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Tony and Jodie chat with MPP Todd McCarthy
215 Plays2 years ago
Another lively discussion on politics in Ontario with Tony and Jodie.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Milestone
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of And Another Thing, the podcast that continues to set the bar in the world of podcasts. My name
00:00:27
Speaker
is Jody Jenkins. My name is Tony Clement. And we are absolutely thrilled to be doing this. Again, can you sense my excitement? I can sense it. It's trepidation. What's the word I'm looking for? I can't think of the word, but I was going to say you're the guy that keeps stats and all that stuff. What episode is this? Do you know offhand? I think it's 177.
00:00:53
Speaker
177. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And they said it wouldn't last.
Listener Feedback on Lisa McCloud
00:00:59
Speaker
Thank you for all our listenership and thanks for the feedback from our listeners from our last podcast with Lisa McCloud. That was really heartwarming. You got a lot of feedback? Yeah, I did. Yeah, for sure. What did people say?
00:01:11
Speaker
Well, they, they really appreciated her candor, you know, because of, uh, you know, some of the challenges that she's faced and, uh, they thought it was, uh, an important episode to have. So there you go.
Humor on Sponsorship and Gas Prices
00:01:22
Speaker
Excellent. Were any of them potential sponsors that gave you feedback? Uh, no, no. Although, you know, I have been beating the bushes, Jodi. Uh, and, uh, certainly if there are any listeners out there who want to come on board as a sponsor, we'd be more than happy to have you.
00:01:40
Speaker
Yeah. Cause have you seen the price of gas lately? Exactly. Yes. The affordability issue. As we often say two things, I'll add a new one, but like, as I often say, these Bentley's don't gas up themselves and they run on premium, like not regular. So not, not mid-grade premium. That's right. And just, just inflation affects everybody, including those who have Bentley's. You know,
Grocery Store Pricing Tactics
00:02:03
Speaker
it's funny. And I think, I think someone posted something about this the other day, but I went to the,
00:02:08
Speaker
I mean, I do groceries quite a bit and I mean, it's no surprise the price of food and all that, but I went the other day and I bought, I had to get a block of unsalted butter and I could not believe how much a block of butter is. It was $8.99. Are you serious? Yes. Yes. $8.99 for a block of butter. You should have got the salted maybe.
00:02:37
Speaker
No, I don't think that would make a difference. I was looking at it and I was like, honestly? Is this for real? I just couldn't believe it. The prices are bananas and the prices of bananas are bananas. Yeah, I bought some bananas tonight. I just didn't look at the price though when I
00:02:58
Speaker
when I was doing that. So it's a tough times out there. People are hurting. We know that. So, uh, but it seems to me, the grocery stores I go to, and I don't know if this is like every grocery store, but the ones I'm going to, and some of you may get this too is like, they do a lot of the old, um,
00:03:14
Speaker
You know, buy one for this price, but buy two for eight bucks. You know what I mean? Like kind of like that. So like I get like tonight, I was ended up with like two boxes of Brits crackers and two boxes of wheat thins and two boxes of cookies. Right. Cause I looked at it and I get pulled into that little like, Hey, if you buy two, it's, it's 10 cents cheaper. That's right. Yeah. You can get the real.
00:03:36
Speaker
Hey, I'm going to buy two blocks of butter for 17 bucks. That's right. Congratulations. I'll fix your wagon. I'll fix your wagon.
Acknowledgment of Sponsors
00:03:44
Speaker
Anyway, we got to thank our presenting sponsor each week. The team at Municipal Solutions, John Mutton and the crew there have been with us since day one, providing you this show. And we are so thankful for their support. You can find them online at municipalsolutions.ca. Tony, I know you can expand a little more on what they do.
00:04:03
Speaker
Yes, the muttonator and the team are very busy these days. They are Ontario's leading MZO firms. So things like development approvals and permit expediting or
00:04:15
Speaker
planning services, all the stuff that you need to do with municipalities, engineering services, architectural services, even things like minor variances and land severances and building permits. You can go to municipalsolutions.ca for all of your municipal services needs.
Partnership with Hunters Bay Radio
00:04:33
Speaker
And Jody, we want to thank our continuing tie in and relationship with Hunters Bay Radio in Muskoka, huntersbayradio.com every Saturday morning.
00:04:43
Speaker
They have a whole suite of podcasts that they repost, I suppose, and broadcast. And we are one of those podcasts. So thanks to Hunters Bay Radio and Muskoka, Huntsville Muskoka. And we appreciate that tie-in as well.
