Why I Promoted the Ontario Liberals. A Personal Story

Kathleen Wynne's incredible victory last night was a shock to some and an inspiration to others.

For Andrea Horvath, who triggered the election by turning down a budget practically written for the NDP, it was a tough blow that could still cost her the leadership of her Party.

For Tim Hudak it was the end of the road, as he stepped down.

Both Horvath and Hudak ran controversial campaigns.  Horvath tried to capture conservative voters with right wing talking points, which only angered her base.  Hudak ran on an American right wing style platform, with a Million Jobs Plan that was wrought with errors, putting his candidates in the difficult position of trying to explain the unexplainable.

Wynne was hammered constantly about the gas plant scandal, and was forced to wear a label of corruption, bestowed on her by her competition.  I've learned that these kind of campaigns only turn off the electorate, already weary of divisive politics.

It also might have hurt the NDP who hammered the "corruption" message, while their federal counterparts were found guilty of using public funds for party electioneering.

The fact that Wynne could overcome the assault, is a testimony to her leadership skills.  She will now have four years to prove herself, unfettered by the threat of another election.

My Personal Story

As many of you know, I have been living with Chronic Progressive MS, the operative word being "living".

I have also mentioned several times, that my husband and I are raising a disabled grandson.

Nicholas was born 12 1/2 years ago, to our adopted daughter, who was still at home.  Because she is also disabled, the CAS was involved, recognizing that she was unable to care for her son alone.  Initially we acted in a supervisory capacity, until the demands of motherhood proved too much for and she became a threat not only to her son, but to us.

Nicholas was born with Coffin-Lowry Syndrome, a rare neuromuscular disorder that affects 1 in about 50,000.  It is genetic, which is the only reason I mentioned that my daughter was adopted.

Because both of her birth parents were alcoholics, she was originally diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  However, when Nicholas was born with similar characteristics, we knew that it had to be something more.  We were referred to a geneticist and the diagnosis was made.

While only the mother carries the gene, male heirs are usually burdened with the worst of the symptoms.  Nicholas is deaf, non-verbal, and cognitively scores at about two to three years old.  He is also incontinent with compromised and degenerative mobility.  His life expectancy is about 18-33, though we're optimistic.

Females often suffer from mental illness and in fact, his mother is now in a communal apartment building run by our local mental health unit.

When we first agreed to kinship foster Nicholas, we had no idea the challenges imposed on family members; usually grandparents, who are only trying to keep these children out of foster care.

This is not like many States in the U.S., where children receive the same benefits as other foster children. Instead Nicholas was thrown into an Orwellian welfare system, where routing out "cheats" was more important than the welfare of a child.

Mike Harris had gutted the system to pay for his misguided tax cuts, and many people suffered horribly. It has been gradually improving under the Liberals, especially in the attitudes of staff, but is still sorely lacking.

We currently receive benefits of $253.00 per month. That doesn't even cover his diapers, especially since he now uses men's Tena; three to four packages a week costing about $400.00 monthly. Easter Seals reimburses us $75.00 a month.

My husband had already retired but had to go back to work three days a week, which only reduced Nicholas's Child Tax Credit, so we couldn't win.

We applied to Assistance For Children With Severe Disabilities, and after a two year wait, finally received help with things like hearing aids and mobility devices. But more importantly, it helped to pay for a part-time Disability Support Worker, who took Nicholas out for a couple of hours after school, two nights a week, and Sunday afternoons. It was only ten hours a week, but it helped.

Then as my husband once again looked to retirement, we knew we had to re-examine our finances. He had a small RRSP that he'd bought several years ago and forgot about. We still had a year left on our mortgage, so knowing that cashing this in would not have much affect on his overall retirement annuity, he cashed it in and cleared the mortgage.

Unfortunately, this skewed our actual earnings total, and since ACSD is income based, we were cut off. Without these funds, for the first time we were faced with the real possibility of not being able to continue to care for Nicholas. Ours was the only home he'd ever known and the thought of him having to go to strangers was devastating.

