Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty and some of his senior ministers have suddenly discovered they have deep affection for three former opponents appointed to powerful positions in the new Conservative federal government and it is touching.
The premier has appealed to Jim Flaherty, now Prime Minister Stephen Harper?s finance minister, Tony Clement, health minister, and John Baird, president of treasury board, to forgive and forget past differences.
It was a bit of a turnaround, because when the three were ministers in Ontario governments under premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, they were, as extreme right-wingers, favourite targets of McGuinty and his Liberals, who now worry they will seek revenge, particularly when doling out money.
McGuinty sounded like he was welcoming back long-lost friends and said he was very pleased they are ministers and looked forward to working with them, because they have a good understanding of Ontario?s problems.
McGuinty said past quarrels were with ?another government at another time in history? and all involved owed it to the people of Ontario to start anew.
McGuinty?s finance minister, Dwight Duncan, said he was keen particularly to work with Flaherty and Health Minister George Smitherman added he was not only enthusiastic about Clement as his federal counterpart, but ?I know Tony well and I like him.?
The notoriously pugnacious Smitherman had concealed his admiration, because he once complained Clement, who had launched a libel suit against McGuinty, was a schoolyard pansy, running to teachers every time something tough was said and too thin-skinned to be in politics.
Clement filed the extremely rare suit when he was municipal affairs minister, after McGuinty claimed a letter he wrote interfered with the land planning process, helped a developer and was corrupt, and the Liberal took a long time to retract.
McGuinty also charged Clement, when health minister, ?had plenty of money for spin doctors, but none for nurses? and another Liberal, Mike Colle, now a minister, accused Clement of ?wining and dining developers? while leaving ordinary folks in the cold.
A third Liberal, speaking outside the legislature, where the word is not allowed, accused Clement of ?lying,? so he can?t have fond memories of Ontario Liberal opponents.
McGuinty accused Flaherty of racism when, as deputy premier, he said the Liberal federal government financed a massive bureaucracy to look after aboriginals? health, but was miserly with the provinces, who had to provide health care to ?real people in real towns ? that is where the real dollars should be.?
McGuinty said it was ?incredible this stuff should come from a minister aspiring to be premier,? as Flaherty did.
Baird has had run-ins with Ontario Liberals starting as a student, when he tried to ask premier David Peterson a question and was arrested and fined after he refused a police request to move on.
Liberals also have taunted him because, as energy minister during the SARS health crisis that originated in Asia, when Ontarians were apprehensive about visitors from that area, he told reporters jokingly ?I enjoyed my trip to Asia? and they charged he was cruel and insensitive.
Flaherty and Baird particularly are partisan enough they would relish avenging past slights by McGuinty?s Liberals, given an easy opportunity.
But they will be restrained, because Harper?s overriding agenda includes winning popularity in Ontario.
Some skirmishes between the two levels of government will be unavoidable, but Harper will not want his ministers seen getting into side issues like
retaliating for past hurts, so McGuinty and company can get off their knees and stop grovelling.
