Is a Christmas peace at hand for Kathleen Wynne and Stephen Harper? A lot of people had hoped that maybe John Tory, Toronto’s new mayor, would somehow act as an intermediary to help smooth things out. The premier seemed to use some injudicious language however in a year-end interview with the Canadian Press. She said she hoped the prime minister wasn’t engaged in a vendetta against Ontario. It was the type of “gosh do you really suppose” type of politicking which the premier is good at. Anyone, regardless of political affiliation, will understand why no prime minister can pursue a vendetta against Ontario. Maybe the PM has a vendetta or something like it against the premier, but that’s a different thing. In fact, Ms Wynne and the PM are such different kinds of people it is not surprising they don’t hit it off. Regrettable, but not surprising. The last time the two met was December 5. 2013,. “I really believe that as leaders and as politicians with a lot of responsibility we have to be able to, all of us, rise above the personal,” Wynne said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press. “I don’t think this should be about a personal interaction. It should be about the offices of prime minister and premier of Ontario having a good working relationship because that’s in the best interest of the people of the province and quite frankly it’s in the best interest of the people of the country.” Jason MacDonald, a Harper aide, said there will be a meeting but did not say when. The biggest rock in the way of better relations is the planned Ontario pension plan. The premier thinks people need to save more and Harper say tax breaks are a better way because they don’t take away income. Harper has recently said the Ontario government should focus less on “confrontation” and more on getting its fiscal house in order. Ontario has a $12.5-billion deficit, while Ottawa is banking on a $1.6-billion surplus for 2015-16. Fitch Ratings on Friday downgraded Ontario’s long-term debt rating to AA-, saying “difficult actions” will be necessary for the province to meet its target of balance.
