Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Well, I’m back. It has been a great month away, but it is good to be writing again. Before I get into it, however, a sincere vote of thanks goes out to the four individuals who were guest columnists on Listen Up! while I was enjoying a break. They were thoughtful, controversial and sometimes stirred things up. In my book, that’s the way it should be.
A lot of interesting issues arose when I was away, and I tried to keep on top of them. The SNC-Lavalin scandal is of course, the big one. I have a different perspective on this than that of Hugh Holland and Dave Wilkin who wrote opposing articles on Doppler about SNC this week. I am tempted to take a crack at that and perhaps I will, after the whole story comes out….but not now.
What has caught my eye, is a Doppler article, A remorseful and somewhat defiant Clement returns to Parliment Hill, in which our Member of Parliament, Tony Clement, has said he has not yet decided whether he will run again when the federal election takes place in October. In my view, it is time for that decision to be made.
Last November, when all of his troubles hit the proverbial fan, I wrote an article about Tony Clement, I am not among those who believe that Tony Clement should resign. I took an extraordinary amount of flack for it, but I have reread it today, and I stand by every word.
Tony is a friend, not a close one, but a friend none-the-less. What he did was horribly wrong and just plain stupid. I told him that. But it was not the Tony I have known and sometimes worked with, for almost a quarter of a century. I continue to believe, as I wrote in my November article, that something traumatic happened in Tony Clement’s life that triggered his unacceptable wrong doing. The hard fact, however, is that no matter how it originated, there are consequences for improper behaviour.
There was a large hue and cry last November for Tony Clement to immediately resign as our Member of Parliament. I was not one of those for a number of reasons. He has provided good service to Parry Sound-Muskoka and he still does. His departure would have resulted in two expensive elections within one year. Had he resigned then, the ball would have been in the Prime Minister’s court as to when a byelection would be called. He would have had six months to do that. Meanwhile, constituency offices in the riding would have been closed and there would have been next to no access for people needing help with federal issues. We would have been without any federal representation, except that which a Liberal government may have wished to exert in order to win this riding.
But now, we are into another year and the looming federal election is closing in on us. There has been no doubt, at least in my mind, that Tony Clement should complete his term. The burning question, however, is should he run again? With due respect, I believe he should not.
First of all, there are the practical reasons. I would be very surprised if Andrew Scheer, the leader of the Conservative Party, will allow Tony Clement back in caucus (It would re-open a can of worms on the cusp of an election), which means he would be unable to run on the Conservative ticket. If Mr. Scheer did allow him back in, Tony would have an uphill battle to win the election and could even be challenged for the Conservative nomination. The reality is that voters often have long memories and short forgiveness spans. No doubt, you will see evidence of that in comments to this article
Tony Clement could also decide to run as an independent. By doing so, he would simply split the vote and hand the riding to the Liberals. Neither of these options, in my view, are an appropriate way for Tony Clement to end what in many ways has been a distinguished political career.
As well, if there is to be a new candidate for the Conservatives in this riding, he or she will need time to put together a campaign team and develop their pitch to voters. I know of one credible candidate who is waiting in the wings and I have also heard that Norm Miller has had some pressure put on him to quit provincial politics and run federally. Seven months is not a long time for a new candidate to make their mark in an election period. That work needs to start now. In this regard, Trish Cowie, the Liberal candidate, has a leg up. She has already fought one federal election.
Tony Clement should take the ball into his own hands and announce his retirement from politics before the next election, and he should do it soon, before it is done for him, one way or another. The reality is that his best years in politics are behind him. He is young enough to embrace another career and he has a wealth of experience to offer the private sector. He has time to enjoy new adventures, accomplish new goals, and to spend quality time with his family. He has an opportunity to walk away to a new life and he should take it.
And so, Tony, it is time for a decision.
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Reading this right after Kathleen May on climate change is like a blast of culture shock, as if I’ve been propelled from the grittily-real present into a somewhat-romanticized past. Does the Conservative Party have anything resembling effective against climate change? If not, may it be consigned to the dust heap of history.
I totally agree with you on this, Hugh. Mr. Clement should announce as soon as possible that he will be retiring from politics when the upcoming Federal election is called later this year!
Yes. A large majority of voters will likely vote against Tony Clement (I have spoken to a number of them). It is time for him to step aside so that the conservatives in this riding can coalesce around a candidate who can WIN. You cannot win, Tony–do you really want to split the conservative vote and hand this riding to a member of the obviously corrupt Liberal Party? If you really care about this riding and Canada, it is time for you to look to doing something beside being an M.P.
With respect, Ms. Cooper, it is impossible to imagine that Mr. Clement’s private life did not interfere with his duties and responsibilities as our MP. Under a veil of secrecy he was involved in online affairs with women, and men posing as women; culminating in a permanent display of his manhood (interrupting a Presidential address, no less), and attempts to blackmail him.
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I am sure that you regard all these machinations as a temporary aberration: Truly, it doesn’t matter; as it could happen again. And the over-arching concern is that, if elected as an Independent, he would be entirely toothless in representing us. I am afraid that your blind faith in the man is misplaced. Let’s become acquainted with somebody else before it’s too late: Miller for Muskoka! After all, he’s done an outstanding job for countless years, and he’s a scion of a local icon.
I agreed with your original piece on this Hugh and I agree with this one for the most part. However, would the onus not be on the Conservative party riding association to get the nomination process underway for a candidate? Given Tony is no longer part of the party he could put his name forward or not but a deadline will have been set.
Justin Trudeau appears to be toast and has been exposed as an imposter…to use the recent MacLeans magazine term…and the Liberals have handed the election to the Conservatives so long as they don’t mess it up. The riding association needs to get the ball rolling and get it right.
I voted for Tony Clement, and I would vote for him again. I am not interested in what goes on in his private life, however, his work relating to Muskoka is a priority.
Let us not play judge and jury!
Clement for Muskoka!
Denise
Mr. Mackenzie, speaking as someone who volunteered for previous Clement campaigns, including door knocking and scrutineering, I completely agree with you here. Mr. Clement can do no further good for this riding as a political candidate, and instead can only do harm. My great fear, although I think it is misplaced, is that he will run as a candidate for Maxime Bernier’s party. That would ensure the right of centre vote is split, and result in a Liberal victory. Let’s not have Parry Sound Muskoka go in the wrong direction, while the rest of the country comes to the realization that Justin Trudeau and his government are shallow and phoney, as the SNC Lavalin affair is quickly proving. Mr. Clement should signal his intention to retire from politics now, and retire with some semblance of honour. He did indeed do many good things for this area, but his time has now passed.
Yes. Tony Clement’s days are over as MP for Parry Sound Muskoka. It is just a little too difficult for us to trust him going into the future. Good Luck, Tony.