I appealed our case, but the process is slow and tedious. The stress exaserbated my MS and my own health began to deteriorate. We were at a tipping point.

Then one day I took a chance and emailed the Minister of Youth and Child Services, Teresa Piruzza. At the risk of sounding cliche, what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

Within days I was contacted by the director of our local ACSD office, to say that she was doing an internal review, and would make it her personal mission to see that Nicholas received the help he needed. Two weeks later our funding was reinstated along with three months retroactive, which allowed us to send him to day camp.

We were put in touch with an agency that provided funds to help us rebuild our high wooden fence so that Nicholas could play in the yard, and another that now provides us with one weekend a month respite.

That is what a minister is supposed to do and I will forever be in her debt.

I have spent more than a decade advocating for both my daughter and her son, writing letters to politicians of all stripes. Only the Liberal Party ever responded, even when they weren't in power.

Other parties should take note of that.

Nicholas is such a bright light in our lives. He is happy and funny and compassionate. He enjoys the love and support of an extended family, as well as a community that has embraced him. He is in an amazing school, Welborne Avenue Public, with teachers and EAs who recognize and develop his passion for life and fierce determination to accomplish things once thought beyond his capabilities.

That's why I voted Liberal and am thrilled that Kathleen Wynne pulled off a majority, beating all odds.

In the final days of the campaign I may have turned into a partisan she-devil, but I'd do it again.

I'd have too much to lose if I didn't.

"Tough on Crime" Stumping is the Socialism of Fools

When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher met Conrad Black for the first time, he chewed her ear off about crime, with typical "hang 'em high" rhetoric. She knew she had to be nice, because Black then owned a large share of the British media, but when he walked away she remarked to those around her, "compared to that guy, I'm a liberal"

Now Conrad Black is coming out publicly criticizing tough on crime legislation, that puts the emphasis on penance. Costly crime bills and "build it they will come" prisons, are relics of a by-gone era.

Modern society has learned from the past, that rehabilitation goes further than retaliation. As the popular Gandhi quote goes: "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".

However, this is not really about eye and teeth exchanges, but rather the new conservatism, that feeds off people's fears and insecurities. They create a crisis and then suggest that only they can save us from it.

Tim Hudak is the new hombre determined to clean up Dodge City, not only with populist rhetoric, but visible "chain gangs", which will not be so much a deterrent, as a reminder of the divisions in society.

Among those he plans to get "tough" with, are people who commit "welfare fraud", remnants of Mike Harris, who encouraged citizens to report anyone they believed was abusing the system. It was clever, linking welfare to fraud. Making criminals of poor people, by suggesting that it was an epidemic.

When federal finance minister, Jim Flaherty, was in the Harris government, he suggested throwing homeless people in jail, thus making poverty a crime in the literal sense. An obvious attempt to change our empathy to contempt.

Hudak's chain gang musings have provided fodder for his opponents, but they have to be careful. NDP leader Andrea Horwath is right when she says that this will take jobs away at a time when they are so badly needed.

However, Hudak can paint this as a stand-off with unions, and indeed he already has.

Big bad unions. Poor people who are only poor because they are lazy. Anathema to the populist crowd that could reap dividends at the ballot box.

The Liberals may also be making a mistake by overplaying it, suggesting that sex offenders and dangerous criminals would be out in the open. In fairness to Hudak, it's highly unlikely that they would be included in the program.

Instead they should ask citizens, what kind of province they want to live in. One with chain gangs and Gestapo style raids in low income neighbourhoods, or one that promotes fairness and justice for all.

Strengthened social programs to help eliminate the real crime of poverty, and one that promotes trust, not suspicion.

In the last Ontario election campaign, on the day that Conservative leader John Tory was announcing tough on crime policies in a high crime district, Dalton McGuinty announced his "Family Day".  A stat holiday providing time to spend with family.

This was not only smart electioneering, but revealed our priorities. Both the Liberals and NDP need to focus on that.

But if Hudak wins and gets his chain gangs, I think we should lighten the mood by forcing those in chains, to keep us entertained with a little "Hoo! Hah! Hooh! Hah!