Many of you in Ontario might remember this little ditty regarding same-sex marriage which Premier Ernie Eves proclaimed a few weeks ago:

“In my personal life, I have always believed that marriage was a union between two heterosexual people, a male and a female,” Eves told reporters.

The Premier followed this up by saying that he didn’t believe he had the right to impose his views on others. What a kind-hearted and clear-headed logical gent this Ernie Eves is!

Yesterday, Ernie rapped with the press and threw out this statement on the death penalty:

“My personal opinion is that, on certain premeditated crimes, especially with respect to children, and premeditated crimes with respect to law-enforcement officers, that the presiding judge, and/or jury, should have the ability to prescribe the death penalty when they see fit.”

Let’s ignore for the moment that if one is considering premeditated crimes (and by this, I assume that Eves means murder and rape) against children and law-enforcement officers, that person is so far gone that the threat of death would not be much of a deterrence.

Unfortunately for Eves, both marriage and capital punishment are federal jurisdictions and so his opinions, dealt at an important time in provincial politics, are little more than hot air. The only purpose they serve is to give the illusion of a tough political platform designed to appeal to voters who are at odds with the Conservatives numerous gaffes but still appreciate a good social conservative. At the same time, these statements won’t scare away the fiscal conservatives who may have a laissez-faire attitude towards social policy.

Watch for more of The Fabulous Mr. Eves And His Empty Statements this election campaign. These could include such gems as:

• “I personally believe that everyone has the right to own a gun, unimpeded by a bureaucratic registration process.”
• “I have always been of the opinion that we should curb immigration and impose tough entrance requirements.”
• “It has been my lifelong ambition to stop foreign fishing trawlers from pilfering our eastern fish stocks. Arr.”

Fun for the whole family!