Fiscal Accountability Panel: Bob Rae, Ernie Eves, Greg Sorbara and Bill Robson
The Fiscal Accountability Rankings of Canada’s Senior Governments
President and CEO of the Institute, William Robson released the C.D. Howe’s Annual Rankings of the federal and provincial governments fiscal accountability. Participants received the insider perspective of what it’s like to run the budget and see who is doing well and who can do better. Bob Rae, Former Premier of Ontario, and Former Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; Ernie Eves, Former Premier of Ontario; and Greg Sorbara, Former Ontario Minister of Finance.; also provided their insights.
Bob Rae is a senior partner at OKT – Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP.
He works with First Nations across Canada as legal counsel, advisor, negotiator, and arbitrator.
Bob brings decades of experience as a lawyer and public leader at the highest levels of government. He also has a strong background in negotiations, strategic planning and community and economic development. Bob’s legal practice focuses on First Nations, Aboriginal and Governance issues.
Bob acts as Advisor to the Matawa Chiefs Tribal Council respecting the potential development of the area in north western Ontario known as The Ring of Fire. He is also Chairman of the First Nations Limited Partnership (FNLP) in British Columbia, in addition to providing legal and strategic advice.
Bob was elected eleven times to the House of Commons and the Ontario Legislature between 1978 and 2013. He served as Ontario’s 21st Premier from 1990 to 1995 and Interim Federal Leader and foreign affairs critic for the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011- 2013, a time of significant restructuring. In 2011 he was chosen by his colleagues as Parliamentarian of the Year.
Bob resigned from Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice and, in particular, to use his legal, political and strategic skills to assist First Nations communities.
Throughout his career, Bob has been strongly committed to advancing Aboriginal rights and the critically important goal of reconciliation between Aboriginal people and all Canadians. Bob participated in the negotiations which resulted in the inclusion of Aboriginal rights in Section 35 of Canada’s constitution in 1982, and also represented Ontario in the negotiations for the Charlottetown Accord. While Premier of Ontario he developed the “Statement of Relationship” which set the framework for a new political relationship based on mutual respect and consultation between First Nations and the province. He also served as a mediator during the Burnt Church fishing dispute in New Brunswick.
Bob graduated as a Rhodes Scholar from Oxford University in 1971 and University of Toronto Law School in 1979. He was named Queen’s Council in 1984. He has received numerous Honorary Degrees and Awards from universities, colleges, and a wide assortment of organizations across Canada and abroad for his public service. He was appointed to the Privy Council of Canada in 1998, named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000 and received the Order of Ontario in 2004.
In addition to his legal practice, Bob teaches at the University of Toronto as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Governance (SPPG). He is a Senior Advisor with the Castlemain Group which provides industry-leading advisory services to First Nations focused on management, finance, technology solutions and strategic communications.
Bob is a panel member of ADR Chambers where he assists parties in expeditious and cost- effective dispute resolution.
Bob Rae is past President and founding Chairman of the Forum of Federations (where he remains a Fellow) and served as Chairman of the Institute of Research on Public Policy (IRPP). He has served as Chair of both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Conservatory of Music as well as National Spokesman of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Bob was chief negotiator for the Canadian Red Cross in its restructuring. He served as a member of the Canada Transportation Act Review and the Security and Intelligence Review Committee for Canada (SIRC).
Bob has served and continues to serve on the Boards of a number of public companies, arts and sports organizations and charities. He was Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University from 2002 to 2007.
Bob has written four books: “From Protest To Power”, “The Three Questions”, “Canada in the Balance” and “Exporting Democracy”. As a student he co-authored a report on governance entitled “Towards Community in University Government”.
In 2005, Bob, after broad consultation, wrote a report about the needs and challenges for higher education in the province: “Ontario, A Leader in Learning”. He also, after wide consultation with affected families and many others issued a federal report about the tragic1985 Air India bombing: “Lessons to be Learned”.
Bob is bilingual. Along with music and reading, he loves tennis, golf and fishing. He is married to Arlene Perly Rae. They have three daughters and live in Toronto.
Over the course of his career Ernie Eves has been recognized for his ability to successfully manage both government and businesses. Best known for his distinguished career in public service, Mr. Eves has also has extensive private sector experience.
Mr. Eves currently serves as an advisor, consultant or board member for several firms including Parsons Brinckerhoff Canada, PACE Securities Corp., Nighthawk Gold Corp., Gilla Inc., Gravitas Financial Inc, Ilium Capital Corp., Superior Copper Corporation as well as several other North American and international companies.
