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Tony and Jodie Visit With Jill Dunlop, Prab Sarkaria And Mike Diamond
68 Plays2 years ago
This week, Tony and Jodie playback some interviews from the Ontario PC Convention. We get thoughts from Jill Dunlop, Prab Sarkaria And Mike Diamond.
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Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Milestones
00:00:00
Speaker
And another thing And another thing And another thing
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 is Jody Jenkins. My name is Tony Clement. And fresh off of the Steve Paken episode, by the way, I didn't, I should be honest, I didn't listen to the majority of it, but
00:00:43
Speaker
The bits I did listen to, did you ever confirm whether that was his third or fourth appearance on our program? I don't think we got into that. I feel like it was his fourth, but maybe I remember. What do you think, his third? I think it was his third, but he's a standard for our podcast. He really is the third host, let's face it. The third host?
00:01:12
Speaker
That's a little bit of a stretch. Let's be honest. Maybe,
Sponsor Acknowledgment & Special Offers
00:01:15
Speaker
maybe. Also, also that was our 150th episode. I don't think you mentioned that either. I did not mention it. I saw that afterwards. Congratulations, Jody. We've made 150 episodes and I want to thank our listeners once again for being the loyal listeners that they are. So there you go.
00:01:33
Speaker
Man, I'm tired tonight. I won't lie. Got to give a shout out, of course, to our presenting sponsor each week, John Mutton and the team at Municipal Solutions. You can find them online at municipalsolutions.ca. And Tony, I know that you're able to share some more info on what they do.
00:01:52
Speaker
Yes, I'd be happy to. Jodi, of course, with the municipal elections over in Ontario, they're very, very busy. They are Ontario's leading municipal zoning order firm and they do all sorts of things like development approvals, permit expediting and approvals, planning services, engineering, architectural services, even things like minor variances and land severances. They're the whole package.
00:02:17
Speaker
visit John and the gang at municipal solutions.ca. We really do appreciate their continuing sponsorship. And then, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that we are on terrestrial radio, huntersbayradio.com, 88.7 FM in Muskoka every Saturday morning at 8.30 AM. The podcast is repeated. So if you want to have a little bit more of another thing podcasts, that's where you find it.
00:02:45
Speaker
Yes. And also loonypolitics.com. Use the code podcast to get 50% off an annual subscription to that amazing news aggregate site. And you'll get exclusive episodes of our show that you cannot hear anywhere else at loonypolitics.com. How was Halloween around your place?
Halloween Stories & Political Event Experiences
00:03:05
Speaker
It was busy. Yeah. Were you out and about or were you keeping the lights on at home and handing out candy?
00:03:14
Speaker
I think we handed out a bunch of candy like early on in the night. It seemed like kids were coming out earlier. I don't know. I'm not, I don't really get into the Halloween stuff, to be honest. Yeah. Okay. Well, you know, I, uh, I at 4 PM went to shoppers and bought a box of candy and, uh, ate it all yourself. Cause I'm sure there wasn't a lot of people coming to your door. No one who arrived at Port Sydney, I think with the Port Sydney kids kind of go to Huntsville, I think, and get their,
00:03:43
Speaker
go to the more compressed subdivisions. I think that's what happens. But I didn't want to be a sap and have somebody come up the door. I didn't have anything for them. So there you go. Someone told me that your place was the place to go back in the day when you were an MP because your house, you guys gave out full-sized Toblerone bars. Yeah, that's true. Is that true? Sure, yeah.
00:04:07
Speaker
I always have a spare Toblerone around. That's true. You always had access to the huge Toblerone bars that were probably funded by the Conservative Fund. That's right. That's it. Now you know my secret. So you went to the convention, the PC Ontario, PC Ontario convention. What do they call themselves? I don't even know. Ontario PC convention.
00:04:34
Speaker
And by the way, I, other than your posts on Instagram, I heard nothing about that. So it was so weird. Uh, it was, first of all, it was a victory lap. Of course they just won the election a few months earlier. And I, I don't think there was any media there. Like there was no, uh, Toronto star or Toronto sun or anything like that.
