Unite the Right in Ontario
PGIB
has not only made a contribution to the 'Common Sense Revolution'
that perpetuated Mike Harris to power in Ontario, but was the organization
that kept the right united in Ontario that assured his victory!
Of
course, we can only give you a small snapshot of our dedication
to unity of the right, so we will start with the year 1993. PGIB
had existed for a year and was growing at an exciting rate.
Our
president Craig B. Chandler was well known in political circles
at all levels of government and came second for the Reform Party
of Canada at the age of 23 in the Liberal stronghold of Hamilton
Mountain, Ontario. Mr. Chandler ran one of the most effective billboard
campaigns and was predicted to win by local radio and television
stations.
Reform,
which at that time stood for (Regular Everyday Folk Out to Remove
Mulroney) existed because the federal Progressive Conservatives
had let Canadians down and the Reform Party was needed to provide
a real conservative alternative.
Further,
many felt that Ontario Progressive Conservatives had also let them
down and were correct. Ontario Tory Premier Bill Davis was a Red
Tory and as Liberal as his successor David Peterson.
Ontario
a normally conservative province rather than embracing the Conservatives
again jumped into bed for a quick affair with Bob Rae and his socialist
NDP.
PGIB
initially formed to rid Ontario of the NDP, had very close ties
with various conservative parties including Mike Harris and the
Ontario Progressive Conservatives. In a letter dated November 3,
1993 Mr. Harris makes it clear that the discussions on a unified
front and "Common Sense Revolution" started with discourse
with Mike Harris and PGIB national
President Craig B. Chandler. Following are some quotes from the
letter November 3, 1993 letter written to Mr. Chandler.
"I
wanted to write to you after our meetings regarding provincial matters,
which occurred prior to the federal election. At the time of our
meetings, and as a representative of The
Progressive Group For Independent Business, you had expressed
an interest in furthering the goals of the free market and greater
opportunity for Ontarians by assisting us in defeating the Liberals
and the NDP in the next provincial election.
I
can tell you that the federal election results only confirm in my
organization and me the absolute necessity in presenting an organized
and unified front against the Liberals and NDP in the next election.
The alternative is a split conservative vote and continued governance
by the taxers and spenders."
"...
I welcome you and your colleagues continued and increased involvement.
It is only by working together that we can achieve our policy goals.
Let us start now on common crusade, to build the team and the organization,
which will carry the message in every riding in the next election.
I look forward to getting that process started now."
And
some quotes from the August 25, 1994 letter from Mr. Harris to Mr.
Chandler: "I wish to invite you to participate in a policy
forum that I am personally organizing...Your personal participation
in this forum will greatly assist us in examining and developing
policy alternatives of how we might best achieve the goals that
we have established as a Party..."
Many
more letters were written back and forth and Craig B. Chandler and
Mike Harris formed an open channel of communication and a unified
slayer of the left. PGIB held a
meeting of small 'c' conservatives such as: Mike Harris (Leader
of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives), Leslie Noble (Ontario
Progressive Conservatives), Tony Clement (Ontario Progressive Conservatives),
Dick Field (Voice of Canadians), Thom Corbett (Ontarians for Responsible
Government), John Furedy (Society for Academic Freedom), Doug Hindson
(Ontario Taxpayer's Federation), John Thompson (The McKenzie Institute),
Ron Leitch (APEC), Ron Horne (The Reform party), Ken Parsons (Employment
Excellence), representatives of the Freedom Party, Libertarians
party and COR Parties of Ontario. The purpose of the meeting was
to have open and frank discourse with Mike Harris to unite the right
in Ontario.
PGIB
had secured much support for Harris, but, the PGIB
assault was yet to be waged within the Reform Party of Canada. Stepping
back to 1993 when the Reform Party had been in the province of Ontario
for three years and the players in the Reform movement in Ontario
were very apparent. Reg Gosse of Kitchener Waterloo and Craig B.
Chandler of Burlington were seen as two of the most dedicated contributors
to the building of a new Canada.
After
Ontario was decimated, Reg Gosse a close political ally of PGIB
National President, Craig B. Chandler felt the only way to save
Ontario was to create a new and untainted small 'c' conservative
party based on less government, lower taxes and political accountability.
The
PGIB has been working diligently
and loyally with the Ontario Progressive Conservative's (OPC) to
rebuild at Constituency Associations levels in Burlington, Oakville,
Milton, Markham and Toronto. PGIB
had members on strategic Tory executives and had PGIB
policies adopted which were then passed on convention floors and
aggressively lobbied in many grassroots policy conferences.
When
all was said and done, 17 of the PGIB
policies created at the 1992 founding convention of the PGIB
became the basis of the "Common Sense Revolution."
PGIB
does not stop with policies, but encouraged members to seek office
under the OPC banner and supported other PGIB
friendly Members of Provincial Parliament like Peter Gilchrist,
Gary Carr and Bob Wood. We also maintained healthy relationships
with MPP Cam Jackson and Tony Clement (a recent leadership candidate
in the 2002 OPC elections who lost to Ernie Eves.)
Unlike,
Reg Gosse and his cohorts who thought starting a brand new party
was the best way to revive Ontario the PGIB
felt helping rebuild the OPC was the fastest way to gain electoral
success and rid Ontario of Premier Bob Rae and his socialist NDP.
