Dear Friends:
On September 6, voters in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan will be asked to make a choice between the obstructive games of the opposition — or the opportunity to keep our schools strong and stable for our children and grandchildren.
And we need your help to make that choice clear.
Together, we’ve made great gains in Ontario’s schools.
Test scores are up. Class sizes are down. Grad rates are up. Our schools are now recognized as the best in the English speaking world.
It wasn’t always that way. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the PC and NDP governments wreaked havoc in our schools. Our classrooms were in chaos, students were falling behind and labour unrest was the order of the day.
We changed that — all of us — working together.
And we’ve got to keep that success going. We have to keep protecting the gains we’ve made for our children and grandchildren. Maintaining stability in our schools and keeping children in the classroom has never been more important.
You know that. I know that. Ontarians know that.
The opposition does not.
At a time when Ontario struggles with a stubborn deficit caused by the global recession, choices need to be made. We’ve chosen to stop corporate tax cuts and ask government workers to take a pay freeze — all so that we can continue to invest in smaller class sizes, full-day kindergarten, higher test scores and higher graduation rates.
A number of our education partners — teachers, trustees, and support staff — understand the choices we need to make and have agreed to our plan. At the same time, we recognize that recalling the legislature may be necessary to fully implement the plan.
Unfortunately, neither opposition party has shown any interest in making the minority parliament work. They’ve been unhelpful when it comes to making the choices that keep our schools and economy strong. Both opposition parties would stand in the way of legislation that would freeze wages and protect our schools.
The NDP want big, unsustainable raises for teachers and have proven themselves untrustworthy in a minority. The NDP were caught not once, but twice, breaking agreements to let the budget pass in the spring — until public pressure and media scrutiny made them follow through.
The PCs want to cancel full-day kindergarten, stranding 250,000 4-and-5 year olds; and fire thousands of teachers to pay for tax cuts for big corporations and the super-rich. They have refused to support any of the government’s positive proposals — choosing instead to block vital legislation that will make Ontario stronger.
The only way to move forward with our plan to protect our schools and balance the budget is by electing Liberal MPPs in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan.
So I’m asking for your help to send Ontario Liberal MPPs to Queen’s Park. Please, visit our website to find out how you can sign up to become an Ontario Liberal campaign volunteer.
Help us make the choice clear.
Together, let’s stand up for our kids, and build a stronger Ontario.
Sincerely,
Dalton McGuinty
(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 this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
The sooner we get rid of Dalton McGuinty and the Fiberals, the better!
Does anyone question why our grad rates are up? Are Ontario kids that much smarter? What changes were made to increase those numbers?
Full day kindergarten, public servant salary/benifits, industrial wind turbines/solar, OLG, E-Health, LCBO and ORNG have nothing to do with our indebited state, just the recession?
Financially would we be better off with any of the other parties? We saw what a Conservative and a NDP party did to Ontario in the 90’s. Do we want a repeat of that?
To be honest, at this time, I think I would vote for whichever party will honestly address the inequities built into the FLSA and it’s application.
I really hate that guy.