00:04:58
Speaker
There was a riser at the back of the hall, but there was there was no cameras there. I don't know whether they weren't invited or whether they just didn't bother. But the funny thing was, of course, there were four premiers there, including Premier Ford. But Scott Mo of Saskatchewan was there, Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia's Tim Houston were there as well.
00:05:21
Speaker
It would have been pretty newsworthy, I would have thought. Yeah, you got to believe with those four there, the four premiers, I would have to believe that media was not invited because you can't tell me that they wouldn't be covering a meeting of the minds like that.
00:05:36
Speaker
And they had a fireside chat session with all four premiers talking about their kind of vision for Canada and how they wanted to work together as premiers. And they didn't have very positive words to say about the carbon tax, for instance, and about the Prime Minister Trudeau's energy policies. So there was newsworthy stuff happening for that.
00:06:00
Speaker
I've been to many conventions, as you know, Jody, I've been to Ontario PC conventions since 1978. And I believe this to be the first time that there were other premiers there.
Ontario School Workers Strike & Political Commentary
00:06:13
Speaker
So yeah, I don't know. It was kind of strange, but I did get three interviews in with three important people, Jill Dunlop, who's the minister
00:06:27
Speaker
of colleges and universities. Prabh Sarkarya, who's the MPP for Brampton South, and he's the president of the Treasury Board, and the new president of the Ontario PCs, Mike Diamond. So we'll have those as part of this episode. They're short and peppy, but at least we had a nice chat and asked a few questions and got a few responses. The mood was fairly celebratory, let's face it.
00:06:56
Speaker
I don't think they dug deep into a lot of policy issues. Of course, since then, now all hell is breaking loose with whether there's going to be a strike of the education of the school workers and janitors and so on or not. And whether there's there they should be using the notwithstanding clause to get them back to work. So we're all into that kind of thing again. And I'm sure parents who have
00:07:25
Speaker
kids in the public school system are worried about what's going to transpire. So a lot of what happened at the convention was all before that. And now we're into politics as usual, I suppose, wouldn't you say? Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out for the rest of this week. I don't know. I mean, I'm assuming in your area it's the same thing. I mean, you don't have kids in school, but
00:07:54
Speaker
You wouldn't be getting the letters from the school boards, but I know here and many other school boards they've sent out emails and letters saying they're closing on Friday. So I don't know if this can be averted or if they're just, if it's just a, you know, a game of chicken between the government and.
00:08:11
Speaker
the union because it sounds like the government is legislate doing the back to work legislation. But CUPE sure seems pretty hell bent on having their workers not be at schools on Friday. Well, they have a war chest. We all know that unions have contingency funding just for this kind of situation. So yeah, it is a game of chicken. No question about it. And I'm sure the Ford government
00:08:36
Speaker
predicts and assumes that most people are on their side. That is to say they don't want class disruption. We've been through two years of hell with COVID disruptions for kids and it's had an impact on their math skills and their reading skills and all these other things. So no one wants to see that disruption again. So what do you think is going to happen?
00:09:02
Speaker
Uh, I think that, uh, I think that it's the, the union, uh, the unions will table another offer. We'll see whether the, that makes any sense to the province or not. Uh, but if not, uh, there may be some disruption on Friday, but I don't think there'll be any long-term disruption. It's just too expensive. Uh, according to the legislation. Yeah. And then see, I don't, I don't know if there is room or a runway for another offer because
00:09:33
Speaker
If Leche is to be believed, it sounds like their offer was on the table and it was, that's it. And here's the point, because everybody, there's some sympathy for these workers. They are low paid compared to teachers or administrators in the school system. But as a former bargainer myself, as president of the Treasury Board, I had to bargain with public sector unions. That was part of my job.
00:10:03
Speaker
You know, the minute you give this union or this branch of QP, say a 7% raise rather than a 2% raise, guess what? Everybody else gets it. That's right. That becomes the benchmark for EPPO for the elementary teachers and the secondary school teachers. Yeah, that's what it's about. That's what it boils down to. Yeah.
