Category: Provincial Politics

Dumbing Down with Doug.

by Peter Lowry

If there is one thing Ontario voters can agree on is that Ontario premier Doug Ford is not the brightest star in the sky over Queen’s Park. When he thinks he has an idea that might appeal to voters, he will ride the idea into the ground.

Take his recent sticker idea. He knows that the actual sticker that shows you have paid for your vehicle license this year is worth a fraction of a cent.  He is going to give back the money you paid. It should come with a note reminding you to vote conservative in the coming election.

All it did was remind people of the stickers he had made to add confusion on the province’s gas pumps. It was finally a judge who got rid of that nonsense.

But how about his latest promise. If you vote conservative on June 2, he will roll back five cents of the Ontario gasoline tax—just for the rest of the year. You have got to figure that this guy doesn’t often get to fill up his limousine.

How did you like his preening for the television cameras at General Motors the other day? Here is the guy who killed the provincial grants for people buying electric cars four years ago taking the credit for General Motors being bribed to built pickups in Oshawa, Ontario and—eventually—some electric vehicles in Ingersoll, Ontario. What do you want to bet that the deal was engineered by the federal people in Ottawa?

Doug thinks he should get the credit. What he fails to understand is that with accepting the credit for something, you also have to take responsibility for the down sides. It is like the current situation with COVID-19. If the conservatives want the credit for declaring that the pandemic is over in Ontario, then we should not be hearing about more people in hospital and in the ICUs and dying. Which is what we are hearing.

On the positive side, it time for the Ontario government to proceed with the Bradford Bypass. There is no reason though to proceed with Highway 413. It is not needed by anyone other than Doug Ford’s developer friends.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Making Sunshine?

by Peter Lowry

The Sunshine List is an annual event in Ontario when we find out who in the previous year made the big bucks. It lists the people who are paid by the public and made over $100,000 per year. And the list keeps getting longer every year.

What really aggrieves me about the list that was just released is that the chief executive at my local hospital was the high-flying earner in Barrie in 2021. Her name is Janice Skot and it says she was paid $465,618.93 as president and CEO of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. Now I know what happened to the hospital’s food budget. I spent an entire month in that hospital during the pandemic and lost 25 pounds. The food was abominable.

And it was not because I was sick. I had shattered my ankle and ended up with more stainless steel in one leg than bone. When they took me off the painkillers, I realized the food was awful. We made a deal towards the end of my stay: they wanted to get rid of their loudest complainer and I wanted out.

This was a hospital that had always got good marks for its kitchens. It even had an extensive food court for staff and visitors. During the pandemic, they shut down their own kitchens, closed the food court and made a catering deal at the lowest possible price. At least the hard-working staff could bring their own food from home. I had to survive on Jell-o.

The interesting part of this was that lots of Royal Victoria doctors and staff made the sunshine list but the top earners were the CEO, followed by executive vice-president Nancy Savage at a reported $354,544.06 and another executive vice-president Bentley Peterson at a reported $301,200.04. That is more than a million dollars that might have been better spent looking after patients.

What is particular galling about this is that the hospital is a top-of-the-list charity for Barrie region citizens and some 800 volunteers toil for free (during non-covid times) to help look after patients and to keep the hospital running.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Defining Dignity.

by Peter Lowry

Ontario liberals have taken a bigger bite of the future than they might realize. They want to bring dignity to the people of Ontario. They want to start with the working poor. These are the gig workers, the delivery people, the Walmart employees and basically anyone working for the minimum wage. Nobody can live in Ontario on the minimum wage. A $16 per hour minimum wage would solve nothing. It is a path to malnutrition and starvation.

But when you promise dignity, you are offering much more than minimum wages. Dignity encompasses another million Ontario residents who cannot find decent or safe shelter. These are people who try to live on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and have to rely on food banks and charities for a decent meal. They are people who are forced to steal from your front porch or your unlocked car. They are not all criminals but they are all desperate.

Remember the outcry when the Ford government tried to cut the programs for autism in Ontario. Those kids had support. Nobody wants to support the people kicked onto the streets of our cities. Oh sure, we give them a loonie or a toonie occasionally. Does that cover our guilt?

