Dear Sir:
So, Tammy Hart, of Newington, is seeking a nomination with the Conservative Party of Ontario. No, she has not told me personnaly but her frequent unbalanced attacks on Premier Dalton McGuinty clearly point to that scenario. It is fair play for opposition parties and the public to be critical of the governing party. However, it must be remembered while no party is perfect some have a better balance than others. It should also be remembered we MUST have opposition parties in order to maintain a semblance of democracy.
Ms. Hart should ask her party if they will turn back the HST, the Eco-tax, online gambling and any of the other revenue earning measures she has critized the Liberal Party of Ontario for bringing into place. Perhaps, if she were elected she would promise the people who elect her she will bring forward private members’ bills, with the complete backing of her party, to rescind these elements to which she so firmly objects. The political party of her choice will not do this voluntarily. The revenue earning elements of the Ontario government would not be changed for all governments need revenues particularly when the poor economic times cause the Province to go into a deficit situation. The Ontario NDP government of recent years learned this lesson the hard way yet – they governed fairly well.
Jobs lost to the recession mean lost income for the government and Ontario was particularly hard hit by this recession. Anyone aiming to contest the Riding in the interests of the people MUST see this or they are doomed to failure. The NDP was forced, while in office, to bring in very unpopular measures to combat an unfavourable economic climate. They have never really recovered from that yet, overall, they governed considerably better than recent Conservative governments. It is wrong, when making judgements, to take certain elements of any political party in isolation from the whole.
Before Ms. Hart makes further attacks on the Liberal Party of Ontario perhaps she should take a close look at the performances of the party she seemingly wishes to represent. What did Ernie Eaves and his compatriots do for the Province during his tenure? Very little, hence the success of the Liberal Party. We all know what the Mike Harris Conservatives did to the Province of Ontario because we are still paying for his terrible mis-steps. We do know where Ms. Hart puts her allegiance because she forsook the needs of the people in order to support the greed of business in the matter of pharmacies being denied their handouts.
One should surely look inward at oneself to measure how one might be perceived before attacking others. There are ample ways of campaigning without the negative methods being engaged by this ‘would be’ member of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario. I wonder if there is a chance of something positive being put forward by Ms. Hart if she continues in her quest to attain a more elevated political career.
John E. Milnes, South Stormont Ontario
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)
So, you are not applying for chief of staff if she runs, I guess.
Most people know the HST can not be turned back, the items to charge and the time limits have been etched in stone by McGuinty. (Remember, he did not have a gun to his head to sign this).
The revenue earning is because McGuinty failed to reduce programs, employee pay and the number of jobs under his domain.
How can the parties work together (without breaking the bank) to reduce our tax rates and costs?
John
The HST can no more be turned back then the GST could be. Remember Chrétien’s Redbook promise. One was no GST, until he was elected that is
The NDP was the fee government, for every breath we take the added a surcharge. Yet still not enoughrevenur gainedue.
Now the liberals want to charge us for something we already pay for in the Eco fee. Well maybe not this close to an election.
Perhaps John you could ask the province to eliminate the 1 billion/yr contributions to your pension plan. Explain to them 386367 would rather see the money invested in health care and infrastructure rather then a one group’s pension plan. I mean who in the hec are the teachers and why do they deserve such a lucrative pension plan for a part time job?
It currently costs Ontario 1 billion dollars annually to maintain a pension plan with 96.4 billion in assets.
At least Tammy is speaking for the mass instead of the wealthy. She would have a hard road ahead of her with that approach, but who knows with all the money or with the current misappropriation of funds carried out by government she could be our next MP.
As for Iron Mike Harris the only people he irritated were civil servants and unaccountable entities. Teachers being one of the civil servants effected. Having a family members as a teachers they were split on his intentions but seen the need for the intervention as well.
Theerfore I would rather see you put your foot in for a pound before you ask another to!
*l* typing faster then the key board can understand
The NDP was the fee government, for every breath we take the added a surcharge. Yet still not enoughrevenur gainedue
Shoudl read
The NDP was the fee government, for every breath we take the added a surcharge. Yet still not enough revenue was earned.
