Random Thoughts – Lisa Raitt, Patrick Brown, NHL Playoffs and More
April 9, 2017
1. Yesterday, I was part of a gathering of around 30-35 assembled to hear Conservative leadership hopeful Lisa Raitt speak at the Beacon Harborside Resort in Jordan. Unlike fellow contenders Maxime Bernier and Kellie Leitch, she actually let loyal party members like me know before she arrived instead of after she left. Unfortunately, no one in her campaign team felt it was important to inform the hotel that she was coming. Many of us stood around along with the sales manager until MP Dean Allison finally arrived around 10:15, 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, and hastily arranged a meeting room. Raitt herself didn’t arrive until 10:30, then spent much time chatting at a table before finally addressing the crowd that had come from all across Niagara to hear her. She could at least have made a half-hearted apology and chose not to. Fashionably late doesn’t cut it.
1a. Raitt was much more impressive in Burlington a few weeks ago than she was yesterday. In particular, her pillow-soft position on the CBC caused her to sink a few spots down my ballot. In response to a question, she derided the CBC’s largesse, yet as to what she would do about it, all she said was that she would trim their budget a little. Lame. Just like her tardiness.
1b. I am always troubled by the fact that I am generally the youngest person at these Conservative meetings, and yesterday’s gathering was no exception. More young people need to get involved in how our country is run and not just pose for selfies with Bobo the Clown.
2, While speaking with a couple at my table, we were lamenting how far Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown has strayed to the left. Like me, they had also voted for Brown in the leadership race and feel very much betrayed. I recall how he chastised rival Christine Elliott for being a “red Tory” and how he would not make any major policy announcement without consultation with the membership. Oh, how times have changed.
2a. Like it or not, Brown can’t help but become the next premier of Ontario next year. One thing’s for sure, he can’t do much worse than our current premier.
3. Walking through the Beacon yesterday, I could see that its popularity is entirely due to its location nestled right along the lake.
4. Out of curiosity, when was the last time our mayor posted a selfie with a business owner, thanking him or her for investing in St. Catharines?
5. Not that I care a great deal, but congratulations to the Toronto Maple Leafs on making the playoffs. It’s certainly not a parade-worthy event, but it is nice to see a well-run organization get rewarded.
5a. It’s also nice to see a horribly-run organization like the Mark Chipman Personal Hockey Club get their just reward by having to watch the playoffs on television. Again.
6. You know things are bad when even the Mark Chipman News, also known as Socialism Illustrated and officially known as the Winnipeg Free Press, runs a couple of damning articles on fan apathy. Even the ultra-naive Scott Campbell vaguely hinted at the possibility that Chipman might think about stepping aside from hockey operations, another damning line that his editor shockingly chose not to squash.
6a. The odds that Chipman would voluntarily relinquish one iota of control of the team Manitoba taxpayers bought for him are slimmer than my odds of winning the big jackpot in the Lotto 6/49. And I don’t buy lottery tickets.
6b. A general manager who had delivered so little in six years would be figuratively roasted on a spit in every other market in North America. Just like the late John Ferguson was after so many empty promises left unfulfilled. Yet Chipman blissfully soldiers on and is still hailed as a hero in many circles around Winnipeg. I understand being grateful to have a team, but is this really what you had in mind when you were pounding your head against a stone wall for 15 years?
7. Why is Don Cherry popular?
8. As flood waters rise on the Assiniboine River, I hope that, unlike the case in 2011, that the provincial government in Manitoba cares more about helping victims than in lining Mark Chipman’s pocket.
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