Mike Harris

Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945, in Toronto, Ontario) was the twenty-second Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and significant cuts to some government programs.

Background

Harris was born in Toronto and grew up in North Bay, where his father operated a ski hill. Harris first attended Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University) but left after a year. He then worked at his father's ski hill before attending Laurentian University and North Bay Teacher's College, and became an elementary school teacher for a short period of time. He then became a golf pro and managed a local course.

Early political career

He first sought election to public office as a school board trustee in 1975. He entered provincial politics in the 1981 election, and defeated the incumbent Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Nipissing. Harris later claimed that he was motivated to enter politics by an opposition to the policies of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Harris sat as a backbencher in Bill Davis's Ontario Progressive Conservative Party government from 1981 to 1985. He supported Frank Miller's successful bid to succeed Davis as party leader in 1985, and took the role of rival candidate Dennis Timbrell to prepare Miller for the party's all-candidate debates. Miller was sworn in as Premier of Ontario on February 8, 1985, and appointed Harris as his Minister of Natural Resources.

The Tories were reduced to a minority government in the 1985 provincial election, although Harris was personally re-elected without difficulty. He kept the Natural Resources portfolio after the election, and was also named Minister of Energy on May 17, 1985. Time limitations prevented Harris from making many notable contributions in these portfolios, as the Miller government was soon defeated on a Motion of No Confidence by David Peterson's Liberals and Bob Rae's New Democratic Party.

An agreement between the Liberals and the NDP allowed a Liberal minority government to govern for two years in exchange for the implementation of certain NDP policies. This decision consigned the Tories to opposition for the first time in 42 years. Miller resigned and was replaced by Larry Grossman, who led the party to a disastrous showing in the 1987 election and announced his resignation shortly thereafter. Harris was again re-elected in Nipissing without difficulty.

Leadership

The party was not ready to hold a leadership convention in 1987. Grossman, who had lost his legislative seat, remained the official leader of the party until 1990 while Sarnia MPP Andy Brandt served as "interim leader" in the legislature. Harris was chosen as PC house leader, and had become the party's dominant voice in the legislature by 1989. He entered the 1990 leadership race, and defeated Dianne Cunningham in a province-wide vote to replace Grossman as the party's official leader.

While Harris' victory owed much to the support of longtime caucus members and party activists, the philosophical differences between his core supporters and the traditional leadership of the party were significant. Before Harris, the Ontario PC leadership (typified by figures such as Bill Davis) was politically centrist and was largely responsible for the elaborate welfare state that had been created in Ontario during the party's many decades in power. In contrast, Harris embodied a more conservative ideology and confrontational approach to government, promoting tax cuts, reduced government spending, and aggressive deficit reduction.

Towards power

The 1990 provincial election was called soon after Harris became party leader. With help from past leader Larry Grossman, Harris managed to rally his party's core supporters with pledges of tax cuts and spending reductions. Ironically, in the light of later events, Harris was personally endorsed by several local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF). The party increased its seat total from 17 to 20 out of 130. Despite some early concerns, Harris was again able to retain his own seat.

On May 3, 1994, Harris unveiled his "Common Sense Revolution" platform. An unusual document in the normally centrist Ontario political environment, it called for significant spending cuts and large tax cuts, as well as elimination of the province's record $11 billion deficit.

Victory

By 1995, the governing New Democratic Party and incumbent Premier Bob Rae had become extremely unpopular with the electorate, largely due to the state of the Ontario economy and its record debt and deficit amidst a North American recession. Lyn McLeod's Liberals were leading in pre-election polls and were expected to benefit from the swing in support away from the NDP, but they began losing support due to several controversial policy reversals and what was generally regarded as an uninspiring campaign.

The turning point in the election is often considered to be Harris' performance in the televised leader's debate. Rather than get caught up in the debate between McLeod and Rae, Harris used his camera time to speak directly to the camera to convey his party's Common Sense Revolution platform.

Harris was elected with a large majority government in the 1995 election. Roughly half of his party's seats came from the suburban belt surrounding Metro Toronto, often called the '905' for its telephone area code.

Harris's victory may be credited in part to the way in which he presented himself as a populist, arguing that he and his party represented the interests of "ordinary Ontarians" over those of "special interests". It was primarily in this manner that he was able to build Tory support among working-class voters. The Rae government had previously lost much of its base in organized labour, due in part to the unpopularity of its "Social Contract" legislation in 1993 (which Harris, after some initial vacillations, eventually voted against). Harris' opposition to Rae's affirmative action measures helped him to capture some union support during the election, particularly among male workers. Although there were regional variations, many working-class voters shifted from the NDP to the Tories in 1995 (instead of to the Liberals as expected pre-campaign), enabling the Tories managed to win a number of working-class ridings, such as Cambridge and Oshawa, which had long supported the NDP.

