King Arthur Movie Tristan

OK, it seems pretty obvious what Jim Flaherty really means by:

Instead of seizing opportunities and taking steps to strengthen our economy we are seeing a lack of leadership, a lack of vision and a lack of economic stewardship. And we are seeing it right here in the manufacturing heartland of the country, the place I proudly call home: Ontario.

But to put this speech in perspective, lets go back a few years. In fact lets go back almost two years, to April 2006. Back when we were still digesting "Canada's New Government," back when they were in fact new, and the ministers for this government were all newly appointed: Rona Ambrose was in Environment and had upside. Garth Turner was in the back-benches of the governing side, and his blog was Stephen Harper yaa tis, and Stephen Harper yaa that.

And Jim Flaherty was Canada's new Finance Minister. In that environement, I spoke thus:

When Dalton's Liberal's came to power in Ontario, they bitched and moaned about the state the Conservatives left the finances. They made statements such as 'they cut taxes too quickly', 'they acted irresponsibly' and &tc. The problem is, one of those Conservative Finance Minister's, one of the tax cutting ones, was Jim Flaherty.

If you are Jim Flaherty, are you sorely tempted to tell Dalton McGuinty that a) the house was once in order b) the house is no longer in order and c) we blame you for b? For a tax cutter fiscal conservative like Flaherty, is this even more so after the last Ontario budget, in which Dalton McGuinty intentionally built a deficit into the budget for political(?) purposes?

Not being content with that, in October of that year Dalton spoke somewhat out of turn:

"A lot of those people who used to run Queen's Park, the ones who didn't get what it takes to succeed in the 21st century, they're back. They're running the federal government. It's kind of like a recurring nightmare," McGuinty told the closing rally of the Ontario Liberals' annual general meeting.

"I'm increasingly concerned they still don't get it that they still don't understand that it takes more than competitive taxes alone to build a high quality of life in today's world."

Good Lord, Dalton! Put away that stone before you break one of the panes on the wall.

So who was surprised yesterday when Flaherty went after McGuinty? Who was surprised when he said "Dalton McGuinty likes to blame others for his problems. But I suggest the problems, in many cases, stem from a lack of innovation, a lack of foresight and a lack of leadership."? Not me, that's who. I saw this one coming two years ago.

More at Jack's Newswatch and Blue Like You. (Hey Joanne, did you consider "Blue By You"? It's catchy and you could hum along.)

File under if these guys were Conservatives...

Joanne, over at Joanne's Journey, has been posting about the new Dalton-day here in Ontario. Family Day was granted unto Ontarions the day after the election last fall, as a gracious payoff for electing the Liberals without them having to earn it. It is a statutory holiday that will fall on the third Monday of February every year (Feb 18 this year). The problem is there was no consultation with affected groups. If you are unionized and have a collective bargaining agreement, chances are you are out of luck for the holiday, or will give up a far nicer floating holiday.

Unmentioned in many reports on this is many companies have contracts to fulfil and are returning to those with whom they have contracts trying to renegotiate deadlines. Others, who supply just in time parts, will have no choice but to operate. This is, in short, a big headache for the manufacturing sector, which is supposedly already in crisis.

Where's the CAW crack protest squad when they can be useful?

If this was it, one bad law rushed through, it could be ignored Unfortunately it's becoming Dalton's MO. Consider the street racing law. To combat street racing, anyone going more than 50KM an hour over the speed limit automatically loses their licence and car for a week and face a minimum fine of $2,000. Which takes us to Wednesday:

An 85-year-old motorist lost his licence and his Oldsmobile for a week and likely faces a hefty fine after becoming the oldest person snagged to date by Ontario's stringent crackdown on street racers and highway speed demons.

The man, whose name was not released, was making his way Wednesday along Highway 407 north of Toronto when he was allegedly clocked doing 161 kilometres an hour -- 61 km/h over the posted speed limit.

An 85 year old man, who was going shopping, is now a street racer. Casting a rather wide net , aren't we Dalton?

While the top two are examples of laws that got rushed through, and are thus carelessly written, the following example was, in fact, a long drawn out process. Back on September 17th a new law came into effect that would open adoption records. The government took a couple of years, heard many different views, ridiculed the dissenting ones, and passed the law they wanted all along. This law did not have a crucial "disclosure veto," that allowed somebody to opt out of having their private information passed along if they specifically requested it. Other jurisdictions have had such laws previously, and the disclosure veto was never an issue. But to the Ontario Liberals, it was an issue. Against the advice of their own privacy commissioner, they went ahead and passed the law sans veto.

Within two days, Two Days! of the laws assent, it was struck down on September 19th by an Ontario Court of Justice, specifically because it did not have a disclosure veto. New legislation was introduced in December that includes the crucial veto.

Three examples of laws passed by Dalton McGuinty's Liberals, three examples of poorly thought out laws, in two cases hastily done. There must be a better way to govern.