We are responsible. We cannot ignore those in our society incapable of holding a job through no fault other than the inability to meet the norms of society. We cannot hide them. There are no protected work houses in our society. They do not deserve to be locked away, hidden from sight. They are reality.

And yet Ontario elects a blowhard and cruel person such as Doug Ford. He came into office four years ago and immediately cut the allowance for ODSP to an average of less than $1100 per month per person. With inflation running rampant today, that is less than half what a single person needs today for lodging and at least one decent meal per day.

I think people who care are deeply concerned with where our society is headed today. Be they liberal or be they human, they care about where our society is going. We can start by ensuring that the Ford government is gone.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Dumbing Down Downey.

by Peter Lowry

The good news is that the voters of provincial Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte will be able to do something about their representation at Queen’s Park in the June election. They have a better choice than carpetbagger Doug Downey. You remember Downey, don’t you? He was Doug Ford’s choice of candidate for our riding to keep Patrick Brown—the then disgraced former provincial leader of the conservatives—from running in the 2018 election.

Downey was a poor choice for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. A ward-healer in Orillia for a few years, Downey was the conservatives go-to guy in Severn Township. He was appointed to the Trent-Severn Waterway at one point. What he accomplished there remains something of a mystery.

But his appointment by Doug Ford in our electoral district was not exactly great news either. What we did not get was representation at Queen’s Park. We got something of a shadow member. This is more like a ghost—a ghost is something you talk about but never see. Why would he bother to stop in Barrie on his way to or from Toronto and home in Severn?

His excuse to our local pseudo-news people was that he became too busy when Mr. Ford found that Brian Mulroney’s kid was not the best choice of attorney general for Ontario. Caroline Mulroney’s training and experience in New York State was not exactly what was needed. That was when Doug Downey was appointed attorney general.

For almost three years now, Downey has been the legal expert for a government that doesn’t like rules that get in their way. One of the first laws to be passed by the government under the supervision of Downey was Bill 257. This bill allowed the minister of municipal affairs and housing to over-ride any impediment to using ministerial zoning orders (MZOs). It was a carte blanche arrangement to ignore municipal zoning, wetlands, farmlands, conservation planning or good planning or any other impediment to when developers wanted to build anywhere in Ontario. This Ontario government still has some friends, you know!

But there is certainly no reason for us to vote for Downey in June.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Deals on Wheels.

by Peter Lowry

There is nothing new about the deal liberal Justin Trudeau has recently made with Jagmeet Singh and his new democrats. They say they are going to cooperate for the next three years. What do you want to bet that Justin throws Jagmeet under the bus before two years?

These things do tend to work on a two-year cycle. When Justin’s father made a deal with NDP leader David Lewis in 1972, I really liked David Lewis. He was a gentleman and honest. I had high hopes that the romance would become something permanent. Yet it was actually Lewis who saw the relationship as failing the new democrats. He was right. The election in 1974 was something of a rout for the new democrats. The liberals were returned with a majority.

Another such deal occurred after the Ontario election in 1985. I bumped into liberal leader David Peterson’s go-to guy, Hershel Ezzrin, at my local campaign headquarters on election day. I reported to Ezzrin that the combined liberal-NDP numbers should end 42 years of conservative rule in Ontario if he could convince David Peterson to make a deal with the new democrats’ Bob Rae. Ezzrin blew me off, saying that they would never do that.

But the next day—when they saw that the combined liberal-NDP numbers exceeded the conservative numbers—they sent Bob Nixon, the most trusted liberal, to negotiate with Bob Rae and his NDP. Premier Peterson called an election in 1987 when the accord had expired and won the second largest majority in Ontario history.

Interestingly, the same approach has already been announced for the coming election this year in Ontario. The Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath and Ontario liberal leader, Steven Del Duca, have both stated publicly that they would work together to make sure that a minority conservative government did not survive a confidence motion—ensuring one of them might be the next premier of Ontario.

