Mike Still Feels Right

By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD, TORONTO SUN

Mike Harris Former Premier of Ontario

IT'S A HOT June day, and office workers look twice at the bulky figure on a bench in front of Queen's Park.

His hair is greyer and he has a slight paunch, but there's no mistaking the craggy face and fierce eyebrows. Love him or hate him; take him or leave him -- it's Mike Harris, arguably the single most powerful political force in the province in the past decade.

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since he and his Tories swept to power in a landslide victory that gave him 82 out of the then 130 seats in the Legislature. You said you wanted a revolution? You got it June 8, 1995.

IT'S BEEN A DECADE

Wednesday marks a decade since voters turned hard right and picked Harris and his Common Sense Revolution -- the Tory manifesto that promised to cut taxes, slash welfare and end employment equity job quotas the NDP government of the day had espoused.

A decade later, the former premier is still unapologetically hard right of centre. So, with Liberals firmly in power both provincially and federally, I ask him, is the right dead?

"No, I don't think it's dead," he replies. "I think it's crying out for leadership and I am a Conservative and I will certainly support (federal Conservative leader) Stephen Harper," he says, adding that Harper will make a "far better prime minister than he has proven to be campaigning for the job right now."

Provincial leader John Tory is doing a good job, he adds. "There is a concern that I have, and a number of like-minded people have, that conservative free-enterprise philosophy is not being voted for," says Harris, who is now a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

"It's either not being explained properly or marketed properly if you like, because one of our themes is that we think it is common sense in a macro way, as to what is best for the country and what is best for the province, so I hold great hope for the future."

One big disappointment, he says, was Belinda Stronach's surprise defection to the Liberals. Harris was one of Stronach's most powerful supporters for the federal Tory leadership. He believes she's made a fatal political error. How did he feel when he watched his protege cross the floor?

"I don't know whether she would say she was my protege," Harris replies. "Belinda is Belinda and there are not too many like her. I was terribly disappointed and I believe for her personally it was the wrong decision and had I been asked before she made it, I would have told her that and I think a true friend would tell her that.

"I think she had a marvellous opportunity one day to be the first woman prime minister of Canada and I think she has given that up for immediate satisfaction, if you like." (Actually, Kim Campbell was the first woman PM when she succeeded Brian Mulroney in 1993. An aide to Harris later explained he meant the first woman to be elected PM.)

Harris has no regrets about the massive changes his government implemented. In fact, if he were to do it again, he'd move farther and faster, so the changes could have been incorporated into the fabric of the province so subsequent governments would not have been able to undo them -- as happened with the education tax credit for parents with youngsters in private schools, and hydro privatization.

"I am disappointed we didn't do the school tax credit sooner. Then Mr. Eves delayed it a year and it didn't get entrenched, didn't get to be a part of Ontario society, because ultimately it got scrapped," Harris says. "I think those changes, including the school tax credit, encouraging more competition, I firmly believe that would have made a stronger, better public school system."

Another success, Harris says, was getting almost a million people off welfare. The Tories delivered "less government, less dependence on government, which was the key of the welfare changes. "How do you change from dependency to being able to help yourself? "How do you change this entitlement mentality -- that you are entitled to help from the government, whether you deserve or try anything?" he asks.

"Prior to and since, we have seen governments campaign on 'we'll give you more of this, we'll give you more non-profit housing, we'll give you more child care.' " 'We will make more people dependent on government' is what they are really saying, and I think that is 100% the wrong thing to do to people."

What was remarkable about the Tory win in 1995 was that they got elected by promising voters less, not more. And of course, the pledge to cut taxes after years of tax hikes. "It used to be a great budget if you didn't hike taxes too much," Harris recalls.

He's still committed to privatization in areas of health care, education and electricity. "We need to encourage the private sector to be involved in the delivery of health care and in the provision of health care, and I regret I left politics before we got those changes done," he says.

GETTING MARRIED

As for the future? Well, Harris is getting married this year to his live-in fiancee, Laura Maguire. They've bought a house together in Woodbridge -- Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's riding. ("We still call it Al Palladini's riding," quips Harris. Palladini, who died of a heart attack in 2001, was a close personal friend.)

Harris's younger son, Jeffrey, 13, who has cerebral palsy, will move in with them. His older son, Mike Jr., 19, lives with his mom in North Bay.

SITS ON SEVERAL BOARDS

Aside from his gig at the Fraser Institute, Harris works for a law firm and sits on boards of several charities.

Most of all, Harris is proud that his party delivered on campaign promises: "We did what we said we would do," he recalls, noting that the McGuinty Liberals have already left a "litany of broken promises.

"They campaigned on things they either knew or they ought to have known they had no ability to do," he says. Unfortunately, it tends to discourage voters from believing politicians, particularly at election time. So I'm proud of the fact that we contributed to restoring respect for politicians. I hope we are remembered for that, too."