From RBC's quarterly economic report Provincial Outlook (October 2007):

Ontario — Forecast lowered; competitiveness waning

We have shaved our 2008 growth forecast down significantly, but expect that
growth will rebound modestly in 2009 as the U.S. economy accelerates, currency
relief materializes, major capital spending by the provincial government kicks in
and new auto sector investments swing into production. Renewed upward pressures
on the currency, ongoing strength in oil and other commodity inputs,
weaker U.S. growth and the surge in China’s exports as a share of U.S. imports all
mean that central Canada’s manufacturers will face another challenging year.
Also, forestry, Ontario’s second biggest sector, faces at least another year of
weak commodity prices and escalating costs.

While 2009 may bring modestly stronger growth, our chief concern is for the
economy’s long-run competitiveness under the crushing corporate tax burden
that acts as a sharp disincentive to invest. If the province were a country, then,
when properly measured, it would have the second highest tax burden on new
business investment in the world. Much of this goes to funding very rapid
growth in short-term government program spending, with health accounting for
about one-half. Ontario has had the second fastest growth rate on program
spending behind Alberta in recent years, but in a relatively soft economy and
without the Alberta government’s resource royalties backing this spending.
Addressing this high tax burden would be a significant offset to the currency
pressures on the province’s businesses. In fact, much of the incentive to invest
as a result of the 60% currency-induced cheapening in imported capital goods
gets yanked right back by extraordinarily high rates of taxation. (Emphasis mine).

Now that the election is over, can we get around to discussing the economy? What did happen to the CAW and it's complaints about the manufacturing crisis during the election? How will one more day of pay for one less day of work help businesses in this province be competitive?

Forget polls. I've said it a hundred times. Pollsters often have their own agenda, and can be heavily influenced by wording or ordering of questions. Forget them. The politicians do their own polling, and the only agenda on the internal polling is good information. Want to know what the internal polls say? Watch the politicians: they will react to them.

So it is noteworthy, I think, that today Dalton McGuinty didn't go negative, he went scare mongering:

A vote for the Ontario Conservatives is a vote for the decimation of public health care and a return to the dangerous cost-cutting policies of former premier Mike Harris, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday in his sharpest attack yet on his chief rival.

I wish I could believe that John Tory was fit to carry Mike Harris golf bag.

"I'm comparing the politics of Mr. Tory to Mr. Harris,'' McGuinty said, responding to a question in French.

"Yes, they are different people but at the end of the day, what happened in the past will happen again in the future. I want to be sure that Ontarians understand the choice before them. They've already experienced the cuts in their health care system. When I talk to Ontarians, they don't want to see that movie again. They want to move forward.''

Standing in London's John Labatt Centre, McGuinty vowed to spend $550 million a year to hire 9,000 nurses over four years _ enough to fill virtually every seat in the stadium.

"You see this arena behind me?'' McGuinty said, gesturing to the empty stands. "Mike Harris emptied that arena of nurses. We filled it once and now we're going to fill it again. That's the difference.''

Dude, your harshing my mellow.


Watch for the less reliable polling to show in the next week or so that John Tory is picking up support. More interesting to see will be whether this ridiculous John Tory = Mike Harris stuff will have any impact.

I was working, and didn't watch the Ontario leaders debate. Never one to let a little thing like that stop me from commentating, here's what I believe will be a fairly accurate transcript of the debate:

Dalton McGuinty. Friends, I am here tonight not to win an election, but to save public education for our children. Because this man [points to John Tory] will kill off public education as sure as only legal handguns will kill off our children. I am here to regulate his plans into bureaucratic oblivion [giggles].

John Tory: That's false, you are a liar.

DM: I don't lie. After being elected last time I was forced, through your parties mismanagement, to cede an inconvenient untruth.

JT: Liar. That's not leadership. We need leadership.

Howard Hampton. Gentlemen.. This is unbecoming. Surely we can all agree to throw gobs of money at public education, university and teachers, and to make kindergarten an all day affair.

DM: That sounds reasonable.

JT: You have had four years to implement all that, what have you been doing. Where has the leadership been on this issue. Why haven't you told people of your plans. Liar.

HH: So you disagree with those suggestions Mr. Tory.

JT: Oh dear god no! A little right wing for my liking perhaps, but your in the ball park.

DM: I am not a liar, Mr. Tory. I am disingenuous in my honesty, and I wish you would stop calling me a liar.

HH: We need to raise the minimum wage to 10.00 immediately.

DM: $10.25, Mr. Hampton. Poor people need $10.25 to survive, but they don't need it just yet. Soon as we get these pesky years with a zero in them out of the way.

HH: You have had four years already, now you want another two? Why would you need two years Mr McGuinty?

DD: To give people time to forget I promised it. Last mandate I raised taxes a mere six months after promising not to, and look at the trouble that got me into.

JT: Liar! That's not leadership!! Speaking of leadership, when I ran a government regulated monopoly, we made tons of cash, and we did it with some of the worst customer service ever seen. It takes real leadership to be profitable in a government regulated monopoly. No sitting on the sidelines watching the first nations peoples burning down your buildings in that game.

DM: And what would you do in Caledonia, Mr. Tory?

JT: I'd accuse the first nations protesters of stealing American satellite signals, and sent the CRTC after them. Nobody can resist a bureaucracy that entrenched.

