#bob rae

[oldshowbiz]

Midday (1995) on CBC Television

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Rae Days: Lessons from the Social Contract 30 years later

<p>The legacy of the Social Contract is one of betrayal. The NDP sold out its union base to appease capital – pleasing no one in the process

Great history of Bob Rae and the NDP in power in Ontario in the early 1990s. My parents still feel betrayed all these decades later. "Deficit mania In its first two years of power, the NDP had brought in important labour law changes, raised the minimum wage, raised welfare rates, invested in housing, and raised taxes on higher income earners. 

At the same time, the government was laying the groundwork for severe austerity. In January 1992, Rae took to television to tell Ontarians there were unsustainable deficits ahead and action needed to be taken. The NDP’s main focus was to get the deficit under control.

Either the NDP was going to push forward real substantive changes to how the economy works and for whom, or it was going to appease the economic forces in power. Rather than take on the big business agenda head-on, the NDP in government was pulled into managing the economy. And, first and foremost, this meant placating business interests and creating a stable climate for investment and business. 

It should be noted that much of the hew and cry about the deficit and impending debt wall was baseless. The government claimed that the deficit would be $18 billion by 1995, an over-the-top projection. The real figure was almost half of that. Ontario still had access to financial markets; there was little concern about its long run debt to GDP ratio. 

The NDP was viciously attacked by the rightwing and under siege from the big business lobby but there is little to suggest that Ontario was facing an actual fiscal crisis. The net debt-to-GDP ratio under the Rae government was lower than any subsequent government in Ontario. 

To get the deficit under control, the NDP opted to not go after the rich and powerful. Both a wealth tax and an inheritance tax were dismissed early on. The NDP was also not going to substantially raise corporate taxes. The government was more comfortable bailing out corporations, opening casinos, and doing big pharmaceutical companies favours, at the taxpayers’ expense.' - David Bush, "Rae Days: Lessons from the Social Contract 30 years later." Spring Magazine. July 7, 2023.

[politicaldilfs]

Michael Ignatieff (w/ Bob Rae in the last photo)

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Bob Rae has turned into Schrodinger’s Politician for the Liberals. When they’re punching left at the NDP, he’s an NDP lifer (conveniently leaving the fact that he’s been a big-L Liberal for over a decade now). But whenever they need a wise old elderly statesman, he’s the first person they turn to.

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Submitted by @fueltransitsleep.

[thatrickmcginnis]

I couldn't have known this when I took these pictures of an anxious-looking man in a big office. I didn't dislike Hampton, but I certainly didn't envy him his job, and if anything I felt a bit sorry for him. Pity is about as much of a friendly emotion as I'm willing to expend on a politician, and these days it's rare that I can find much of it for anyone, regardless of party affiliation.

More here.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Bob Rae’s ‘failed’ premiership is a myth

By 1995, Ontario led the way in growth among all Canadian provinces.

If anyone brings up ‘Bob Rae’ to try to fear monger about the NDP in the Ontario election, direct them to this article.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Bob Rae responds: 'At some point, the lies and propaganda have to be answered'

Opinion: Amid criticism on the campaign trail of his time as Ontario's premier, Bob Rae defends the legacy of his NDP government

Bob Rae was the New Democratic Party premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013.

The first of 1st-century Jerusalem scholar Rabbi Hillel’s famous three questions put it most succinctly: “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?” There are many who suggest that for me to comment on my time as premier of Ontario only adds fuel to the flames of derision from right and left. But at some point, the lies and propaganda have to be answered. And things being what they are, if I don’t do it, not many others will.

I wrote about these years some time ago in a political memoir called From Protest to Power. Ontario’s economy grew steadily from 1983 to late 1989, but a combination of high-interest rates and restructuring following the free trade agreement with the United States were principally responsible for a sharp downturn that began before the election of 1990. As events unfolded, the Ontario economy faced its worst recession since the late 1930s. No sector was left untouched, from real estate in Toronto to forestry in northern Ontario.

Like all recessions, it took its toll on public finances. Costs increased as more people faced unemployment with a federal insurance scheme that kicked in with too little, too late. Inflation screeched to a halt, and so did provincial revenues, actually going down year over year for the first time since Mitch Hepburn had been premier.

That was the economic backdrop to the formation and life of the New Democratic Party government in Ontario, elected in September of 1990. To say that the NDP “caused the recession” is just nonsense. In the face of the recession, the government pursued a policy that sought partnership with the private sector (restructuring northern forestry companies, buying De Havilland with Bombardier, working on strategies for sectors that needed public support and private innovation), an unprecedented effort on training the work force (known as “Jobs Ontario”), focusing on social justice and employment equity, and investing substantial funds into housing and transit. Jobs began to return after 1992, and by 1995 Ontario’s growth was the best in the G7.

Continue Reading.

[akaashmaharaj]

Installation Dinner for Bob Rae as Massey College’s Visitor

I was delighted to welcome my friend Bob Rae as the new Visitor of Massey College, the University of Toronto’s graduate college.

The Visitor was originally the locus of public accountability at a mediaeval institution. Today, the role survives as the ceremonial, ultimate arbiter at colleges across the Commonwealth of Nations.

My colleagues at the college’s Governing Board and I were unanimous that Bob’s eminence in global affairs and public service would bring honour to the role and to our community.

🍁🎓 https://masseycollege.ca/