00:05:03
Speaker
Excellent. And I guess we'll get right to it.
Introduction of Todd McCarthy
00:05:07
Speaker
We have a wonderful guest today that I know you can introduce. It's a first time guest for us on this program. We've talked about some of our past guests, of course, but Todd McCarthy is the member of provincial parliament for the Ontario riding of Durham. He was first elected in the 2022 general election. He serves as parliamentary assistant to the president of the Treasury Board.
00:05:33
Speaker
as well as deputy government whip. If I've got that incorrect, he will correct me. Uh, he, uh, before politics, he started out as a lawyer in 1994 at the law firm of Flaherty McCarthy. And we might want to talk a little bit about his association with the late Jim Flaherty and Christine Elliott, of course, uh, very, very interesting. And, uh, of course he's, I think you've got, uh, Todd, I think you've got three kids. Is that right?
00:06:00
Speaker
That's right, Tony, and a real honor to be on your show and great to hear your voice as well, Jodie. It's wonderful to have you there. Todd, the first question I want to ask you, put you right on the spot, what's the best golf course in your riding?
Deer Creek Golf Course in Durham
00:06:15
Speaker
Well, my riding is Durham, so Tony got that part right, but Durham is a riding within Durham Region, and my wife Kathy and I have called Durham Region home for 34 years. We raised our three children
00:06:30
Speaker
in Durham region, and of course we continue to reside in Durham region, but in my inaugural address to the Legislative Assembly last year, I proudly said I represent the riding of Durham, the riding within the region that I proudly called home for several decades. I have to say I think that the corsets that I think is affectionately embraced by
00:06:57
Speaker
thousands of Durham residents, not only in my ridingman in Durham region is the Deer Creek course because it's just home to so many wonderful celebrations, whether it be weddings or just fundraisers for worthy causes. And it's a course that's open to everybody. And so I have to say, and it has the five championship nine whole courses as well as the executive nine.
00:07:26
Speaker
I have to say Deer Creek is just best known and
00:07:30
Speaker
It's not just about golf at Deer Creek. It's also about the gathering space there. For example, Bowmanville Hospital Foundation last year had its gala post COVID at Deer Creek, technically outside of the riding of Durham, but within Durham region. And we're going to have it there this year. So Durham region is a community that includes many ridings and many municipalities, but
00:07:58
Speaker
Deer Creek, if you have to mention a golf course, that's the best known and the most beloved for sure. Have you played that one, Jody? Yeah, well, I mean, Todd wouldn't know this, but I'm kind of a big deal. And I was actually at the Alexicon charity golf tournament the other day at Deer Creek. And I don't were you there, Todd? I don't I feel like they mentioned your name, but I don't know if you were there or not. There was like there was like 340 people there.
00:08:24
Speaker
I was at the Grandview one just before that. Oh, okay. Yeah, because they have a couple of them or whatever. Deer Creek, unbelievable facility. They put on events like no other. I was very impressed with how they got everybody through there.
00:08:40
Speaker
and what they were able to do and like while we were having dinner, I saw no less than two separate wedding groups going through like the rehearsal process outside. So it was like, it's a very busy place for sure. It's a very busy place. It's a big wedding venue. It's a big place for graduation events.
00:08:59
Speaker
and just countless charitable causes have had their galas there, including Durham's Ability Centre. Prime Minister Harper was there with us in 2006 with then Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, my great friend, and Christine Elliott. Those were the days when we had to choose a location because the Ability Centre in Whitby hadn't been built yet. So Ability Centre Durham would have its original galas at Deer Creek when it was brand new as a large facility.
00:09:29
Speaker
So just so many great memories there and a very bright future for that location in terms of future plans. It's truly a beloved place as well as a great place to go. Jody, perhaps Todd can approach them to be our sponsor on our program. I think that's a given.
00:09:51
Speaker
the integrity commissioner and that gentleman okay okay let's let's talk about sort of getting away from all of the great golf courses in Durham of course of course you know it's exactly right you got now you got to list them all I in fact I better give a shout out to sunny gray golf course in Port Perry one okay good it's done
00:10:12
Speaker
So it's right up there with Deer Creek for sure. Okay, you've done a good job there as a local MPP Todd.
