It is the time of year when Canadians come out of their winter refuges. We travel. We talk to each other. And if we are smart, we listen. What we are hearing here in Ontario is the strong desire for change. That is not necessarily bad if Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is also listening.
What we are hearing might be a surprise to her. Her notoriety has gained momentum over the winter. We are hearing her being blamed for many things, even some for which she has no responsibility. It is hard to argue with the anger.
If something is worth doing, she does it by half measures and for optimal political benefit. We understand she was in London, Ontario yesterday to announce a high-speed train plan for the Toronto-Windsor corridor. While we understand the political choice to starting with that section, we are appalled at the political hutzpah behind it.
Of course, we all know that the Windsor-Toronto leg will be the cheapest and there are more Liberal seats to be won in that part of southern Ontario. We will also concede that it is the leg that can be moved along with some alacrity.
But Wynne really needs to wait and announce this when they can say something more definite about costs than it will cost between $4 billion and $12 billion. We will soon be referring to Kathleen Wynne as the $8 billion-dollar woman.
What is particularly disappointing with this is that she is appointing David Collenette, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s Minister of Transport, to drive this train through the years it will take to complete building the line. The only money really allocated at this time is $15 million for the environmental studies. It is the thought that David might be expendable after next June’s provincial election that concerns us. And we would also hate to see this vital project turned into a political football.
But it is just the latest cynical political move by a sorry politician with an ego that is bigger than her sense of duty to this province.
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Copyright 2017 © Peter Lowry
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