00:10:28
Speaker
It'll be interesting. Who will blink first? That's the question. That's the question.
Premier Ford's Viral Moment & Guest Achievements
00:10:35
Speaker
Here's what I want to know. The premier's video of him carving a pumpkin. How many views does that have so far? Has it gone viral?
00:10:46
Speaker
I've seen it several times. He was wearing a Muskokish sweatshirt too. I saw that. Did you give that to him? No, I don't know where he got that. He probably got it from his cottage up when he's at his cottage. Well, on his cot, Stevenson Road 1. Absolutely. The video, like it reminds you of when he made the cheesecake or whatever it was there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, I don't know. They're just like,
00:11:09
Speaker
They're cringy videos, but they become cult classics. I feel like it's the kind of thing we'll watch 20 years from now and be like, this was awesome. I think they partially realize it drives their adversaries a little bit.
00:11:27
Speaker
bananas because it's just, it's cringy, but it's. Well, and especially putting it out when I don't know if it was planned or not, but it coming out on the same day as their back to work. Yeah. Here he is carving up a pumpkin with a knife. Good point. Yeah. Good point. He's stabbing the pumpkin. Yeah, exactly. As the, as the lefties would say, while he carves up our public school system, have you no shame.
00:11:52
Speaker
Hey, can I just give a shout out? We always like to celebrate when- The lefties? Oh, sorry, go ahead. Past guests, right? Yeah, so what did one do now? Well, there was Rebecca Schulz, the Alberta Cabinet Minister. She's now, I think, municipal affairs minister in Danielle Smith's government. So congratulations to Rebecca. And Elie Hazan. You probably don't remember Elie Hazan. I do. Yep, I do. That was a long time ago.
00:12:21
Speaker
Yeah, long, I think like it must've been 2019 or early 2020 when we had Elian, he was at the time the director of international relations for the Likud party in Israel. Yes, that's right. Well, Israel just went through yet another election and Elie Hazan was standing for the Knesset. Is he the prime minister now? No, no, no. I think it's Bibi is going to be back as
00:12:47
Speaker
Netanyahu is going to be back as prime minister, but he was running on the, Elie was running on the Likud ticket. And so I expect he will be in the Knesset very soon. So congratulations to him. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Well, you know what we do? We make, we make winners here. That's what we do. That's what we do. Exactly. So if you want to, if you are an aspiring politician and you want to get to that next level, then just drop us a line and we'll get you on the show.
00:13:13
Speaker
Get ready to have your career take off like a rocket. That's what you do here. Exactly. To the moon. We're here to help. To the moon. Yeah, so that's a little bit of other news about one of our former guests. And after 150 episodes, we've got a lot of folks that have come aboard. And we want to thank them. And again, thank our audience, too.
00:13:36
Speaker
Well, you know what they say, those who can are guests on and another thing and those who can't host it. That's right. And that's us. Yes, exactly. We're available. Actually, we are available for parties. Any gatherings, we can host your event. We have one event under our belt.
00:14:02
Speaker
We did a short but sweet stint at a Pierre Poliev fundraiser in Trenton, Ontario. That's right. Yeah, we did. We did that live. And we have the experience. We have the experience. That went well. That went well. Drop us a line at JodiAndTony.ca. Actually, I should start that website. I wonder if that even exists. JodiAndTony. That's kind of like better than our own website, to be honest. Well, JodiAndTony.ca. No, it doesn't exist. We did that on St. Patrick's Day.
00:14:31
Speaker
Yes, I know. But we should open up that website, JodiAndTony.ca. It's easier than hand another thing podcasts. So why don't you tee up these interviews with, with these three wonderful individuals from your,
Ontario PC Convention Interviews
00:14:44
Speaker
from Tony's trip to the convention. Yeah. So I hung out with Jill Dunlop. She is the minister of colleges and universities, MPP for Simcoe North, I believe.
00:14:57
Speaker
Incidentally, her dad represented that writing when I was in the Ontario Legislature, Garfield Dunlop. So I obviously inquired about him and he's doing great. And she's doing a great job, if I may say so, as College and Universities Minister. She talked a lot about training, working with Monty McNaughton at the Labour Ministry, and the need to have more trained individuals for our workforce.
