Provincial Government

February 9, 2008 (to be or not to be)

Why is it that Canadian politicians cannot speak the absolute truth?
Example:
Mr. McGuinty states profusely that he wants to combat climate change and yet on the other side of his mouth he will not ban plastic bags, will not sign on to an emission standard unless its made in Ontario because he says it will hurt the auto industry and last but not least he is starting to spend tons of dollars on building new highways for more cars. So what is it that he is doing to mitigate this serious issue?????

Then he spouts rhetoric about a rosy outlook for the economy except that his sad and public strategy is for Ontarions is to go out and buy more? Also he has not actual plan for dealing with the significant decrease in manufacturing with in this province. Here is some food for thought:
1. Manufacturing will continue to decrease in Canada not based on the Canadian dollar but the fact that we have grown very accustomed to cheap goods which can only be provided at those rates if we continue to buy from China.

2. There has been roughly 500,000 people layed off from Ontario manufacturing over the past 3 years, how many of those people do you think will be able to transition in to the growth areas such as high tech??????

3. What do you think is the most common job that many find after leaving manufacturing? hint - retail or fast food

4. When people cannot afford to purchase the quality and quantity they did with higher incomes, how does go out and buy more solve the slow down in our economy?

February 2, 2008

We continue to see in the media the incredible amount of disrespect that the provincial government has for Ontarions. For example - a school trustee in Toronto has been abusing expenses in such an incredible way that it made excessive headlines a week ago. As in expenses trips, coffee and even lingerie. Well here is the hard fact people! This person has been re-lected even though she was called out for her behavior before and we still vote for her? We only have ourselves to blame for where we are today. We as in Canadians continue to accept bad behavior and mediocre government.

Economics Woes
January 19, 2008

Well 2008 has come in with a somewhat negative spin with the US economy sputtering and the ever increasing evidence towards climate change.

A key indicator in Canada is the faltering manufacturing sector, although I personally would not blame it on the US economy. Yes it is compounded by the downturn, however the signals were there years ago and have been accelerating ever since. We live in a consumer oriented society that has been brought up to buy ever increasing at the lowest possible price. Value isn't in craftsmanship but in how much we can acquire and how much we paid. Therefore, unlike the days before free trade and other protective barriers, manufacturers must source all resources at the lowest cost possible in order to profit let alone survive. In Canada and Ontario in particular we have experienced an incredible period of purchasing power from homes to appliances at astronomically low prices. Well people that is changing and it is changing faster than the internet has evolved!

At some time we have to realize that we have only 2 options:
1. Accept the fact that based on current consumer behavior, manufacturing will have to be outsourced to third world countries because its way cheaper therefore we will have (should have already) migrate from resource and manufacturing base economy to a knowledge and service oriented one.

2. The status quo of consumerism at the lowest price cannot be sustained with out significant employment losses in Canada. Almost all goods in some shape or form are produce in China because labour is absurdly cheap, therefore manufacturing will continue to migrate over to Asia regardless of how much money the Federal and Provincial governments toss at the industry.




Taxes:
November 24, 2007

It would be hilarious the discussions going between all levels of government for who should collect our taxes, except that its our money. Taxes are a fact of Canadian life and contribute to the complete infrastructure of this nation. What is disturbing about the process is that the Provincial government wants to siphon directly from the federal surplus. We should not allow this to happen and here is why: The responsibility of the federal government is to finance and manage national services such as - defense, health care, education etc. All other responsibilities fall on the province and than based on locality the municipal government. Therefore, if Miller wants more $ than he should and is allowed to raise taxes in Toronto and not the rest of the province. Surely the needs of Toronto are different than the needs of Guelph or Hamilton etc. The same goes for the province, if Mr. McGuinty wants more $ from the feds he should raise taxes hear instead and his constituents to judge if he is right or not. Yes it is that simple folks, every level of government needs to stop passing the buck and start representing and being accountable to its direct voters.


The results of the 2007 provincial election were predictable and disappointing for the majority of Ontarians. Until I actually properly reflected on the final voting results, I wasn't fully aware of how dysfunctional the current 'first past the post' system is.

Consider the results for Wellington County (where I live)

The voting numbers in the Oct. 10 provincial election for Guelph looked like this: 46,728 people voted and Liz Sandals (liberal incumbent) received only 19,9009 of those votes.

What that translates into is the fact that 59.4 per cent of voters who live here did not vote for Sandals. Would you consider that result an endorsement or confidence of the community?

Isn't it interesting that the results of a recent online poll by this newspaper, "Would Guelph be better served if Liz Sandals were named a provincial cabinet minister?" -- yes: 41 per cent (155 votes), no: 59 per cent (225 votes) -- mirrored the results of the election?

Since we have no choice for at least the next four years, here are a few questions that we need addressed by our newly re-elected MPP:

1. What is the province's strategy for dealing with water issues? Fact: we had 300 millimetres of rain this year (the average is 900). The Places to Grow strategy, with its population forecasts, suggest that we will not have enough water to support the growing population of Guelph in 20 years.

2. What about economic growth? Manufacturing in Guelph and Wellington County is under significant stress as it is in the rest of the province. What is Dalton McGuinty's government going to do to address the current trend?

3. The United Nations published a scathing report two weeks ago that suggests we are on a destructive path should we continue business as usual, and specifically called out such countries as Canada and the U.S. for their excessive consumption behaviour.

There certainly are many Ontarians who would like to see us become a solution leader rather than being a bigger part of the problem. Mr. McGuinty, can you lead the way?