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2018 Ontario Provincial Election Discussion

This, and we could see some of the 'Blue Liberals' vote for the Tories for their perceived economic/energy platform (i.e. the whole spiel about Conservatives being better at business, lowering costs of electricity).
 
Another nasty black eye for the Liberals- very little good news coming out these days. In this case it's another chip away at their credibility and it makes people question their honesty in eliminating the deficit.

Accounting spat leads to differing Ontario deficit figures

Depending on whom you believe, Ontario’s deficit last year was either $3.5 billion or $5 billion.

And the province’s net debt was either $294.5 billion or $305.2 billion.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Treasury Board President Liz Sandals insist it’s the former.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says it’s the latter.

That’s because she no longer believes the government should include on its bottom line its share of assets from the teachers’ and public servants’ pension funds that it co-sponsors.
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https://www.thestar.com/news/queens...ads-to-differing-ontario-deficit-figures.html

At the same time...
Southwestern Ontario group questions spending by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

All they wanted was $10,000 for a wildlife project in the London area.

But when they asked the government for the money from an Ontario fund specifically designated for angling and hunting, they were told the cupboard was bare.

That got them asking how the fund — worth more than $70 million a year, and into which all the hunting and fishing licence revenue in Ontario goes — is being spent.

It took them four years to find out, but the group representing 1,400 Southwestern Ontario landowners, hunters and farmers, say they’re stunned by the answers they got from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

— The spending included $65,000 to buy and sell a house.

— Also included were $4,000 for rental accommodations and $12,251 for psychologists.

— Then, there was money for dentists and doctors.

What the Aylmer Stakeholders Committee, which draws members from Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford counties, says it failed to find on the list was money for hunting and angling projects.
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http://www.lfpress.com/2016/10/01/s...by-ministry-of-natural-resources-and-forestry
 
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jje1000 said:
... $12,251 for psychologists.
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I assume this department is responsible for the Ontario equivalent of Animal Control and Park Ranger?

If so, those jobs include tracking down and killing animals who have been hit by cars or making a nuisance in towns. So, you've spend 8 hours tracking down a bear, kill it, and start to check the stomach contents to ensure you found the right bear that was hanging out in the apartment complexes dumpsters. You find a human babies torso and nobody in the town reported a baby missing.

Psychologist fees happen.
 
IMO money for psychological fees should come out of a general pot of money, rather than a specific fund (which has less money)- since psychological services serve multiple departments.
 
Employment in the Ontario is continuing to be weak over these consecutive months, and full-time employment is continuing to decrease.

No excuse considering that full-time employment in Quebec has grown robustly over the last few months.

Labour Force Survey, September 2016

In Quebec, employment increased for the second consecutive month, up 38,000 in September. The unemployment rate edged down to 6.9%, the lowest since the start of 2008. Compared with September 2015, employment in the province was up by 61,000 (+1.5%).

Employment in Ontario was little changed in September, and the unemployment rate was 6.6%. However, on a year-over-year basis, employment in the province increased by 82,000 (+1.2%) and the unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points.
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http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/161007/dq161007a-eng.htm?HPA=1
 
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rbt said:
I assume this department is responsible for the Ontario equivalent of Animal Control and Park Ranger?

If so, those jobs include tracking down and killing animals who have been hit by cars or making a nuisance in towns. So, you've spend 8 hours tracking down a bear, kill it, and start to check the stomach contents to ensure you found the right bear that was hanging out in the apartment complexes dumpsters. You find a human babies torso and nobody in the town reported a baby missing.

Psychologist fees happen.
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you guys must be joking. All that money raised from licensing fees and going towards housing, rent, etc. This Liberal gov't is crazy. All money allocated for various things yet gov't desparate for ways to shore up revenue side so deficits look better
 
gabe said:
I hear people complaining about their high hydro bills, i just say.... you think that's high? Wait till the winter bills come in!

Get these damn rates down’: Sky-high Hydro One bills enraging consumers across Ontario http://business.financialpost.com/n...o-one-bills-enraging-consumers-across-ontario
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That bill in the example, is that 97 kwh per day on average on that last line for a summer bill? That's crazy, I wonder if they've considered insulation?

