Ernie Eves

Tuesday August 10, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 10, 2021

Premier Bill Davis was the steady hand driving Ontario’s Big Blue Machine

William Grenville Davis, premier of Ontario for 14 years (1971 to 1985), was a baffling, contradictory figure – a shy, inscrutable man, who liked family and football yet spent his life absorbed by political issues, travelling up to 160,000 kilometres a year; a tradition-bound, non-intellectual with a passion for ideas and experimentation that gave birth to such intellectual playgrounds as the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

February 1, 2019

The press consistently panned the performances of Mr. Davis, reporting that he was bland and boring, but he charmed voters out of the trees. Right-wing conservatives described him as a left-wing socialist; left-wingers attacked him for pandering to the right.

“Bland works,” he once said. “The only time a politician gets in trouble is when he opens his mouth.”

He was renowned for his ability to appear prosperous, calm and confident, to say little, and to lead the province through dramatic, potentially unpopular changes.

Mr. Davis died on Sunday at the age of 92 surrounded by family in Brampton, Ont., a family statement said. He was the fifth consecutive Tory leader to occupy the premier’s office since 1943 and held the office longer than any other.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Mr. Davis’s death. “The former premier of Ontario leaves behind an incredible legacy of service – and I have no doubt that the impact of his work will be felt for generations to come,” Mr. Trudeau tweeted.

Premier Doug Ford said Mr. Davis served Ontario “with honour and distinction” and flags across the province will be lowered to half-mast in his honour.

September 12, 2000

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney said in a statement that “Canada has lost a great statesman today, and I have lost a great and true friend. Bill Davis devoted his life to Ontario, to Canada and to his family. The progress he made on many fronts as premier place him in the front ranks as one of Canada’s greatest premiers ever.”

Mr. Davis supported the controversial energy policies and constitutional endeavours of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals; under his premiership, the free-enterprise Tory government bought a 25-per-cent stake in Suncor, an oil company, and initiated tripartite industrial strategies advocated by the New Democratic Party. And as education minister, he reformed and vastly expanded the education system – all without upsetting too many of the people too much of the time.

Yet his skills as a politician failed to help his successor. Nearly 42 years of Conservative government ended 138 days after he stepped down as premier on Feb. 8, 1985. His successor, Frank Miller, called an election and failed to win a majority government in the May 2 election. Mr. Miller’s minority government lost a vote of confidence on June 18 and on June 26, he resigned. (Continued: Globe & Mail) 

 

Friday February 1, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 1, 2019

1,000 Ontario hospital patients a day being treated in corridors: Report

Roughly 1,000 hospital patients in Ontario are getting medical attention in corridors instead of proper treatment spaces on “any given day,” Dr. Rueben Devlin says in his first report to Premier Doug Ford on improving health care and ending “hallway medicine.”

While the retired head of Humber River Hospital notes there is “much to be proud of” in the provincial health care system, his report found it is “too complicated” to navigate after hearing from more than 340 patients.

“People are waiting too long to receive care and too often are receiving care in the wrong place; as a result, our hospitals are crowded,” Devlin, an orthopaedic surgeon, wrote in the 32-page document titled “Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain.”

“There needs to be more effective co-ordination at both the system level, and at the point-of-care. This could achieve better value (i.e. improved health outcomes) for taxpayer money spent,” he added. “As currently designed, the health care system does not always work efficiently.”

Animated!

One problem is people with mental health and addictions troubles often go to hospital emergency rooms when they could get better care from a family doctor or community agency, but wait too long and reach a “crisis point.”

According to one survey last year, 41 per cent of Ontarians who went to hospital emergency departments, and 93 per cent who went to walk-in clinics, were treated for conditions that could have been handled by a family physician or nurse practitioner in a primary care setting. This is often because hospitals are the only health care centre open 24 hours a day. (Toronto Star) 

 

Election Throw-Back: September 3, 2003

Wednesday September 3, 2003By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 3, 2003

Eves Calls the Election

Premier Ernie Eves is hoping that Ontarians will give him an election mandate on Oct. 2 but is facing an uphill battle against the Liberal Party after two controversial terms of Progressive Conservative government.

Mr. Eves, who served six years as deputy premier and finance minister under former Tory leader Mike Harris, was selected by the party in the early spring of 2002 but held off on calling an election until Tuesday.

The most recent poll for The Globe and Mail by Ipsos-Reid showed it will be an uphill struggle for Mr. Eves against the Liberals and their leader, Dalton McGuinty. Sixty per cent of those polled last month said they thought it was time for a change.

In a speech launching his campaign, Mr. McGuinty acknowledged that he has “been waiting for this for a long time,” adding: “I have never felt more confident, more experienced, more determined, more ready to get on with this.”

Mr. Eves alluded to his electoral difficulties by spicing his campaign announcement with a host of attacks on Mr. McGuinty.

More: Two decades of Ontario Elections

Tuesday June 17, 2003

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 17, 2003

The Year of the Great Student Squish

Universities in Ontario are turning tennis courts into classrooms to handle a surge in students this autumn after the province shortened high school from five years to four and is graduating two classes at once.

The province says the transition is going well, and students will not lose out. But teachers and students say the crush of the so-called double cohort will overload a system that is already strained by education spending cuts.

“The government has pressured the university presidents to put as many students into the university as possible because they promised parents there will be a place for your child. But they don’t say what kind of place.”

Ontario’s Grade 13 has been an anomaly in Canada for almost four decades, adding to education costs in the country’s richest and most populous province. The province decided five years ago to eliminate the added grade and this is its final year. (Reuters)

 

Saturday June 7, 2003

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 7, 2003

A Former Premier Speaks Out

Bill Davis showed all the signs of a man who has held his tongue for too long when he spoke last week at the Toronto City Summit Alliance. 

September 21, 2002

The former Ontario premier launched an emotional defence of the public education system and its teachers, reminding his audience that everyone will pay a price down the road if we shortchange young people’s education. Davis earned a standing ovation when he pleaded for the public to show support for teachers, who he says work hard, are not overpaid, and perform one of the community’s most important jobs.

“Show me a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good whatever and I’ll show you a good kindergarten teacher, a good high school teacher and a good university professor,” Davis said.

He went on to chastise the provincial government for fragmenting the public education system with its new tax credit for parents whose children attend private schools.

Davis is a cautious man, and still is a member of the Ontario Conservative party. He denied his speech was aimed at the current Tory government or Premier Ernie Eves, but his intention was unmistakable. He still carries a lot of weight in Ontario, and was right to speak out. (CP)