Meet Grandpa Jules

Julian Fantino took on the gangs as chief of police. But in his new role as minister of state for seniors he faces his toughest opponent yet: his own inherent inconsequentiality.

The appointment this week of Julian Fantino to the minor cabinet position of minister of state for seniors was an odd choice, says Sun Media’s David Akin, if only because of the strange bedfellows it has made. Fantino’s new ministerial boss Diane Finley once signed a petition condemning his conduct as OPP chief, and the head of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons is none other than Susan Eng, who he was accused of harassing with a secret wiretap when she was head of the Toronto Police Services Board. Akin’s still confident Fantino will get things done, while “ruffling some feathers along the way” as usual. With due respect to Akin, that is a polite term for the litany of controversies Fantino has generated at virtually every job he’s held.

“I can’t think of a worse figurehead” for the seniors portfolio, declares the Toronto Star’s Heather Mallick. With baby boomers rapidly aging and urgent action needed on issues like pension reform, Canadians need an experienced leader but instead have been given Fantino, who is “not a distinguished politician with a background in medicine, social services, pension management, or even promoting startling ideas for helping a huge greying generation.” Perhaps, but Mallick seems to be labouring under the misconception that minister of state for seniors is actually some kind of position of power.

The Globe and Mail’s Robert Silver totally dismantles the idea that Fantino will boost the Tories’ chances in Toronto-area ridings by reaching out to the region’s seniors. This logic simply doesn’t fly because, as Silver points out, the 20 GTA ridings are some of the youngest in the country and besides, seniors vote Conservative anyway. On top of that, Fantino is hardly the ideal person to speak to seniors about pension reform because as a result of the various civil service jobs he’s held over the years, he’s likely collecting something like $120,000 in pensions annually. “If pensions remain a major policy issue heading into the winter session,” writes Silver, “Fantino is an absolutely brutal spokesperson on the issue and if anything, may become a major liability.”