DM: How would that work?

JT: Are you kidding, they'll be filling out forms, in triplicate, for years. Liar! Look folks, a common liar [points to DM].

DM: Stop calling me that.

JT: Oh look, your pants are on fire.

DM [looks]

JT: Made you look; only a real liar would look.
Vote for me for honest leadership.

DM: Public education is a right, and it is good. It is good because it's public, and because it's an education. Stop this dangerous lunatic from giving that education to 5,000 more kids; stop him in the name of inclusiveness. Vote for me, Dalton McGuinty, all save public education for all kids, except the 5,000 noted earlier.

HH: I'm Howard Hampton. Vote for me and you won't have to vote for these two.

Have you seen that commercial yet? Dalton McGuinty virtually giggling into the camera (scroll down the empty page and click on video 3: Public Schools):

You know what I love about Ontario's public schools? They're public.

Not that it's good, effective, gives our kids a superior education, prepares them for reality, or is inexpensive and efficient. No, what Dalton McGuinty loves about the education system is that it's owned and operated by the government of Ontario.

Which makes giggles McGuinty a dangerous ideologue:

Soviet TV, 1978 - Your great leader Leonid Ilyich McBrezhnev:

Comrades. Do you know what I love about Russian made GAZ automobiles? That it takes three years to get one? Nyet. That it breaks down with annoying regularity? Nyet. That it's dangerous, unreliable and poorly made? The way the glove box rattles, the coffee cup holder is twice the size of any coffee cup I ever saw, and the sun roof won't close when it gets wet? Nyet comrades. What I love about my Lada is it's made by the government.

Don't we need a better reason for supporting public education than "because it's public"? And if that's the only reason to continue supporting it, then isn't that an admission that it's time for a complete re-think on the education file?

Big, BIG ole h/t to Joanne, who really has this story covered, but I'll add what I can.

This post will back track to June 06, when I ran a story about Caledonia, and the natives claim on ten KM from the Grand River. As I noted, "Brantford, Kitchener, much of Waterloo, Fergus and my beloved Hespeler is on their hit list." Today they added Guelph, somewhat arbitrarily it seems, but who's keeping count.

Joanne talks about the Haldeman tract, which is that 10KM strip from the grand, a picture of which is here.

Have a peek at the area covered by the track, and understand that Native Groups today declared it's theirs.

Dalton McGuinty was last seen running away from the scene, and threatening CHCH news to not a run their story about it.

Update: It seems Caledonia Wake Up Call was right on the money

We are about to find out just how Biased the Toronto Media is. We all remember how the media spent endless hours covering how controlling Harper (Conservatives) was over the media.

Now we have a clear, direct threat to a Media Outlet by McGuinty's Campaign Office, so let's see whether the media will cover this story to the same degree.

I can find one reference to Premier McGuinty threatening a media outlet if they ran a story.

Two days ago Buzz Hargrove was mentioning "Canada's Manufacturing Crisis," which lets face it, is Ontario's Unionized Manufacturing Crisis, and he laid the blame squarely at Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty. They are the guys who should be losing their jobs, paraphrased Hargrove, not 1,000 GM workers. Interestingly, while Buzz was blaming Harper and Flaherty for not creating enough US demand for pick-up trucks, Dalton McGuinty was making the crisis worse, to stunning unionized silence.

The CAW will tell you they have a very tough round of negotiations coming up with the big three next year, where GM, Ford and Chrysler will all be looking for concessions from their workers. The concessions will be in the form of wages, benefits and paid time off. So in the middle of this crisis, in the middle of a good, the right wingers aren't left wing enough rant, Buzz's left leaning buddies in the provincial Liberals decide to create, one more paid day off.

We can debate the merits of the day off pro and contra until the cows come home, but if we are in the middle of a job-loss crisis, this is not helpful, it's harmful. And, if that is so, shouldn't Dalton be called out on that fact by Buzz, Jim Stanford et al.? And if they don't call Buzz on this one, does this mean there is no real crisis?

Oh, and memo to the CBC: back in September 2005, the CAW lost zero (0, none, nada, zilch, soccer score) "jobs at DaimlerChrysler in Ontario." Many workers, some of whom I knew, worked with, liked, in fact did lose their jobs. But the CAW? They weren't their jobs, they don't own the jobs, thus they cannot have lost the jobs. Just sayin'

Is it going to be declared a new holiday, or will you just ban working on the third Monday in February?

And the reasons given by Jim Watson, Minister of Health Promotion (was Minister of Saying Please and Thank-you taken?), for creating Family Day: Statutory holidays are good for the tourism industry. Maybe in August, but in mid-February Jim, don't call me Dr., Watson thinks I'm, what, heading to the beach in Goderich? Taking the family to Algonquin Park? Good for tourism in the tropics, where no doubt four day weekend packages to the cayman islands will start springing up, but will Orillia really see a boost? Tourism Carolina can boast about 60 degrees and sunny only 12 hours away, but the Minister of Diddley Squat thinks a February holiday will be good for Ontario tourism?

I think not Sherlock.