Founding of the Ability Center
00:10:19
Speaker
So let's talk, could we just talk a little bit about the Ability Center? Were you were you involved and passionate about that as I know, because I know Jim? Sure, I was, I've certainly, I and the members of the firm of Flaherty Dow, Elliott and McCarthy, which was the original name before it was already McCarthy, we were founding donors, but that
00:10:39
Speaker
was a modest role. It was really Jim Flaherty and Christine Elliott who led that wonderful endeavor and really got it off the ground. And we were fortunate because with Jim being in federal office in government starting in 2006 and then Christine being provincial, even though she was in opposition, that really ensured that the federal and provincial governments were on board with supporting it.
00:11:07
Speaker
as well as the region and all of the municipalities within Durham region and it really took off again with lots of private donations as well but when government leads good things happen. Government can't and shouldn't do it all but if government leads
00:11:25
Speaker
Then what we have, as we've seen in so many wonderful endeavors, the Charles Best Foundation is an example of that, for example. The Bowmanville Hospital Foundation is an example. The community leaders raise the money from generous donors, large donations, small donations, and then government also makes a contribution. So it's a real partnership in the community. Government plays a role, but it's not exclusively about government.
00:11:55
Speaker
I think what happens is private philanthropists and individual donors, whether they be large donations or small donations, are motivated when government leads and sets the stage. And that's what happened with the Ability Center, just as it's happening with the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation in my riding, for example. Just before we get on to more modern topics, do you have any recollections you want to share about the late Jim Flaherty and your association with him?
00:12:22
Speaker
Absolutely, Tony. And that's an easy thing to do. I can tell you, I miss him very much as a friend and a mentor and as a leader of our nation and our province. And truly, he was beloved and respected. But I mean, I knew him as a leader in the legal profession.
00:12:39
Speaker
And when I was called to the bar in 1989, he was a well-known and well-respected trial lawyer throughout Ontario. He had been involved in many published cases, precedent-setting cases. He had written many articles, had lectured. So we really looked up to him.
00:12:56
Speaker
And I was fortunate to join this firm. It was founded by Jim and Christine Elliott back in 1994 as Flaherty Dow Elliott. When I joined as a partner later that year, then it was Flaherty Dow, Elliott McCarthy after that, and later Flaherty McCarthy, LLP, when Christine moved on to public service herself.
00:13:21
Speaker
And he was just a fantastic advocate, a great jury trial lawyer, a great appellate lawyer, and an individual who cared about community service, public service giving back, and teaching. And he taught me so much by way of example, to be a fearless advocate for our fellow citizens before the courts. And he took that passion, that advocacy forward into public service, both at the provincial level and the federal level,
00:13:48
Speaker
the federal level as an MPP, an MP, and a Cabinet Minister. Yeah, I think that when he was in Cabinet with me, at one point he actually argued a case before the Supreme Court. Yeah, I think I know that certainly in 1990, before he was elected,
00:14:08
Speaker
He did argue, he got lead to appeal in a case, and I think he'd lost all the way along, then got lead to the Supreme Court of Canada, the case is Radich versus Bloomer, and he won in the Supreme Court of Canada in a 5-4 decision. And his articling student at the time was Michael Tullock, who is now the Chief Justice of Ontario. Wow. That's the kind of legacy that Jim left us, right? I mean, I wasn't the only one. I'm one of many, many, many lawyers.
00:14:38
Speaker
who benefited from his example of...
00:14:41
Speaker
Just fearless, fearless advocacy. He did also appear in front of the Supreme Court of Canada when he was Attorney General of Ontario. How is it? Yes, he did take that on. And there's a tradition of attorneys general occasionally appearing as counsel on a matter where the government is before the court. OK, OK. That was what I recall then, yes. He made it there even before he was part of government. And through his own tenacity and his own courage and advocacy,
00:15:11
Speaker
he fought all the way the Supreme Court of Canada won, and that's a great legacy. And Michael Tullock will tell you about that as well. That's amazing. Amazing. So let's fast forward. We're interviewing you and you're currently, I guess, in London, Ontario for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference. What sorts of things are you doing there?
00:15:32
Speaker
Well, you would have
AMO Conference and Housing Initiatives
00:15:33
Speaker
been at this as a public office holder for sure. And you were municipal affairs minister. So, you know, it's a municipal affairs minister show. So right now it's a minister Steve Clark's big show. And of course, Premier Ford was here giving a major address this morning here at London and AMO or the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. The annual conference is variously held in Ottawa or London or Toronto, different parts of the province.
00:16:00
Speaker
Uh, and every municipality mayors, counselors are here with MPPs from the provincial government and the premier and the minister. All the ministers are here.