“As for Iron Mike Harris the only people he irritated were civil servants and unaccountable entities. Teachers being one of the civil servants effected.”
Walkerton
Walkerton can not be blamed entirely on the government of that day.
Unusual record rains, well heads that were too low and too close to pasture land, a drunk worker, improper training and a family member boss who failed. They also covered up readings that would have saved needless sickness, and the hospital did not read the signs early enough from incoming patients.
But all we hear is that a lab was closed down by Harris.
There are pensions for smaller entities as well, Upper Canada Village workers for example, that province wide must add up.
That is all you will hear from someone from an entity that is not held responsible for their actions. It is a shameful truth.
walkerton is solely poor mamangment and incompetence of the people working their.
Eric, there isn’t a better example of the damage of Harris’ failed policies than Walkerton. Everything you say is true including the part where you say it can’t be blamed entirely on the government of the day but that implies that they are partially to blame which is also what the commission found. The incompetent operators, the falsified readings and the lies told to the hospital would have been picked up a lot quicker if the proper procedures had been in place and the proper people who should have been looking over their shoulder were there. Yes had the lab been open then they might have found out earlier too. But all of those things were cut…
Regarding pensions it is my understanding that the teacher’s pension does so well because they manage it well with contributions from members which is then reinvested quite profitably. (Go leafs go!)
According to their website http://www.otpp.com/wps/wcm/connect/otpp_en/home they claim to be an independent organization.
At 65 then they qualify to receive the Canadian Pension. I am not sure where you say that the billion dollars from the government comes from but if you provide me with the resources I’d be willing to read it.
And Eric and Smee are you suggesting that someone who works for the Ontario Government, whether it be as a teacher, civil servant or Upper Canada Village worker are not entitled to a pension because they work for the Government? Clarify please.
Walkerton happened because the water wasn’t tested regularly. Stan Koebel was in charge of the Public Utility. It could have been prevented. It was in part the fault of Mike Harris due to cutbacks.
This is how Justice Dennis O’Connor summarized the inquiry’s findings:
The provincial government’s budget reductions led to the discontinuation of government laboratory testing services for municipalities in 1996. In implementing this decision, the government should have enacted a regulation mandating that testing laboratories immediately and directly notify both the MOE and the Medical Officer of Health of adverse results. Had the government done this, the boil water advisory would have been issued by May 19 at the latest, thereby preventing hundreds of illnesses.
Eric, manure had seeped into well through a farmers field.They failed to monitor the well, due to cutbacks.
Have you ever noticed when the Conservative and Liberals have nothing positive to say about their own party, they crap on the NDP.
I think it’s been pretty much established that Harris was a two-bit thug who had no regard for the well being of anyone other than his wealthy friends.
Standup and Furtz A. Bootbomb your both real lefties…Harris was exonerated over the Walkerton incident and there was NO cut backs in the water plant in Walkerton, nobody there was laid off. You cant handle the truth. We need cut backs NOW we are paying way too much for so called water cops.
Its ridiculous the cost of all the damn testing and licensing. Fear mongering has got us here today, and you people lap it all up. Just keep paying! Because your water bills are going to sky rocket.
Ok!
I will keep paying! Because I like drinking water! I also like to avoid E Coli! I will also use a lot of exclamation points!!!!!!
You can read a part of the report here…
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/walkerton/part1/WI_Chapter_11.pdf
There is a detailed summary of the reductions at the end.
It clearly states that the Government under Harris were clearly part of the problem. Yeah, you’re right when you say that Harris was exonerated in the sense that he never faced any criminal charges over it but the report does say that without the cutbacks in the Ministry of the Environment this would not have happened. It does not matter no one was laid off at the Walkerton plant and from all that came out about them they shouldn’t have been working there anyway but no one was around to see what they were and were not doing.
And as for your Jack Nicholson quote just remember what happened to that character at the end of the film when he got way too puffed up on his own importance.
And thanks for calling me a lefty.
Arguing with an ultra-right Con is like arguing with the preacher. Pointless. The facts stand for themselves. Ipperwash, Walkerton, gutting of food and water inspection agencies, cutting welfare, getting rid of rent control, fire sales of crown assets, Kimberley Rogers, tax breaks for pro sports teams, and on and on. When Harris quit politics in order to spend more time with his wife, there was dancing in the streets. He made Oilcan Ernie look like a saint.
