doesn’t matter where you worship, you have a home in the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.”

But voters eager to see where Brown stands on a wider variety of issues will have to wait until a policy convention next spring. (Source: Toronto Star)