Our Salvation Might Come From Rural Canada

The people in Herouxville have shone the spotlight on religious intolerance and sparked a lot of discussion on both sides and now it is possible that a rural activist in Ontario, Randy Hillier, was right on the money with the following comment; "sounded a warning about the spread of a new disease: "Complacent (sic), Ignorance, and Apathy (CIA)." He said the disease "generally attacks individuals living in dense urban settings" and that describes the apathy shown in the City of Toronto.

I would suggest John Tory sitdown and have some serious discussions with Hillier.

Rural activist a potential headache for Tories
February 12, 2007
Ian Urquhart

Randy Hillier is hardly a household name in Toronto, but he certainly is in rural Ontario. And he could soon become one in urban Ontario.

Hillier is co-founder of the 15,000-member Ontario Landowners Association, a radical rural group that opposes just about every initiative undertaken by government.

In the past, Hillier has organized tractor blockades on Highway 401, counselled civil disobedience, trumpeted individual rights against marketing boards, and distributed emails portraying Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky (then minister of the environment) as a dead deer.

Mainstream farm organizations are leery of Hillier, who is not actually a farmer himself. He is an electrician who, ironically, was once employed by the federal government.

But he has a loyal following in rural Ontario, where he is viewed as a spokesperson for the disenfranchised.

Hillier's rhetoric is both colourful and over the top. In a recent tongue-in-cheek press release, for example, he sounded a warning about the spread of a new disease: "Complacent (sic), Ignorance, and Apathy (CIA)." He said the disease "generally attacks individuals living in dense urban settings" and added:

"Once infected, there is no known cure. The patient becomes addicted to watching the CBC, desires social housing, seeks out either welfare or bureaucratic employment, and has a strong preference for public transportation. Complete dependence upon government leading to eventual death is inevitable."

Why does any of this matter? Because last week Hillier announced that he is seeking the provincial Conservative nomination in the riding of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.

Hillier has not previously been associated with the provincial Conservatives. Indeed, he started up the Lanark Landowners' Association, the forerunner to the Ontario Landowners Association, back in 2003, when the Conservatives were still in power at Queen's Park and implementing programs he opposed, such as amalgamations and nutrient management.

Now he is seeking to run under the Conservative banner in an unheld eastern Ontario riding, newly created in the recent redistribution.

The date of the nomination meeting has not yet been set, but it is expected to he held in April. The provincial election is set for Oct. 10.

While Hillier will be opposed for the nomination – two other long-standing Conservatives had previously announced their candidacies – he has an excellent chance of winning it, given his roots and profile in the riding.

But there are first some hurdles for Hillier to clear, including the Conservative party's screening process for would-be candidates.

"He's a long way from being an MPP," Conservative Leader John Tory tersely noted last week.

Blair McCreadie, president of the provincial Conservatives, described the screening process as a "standard background check" of a person's past. "Some people haven't lived lives conducive to high public office," explained McCreadie, while declining to state whether Hillier falls under that category.

But if the provincial Conservatives decide to disqualify Hillier as a candidate, it will not be without controversy.

"I would be very disappointed," says Scott Reid, the Conservative MP for the riding and a friend of Hillier. "I can't think of anything more dangerous to our prospects."

Indeed, Hillier might opt to run as an independent if the party establishment won't let him stand as a Conservative.

On the other hand, if Hillier is allowed to run for the nomination and wins, his public commentary could hurt the Conservatives during the fall election campaign.

Tory himself plans to run in an urban riding (Don Valley West) in that campaign and will be seeking votes from the very same CBC-watching, TTC-taking crowd that Hillier denigrates.

The Conservatives will have to weigh that risk against the potential boost from Hillier in Ontario's two dozen rural ridings, most of which were won by the Liberals in the last provincial election.

Further complicating the picture are ongoing talks between the party and the landowners' association. The landowners are seeking planks in the Conservative platform that mirror their positions, such as a call for de-amalgamations.

If the Conservatives aren't forthcoming, the landowners have threatened to run their own slate of candidates, which could split the anti-government vote and keep the Liberals in power.

The time for a landowner slate may be running out, however, and the association itself is split on the issue, with one member group recently pulling out over it.

But the Conservatives may not want to run the risk of alienating both the landowners and Hillier.

Ian Urquhart's provincial affairs column appears Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. iurquha@thestar.ca.