We sure have went off the path.
Willie191, yes, as I said and you point out, rain water + contents from the pasture went into the wells, but the wells were checked and reports falsified. Yes a lab may have caught that. Yes the Premier takes the heat for everything, but he or she does not supervise every person 24 hours a day.Where were the other levels of administration, you know the thousands who were not cut?
I doubt that my comments Standup, would mean people working anywhere should not get a pension. Some of the truth though, it is not only members (teachers) who pay into that fund, all taxpayers do.
A problem I have, is that Jane and Ahmad Average Citizen keep paying into the fund and help provide raises to those groups even if we ourselves do not get a nice pension or even raises.
A case in point, Toronto Police had retention issues so were given retention funds. Before long all Police forces wanted it, then Fireman, and I have heard Paramedics want it to. When does the blood (taxation) stop to pay for all this?
The Walkerton incident used government as an excuse for bad management. That is it. Though I believe government has huge misappropriation of funds issues, such as John’s pension something he refuses to comment on, Walkerton still remains a bad management decision.
It could have all been prevented if policy and procedure was followed. Harris limited funding in order to reduce our taxes or put them to better use, again see teacher’s pension plan.
The trail is simple to follow, if they tax us as McGuinty does they are mad if they enact cut back they are bad.
Does anyone have a better answer?
Most of us have faced what is called restructuring and rebuilding in our respective careers, being displaced or close to it. What would have happened if they took a different approach to rectifying the restructuring?
Look at from this perspective, when a tree grows rampant and is not healthy would you trim the roots or the excess foliage on the top?
Same scenario should be applied here. Current practices have the general public or working class being laid off while pensions and high paying administrative jobs carry on. Could Walkerton have been done differently? Most definitely just like every other system in Canada. We have little or no responsible management and most are overpaid and not accountable for their actions. If they become displaced for any reason you can be rest assured there is a hefty severance package associated with it.. Has anyone here ever received a severance as they do?
Even contract and staff employees are not that different, The only difference is 2 weeks. But entities like teachers are untouchable
Smee and Eric, I totally agree with you both.
My experience from sitting on council is that I am seeing water and sewer bills rise astronomically. I see the costs of building and running state of the art water and sewer facilities soar. I see so many licensing fees and permit fees sky rocket and new fees created out of thin air. We are water sampled to death, inspected to death. This government is masterful at creating and marketing fear. We’re all going to die if we don’t pay the $35,000 to license your water plants. Minnows are going to vanish if you don’t pay the $17,000 permit fees to replace culverts across your roads and in your drains (fees that never existed) Septic systems are going to contaminate your water table, and poison you for ever unless you pay what use to be $2000-$5000 is now $20,000-$27,000 with a huge mountain out your back yard. Business’s closing down because panic city sets in when a small oil leak has been reported around a house. White uniformed spacemen come to investigate and close you down. Meanwhile human shit is still being pumped into our lakes and rivers from all across Ontario and Canada, and continues to do so with hardly a whimper. Our beaches are closed down for half the summer because of the geese excrement in the water. Major oil spills around the world that all get forgotten. What hypocrisy! As far as I’m concerned, It’s job creation and more employment, high paying jobs and benefits.
We citizens want to work hard and be proud, we know how to manage our own lives with minimal interfernce. This government has mismanaged our money and taxing us to death. We cant afford it.
Cheers to you Tammy
I work with these rules and regulations daily; It is a proverbial waste of time. There is no accountability no common sense. They now use policy and blame shifting in its place.
You will not see Milnes address these question comments or concerns for those very reasons.
There are many hundreds, maybe thousands of municipal water plants in Ontario operated by individuals with various degrees of expertise and work ethics. When Harris cut the agency that oversaw the operation of these plants by half, it was almost inevitable that something bad would happen. The Ontario Chief Officer of Health at the time repeatedly warned Harris of the danger, and Harris ignored the warnings. The people running the Walkerton plant were under-qualified, over-worked, and had alcohol issues. Do you know anybody like that? I do. Harris gutted the agency that was supposed to oversee their work. He didn’t seem give a rats ass about anybody’s health.