Common Sense Revolution

Upon election, the Harris government immediately began to implement an often-controversial reform agenda. One of its first major policy decisions after taking office was to cut social assistance rates by 22%. The government argued that too many people were taking advantage of the program, and that it acted as a disincentive for seeking employment. Critics argued that the cuts were too dramatic, and increased the hardship of Ontario's poorest residents. The government also introduced "Ontario Works," popularly known as "workfare," a program that required able-bodied welfare recipients to participate in either training or job placements. Opponents criticized both the rationale and effectiveness of the program, which was significantly scaled back after Harris left office.

Provincial income taxes were cut by 30% to pre-1990 levels. In addition, a new Fair Share Health Levy was established and charged to high-income earners to help pay for mounting health care costs.

Shortly after assuming office, the Harris government announced that several nurses would be laid off to cut costs in the health sector. The government also implemented a series of hospital closures on the recommendations of a Health Services Restructuring Commission. Harris compared the laid off hospital workers to the people who lost their jobs after the hula hoop fad died down in the early 1960s, commenting "Just as Hula-Hoops went out and those workers had to have a factory and a company that would manufacture something else that's in, it's the same in government, and you know, governments have put off these decisions for so many years that restructuring sometimes is painful" (Globe and Mail, 6 March 1997).

Later in its first term, Harris's government increased health spending to record levels to counter transfer cuts from the federal government, and hired new nurses. It also introduced Telehealth Ontario, a new 24-hour toll-free telephone help line with live connection to registered nurses. Harris also announced funding vehicles such as the Ontario R&D Challenge Fund, the Ontario Innovation Trust and the Premier's Research Excellence Awards.

The government's administrative policies involved the amalgamation of several municipalities. Some municipal leaders criticized these as arbitrary and undemocratic. Some municipalities, particularly Toronto, also complained that the government was "downloading" the costs of services that the province had formerly paid for onto local city and municipal governments.

The government announced the secondary school reform to eliminate grade 13 that created the "double cohort." The Harris government's educational reforms also reduced the powers of school boards, and mandated a standardized curriculum and province-wide testing of students. In 1999, it introduced a policy of "teacher testing", requiring teachers to take examinations on a regular basis. The latter initiative was unpopular with teachers, many of whom regarded it as an intrusion on their professional autonomy.

A separate controversy occurred shortly after the Harris government took office, involving events at Ipperwash Provincial Park, in which a native protester was killed by police. (See entry below for 'Ipperwash Affair')

In 1997, Ontario's teachers held their largest walkout in history, a two-week strike that the Harris government argued was illegal, but were unsuccessful in getting significant changes to government policies. At Queen's Park, the site of the Ontario Legislature, there were several large protests and near-riots. In 1998, considerable negative sentiment for Harris was expressed by elementary school teachers and students during the "Mandela and the Children" event at SkyDome when he was greeted with enthusiastic booing.

Amid the general rise in the North American economy, economic indicators in Ontario improved dramatically. Ontario's growth outpaced most North American jurisdictions during Harris' first term. With a strong economy and the Ontario deficit almost eliminated, Harris was able to portray himself as an effective economic manager and won another majority government.

Second term

In 1999, the Harris government was re-elected, largely by its political base in the 905 area. Later in the same year, Harris announced an program called Ontario's Living Legacy. The initiative added 378 new parks and protected areas, bringing the total in Ontario to 650 and increasing Ontario's protected areas to more than 9.5 million hectares.

Controversy arose in 2000, when the town water supply of Walkerton became infected by E. coli. Seven people died and hundreds became ill. It was later discovered the local official responsible for water quality, Stan Koebel, had lied, falsified records, failed to test water quality regularly, and when the outbreak occurred had failed to promptly notify the local Medical Officer of Health. In late 2004, Koebel pled guilty to a minor charge in relation to the offence and was sentenced to one year in jail.

The Walkerton tragedy had serious ramifications for Harris's government. David Peterson later acknowledged that it could have happened under any Premier's watch, and it was often noted that Koebel's lying and falsification of records had gone unnoticed by governments of different political stripes. Harris's critics, however, argued that his cuts to inspection services had created a situation in which future water safety could not be guaranteed. Harris's handling of the tragedy was also criticized, as he initially attempted to place some of the blame on previous Liberal and NDP governments.

Harris called a public inquiry which later noted that in addition to Stan Koebel's failure to properly monitor and treat the water supply, deregulation of water quality testing and cuts to the Ministry of the Environment were contributing factors.

Harris's government balanced the provincial budget, although its critics contend that cuts in taxes caused a drop in revenues, which in turn led to renewed budget deficits after Harris resigned. Harris supporters pointed to the fact that government revenues rose from $48 billion in 1995 to $64 billion by 2001, when the budget was balanced. http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/english/budget/bud01/papera.pdf Harris' government reduced Ontario welfare rolls by 500,000 people; critics contend these cuts led to a rise in homelessness and poverty. Supporters argued that high welfare rates had created disincentives to find entry-level jobs, and that poverty levels remained relatively unchanged between 1995 and 2005. Employment rates increased significantly during the late 1990s, although some Harris critics argued that many of the new jobs were part-time rather than full-time and offered fewer benefits to employees.

