You had no idea that Ontario was bankrupt, did you? We find that conservatives seem to have a very different definition of bankrupt than most bankers and economists. The other day Ontario’s deputy premier and health minister, Christine Elliott was on Global TV’s Focus Ontario, being interviewed by news anchor, Alan Carter. She told him that they have to cut spending on the sick and poor because Ontario was left bankrupt by the last regime.
One of Alan Carter’s weaknesses as an interviewer is that he has his own opinions and is not reluctant to express them. In this case, he was incredulous. He questioned the minister on her statement. He wanted to know on what basis could the province be considered bankrupt. He even asked the widow of a former federal finance minister how bad she considered the debt to provincial gross domestic product (GDP) to be that caused the supposed bankruptcy.
The interview did not end well.
Saying that the former government mishandled the public funds, has become a political mantra in Canada and the provinces for conservatives. The conservatives blanche at any and all deficits and always promise to balance the budget sooner than those other guys.
But what they are reluctant to do is to raise taxes for the wealthy. They are much happier making things more expensive for the middle class. And they consider poor people as something of a bother.
What the conservatives are best at is nickel-diming the public. They download welfare costs to the municipalities. They cut funding to our libraries. They tighten the rules for provincial welfare programs. They will increase fares for GO trains and buses. They are cutting down on the funding for school teachers and eliminating the jobs of teaching assistants. They are increasing the costs for the insufficient number of child care spaces for working parents. And the public suffers from the pains of a thousand cuts.
Christine Elliott is a very capable woman but she will let us down on behalf of this careless, uncaring conservative government.
-30-
Copyright 2019 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]