The
PGIB knew of Reg Gosse and his
agenda and had reliable sources feeding us regular intelligence
on the Reform Association of Ontario (RAOO). As Reg Gosse organized
so did PGIB. In fact, the OPC looked
to PGIB for help not only to bridge
the gap between the OPC and many federal Reformer's, but, we were
asked to stop the proposed provincial Reform Association in it's
tracks!
Further,
many federal Reform Party Constituencies in Ontario even the national
office of the Reform Party in Calgary appealed to PGIB
to stop Reg Gosse and the RAOO. Up to 95% of the federal Reform
Party support in Ontario came from the OPC and there was a great
fear of collapse for Reform if they challenged this coalition at
the provincial level.
The
answer to unity was PGIB tactics
and the PGIB Executive unanimously
agreed to reform Focus Federally For Reform (FFFR) and created a
coalition of riding Presidents, provincial Tories and Reform Party
candidates from Hamilton, Waterloo, Mississauga, Bruce Grey, Don
Valley, Brant, Brampton, Etobicoke, Nippising, Burlington and other
areas throughout Ontario.
The
Reform party's national office in Calgary applauded and encouraged
the PGIB's offshoot organization
and the party's Executive Director, Glen McMurray requested the
names of all those representing FFFR and wanted to FFFR releases
before they were disseminated to the media.
Many
have said the PGIB is the fiercest
but most necessary political lobby group in Canada because it
will do whatever is necessary for the conservative movement to flourish.
Stephen Harper, the new leader of the Canadian Alliance stated at
the 1999 PGIB AGM that: "If
you want cocktails join the group downtown. If you actually want
something done join PGIB."
The
following are quotes from various newspaper articles relating to
PGIB's offshoot group Focus Federally
For Reform (FFFR):
"Chandler...
is paying close attention to the provincial element of politics
in Ontario and intends to turn his fire hose on the brushfire lit
by Reg Gosse." (The Ottawa Citizen, April 16, 1994)
"Reformers
have become some of our most ardent supporters... said Conservative
president Steve Gilchrist." (Toronto Star, 1994)
"A
few faction called Focus Federally For Reform is threatening to
have it out with activists like Reg Gosse... Focus members are planning
to crash an association meeting..." (Canadian Press, April
6, 1994)
"Loyal
Reformers like Mr. Chandler have pledged to hold the line the manning
policy." (Hamilton Spectator, April 9,1994)
"The
federal wing of the Reform party will launch an attack today aimed
at wiping out the creation of a provincial division of the party.
Focus Federally for reform, led by former Reform candidate Craig
Chandler, will outline the assault at a Queen's park news conference."
(Toronto Sun, April 1, 1994)
"Ontario
conservative leader Mike Harris is wooing a not so reluctant political
paramour. "Mike Harris has seen the light and is moving towards
the Reform Party of Canada way of thinking" Craig Chandler,
a well-connected federal Reform candidate who ran last fall in Hamilton
Mountain and who has been courted by the Tories. Mr. Chandler has
promised to put his campaign team to work behind the Conservatives
in the provincial election expected the spring of 1995, but he turned
down the opportunity to seek a Tory nomination." (Canadian
Press, 1994)
"Ontario
Tory Leader Mike Harris said he's seeking support for the Conservatives...
He was a guest speaker at a Hamilton meeting of The
Progressive Group For Independent Business (PGIB)...
Mr. Harris said Mr. Chandler might make a good candidate."
(Hamilton Spectator, January 18, 1994)
"When
Reformers fall out, the grass gets trampled, Craig Chandler, leader
of the Reform Party of Ontario and supporter of Mr. Manning, is
a scornful of the efforts of the renegades, the wanna-bes whom he
dismisses as "a dead issue." For his part Mr. Chandler
is throwing his weight behind Conservative Leader Mike Harris and
he is part of an organization that is erecting billboards that say,
"Bob McLeod and Lyn Rae: We don't see a difference." (Globe
and Mail, May 4, 1995)
As
you have read from some of the minor samplings of the newspaper
articles it was PGIB's offshoot
organization that delivered the defeat of the Reform Association
of Ontario. After the negative attention brought to the RAOO and
the brokering displayed by PGIB
between the Reform party and the OPC the motion to expand the Reform
Party into provincial politics was soundly defeated on the party's
convention floor that same year. Needless to say, PGIB
was in full force at the convention.
We
have been doing the front line grunt work for the conservative movement
for years. The blatant rip off's of ideas and conferences etc...have
been at our expense, yet we continue on because it is not about
egos!
It
is very apparent that PGIB has
been long uniting the right before the failed and copy cat "Winds
of Change", or even the United Alternative that birthed the
Canadian Alliance were ever thought of!
It
seems that the Globe and Mail in describing the PGIB
on March 14, 1997 as "...the group known as the brains behind
Mike Harris's Common Sense Revolution" were quite correct.
It shows that they do consult grassroots, not just hacks, and they
actually do their research.
PGIB
members can take pride in the various accomplishments of the organization.
Focus Federally For Reform was just another campaign and another
tactic used by PGIB to achieve
our objective. PGIB has proven
beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are the most effective brokers
of the right in this country!
PGIB
policies did help create an attractive Ontario Progressive Conservative
platform very palatable for Ontario voters. PGIB
tactics insured the OPC had no enemies on the right and allowed
a massive majority government for Mike Harris.
We
appreciate the thanks we received from various Reform Party Constituency
Associations and Ontario Progressive Conservatives throughout Ontario.
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