The government rewrote labour laws to require secret ballot votes before workplaces could unionize. It also repealed the previous NDP government's law outlawing the hiring of "replacement workers" during strikes.

Other changes brought in by the Harris government include standardized student tests. These were criticized by some educators as forcing schools to teach in a manner simply oriented to test-passing, and not teach in a way to encourage genuine learning. Others valued the tests as a means for parents to measure their children's achievement and that of the school against peers. A new provincial funding formula for school boards stripped the local boards of their taxation powers.

The Harris government also faced controversy when Kimberly Rogers, a Sudbury woman who had been convicted of welfare fraud, died in her apartment while under house arrest in 2001. Her death was ruled a suicide. A subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman's death, but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated, and that adequate food, housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest.

In 2001, the Harris government introduced a plan to give a tax credit for parents who send their children to private and denominational schools (despite having campaigned against such an initiative in 1999). Supporters claimed it was fair given the public funding of Catholic schools, while opponents were concerned about a potential diversion of resources and students from the public system.

Harris also broke with tradition to place backbench MPPs on Cabinet committees. He appointed more women as deputy ministers than any other premier in Ontario history, including the only two women to head the Ontario public service.

Out of politics

For personal reasons and in the face of declining public approval ratings, Harris resigned in 2002 and was succeeded as Tory leader and premier by his long-time friend and Minister of Finance, Ernie Eves.

Later in 2002, Harris joined the Fraser Institute, a right-wing libertarian think tank, as a 'Senior Fellow'. In January of 2003 Harris was named to the Board of Directors of Magna International.

During his time as Premier, Harris was frequently cited as someone who could "unite the right" in Canada, and lead a merged party of federal Progressive Conservatives and Reform/Canadian Alliance supporters. He made serious steps toward a career in federal politics after stepping down as Premier, weighing in on issues such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq (which he supported) and the value of the Canadian dollar (which he wanted to see increase in relation to the American dollar). In late 2003, he made a speech in Halifax which many believed was the unofficial launch of a campaign to lead the new Conservative Party of Canada. Within weeks, however, he announced that he would not campaign for the position.

Many believe that heightened media attention on Harris's private life was the reason for his decision. He had recently separated from his wife a second time and was in a relationship with Laura Maguire, the ex-wife of hockey player and referee Kevin Maguire. It was alleged, through court documents relating to a custody battle, that Laura had spent lavishly and neglected her three children while dating Harris. Faced with this negative publicity, Harris decided to stand aside; he later endorsed former Magna International President and CEO Belinda Stronach, in the 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.

He later became involved in another minor controversy, after yelling and repeatedly swearing at a party official who asked him for his identification as he voted in the 2004 Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership election.

In this leadership race, the party chose John Tory as its leader. While many see Tory as a "Red Tory" and his selection a move away from the Harris legacy, 46% of leadership voters supported the staunchly conservative Jim Flaherty on the final ballot, suggesting a considerable divide in the party.

Ipperwash Affair

See main article: Ipperwash Crisis

Shortly after winning their first election in the 1995, Mike Harris faced his first crisis as Premier. Protesters fighting land claim issues took over a Provincial Park 150 km North West of Toronto. Some thought that it might become a prolonged occupation similar to earlier protests in Quebec.

On --- 1995 Ontario Provincial Police acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane fired on First Nations demonstrators, some of whom were armed, who had occupied the park, killing an unarmed protester named Dudley George. The government and the OPP maintained that there was no political involvement in the shooting, but many were suspicious. In a court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Deane maintained that he was not under orders to shoot and was convicted of criminal negligence causing death. Inside the Legislature, several opposition politicians suggested that the attack may have been ordered by the Premier's office, and called for an independent judicial inquiry. This inquiry was finally called after the government of Dalton McGuinty was elected in 2003. It has not yet delivered a finding.

On November 28, 2005, former Attorney General Charles Harnick testified before the inquiry that Harris had shouted "I want the fucking Indians out of the park" at a meeting with Ontario Provincial Police officer Ron Fox, hours before the shooting occurred (Canadian Press, 28 November 2005, 12:45 report). Other witnesses have disputed this account, and Harris himself has denied it under oath.

On February 14, 2006, Mike Harris took the stand to testify before the Ipperwash Inquiry. Harris was presented with his own polical party literature and campaign information surrounding the 'Common Sense Revolution' as lawyers tried to make a connection between his parties implied 'aggressive' attitude towards natives and its subsequent influence over high ranking government officials in finding ways to resolve protests. Harris has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the case, and continued to do so throughout his testimony.

Inquiry link: Official Ipperwash Inquiry Website

Facts and Figures

In 1997, Harris was rumored to be polydactyl after a newspaper obtained a photo of him as a youth. Harris was barefoot in the picture and appeared, through the same optical illusion as in a famous Marilyn Monroe photograph^*, to have six toes on one foot. After the rumour surfaced, Harris showed his foot to reporters to prove he had the usual five toes.

Harris has been married three times, and has two children.

Harris is an endorser of International Student Exchange, Ontario.

Table of offices held