While this is by no way a prediction at this time, I would assume that Del Duca’s liberals will rebound enough in the election to ensure that the Ford conservatives do not get a majority. The conservatives certainly have not done anything to have earned a return to power.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Ontario’s Options.

by Peter Lowry

There will be an election in Ontario on June 2. It will be an election that is really about leadership. You will be hearing much about it as election day gets closer. It would be very wrong to assume anything about this election. People who live in Ontario, care about Ontario and are concerned about the province’s future, will want to think about it and vote in the election.

An election about leadership is the simplest way to look at an election. It is as simple as ABC. You have Doug Ford, conservative, Steven Del Duca, liberal, and Andrea Horwath, new democrat. If you always vote for one of those parties, you might not think you have a problem.

But nobody is perfect.

Mr. Ford has been a disaster. His bombast, his erratic leadership in the pandemic, the desertion of his sinking ship by key members of cabinet such as the healthcare minister and the long-term care minister make you wonder. Also, people are very skeptical of his reasons for promoting highway 413 when developers have bought the farmland around all the proposed highway interchanges before it was announced publicly.

And after ten years of Ms. Horwath leading the new democrats, we know she is not even an effective opposition leader. After the past four years as the official opposition, the new democratic party leader failed to have any impact on the Ford government or prove to be a viable alternative.

Mr. Del Duca of the liberals, has a different problem. Nobody really knows him. He has been leader of the liberals for the past two years and has made some promises to try for attention. He needed to be in the legislature. It will be his performance in the election that will decide.

The alternative is to pick the best candidate in your riding to represent you. A good candidate is one who knows your riding—knows its needs and knows how people feel. You want to be proud to have this person represent you.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Ford’s ‘400’ Focus.

by Peter Lowry

It really is annoying that Ontario premier Ford has started his election campaign with emphasis on the ‘400’ series highways. We all know that it takes years and extensive planning and modelling before the first truck load of concrete is poured. When you do the planning on the fly to improve on your re-election chances, you are sure to get it wrong.

And typical of Doug Ford, he listens to all the experts and then does what he intended to do.

One example was that in an attempt to win back the Durham provincial riding for the conservatives, the premier cancelled the tolls charged on highways 412 and 418. Both of these highways are less than 10 kilometers long and currently connect the 407 Electronic Toll Route (ETR) with provincial highway 401. Highway 412 goes through Whitby and highway 418 connects just east of Oshawa. Mind you, he forgot to cancel the more profitable tolls on the Ontario-owned portion of highway 407.

But the main problem with Doug Ford’s enthusiasm for highways are the proposed new highway linking King City and Milton (known as highway 413) and the Bradford Bypass designed to link highways 404 and 400. The problem is that highway 413 is a special prize for the premier’s developer friends who knew to buy up all the available farmland around the proposed interchanges for future development. Most Ontario residents are trying to figure out why we need three controlled access highways (401, 407 and 413) in parallel across the valuable farmlands, wet lands and aquifers of that part of rural Ontario?

The problem with the Bradford Bypass (also known as the Highways 400 and 404 Link) is that it has been needed to ease traffic on both highways for the past 30 years. At present, the north and south bound traffic have only three roads through the Town of Newmarket to connect the two highways.

Any Torontonian with a cottage in Muskoka can tell you that the province has been putting in new six lane overpasses for highway 400, north of where the 404 will connect, for the past six years. Planning and implementation of highway projects take many years. Hopefully Doug Ford will not be around long enough to get them screwed up.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

Creating Criminals.

by Peter Lowry

Could you feed and house yourself in Ontario today on less than $1,000 per month? Think about it. When Doug Ford took over as premier, he not only blocked an increase in minimum wage to $15 per hour, he cut the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) back to levels considered disastrous back when premier Mike Harris cut them last in the 1990s.

The best description I have heard for this idiocy is that Ford has created close to a million hunter gatherers in Ontario. They are always in search of their next meal. They are in line-ups at the few charities that will give them some food. They haunt the streets, panhandling, checking the garbage, mugging, and finally, stealing.

Have you ever wondered why shoplifting, stealing from cars, veranda thefts and other petty thefts increase after the middle of the month? That is when these people can be out of money and likely out of food.

And the worst of it is that they attack and rob each other for small change.