00:16:11
Speaker
It's a wonderful opportunity to get together and remind each other that we serve one citizenry. So we may be different levels of government, but we have to work together. And that theme has resonated in this conference, and it resonated in Premier Ford's speech today when he announced the Building Faster Fund, the BFF,
00:16:33
Speaker
And then, you know, there are those of us who say, well, BFF also stands for best friends forever. And I think what that means is, yeah, we have to work together. Why shouldn't municipalities in the province, we serve the same citizens. We have a common goal of building homes and getting red tape and regulation and delays out of the way.
00:16:53
Speaker
And getting it done. And this is a, this is a fund that is designed to assist municipalities reward municipalities who assist in getting shovels in the ground and building homes faster, accomplishing the goal that we all need to accomplish. And that is to build 1.5 million homes over the next eight to 10 years.
00:17:13
Speaker
because we have hundreds of thousands of newcomers coming to Ontario among the million each year that are coming to Canada. And so Ontario is leading the population growth and we've got to get it done and we're getting it done. So that's what AMO is about.
00:17:30
Speaker
It's a partnership between two levels of government and it's really, it depends on the leadership of the government of Ontario, in particular the Premier and Premier Ford is doing a wonderful job in instilling confidence in making sure that municipalities are rewarded when
00:17:46
Speaker
they step, they step forward and help us accomplish this important provincial province wide priority. So what, what sort of feedback are you getting from the municipality representatives, uh, the counselors and the mayors and Reeves and so on about the housing crisis? Do they see how important it is to, to get, uh, to get moving on this? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We see that. And, and I talked to, um, very, uh,
00:18:13
Speaker
various municipalities across the province, but I'm also fortunate, Tony, that in my riding of Durham, I have three municipalities. I have Scugog, Mayor Watton and her council. I have Oshawa, North Oshawa. That's Mayor Carter and his council. And I have Clarington.
00:18:31
Speaker
which is Curtis and Newcastle and Bowmanville combined with Mayor Foster and his council. And we have a wonderful relationship with each municipality. You know, they're different. Durham Riding is a very unique riding because it does, unlike many others, have three municipalities within it. And although each municipality is different and has different needs, they all have different needs and different priorities to some extent, the one priority that the municipalities in my
00:19:01
Speaker
the riding share and want to advance. And that is building those homes, making sure not just one size fits all, but purpose built rentals and attainable homes and senior citizens homes for those who want to downsize or downsize. We want to talk about families who are buying for the first time.
00:19:23
Speaker
We want to talk about seniors who are downsizing perhaps to a senior's residence or assisted living or just a smaller home. We want to talk about gentle intensification around the Bowmanville GO train extension. That's where we can make that happen. It's not at all about building mega mansions. It's not at all about building big box stores as was the case with the previous government. It's about building homes that we can all relate to.
00:19:48
Speaker
And again, it's not one size fits all. And the municipalities are working with us in my riding of Durham to make that happen. And I see that kind of cooperation, that common goal, that common motive to help our fellow citizens get it right and get it done. And I see that cooperative happening with this current AMO conference. So what else are you working on in the government these days, Todd?
00:20:14
Speaker
Well, so many things. And Durham, I always say, is a microcosm of the province, right? Because we have the suburban riding or the suburban aspect of Clarington and North Oshawa. But we also have the farms and the rural villages and hamlets as we go north in the Durham riding. We have the Mississaugas of Skoogog Island within the municipality of Skoogog and have a great relationship with Chief Kelly Larocca in that regard.
00:20:42
Speaker
And that's another partnership that's so important to me as the MPP. So it is a microcosmomaterial. Within that, we have Darlington, for example.
00:20:52
Speaker
And we say the future is electric because we are moving forward with electric vehicle manufacture at the revived Oshawa GM plant, just south of my riding, just outside my riding. But because I have the north half of Oshawa, I also have Ontario Tech and Durham College. We're graduating students that are being matched to jobs at GM and at Darlington. Very exciting opportunities for the skilled trades.
00:21:20
Speaker
Very exciting opportunity to invest in new nuclear energy. The SMR announcements that we've made with a minister of energy, Todd Smith. He and I call ourselves the Todd caucus, right? There's two Todd caucus. We have five Smiths in the caucus, including Todd Smith. That's a Smith caucus.
00:21:39
Speaker
The Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are investing in nuclear. We are investing in what is clearly reliable, clean energy that powers the entire province, that powers the world, that is an example of the world. And the investment in the SMRs, the small modular reactors, is a key component of that. So we've got the energy file in Durham. We've got the transit extension, Bowmanville,
00:22:08
Speaker
public transit and the GO train coming to Bowmanville. Big investment. We've taken the tolls off 412 and 418, which it changes driver behavior, Tony, in Durham region, right? Because more people utilize those link roads now between the 407 and the 401. Very, very important to get rid of gridlock and to keep costs down.