In the private sector, Mr. Eves has also served as Canadian Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor of Credit Suisse First Boston. He has advised Canadian and international clients on investment banking, equities and fixed income matters. Mr. Eves has served as Counsel at the firm of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and as Chair of the Ontario Olympic Sports and Waterfront Development Agency.
Mr. Eves was sworn in as Ontario’s 23rd Premier on April 15, 2002 the culmination of a more than 20 year career in the Ontario Legislature that began with his first election as the Member of the Legislature in 1981. As Premier, Mr. Eves directed the operation of the largest provincial government in Canada and one of the largest sub-national governments in North America with an annual budget of more than $70 billion and more than 65,000 employees.
During his tenure, Premier Eves initiated new investment of an additional $1.9 billion in Ontario’s education system; substantial new investments in Ontario’s health care system including, for the first time, the use of public-private partnerships in hospital construction and the expansion of diagnostic services; the largest single capital investment in post-secondary education in the province’s history; the development of a renewable energy portfolio standard; and the implementation of the Smart Growth program for orderly development in all regions of Ontario and landmark investments in the province’s highway system and urban transit.
Prior to becoming Premier, Mr. Eves’ served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance from 1995 to 2001. As Minister of Finance, he implemented sweeping reforms of Ontario’s tax system and expenditure management. He introduced the first significant reforms of the property taxation system in over 60 years and eliminated an $11 billion deficit. Mr. Eves tabled three successive balanced budgets while delivering more than 200 tax cuts. He also oversaw the operation of the province’s $20 billion SuperBuild Corporation and managed the privatization of Highway 407, one of the largest privatizations in Canadian history. In addition, he initiated a multi-billion dollar investment in research and development through public-private partnerships, which included the post-secondary sector.
Before his election in 1981, Mr. Eves was an active member of the business community in Parry Sound and a partner in the law firm of Green and Eves. He was also President and CEO of Tudhope Cartage, a medium-sized specialty hauler of petroleum products. In this role, Mr. Eves was instrumental in substantially expanding the size and profitability of the company’s operations.
Mr. Eves is also an advisor to several other private businesses and public entities including the Toronto Board of Trade. He dedicates himself to several charitable interests including Special Olympics Canada, WildAid and the Justin Eves Foundation which he helped establish in memory of his late son and serves as Chairman. The Foundation grants scholarships and bursaries to learning disabled and disadvantaged young people to assist them to achieve a post-secondary education.
Mr. Eves was born in Windsor in 1946. He attended the University of Toronto and is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. Mr. Eves was called to the bar in 1972 and in 1983 was made a Queen’s Counsel. He resides in Caledon with his spouse, Ms. Isabel Bassett, and is the proud father of daughter Dr. Natalie Eves, and grandfather to Michael Justin and Henley Gail Nicole.
Greg Sorbara served as Ontario’s minister of finance from 2003 to 2007 and served as campaign chair for the Liberals’ three consecutive election victories — the first time that had happened in more than a century. First elected in 1985, he was also in Premier David Peterson’s cabinet and held a number of senior cabinet portfolios, including: Colleges and Universities, Skills Development, Labour, Women’s Issues and Consumer and Commercial Relations. Through his quarter-century in public life in Ontario, Sorbara had an enviable record of introducing new policies to help Ontarians, while having the courage to raise taxes to pay for those programs. A reinvigorated health care system, the Ontario Child Benefit, and a subway to York University all had Sorbara’s fingerprints on them. As chairman of the Liberals’ three consecutive election wins, Sorbara had a front row seat on some of the most significant changes in Ontario history.He most recently represented the riding of Vaughan as a member of the legislative assembly of Ontario until his retirement in 2012. In 2014, he was appointed Chancellor of York University and released his autobiography, entitled, “The Battle of Ontario Politics”. He, and his wife Kate, live in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Bill Robson took office as President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute in July 2006, after serving as the Institute’s Senior Vice President since 2003 and Director of Research since 2000. He has written more than 190 books, chapters, articles and monographs on such subjects as government budgets, pensions, healthcare financing, inflation and currency issues. His work has won awards from the Policy Research Secretariat, the Canadian Economics Association, and the Donner Canadian Foundation. Bill lectured on public finance and public policy at the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2003 and is a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and serves as an advisor to, or director of, several education-related and public affairs organizations.
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