Trading Places?
by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES

Is it just me or is Canada's Finance Minister Jim Flaherty acting like the new leader of the opposition at Queen's Park and Ontario Dalton McGuinty acting like the new leader of the opposition in Ottawa, no?

The increasingly nasty dispute last week about how the governments should respond to Central Canada's slowing economy and to the economic difficulties in the province of Ontario, in particular, has showcased an awkward face-to-face between two politicians who couldn't be more different.

Ontario and Ottawa had disputes in the past, but they were handled by their respective ministers of finance or by the premier and the Prime Minister. So why now is there a slanted debate between a premier and a federal minister?

Has Flaherty finally decided to become the point-man in Ontario for Harper, or has he decided to showcase himself and his leadership skills in a week when Ontario Conservatives are challenging John Tory, their provincial leader and the person who defeated Flaherty three years ago? This is definitely a change of attitude. Until last year, and even during the provincial election in Ontario, we saw a great deal of cooperation between Flaherty and former minister of finance of Ontario Greg Sorbara. The two ministers made more announcements for new funds for the province during the last Ontario election than the previous two years. By the way, where is the new minister of Finance of Queen's Park Dwight Duncan in all this? He seems very quiet.

Again, it might well be a coincidence that Flaherty had a good relationship with Queen's Park when the leader of his provincial party and leader of the opposition Tory, was saying exactly what he's saying now about the provincial Liberals and McGuinty and would have enjoyed a bit of cooperation from Ottawa. However, doubt is the key of any political analysis.

On the other hand, is McGuinty becoming increasingly scared of the future of the economy of his province or is he trying to show leadership skills against the Conservative government in Ottawa at a time when there's a vacuum at the top of federal Liberals?

I have to say that McGuinty's timing of the attack is less suspicious because the economic situation requires (finally!) attention. Nonetheless, the precarious situation of the Liberal Party in Ottawa and the vacuum at the top might create a political vortex that will suck the Ontario premier into federal politics. The official opposition Liberals in Ottawa are so weak that they don't even have the power to topple a minority government and Ontario has always denounced the lack of stamina from Ontario MPs to defend their province in Ottawa. It was the same when the federal leaders were Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin and things have not improved, in fact, they have deteriorated now with Stéphane Dion. The Liberal leader has quite often shown more interest and sympathy for the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Danny Williams, than McGuinty. So, now that the re-election is behind him, the premier has decided to take matters into his own hands and charge against Ottawa.

The Premier's Office has issued an "attack order" against Ottawa. There's already been a couple of "salvos" launched by the minister of Economic Development Sandra Pupatello against Ottawa who also recently wrote a scathing column against the "federal" government in the Toronto Sun, and reiterated her criticism last week, followed by the premier himself who came out swinging.

"The words 'federal leadership' is taboo in the Premier's Office," one source told The Hill Times, but McGuinty's initiative has already raised the political antennas among numerous federal Liberal MPs in Ottawa. If anything McGuinty is very familiar with Ottawa and his name, through his brother David, is already in Parliament. In the suspicious environment on the Hill, where everybody is afraid also of their own shadow, it has already noticed a shift even in the behaviour of David McGuinty: "He is now more jovial than before and opened up to conversations with others."

Again, just coincidences, but the attacks against Ottawa have received more attention from the media than the attacks from the federal opposition.

"Does he believe he is the leader of the opposition? He can just talk but nothing will come out of it," a clearly pissed federal Liberal told The Hill Times last week.

Right, he cannot defeat the government. But can the federal opposition do it?