FUTZ
Harris cut funding hoping for better fiscal responsibility.
The agency cut the services by half hoping to gain public support. It is a obvious political battle.
Read the Ottawa Citizen anytime they have budget talks, Councillors are quick to say without a tax increase, kiddie pools and garbage pickup will be affected. Scare and intimidate instead of doing the hard and needed work.
Cooperation between departments is needed. Why can’t night or snow crews for example, call in burnt street lights or potholes? The dispatcher records the info and emails the service desk for that department. Things would be fixed quicker and employees would feel better about helping citizens.
What, the union would not come on board? Change the rules people, before we are taxed out of our homes!
Smee, when Harris cut funding for food and water safety, social programs, and basic things like that, he was playing fast and loose with peoples lives. There was a huge spike in homelessness along with the resulting suicides and freezing deaths. Families were torn apart because they could no longer afford to pay rent and provide for their kids. When Walkerton hit, people finally became outraged because it was middle-class (normal) people who were getting sick and dying. That is the Harris legacy.
Ya, well it was just reported on the news that the homelessness and food banks has escalated more than ever because of THIS governments policies ie. HST, HYDRO TAX, HEATING COSTS, TAX, TAX and more TAX. Who’s worse Harris or your McGuinty?
It was all for the same reason Furtz, better fiscal responsibility. What Harris did was good. Were any of the administrations among the ranks of the unlucky or was it all case workers.
Do not blame government for poor business management.
People could not pay rent, please explain what that had to do with Harris?
I bet you would be also the one complaining if they added yet a new tax to cover all the misspending which the conservatives tried to curb. You tend to be easily influenced by media.
Mike Harris, to the best of my recollection, was the only Premier of Ontario to do exactly what he promised in his election platform!
Here Furtz and John what your liberals are doing to Canada one piece at a time. ( However being already pensioned John will not be as effected as the working class)
May be you think these future tax increases are sound but I would take Harri, Eaves or Kline in a heart beat
bill c-428
It was seconded by Bob Rae!! MP Ms. Ruby Dhalla who introduced the bill represents the riding of Brampton whose population is mainly East Indian. Right now you have to have lived in Canada for
10 years in order to qualify for Old Age Security (CPP).
She wants the time reduced to 3 years. Thousands could come to Canada when they are 62 years old, never having worked or contributed to this country’s tax system etc, and qualify for full Old Age Security (CPP) benefits. 10 years minimum is reasonable. 3 is not!
Bob Rae would support anything to get back in favour with the people……….any people!
John have you looked inward at yourself to measure how one might be perceived before attacking others? I think not! The attacks on the Liberal Party of Ontario are because of what the Fiberals are doing to us RIGHT NOW! We’re not interested what happened twenty years ago. The present affects us now and thats why we need to change the government of Ontario, get rid of this bunch of liars, opportunists and carpetbaggers!
If you guys are happy about all the dead bodies and broken families created by the Harris/Eves thugs, Hudak is your man. He’s quite anxious to carry on the tradition. My only advise to you is, never be out of a good job, or or a pile of money. Good luck to everybody, because if you have bad luck, you will freeze on the street if the Harris/Hudak team has its way.
John is a retired teacher, unfortunately looking inward is not an act ever done by that kind of career.
When your life is protected by government, Ontario Teachers’ Federation, Ontario college of teachers and their associated unions OSSTF if memory serves me in this case, there is little need to accept responsibility as there is so much bureaucracy to use as an excuse
Furtz
You have still not explained how Harris and Eaves created ” all the dead bodies and broken families “. Accusation without facts is hard to be taken seriously
Smee, I take it you weren’t around when welfare was cut by about 22% across the board, and rent controls were eliminated. Were you not reading newspapers back then?
Furtz, most the media then as is the case today has a socialist, Liberal mind set. You know the “government take care of me” attitude. Your exaggerating a tad, don’t you think Furtz? You just hate the conservatives it wouldn’t matter who it was.
K Tammy – It’s spanking time. Sorry, but you’re the victim on this one as I had four freaking people griping about their taxes being paid so that welfare bums can sit at home drinkin beer and farting.
