Ontario Liberals need to set basic standards for how they treat each other
Professional criticism is okay, but personal attacks cross the line.
Recently, the Ontario Liberal Provincial Council, one of the core decision-making bodies of the Ontario Liberal Party, held a meeting. While the Executive Council comprises just the at-large executives and regional VPs, the Provincial Council is a larger body which includes caucus representation, every single riding association president, and a slew of delegates from the Youth, Women’s, Rural and Senior’s commissions.
As per the Ontario Liberal Party’s Constitution—which they are curiously hosting on Google Drive rather than their own website—the Executive Council manages day-to-day operations between meetings of the Provincial Council. If the Executive Council makes a decision contrary to that of the Provincial Council, it is explicitly declared to be void.
This means that individual riding-level democracy is important to the function of the Ontario Liberal Party, even if the Executive Council frequently pretends otherwise. Being the president of any riding association gives you a vote in the conclave that steers the party apparatus. The power is even greater at the present time, where there is no permanent party leader to enforce their will.
The responsibility of these Provincial Council members is serious, and not to be taken lightly by those who bear the burden. There are basic expectations for how they should conduct themselves in their political activities, as they are role models for the wider Ontario Liberal membership. Further, when they embarrass or degrade themselves or each other, they deal the same damage upon the Ontario Liberal brand in the eyes of the voting public.
That is why the fallout of the most recent Provincial Council meeting should disappoint Ontario Liberals, and delight their opponents. Jordan Kent, the OLP riding president for Oxford, a supporter of Lee Fairclough’s leadership bid, and a New Leaf Liberal, introduced two motions to the agenda for the meeting, neither of which are particularly exciting by themselves.
Firstly, he sought to review the Ontario Liberal Code of Conduct and propose actionable improvements. Secondly, he sought to set a clear timeline for when the next Ontario Liberal Policy Convention would occur. Both of these are reasonable goals, and in my opinion it is more than fair for Provincial Council to direct Executive Council to pursue them in day-to-day operations. Accomplishing these core competencies is an apolitical goal that I would expect of any party, regardless of their ideology.
These motions were sent around before the meeting, with plenty of time for other Provincial Council members to read them. Indeed, in order to be added to the agenda, more than 50% of those attending the Provincial Council meeting needed to agree, and they did! These motions were later passed after fair debate, according to numerous sources I have who attended the meeting in their capacity as voting participants.
Sources also confirm that Kathryn McGarry, President of the Ontario Liberal Party and former Ontario Liberal MPP and Mayor of Cambridge, complained about receiving professional communications from other Ontario Liberal officials, alluding that it could potentially violate the Ontario Liberal Workplace Harassment Policy. The fact that answering to Provincial Council is her constitutionally-stated job didn’t seem to occur to her when she cast the aspersion of harassment over her fellow party officials.
More disturbingly, numerous smears have been spread behind the scenes against New Leaf Liberals, including Mr. Kent specifically. I do not mean merely that his proposals were criticized and debated, which would be fully legitimate. On his personal Substack, Mr. Kent confirms that in the past he struggled with substance abuse disorder, but also states that he has been clean for the past five years. He alleges, however, that other Ontario Liberals who opposed his motions at Provincial Council have spread rumours about his past substance abuse to imply his participation in Ontario Liberal affairs is inappropriate.
These allegations have been substantiated by my sources, and it is infuriating to me. Substance abuse is not a moral failing, it is a medical condition; addiction is a trap that many people fall into, and when someone is able to maintain sobriety from drugs we should be congratulating them on their hard work. It is completely unacceptable for Ontario Liberals to stigmatize their peers for their health issues. Furthermore, considering how widely prevalent substance abuse is within politics, I would advise these ne’er-do-wells to avoid throwing stones in glass houses.
Ironically, it is this kind of behaviour which proves the need for Mr. Kent’s motion to reform the Ontario Liberal Code of Conduct. Clearly, some Ontario Liberals are not conducting themselves in a professional and respectful manner, and see New Leaf Liberals and their reforms as a threat that justifies dirty tricks and sinister innuendos.
Ontario Liberals are allowed to disagree with each other, and there will certainly be plenty of that in the enduring Ontario Liberal Cold War between the old guard and reformers. Nonetheless, politicos on all sides of this struggle must learn restraint, and follow some basic rules of engagement in their operations. Columns like this one, detailing nasty and degrading behaviour between Ontario Liberals, should embarrass party members, because rest assured your political opponents are glad to watch you rip each other apart!
Neither Doug Ford nor Marit Stiles are going to stop Ontario Liberals from destroying themselves. If members of the Ontario Liberal Party can’t learn to disagree with each other in a way that is respectful and considerate, they should leave the party, and allow the political project to be run by those who haven’t lost touch with human empathy.