“I was going to bring my counsel, but he’s in daycare,” quipped George Smitherman shortly before he raised his hand and gave an oath to tell the truth.
The former Liberal cabinet minister and adoptive father of 2 young children faced a room full of politicians, lawyers, and the Auditor General at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. These days it’s better known as the Ornge committee, as it delves into the Auditor General’s damning report on the lack of government oversight of Ontario’s air ambulance service.
Smitherman’s eight minute statement and subsequent answers to Liberal, PC, and NDP questions was polished, self assured, and pure George.
He called Ornge a “rogue” organization that the Ministry was the paymaster for, and so could have taken control of easily. He took responsibility for not sensing in advance the “ulterior motives” of the architects of Ornge, but expressed incredulity that bureaucrats did not see and report warning signs. Talking about disgraced former President Chris Mazza, Smitherman said he “didn’t invent” him, he inherited the one time Sunnybrook emergency doctor.
The Liberal government talking points on Ornge are twofold. It was lied to, and the original performance agreement with Ornge was so weak that the Ministry of Health was powerless to intervene.
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Smitherman was having none of the second.
There was also “no way in hell” Chris Mazza’s salary jumps up to $1.4 million a year under a Smitherman led ministry of health. The plan to take public money and create for profit companies that would pay small dividends back to the government? That too would not have been approved.Outside the committee room, Smitherman was asked if he felt the government was trying to blame him for the mess at Ornge.
“I know from being in government there’s an instinct to diffuse a matter….”, pausing ever so slightly to pick the right words, “by pushing it about.”
It was at the same time a rebuke, and genuine measure of understanding.
During his years in government, George Smitherman was a force unlike any other: abrasive, direct, confrontational and effective. Despite the time bombs he left behind at eHealth and Ornge, Smitherman was a powerful communicator and feared political opponent.
From the way he handled himself on the stand, to his social media savvy of robo-tweeting a link to his opening remarks while in the middle of answering questions, it’s clear Smitherman was enjoying his time back in the political spotlight.
Regardless of his record, Queen’s Park is a less interesting place without him.
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