My average is slightly below 10, family of 2, both work from home, and cook.
 
This is probably innocuous in the end, but the optics are still bad considering that the public opposes the Hydro One selloff.

Ontario wants banker who pushed Hydro One selloff to assess eHealth
Future of eHealth does not include possibility of sale or commercial use of health information, province says

Ontario is asking the banker who recommended privatizing Hydro One to turn his attention to the province's digital health system.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced in a statement Friday that he had asked former TD Bank CEO Ed Clark, who headed up an advisory council that helped plan to sell a majority stake in the utility, to examine the system as the mandate of eHealth Ontario expires at the end of 2017.

"First, I would ask you to provide the government with a value assessment of Ontario's digital health assets and all related intellectual property and infrastructure," Hoskins wrote.

"Secondly, please provide us with recommendations related to how to maximize the value of these assets for Ontarians by improving how care is delivered, the patient experience in interacting with the health care system and, indirectly, through the economic value that is created for Ontario's economy."
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...hydro-one-selloff-to-assess-ehealth-1.3797238
 
I get the sense that the Liberals are far less popular now than they were pre-election 2014. Any thoughts on why? Casually watching this government has been relatively scandal free, with the only major scandal being the hydro prices. I compare this to before 2014, when we had the gas plant scandal in full swing, e-health, potential teacher strikes, etc...

If we didn't have polling to tell us better, I would've guessed that the Liberals would've been a shoe-in for reelection in 2018, given their relative lack of scandals and their ability to win previous elections despite the scandals of the time.

Are people just particularly reactive to hydro prices since it directly affects their pocket book?
 
Kathleen Wynne's approval is 14%. She's done. 49% of those polled seem to think so too.

49% Believe Wynne Won't Lead the Liberals Into 2018 — TheStar.com

Now, the question is: does she dig in and take the party down with her or does she announce her resignation sometime in mid 2017 and allow the party to choose a new leader in a convention and have a fighting chance at staying in government?

After 15 years in government, it'll take a populist to win a 5th election in a row for the Liberals. Who in the party can play that role?
 
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Videodrome said:
She should step down for the good of the party.
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That's what I've been saying for a while now. It's the only real chance to avoid a Conservative government. There was even a poll in the Star a month or so ago that showed that the Liberals would still have a chance at a majority if she wasn't the leader.
 
I think the worse thing for her to do is step down. I feel like her unpopularity has little to do with her track record and more to do with an underlaying tone of homophobia.

Let's take a second to review, shall we:

- Kathleen Wynne proposes the greatest transit expansion in Canadian History with GO RER. Although not fully funded, an aggressive effort is being made.
- Free postsecondary education for low income families.
- Removed the archaic, discriminatory process transgendered individuals had to endure when transitioning.
- Responded to discrimination at the hands of Police by making "carding" unlawful.
- Created a ministry to remove systematic racism from every service provided by the government of Ontario.
- Studying the implementation of Basic Income
- Created the framework for Canada's new CPP through the ORPP.

It's not just what she's proposed, but the speed and efficiency she's delivered different initiatives.

- The response to the poll indicating Ontarians were increasingly frustrated with hydro bills was quickly followed up with a rebate of HST on Hydro in addition to the purchase of cheap hydro from Quebec. (Within a week)
- The slow delivery of vehicles by Bombardier reflected in the new RFPs for LRTs indicating a search for a new source of LRVa.
- Pushing through the objections of City Hall and Residents to the opposition of Barrie South.
- The only premier to propose reforming the OMB.

It's not so much the list of accomplishments, but rather the attitude of her government seems to be to get as much done in as little time. GO RER will be the ultimate gauge of that.
 
'more to do with an underlaying tone of homophobia.'

I think Wynne and your Ilk being that out of touch with Ontarians is why Wynne is not Popular.


Living in the suburbs, the reason why she is not popular is rather simply increasing cost of living from mostly government incompetence.
 
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