00:15:27
Speaker
that was kind of her focus. And then Prabh Sarkarya, he was kind of, he's the president of the Treasury Board. He was just sort of taking in the victory lap part of the convention and how it was great to have all the volunteers together. There were a lot of volunteer awards and celebration of
00:15:48
Speaker
the rank and file who helped make the success of the election possible. And finally, Mike Diamond, who is the new president of the party, talking again about how important volunteers are, how they've got to train more volunteers and modernize the party a little bit.
00:16:12
Speaker
It was a good set of interviews because they each have maybe similar perspectives, but they have different functions in government or the party, and so we got a sense from these interviews what's important to them. Excellent. So enjoy these interviews from a segment we like to call Tony attends a convention.
00:16:37
Speaker
Welcome to, and another thing, podcast. I'm the co-host, Tony Clement, here with the honorable Jill Dunlop. She is your minister of colleges, universities, and that's it? That's it. Okay, you used to be training, but I guess training is not with labor. With labor, okay. Sorry, I'm showing my age yet again. The name has changed multiple times, though. Exactly. So, first of all, convention, any thoughts, highlights so far?
00:17:03
Speaker
Well yesterday we had our policy session, so I was joined with Minister of Education as well as the Attorney General Doug Downey and the Solicitor General Michael Kirzner. So our session was on education and safety, so we had a great discussion with our members, talked about some of the things that are going on in
00:17:21
Speaker
located 12 education as well as post-secondary. Lots of great things in my ministry, the new three-year degrees for colleges, the learn and stay program for nursing students, and stand-alone nursing degrees at colleges in Ontario.
00:17:35
Speaker
So that's really interesting. So there is a lot of reform going on right now. It's not sort of status quo. You're looking at the labour market and making necessary changes. Yeah, definitely. We have a labour shortage here in Ontario and, you know, we know colleges are nimble and quick and they work very well with industry and different sectors. So where this is a good thing for Ontario, good for students is give them choices and allow them the opportunity to choose universities or colleges closer to home and to help meet those labour market needs.
00:18:04
Speaker
So, okay, so here's the thing. You had a little bit of a party last night. You and Stephen Lecce and Caroline Mulroney, I think, were the three of you. It was the place to be last night, or are you kind of happy? In blue-fashioned number two. We celebrated Niagara Falls a couple years ago. We had a good crowd, so we did it again.
00:18:22
Speaker
Amazing to see so many people out. The premiers stopped by and had a visit. With Scott Moe and with Blaine Higgson. So we had the premiers of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick there. Yeah, we had a fun night and the other members were excited to get out and there was lots of dancing going on too. Lots of dancing. Well, you didn't have to dance for this interview. That's good. You were very smooth. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you.
00:18:47
Speaker
Welcome to, and another thing, podcast. It's your co-host, Tony Clement, here at the Ontario PC Party Convention. I'm here with Prabhmit Sarkarya. He is the MPP for Brampton South, my former riding.
00:19:00
Speaker
As well, he is president of the Treasury Board of Ontario. I was president of the Treasury Board federally, so there's a bit of kinship there. How are you liking the convention so far? It's been great. The energy is just incredible and getting to see everybody after historic win in June. It's just honestly great to connect with all the people that I believe were the reasons we won such a big majority of the volunteers, the delegates that are here. We're having great conversations and a lot of excitement for the next four years.
00:19:27
Speaker
Yeah, I'm getting a sense that people are looking ahead. Obviously, there is a celebratory atmosphere. Why not? A big second majority. But there's also consideration about how the province needs to move forward into the future. Absolutely. We've put forward a great vision by Premier Ford to build Ontario. And there's a lot of excitement to continue that. But we're also faced with some very uncertain economic times. So it's top of mind for many people and our members.
00:19:55
Speaker
the teams from across Ontario. So it's been a healthy discussion, a lot of excitement and a lot of interest in how this government can continue moving this province forward and building a brighter future for everyone.