00:22:32
Speaker
My residents have embraced the gas tax cut. We announced it for July 1st, 2022. We've extended it. And we're right in the middle of it now. We've extended it going forward again, keeping costs down for our fellow citizens. We have lots of people. I have a hybrid vehicle, but lots of people depend on having to use fuel. And we're doing what we can to keep fuel costs down and to keep traveling costs down.
00:23:00
Speaker
Do we get a lot of commentary on affordability issues, Todd, when you talk to your constituents?
Government's Affordability Measures
00:23:05
Speaker
It's a number one issue. It's an up one issue, right? Inflation is high, interest rates are high, and we have to and must deliver on this. And you know what's interesting, Tony, in the campaign of 2022, we had just announced that the sticker rebates
00:23:23
Speaker
hundreds of dollars per family going back to families putting more money in people's pockets. And you know a few elites criticized us for that. And I think they were just wrong. Those elites don't understand what $500 coming back to our fellow citizens per household means to people.
00:23:40
Speaker
the ability to have more discretionary spending. So when you have the sticker rebates for license renewal and when you eliminate it going forward, that's a huge bonus to the household budget. When you keep the gas tax cut and when you make the gas tax cut and then you maintain it as we have, when you get rid of tolls on the highways, this is real practical relief for families and individuals.
00:24:06
Speaker
And that's what it's about. There's lots of people who will never support it, but they can afford not to have these cost relief measures. But it's important to the moms and dads and the middle-class families and the small businesses. When we cut red tape and regulation, we're saving hundreds of millions of dollars
00:24:31
Speaker
in terms of red tape and regulation and that is invested, reinvested particularly by small business owners into the economy. That creates more jobs. These are the ripple effects. That's why Ontario is more than ever the engine of Canada's economy. That's what's happening under the leadership of Premier Ford because we get it. We've listened to the people and we provide real relief.
00:24:53
Speaker
you know the some levels of government talk about it but it doesn't do anything and it can't just be about about the measures that are allegedly being introduced by the the Trudeau Liberals and you know I don't want to get into a fight with other levels of government but it's only I think the provincial government under Premier Ford that
00:25:14
Speaker
progressive conservative government that has listened, has promised, and has responded and delivered real relief. And we're seeing the results of that. And it's making a difference for families and small businesses. And that's why we have the prosperity that we're seeing and that we will see. And we will fight.
00:25:31
Speaker
the fight against inflation, we will overcome. That's what we're doing with these measures. So Todd, we've just got time for one last question for you. And I'm glad you raised a little bit of a federal issue because just recently,
Jamil Javanee's Nomination for Durham
00:25:48
Speaker
Jamil Javanee was nominated as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in Durham riding and Jamil is a former guest on this podcast. So we know him a little bit. Any thoughts on Jamil and the upcoming by-election and what that means for the nation? Well, Jamil is just an excellent individual. I know him. I've come to know him quite well. I know that he's officially the nominee for the
00:26:16
Speaker
Conservative Party of Canada for the federal riding of Durham. So if elected in the coming by-election, he would be my counterpart and he would just be an excellent representative for Durham. And I welcome that opportunity. And I think he'll follow very nobly in the footsteps of Aaron O'Toole, who was an excellent MP for 10 years or more, representing Durham. And I think, you know, and you served with John O'Toole. He was one of my predecessors for the riding of Durham.
00:26:45
Speaker
And I've had great advice from both John and Aaron O'Toole in my role as a new parliamentarian, and I welcome it. I had the two of them in the Legislative Assembly for a tribute in the spring, and it was very, very honored to be able to do that. But Jamil is a fine citizen, and I think that the Federal Conservative Party is very fortunate to have him as their candidate in the riding of Durham that I represent provincially.
00:27:09
Speaker
Todd McCarthy, it's great to have you on the program. We wish you every success, of course, and thanks for bringing us up to date on what's happening, not only in your locality, but it definitely has repercussions.
00:27:21
Speaker
provincewide and therefore nationwide. So thanks, Tony. And thanks to Jodi as well. Take the opportunity to thank our sponsors once again, municipal solutions at municipal solutions.ca. And of course, our radio station, Hunters Bay Radio, huntersbayradio.com. Todd, thanks again for coming on the program. Thanks very much, Tony. Thanks, Jodi.