Dear Dalton: No doubt you have spoonfuls of sugar ready to go with the medicine you hope Ontario residents will swallow. The first dose comes with the Drummond Report and then the second with the provincial budget. Meanwhile, the media will continue to frighten citizens with speculation and rumours. What puzzles us though are why, in front of the news media, you said last week: “There are legitimate public expectations that we’ll do everything we can to eliminate the deficit as quickly as we can.”
You have got it wrong again Dalton. Take your time. Sure, former civil servant and bank economist Don Drummond might have some interesting ideas. They certainly should be considered. Our barber also has some interesting ideas. You should talk to him too.
Just who is telling you that you have a problem? Is it that young Mr. Hudak? We sometimes tend to forget that he took courses in economics. He is also a protégé of Mike Harris, one of the worst premiers in Ontario history. The two H’s, Harris and Hudak, are ideologues. That means that they put their theories ahead of people. It means they put business wants ahead of what people might want. Hell, they might even put their right-wing creed ahead of people’s lives. These are not nice people. Why should you worry about what they want?
It seems you told that audience in Ottawa the other day that you are going to cut the wages of civil servants in Ontario. That does not sound very smart. If you are paying them too much, who is at fault? What has changed? Has the cost of living in Ontario gone down and we failed to notice? Is it their fault that Ontario has a deficit?
You really need to rethink this Dalton. That is kind of Harris-Hudak thinking to blame the civil servants for something they did not do. Ask interim federal Liberal Leader Bob Rae what happened to him as Premier when he blamed the civil servants in the 1990s.
You should really think about what caused the recent economic problems for Ontario. Obviously there is not much you can do about the American banks who screwed up the mortgage business in the U.S. You have to deal with things you can correct.
For example, we have lost a lot of jobs in Ontario to low-wage areas in the United States. Have you thought of ways we could penalize those companies who send jobs out of the country? Should you ever buy anything from such companies? Sure, we have to respect trading agreements but American states seem to have no problem finding ways to protect their jobs. What are you, a boy scout?
Dalton, you really need to rethink your basic strategy. Liberals are supposed to respect the rights of the individual in our society. If we have hurt your feelings calling you and your caucus Whigs, we apologize. After all, Whigs are just Liberals who are two hundred years behind the times.
If you want to move into the 21st Century, we will be happy to analyze this Drummond report for you and show you how a modern Liberal would make sure that the proposals helped the people of Ontario—not penalized them for your government’s mistakes. And we will only charge a fraction of Don’s bill. Your new pal, Peter.
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Copyright 2012 © Peter Lowry
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