00:20:09
Speaker
Now you had a little bit of a hospitality suite last night. That's also part of what these conventions are all about. People just having informal conversations. Did it go according to plan last night then? It was amazing. It's honestly the energy. Meeting so many people after so long. You know, we've been for the last...
00:20:28
Speaker
two and a half years it's been difficult to connect with so many members and virtual is just not the same. So getting everybody back together, having a good time, enjoying good music, good feud with everyone, it was just amazing. So I'm happy we were able to put that together and there were so many other suites as well. Everyone had a great time, good conversations and just a great time catching up. Well, Prab, enjoy the rest of the conference. Thanks Tony, appreciate it.
00:20:55
Speaker
Welcome back to, and another thing, podcast. I'm your co-host, Tony Clement, here at the Ontario PC Conference Convention. And I'm here with President-elect, I suppose, or designate Mike Diamond. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. I have big Chuck shoes to fill, including your own as the past president, but looking forward to it. Yes, we were talking about that. I was president, oh,
00:21:18
Speaker
32 years ago, so that's a long time ago now. But talk about, I guess, the present and the future. What sort of are your goals as president? Look, I think, you know, if you look at the last election, it was a tremendous success. But the one thing that all parties suffer from, and every volunteer-based organization suffers from right now, is you never have enough volunteers. So we need to spend the next couple of years recruiting, training, and bringing more folks into the tent to volunteer. Whereas not just at election time, but in between elections,
00:21:46
Speaker
And then one thing I think we need to focus on is we're very boxy in how we allow people to contribute their time. We need to get rid of those barriers and take the help that people are offering and prepare to give us. Is there a generational thing that you've got to tackle as well? Is that part of the issue? Well, look, I think absolutely, because we've relied on the same folks to do election campaigns for far too long, I'm sure.
00:22:07
Speaker
when you were president we still see a lot of the same campaign managers and that's great and their contribution is still important but we need to get them more support and eventually allow them to take their much well deserved retirement. So I'm going to ask you a question as putting on my federal conservative hat for a second and I know there's been a lot of media commentary about the relationship between the provincial conservatives and the federal conservatives. I will tell you my bias first and let you
00:22:34
Speaker
respond to that. But I think it's a very positive mood here. People are very proud of the foreign government and they also want Pierre to be successful federally. Am I wrong or am I right? No, I think you're absolutely right. More blue lawn signs are better for everyone. It doesn't matter.
00:22:49
Speaker
which party's on the ballot and which election cycle, so we need to get more conservatives elected, be it this coming Monday in Ontario to municipal councils and school boards, whenever Justin Trudeau's foolish enough to force us into an election, and then in three and a half years when we're back at the polls here in Ontario. More blue lawn signs are better for everyone. I like the way you look at things, that's the right way. Mike Diamond, thanks for being on the podcast, maybe we can have you back in the near future, have a bit of a longer interview. Very good. Thank you.
00:23:18
Speaker
Well, there you have it, three wonderful people, three wonderful interviews. And if we're not nominated for another award for that segment, I don't know what it takes to win anything in this world.
Upcoming Conference & US Political Landscape
00:23:31
Speaker
And I've got another, I've got another conference coming up, Jodie, next month. With where? Where? Washington, D.C., with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so. You're like his biggest groupie, bud.
00:23:45
Speaker
No. Every time you mention where Stephen Harper is in the world, you're there. Was he not just like overseas somewhere and you went there? Well, in Berlin. Yeah. But I was part of that conference in Berlin and I'm part of this conference in Washington.
00:24:05
Speaker
I think it's pretty coincidental. I don't know. I don't know. Tony, what are you doing here again? Oh, hey, Steve. Crazy catching you here. Yeah, go figure. Are you staying at this hotel? Are you staying at this hotel on this floor, on this side of it, of the building? No, stop it. You're at the Hilton too? What's going on here? Oh my gosh. It'll be right after the US midterm elections. So it'll be interesting to see
00:24:34
Speaker
what has happened at the midterms, which is next week, I guess, November 8th. And we'll be meeting in about a month later in DC. So there might be a lot of interesting drama going on, Jodi. Yeah. What's your prediction there? Oh, I think the Republicans are going to roll the Democrats. The Republicans. Yeah. This summer in theaters everywhere. I think they're winning back both houses. Okay.
