The reason the health minister gave for his startling decision to suspend bidding for all Ontario home care contracts was his realization that Hamilton’s home care sector was “in pain.”
That kind of emotion can emerge at politically loaded moments for Smitherman, occasions when he absolutely wants to make the point.
He once cried in public over the anguish of the elderly in shoddy nursing homes, and has erupted passionately on behalf of the public against bodies like hospital boards, optometrists and others in the health system.
Those spurts of righteous empathy from a savvy politico best known as a streetfighting pitbull with the nickname “Furious George” reflect his true feelings, those who know him say.
But it’s also true that exposing emotions can help Smitherman achieve political aims, creating a plausible reason for a change of mind or - as he put it yesterday - an opportunity for sober second thought.
That’s what critics believe happened overnight Tuesday, when Smitherman decided abruptly to halt the competitive bidding that had already disqualified the Victorian Order of Nurses and St. Joseph’s from Hamilton home care.
“I think the loud, solid voice that came from Hamilton really rattled the government,” says local New Democratic MPP Andrea Horwath.
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