op-ed sent to the National Post - re Progressives

Progressives at City Hall

With the future retirement of Mayor Miller there has been a lot of talk about “progressives” at city hall without any definition of who they are or what they stand for.
Is the word a catchy way to demonize everyone who is not a progressive? Is it a name to describe the chosen few who really know the truth of how to legislate the perfect Toronto society? There is smugness to the word progressive, a moral superiority and self-righteousness indicating that they are the only ones who have the vision of the perfect society and who know how to achieve it. In truth, I think it describes people who say they support objectives that are progressive like multiculturalism, good wages, housing, and food for all, equality and freedom for all and other liberal and enlightened ideologies. Of course everyone supports these things, but the progressives do so more vocally then others. There are three problems with their ideas and ideologies. Multiculturalism has proven to be a false God. It has allowed immigrants to stay in secluded pockets and to not assimilate with other Canadians. It recently has also encouraged new immigrants to keep their foreign cultures and to not adopt Canadian cultures and values. Certainly everyone should have good wages, good housing and good food. However there is a price to pay for this and often this burden is too much for Toronto householders, especially seniors. In addition there are limits to the amounts of money that the Federal and Provincial governments are willing and able to pour money into Toronto. Living within one’s budget is necessary and often determines minimum standards of wages and housing despite ideology. Workers and others do not need to be paid or housed in the same elite style as the mayor. Promoting unreasoned, unreasonable and unachievable goals is not admirable. It is better to take small steps to work towards realistically achievable solutions for the social beneficial of all Toronto residents.

Lastly I suspect that often those progressives at city hall are not really promoting liberty or wealth for all, but are promoting their own self-interest. Promoting “the good life” for everyone is admirable but impossible. We do our best. Those who pontificate are often using social welfare ideas as a platform for their own success. That is what the “progressives” are doing and that is why we should not elect another “progressive” to city hall.