Photo Credit: CBC

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Première Dalton Mcguinty seems to feel that during this recession- the biggest global economic recession in 80 years – it is necessary to review Canadian assets and look at the possibility of selling off certain properties such as Hydro One, the OLG and Racetracks, and the Liquor Control Board. Two banks, CIBC World Markets and Goldman Sachs Group, are reviewing these assets in addition to others, to determine whether selling these off would indeed be beneficial in slimming down the $24.7 billion deficit which Tory MPP Peter Shurman explains was of the Premiers own making. A final decision has yet to be made but the proposal is on the table.

Critics point out that the government would be able to book revenue only to the extent that the sale price exceeds the book value of the asset, making this option less attractive when viewed in the proper context. NDP leader Andrea Horwath said: “It’s quick cash but you wind up paying through the nose everyday. This government is reaching into the past for a tired old idea that doesn’t work.” She explained that selling off public assets is a disastrous idea that will cost Ontario in the long run. “It’s very clear that when these public assets are sold off, the public gets a bad deal,” she said. Ironically, it was just the other week when Finance Minister Dwight Duncan stood up in the Legislature and reamed the PCs for having sold off Highway 407 to a private company that can now raise its toll rates at will.
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That’s Wilfrid Laurier from Quebec. He has no future. He does nothing nowadays, but sit in the library, day after day, reading books.
- A journalist commenting in 1884. Wilfrid Laurier became Prime Minister in 1896.

There are great life lessons to be gleaned by watching politicians in action or by reading political history. This should not be surprising, since politicians are recruited from our own society, and they have the same life issues as everyone else. In fact, many issues they grapple with are universal in nature and people around the world also grapple with these same issues in some form.

The foregoing quote underscores a great universal lesson. Success often flows to those with grit and determination who do not let setbacks hold them down. Laurier is just one of many politicians who languished in opposition for years, but through diligence and patience was able to eventually achieve power. Sir John A. Macdonald, Mackenzie King, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill all experienced major setbacks during their careers, although they are remembered more for their victories and successes. Dalton McGuinty is a recent example: few expected him to be successful, but through discipline, hard work and openness to advice, he was able to bounce back and achieve two back-to-back majorities.
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