00:25:04
Speaker
That's my prediction. Interesting. And who's going to, what are some of the names starting to come out for president? Any other, any other aspiring wannabes? Well, the big one is Ron DeSantis. So, uh, you know, if Trump doesn't run or is indicted or who knows what will happen with Trump, it's always a guessing game, but Ron DeSantis is the second in command one.
00:25:27
Speaker
Trump doesn't do it. Yeah, he's in the poll position. No question. Yeah, no question. He's doing really well. He'll be reelected as governor. Yeah, they love him in Florida. They love him in Florida. And I think that, you know, who knows? I mean, he could run even if Trump runs, but that might be a kamikaze mispermission. But things are just so up in the air.
00:25:53
Speaker
with Trump and all of the legal battles that he has that DeSantis may just decide that it's worth going anyway. But regardless, he's in a very fine position, I'd have to say. Interesting. And I guess Biden, could someone challenge Biden or no? They could. There's nothing swapping them. But again, he's got the power. It's just not good form. I mean, hey, Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter when Jimmy Carter was president.
00:26:23
Speaker
Yeah. So it can happen, but Kennedy didn't win. No. It's hard to beat an incumbent president, you know, so. But it's just I think most Democrats would want to see a change. But if Biden doesn't want to go, what are you going to do? Exactly. So.
00:26:42
Speaker
All right, well, that was one heck of a show.
Sponsors, Merchandise & Conclusion
00:26:46
Speaker
Thanks again to all our supporters, including the crew at Municipal Solutions, John Mutton and the team there presenting our program each week. You can find them online at municipalsolutions.ca as well. You can catch us Saturday mornings on 88.7 Hunters Bay Radio, where Tony also does his rockin' shindig. There must be an episode of that coming up soon. November 19th.
00:27:13
Speaker
Okay. What's the theme? I don't have a theme yet. Okay. You're going to get one though. I will get one. I promise. So this is what I want to understand. You researched for these themes on your own little radio show and yet you didn't even know it was our 150th episode last week. That is good. I don't know. I was just mesmerized by Steve Paken, I guess.
00:27:36
Speaker
So yeah, Hunters Bay Radio 88.7 and don't forget you can use the code podcast to get 50% off an annual subscription to LooneyPolitics.com where you can get exclusive news content for all your political needs.
00:27:51
Speaker
loonypolitics.com. I think you mentioned that there's more supporters coming on board soon or what, maybe? Yeah, there's a couple of fires in the fire. Good, because Christmas is coming. I got to get gifts for the kids. We got to gas up those Bentleys. Don't forget folks to rate and review our podcast. That always helps with the algorithm and our merch table is still open at ZekeAgency.com.
00:28:19
Speaker
By the way, so I saw, I just got to get this out here, but I saw that Corey Tonight guy who you probably saw at the convention. Yes. Right. I saw him on CBC and I noticed over his shoulder on the wall when he was doing the interview that Curse of Politics sign, you know, our sworn enemies there over at the Curse of Politics podcast. We got to get you to get some sort of sign up behind you when you do any radio or TV interviews.
00:28:44
Speaker
Yeah, we should get a little... Is he on that show now? Yes, he's on there regularly, yes. Oh, I didn't know that. So it's Scott Reed, the Hurley Burley or David Hurley. Yes. And Jenny's not on there anymore? She is. I am not sure. I don't think she is, but I could be wrong, but I don't think she is. Well, maybe we should just pay Corey tonight to drop the Curse of Politics sign. We'll pay him to put up an end another thing. That's right. We'll just send it over to him.
00:29:14
Speaker
You should just deliver it to them. That's right. Product placement. Hey, Corey, are you in there? All right. Well, enjoy the rest of your week, and we will do this again in seven days. I'm looking forward to it, my friend.