Wynne vows to work with whoever is PM

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she will fight for Ontario no matter what party forms the next federal government.

Thestar.com
Sept. 15, 2015
By Robert Benzie

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she will fight for Ontario no matter which party forms the next federal government.

Wynne, who has been campaigning aggressively for the Liberals, disputed “this notion ... that I won’t be able to work with (NDP Leader Thomas) Mulcair or (Conservative Leader Stephen) Harper - that I will only be able to work with Justin Trudeau.”

“It is my job as a premier of Ontario to work with whoever is the prime minister and I will do that,” she told the Star Friday.

“No matter who is the prime minister, I will stand up for the people of Ontario on Oct. 20.”

In her interview, Wynne would not say whether she would like to see Mulcair’s New Democrats and Trudeau’s Liberals topple Harper if the Conservatives fail to secure a majority in the 338-member Commons.

“I’m not going to pre-empt the due process or speculate on the process,” she said, adding her only expectation is that the next government in Ottawa be willing to work with the provincial and territorial leaders.

“If it’s a minority situation I will be calling for that kind of co-operation.”

On Wednesday, Wynne will go for a morning run in Toronto’s Corktown with Liberal candidate Bill Morneau and “discuss the need for a change in government in Ottawa” for the benefit of media cameras.

The campaign jog is only the latest example of the premier injecting herself into the federal arena.

On Saturday, she announced $10.5 million in new funding to help Syrian refugees, accusing Harper of not doing enough to ease the humanitarian crisis.

One month ago, at a large Trudeau rally in Regent Park, Wynne launched her first salvo against Mulcair, saying he “talks a good game on child care and on increasing the minimum wage and abolishing the Senate.”

“But when you look at what he’s talking about, the ideas are either incomplete or they’re unworkable or they’re impossible. He’s all over the map - that’s not a clear, workable plan,” she told 600 Liberals.

Despite the barbs, Mulcair, who shares her views on the need to improve pensions and fund public transit expansion, has stayed above the fray.

“I look forward to working with Kathleen Wynne and every other provincial premier when we form government on Oct. 19. I have to work with all provincial premiers irrespective of their political stripes,” the NDP chief said last month.

In contrast, Harper - who famously did not meet face-to-face with Wynne for 396 days from 2013 to 2015 - relishes being able to tangle with the Ontario premier.

“Kathleen Wynne is mad that I won’t help her do that ... You’re bloody right,” he boasted last month after his government announced it would not help administer the new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan despite co-operating with Quebec and Saskatchewan on their benefits schemes.

“The Conservative government is not going to help bring in that kind of tax hike.”

At the Regent Park rally on Aug. 17, Trudeau lambasted Harper’s churlishness.

“If the prime minister had been doing his job over the past 10 years to secure Canadians’ retirement, to work with the provinces ... well, then, Kathleen wouldn’t be doing his job on top of her job,” the Liberal leader said.