No doubt Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne would very much like to close the books on the gas power plants in Mississauga and Oakville. It is just that there is a bad smell here that is something more than the rotten egg smell usually associated with domestic natural gas. And we hasten to add that we are not singling out her party for all the blame. We must never forget that Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath were both behind the drive to cancel those power plants. All three parties are to blame.
But, there is no escape clause in this fiasco, Ms. Wynne. Your party really screwed things up. It is now obvious, based on the auditor general’s report, that the real mess was in how you cancelled. Every single lawyer in the Liberal caucus, or at least the Cabinet, should be disbarred for not stopping the government of the day from cancelling the way they did. That was dereliction of responsibility to Ontario taxpayers.
We recognize that it might be somewhat difficult for the caucus to dip into personal savings to reimburse the taxpayers. Maybe former MPP Greg Sorbara might consider it small change but even he would have trouble coming up with a billion.
The basic question is what are you going to do about it? It is about time you stopped backfilling and repairing and became pro-active.
At best guess, you have until April to start looking like you know what you are doing. It also gives Andrea and Timmy time to think about how they might really serve Ontario voters. Your only advantage is that you are supposed to be a Liberal. Nobody can confirm that based on your performance as Premier to-date. You have done nothing, Liberal or otherwise.
Being Liberal is to be concerned about the freedom and opportunity of the individual in our society. There are too many people unemployed in Ontario. That means they are not being afforded equal opportunity. What you need to do is increase corporate taxes and then give business an incentive to hire. Companies that do not hire can pay for those that do. And, by the way, make sure the minimum wage is above the poverty line. It is not equal opportunity to pay people less than a living wage.
Being Liberal is leading. You have to show us you can lead. You have to stop listening to those reactionary advisors you have and stop playing at developing policies. Any policies that you do not feel in your gut are probably not worth the trouble. Start with what people need. They are the ones you have to bring on side.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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