How many billion on Jet Fighter’s we’ll most likely never need to actually use? How many billions do we collect from resources in Canada? How much do we collect in taxes? You have a farm. You’re good at quantities. I know the optics may be bad, but the reality is that taking care of our society costs a heck of a lot less than the corporate welfare we dole out each and every year.
Having a social security net that protects our citizens is actually good for business. Less crime; less costs to society, and more dollars kept in local economies. If we really had a tax revolution and forced corporations to pay a “fair” tax you’d be surprised how much money would be in the bank to play with.
So yes, when I see any politician try to whip the poor to get votes it bothers me and I personally have no problem taking care of Veterans, children, those who just can’t fend for themselves, instead of watching banks rake in Billions in profits during a recession.
I know we can argue until we’re old enough to get Old Age pension, but here’s a great video that looks at the US economy which isn’t that far away as a paradigm as we are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9kXPTwIO08&feature=related
OK, I get it now Tammy. Dudley George didn’t die. Kimberley Rogers didn’t die. Nobody in Walkerton got sick or died from drinking water. Homeless people have never frozen on the street. Nobody has ever jumped off the Bloore St. Viaduct. Those were all just made-up lies that the pinko press published in order to discredit the conservative government of the day. I’m glad you cleared that up for me. I feel much better informed now.
In 1998 my wife and I moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania. One of the questions we were asked quite often by the people we met there was what really is the difference between Canada and the US. It just so happened that just shortly after we arrived in Hershey, the Canadian and US governments issued news releases on the same day. The US announced they were going to spend an additional $8 billion dollars on a missile defense system. The Canadian government announced that they were going to spend an additional $8 billion to upgrade our Medicare system. Who do you think got better value for their money?
Who? Well if the Liberals were running the government at that time then I guess the Americans got better value for their money. At least they had something tangible to show for $8 Billion. Here in Canada we’d have nothing to show as the Liberals absconded with the funds.
Furtz,
Welfare cuts are a statistic; did they ever say why it was cut to 22%? Could it have been people entering different sponsored programs yet still on the system? When they claim the unemployment rate decreased they do not include people entering welfare or people whose claims have run out. None the less it sounds good.
Yes I read news papers but am not one to fall into believing a crown corporation speaking about their boss,
Here is a liberal fact for you, do you think this will take people off the streets?
By Don Butler
“Electricity prices in Ontario are “going up like a rocket,” fuelled in part by the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act, says a longtime observer of the province’s energy scene.
Jamie
The cash for life or as you put it Social net is the prime example of crime. Have you been to some areas in the east end of Cornwall?
I have spoken to people both on the system and working for it.
Case loads are out of control such that they just sign off and cannot take the time to check. This is a legislation and sympathy issue by no means common sense. You have a right to smoke but an obligation to pay for it with your own earned money not mine.
The other end this person has never worked in the last 20 yrs and now has been finally pensioned off after tying to most of the 20yrs Huh what for he has another 20 yrs left to do some kind of sociological contribution.
Yet a 62 yr old person crippled was told to return to school as they are still employable according to the board.
But we should digress, where is John in all this discussion?
He is sticking to teaching procedures, retired with nothing to worry about and n accountability. We can thank the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan another entity spending our tax dollars on the self proclaimed elite.
Reg
The US did they had more people working we just tossed 8 Billion into a fire burning out of control
Smee you can’t quote more than an excerpt from other copyrighted material.
I’m not talking about the status quo. I’m talking about a guaranteed minimum income for all Canadians. You implement that and your social costs change big time. It’s funny how people talk about the cost of incarceration. You want to talk about the cost of crime just look at the legal costs to prosecute someone to get to the stage of incarceration.
In Alaska and Alberta at times people got cheques every once and awhile just for living there because of windfall resource income.
Make our tax system accountable. Make it fair and you’d probably see cheques for all Canadians. It’s the corrupt system that bloats our society and holds us back.
Admin
Sorry I do not understand what you mean in this statement, I can post the whole artice if that is better
“you can’t quote more than an excerpt from other copyrighted material”
Sure Alberta has a windfall they had a conservative government, not only due to petrochemical. After they ousted the Social Credit’s and Lougheed seen the potential of the oil fields the conservatives did everything right.