And don’t complain to the police about it. If they ever arrest these people, it is out of compassion. They give them a warm bed for the night and something to eat before they hit the streets again the next day.

And don’t get huffy and ask why these people can’t get a job. They have been driven down to this level and there are very few chauffeurs to drive them back to holding a job. People do try to help. There are even some good results—not enough to make a dent in the problems.

Any honest social worker will tell you that their caseload of people in need is impossible. There are few and overcrowded hostels. And nobody feels safe in them. There are no sheltered workshops.

These people do not want to live off the dole. They have no choice. Many are physically incapable of earning a living. Others are mentally incapable. Society has turned its back on them.

And our provincial government does not care.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]

The Mess She Leaves Behind.

by Peter Lowry

Ontario’s health minister, Christine Elliot is leaving politics, again. Another conservative cabinet member is deserting Doug Ford’s sinking ship. She joins cabinet colleague Rod Phillips in leaving. Both leave behind nothing but trouble in their critical portfolios.

There is no question but the ministries of health and long-term care took the brunt of the mismanagement by the Tories during the pandemic. Both are woefully short of funding and staff, the balance of their staff demoralized and looking for solutions. And if money would help, they know they cannot get it from a Ford government. There were lots of promises but there is little evidence of promises kept.

Ontario’s hospitals and long-term care facilities are being bankrupted by inflation and a skinflint government that gives no quarter.

We watched as Christine Elliot grew old, backing up that buffoon Ford at his populist worst. You knew he was out of his depth. Yet, his ministers were not there to help but to seemingly reinforce his bad decisions.

We watched them make rules for the rest of us but exempting themselves. They stopped worrying about COVID-19 some time ago as they turned desperately to trying to get re-elected.

The re-election of this government is most unlikely. You can forget the pollsters. The supposed popularity of premier Doug Ford is more a factor of the lack of knowledge about his opponents than any love for the inept premier. Once the writ is issued and people start to be aware of the June 2 election date, other options will come into play.

One of Mr. Ford’s more serious problems is that it looks as though the conservatives are losing more than 25 per cent of their caucus. That is a large number bailing out on a first term premier. And Ford needs 65 seats for a majority. Even if his party wins half of those seats left empty by conservatives, he will still be short of a majority. And without a majority, Ford will lose the keys to the premier’s office.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:[email protected]

The Red Tape Trap.

by Peter Lowry

Nothing pleases the conservative party voter more than to hear that their government is going to cut red tape. It goes along with cutting taxes and having smaller government.  It is all part of the political mantra of people who do not waste time thinking about it.

After all, what is red tape? A good example of red tape is zoning bylaws. This type of red tape gets under peoples’ skin more than others. They are an inconvenience for developers. They are a frustration for property owners. And everyone wants an exemption.

There is actually a thriving business in municipalities in North America in handling the municipal red tape of zoning. There are lawyers who live off it. There are those who handle the squabbles over a backyard fence and there are those who clear the hurdles for the building of sky-high condominiums and million-dollar office towers.

The toughest zoning is when you are trying to prevent people from building on a flood plain or on an aquifer or wetlands. For those, the conservatives in Ontario have set up what are called Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZO) to override the conservation zoning. With the right conservative party lawyer and the right donations to a conservative party campaign fund, you might be surprised how easy it is to get an MZO in Ontario.

But then, with any law, whether it be in the Transport Ministry or Health or Long-Term Care, there are requirements that have to be met. Some of these requirements are never checked. And in other ministries, such as the Ministry Labour, the regulations are routinely checked by ministry inspectors.

What cost-cutters in government do not understand is that red tape is part of our way of life. Red tape is the structure that enables us to drive a car safely. It is the fact that a door to outside a building always opens outwards. It keeps a wrecking yard or stone quarry out of residential neighbourhoods. It means the milk we feed our children has been properly pasteurized. It means our buildings and bridges are not as likely to fall down. Red tape brings us confidence and security. And anyone who promises to cut red tape is like the conservatives who promise to cut the fat. They end up leaving the next government with their deficits and their bad judgement.

-30-

Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to:

[email protected]