Greater Sudbury Northern Life
Toronto – Premier Dalton McGuinty has hit a bump in the road in his drive to bring in new laws aimed at protecting people and he now needs to spend a little time protecting himself.
The Liberal premier has introduced more programs to protect — sometimes when some did not want them — than any previous premier.
This is something he has a right to boast about, but he has never mentioned it, because he worries he will be accused of turning the province into a “nanny state.”
His protection is not always as useful as it sounds. He announced restrictions on payday lenders months ago, but still has not decided on the key statistic of what percentage interest they can charge.
But most is worth having. The Liberals also appear to have been motivated mainly by genuinely believing their protective measures were needed.
But they also have the merit of being inexpensive. Governments are always looking for programs that make them look busy and cost little and McGuinty particularly, because he started in government by being left a $5-billion deficit by the preceding Conservative government he had not fully expected. Providing a law requiring parents to buy safer car seats for their children costs government almost nothing, while shelling out millions of dollars for daycare may not go a long way.
McGuinty’s protectionist policies also mostly have been supported by the opposition parties — it is difficult to vote against banning junk foods in schools — but the Conservatives increasingly have complained he is intent on making Ontario a “nanny state.”
McGuinty has now suffered a rare defeat in his campaign to protect. He brought in legislation to place stronger restrictions on young drivers, after a series of accidents in which teenagers, often riding together and after drinking, were killed.
These include tougher penalties for youth than the rest of the population for some traffic offences and political opponents and much of the public accused him of singling out and being harder on young drivers for offences others also commit. The proposed change that caused most resentment would have limited teenage drivers in the first year of their G2 intermediate licences to carrying only one teenage passenger, except for immediate family, brothers and sisters.
Opposition MPPs and others pointed out this would hurt young people, particularly in rural areas and the north, where there are fewer public transit services and they have to rely on cars to get to school, sports events and social gatherings. Suggestions McGuinty was imposing a nanny state were rampant and eventually he backed down and withdrew the proposed limit on carrying passengers.
The retreat showed McGuinty is out of touch with people particularly in rural areas and the north and may be giving some residents more protection than they want.
But the premier is even harder up for cash for new programs because of the current economic recession and will need to continue bringing in laws that protect — he probably will be in less of a rush.
Eric Dowd is a veteran member of the Queen’s Park press gallery.