I ask you when Ontario was huge in manufacturing, what did Peterson, or Rae do? They added fees and spent furiously instead of creating any form of funds for lean times. They incorporated and supported pension funds and created corporations and government entities to ensure their stability in politics. These entities in justifying their existence are the very reason industry now leaves the area. All we have now are politicians having failed the province adding fees to compensate for the loss of industry. . We fail by the liberal hands and are too uneducated to see it
You can thank Trudeau’s Just Society for the issues with our judicial system. There was a time when sympathy was a word in the dictionary found between shit and syphilis now it is a buzz word for every criminal in the system.
Well Smee, I suppose the US still has all those missiles whereas all we have are healthier and wealthier people. If you don’t have to mortgage your house to get medical treatment then you can hold on to your money for retirement.
I’m also not sure that the Americans employed more people with their $8 billion. We have an awful lot of health care workers. Some people might say not enough. We may not manage our health care dollars efficiently but at least it is there instead of being used for missile inventory.
Smee, the cut was by22%. not to 22%. Clearly you weren’t reading those pinko rags. Do you remember David Tsubouchi? Didn’t think so. He was a Harris cab-min who advised welfare recipients who could no longer afford to feed their families to buy dented cans of food and haggle with the grocery stores over prices at the checkout.
right reg all the healthy people sitting in line waiting for that infamous health care. Contraray to popular belief europe has surpassed our system.
By or to the results are the same where did they make the cuts?
Like I said you are easily guided by media. You know the CBC a crown corporation.
As for welare people it is meant to be a brief support system, if you opt to live on it then yes buy dented cans. You have the right to a good life provided you work for it not off of others tax dollars
As for dented cans and reduced food what is wrong with that? When I shop the first places I visit is the reduced isles, that earning in the range of $100,000.
Why is it a problem for them to use the same principle?
Smee, you do like to cherry pick your facts. I didn’t say that the Canadian health care system was the best in the world. I am saying that it is $8 billion better than the US system. People in Canada may wait longer for medical procedures than wealthy Americans but at least we don’t have to hire a private nurse to get a glass of water when we are in the hospital. American health care is based on what insurance companies are willing to pay for. In Canada it is a basic human right.
By the way, public health does not recommend buying dented canned food. There is a very real risk of food poisoning if the can is dented enough to have even the smallest hole to expose the food to oxygen. That was the real problem with David Tsubouchi’s suggestion.
Actually, Reg, I’m sure that the government of the day was well aware of the danger of food poisoning. It was part of their war against the poor.
That’s right reg, we do not have to hire a nurse to get water we have to get it ourselves.
When was the past time you went for day surgery? When you can clean up you can go home was our last experience.
If the can has a hole in it it will leak if you agitate it.
Is this the same public health group that you condem for H1N1 shots, talk about cherry picking facts.
Back in 1995 when Mike Harris came to power, his government forged ahead with their agenda. The unions and large corporations terrorized him. There was so much anger among the unions, they hated Harris, but the actual people in the unions LOVED him. For five straight years prior to the election Harris and his campaign team went all over Ontario with their “common sense revolution” and listened and talked to the people. He warned Ontarian s that he would follow through with his agenda and he did. The unions would not budge, many times he gave the unions a chance to come to the table for negotiations, but to no avail. In one instance David Tsubouchi’s wife was egged in the face. Today, the unions are running the the show. Dalton McGuinty’s government continually caters to the them in order to get their votes. That’s partly why this province cant move ahead and that’s why we are in the mess we’re in today.
Do I thing Harris made mistake? I’m sure he did. But, I still insist on honesty, accountability and I want a leader who is ready to reduce and/or eliminate debt. Harris did all of those things.
This is no different than running your own household…if you don’t have the money then for Gods sakes don’t spend it.
Tammy if you don’t pay your rent or your mortgage you are cutting your expenses; until you’re homeless. It’s not the person; it’s the concept. You don’t pay for a social net then you pay higher costs for crime and prosecution and all sorts of wonderful things.
There’s an old proverb that you can judge a society by how it takes care of its weakest people.
I would suggest you think about that especially in your political career.