Do you feel lucky, voter?
As the electioneering in Ontario reaches a feverish pitch, Alec Saunders is second-guessing himself, despite his disdain for Tory campaign tactics. It wouldn’t be a Canadian election without the feeling of being forced to choose between a lesser of two or three evils. These choices demand hard questions on economics. Are further tax cuts necessary? Can programs and services continue to operate if tax cuts occur? Do you feel lucky?
Tax cuts are a large part of Ernie Eves campaign. Do Ontarians, who have benefitted from 225 tax cuts in recent years, need more? If the province was in an economic downturn, tax cuts might improve growth, but that isn’t the case here. Are those who would argue further cuts just being greedy? Ernie Eves’ proposed cuts pit Ontario voters against one another: private schooling vs. public schooling, old vs. young, renters vs. owners, municipalities vs. the province, etc. Do we really need these cuts or is Ernie Eves just trying to buy votes?
At what costs would Ontario reap these tax cuts? Ernie Eves is promising 1,000 more police officers, more roads and highways, a $2.6 billion investment for post-secondary education, $28 billion in health care, and a slew of other promises which would cost money. Where is there room for tax cuts? Is it even responsible to promise both tax cuts and increased government spending if Ontario is running a deficit? To paraphrase Alec, applying a little logic leads one to the following conclusions:
- Either Ernie Eves is telling the truth, and there is no deficit but instead a surplus running in the tens of billions, or
- Ernie Eves is lying, either when he says he will provide tax cuts, or when he says he will increase government spending by billions of dollars.
On the one side of the Ontario election, we’re promised further tax cuts, huge increases in spending across the board, and are being greeted with denial that a deficit exists. On the other side, we’re promised no personal tax increases, increases in spending, and an acknowledgement that a deficit exists. You can either believe that we can handle a reduction in government revenue as well as a dramatic increase in government spending, or that we can keep government revenue steady, while at the same time increase spending and pay off a deficit. Either way, it’s a tough call.
Do you feel lucky, voter?
Posted on September 27th, 2003 in ontario, politics - No Comments »
Michael Bryant for St. Paul’s in 2003
I thought I’d practice what I preach and select my candidate for the coming election based on how well he will represent his constituency. Frankly, I would be foolish to vote for anybody but Michael Bryant in my riding of St. Paul’s.
Ever since I have been living in Toronto, Michael has been tirelessly advocating tenant’s rights. This is important to me, seeing as though I rent and will continue doing so until I either move out of Toronto or until condo prices drop to something more reasonable. Michael Bryant also looks set to hold a position in a Liberal cabinet, should they win the upcoming election, and that will bode well for St. Paul’s.
It looks like Victor will also be voting Liberal in his riding of Guelph-Wellington.
Posted on September 21st, 2003 in ontario, politics - No Comments »
The Election Prediction Project
If you’re confused about who is running in your provincial riding this coming election, do yourself a favour and check out The Election Prediction Project. The Ontario 2003 section of the project is filled with information for each riding, including results from the last election, predictions for the upcoming election, census information, as well as feedback from people living in that riding.
While I am wary of the predictions The Election Prediction Project offers, the comments section alone is reason to visit the site. Too often do Canadians forget that they do not vote for a party or a premier or prime-minister, but for a representative who will voice their concerns in Parliament. The comments section offers a glimpse into what those running in your riding may be like, their past successes and failures, and how well others feel they would represent the constituency.
Posted on September 21st, 2003 in ontario, politics - No Comments »
The irony is lost on Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves has hit a new low in his smear campaign against Dalton McGuinty. Mr. Eves had this to say in response to the Liberals attempts to accuse the provincial Tories of hindering the efforts of an independent SARS review (emphasis mine):
“The Liberal spin doctors put the spin on that — that I am ordering people to shut up,” Mr. Eves said. “Nothing could be further from the truth, and it’s that kind of, I would say, almost libelous action on behalf of the Liberal campaign team, that surely the people of Ontario are objective enough to see through.”
My only explanation is that Ernie Eves suffers from some sort of multiple personality disorder which prohibits him from recalling his almost certainly libelous three-week campaign against Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals. It’s also not too late for Eves to invoke the “evil twin” defense.
Posted on September 20th, 2003 in ontario, politics - No Comments »
John Nunziata’s off, John Tory’s on
A few days ago, I mentioned that I would consider John Nunziata in the upcoming Toronto mayoral elections. He has since been removed from the list of likely candidates. I am wary of Nunziata’s platform, which looks to be of the cut and slash variety. I especially don’t like his stance on the homeless, which includes the following promises:
- Will “set a target of getting homeless people off the streets and out of other public places within one year of being elected.”
- Will “propose a bylaw to make it unlawful to sleep on streets and other public places in Toronto.”
- Will implement “a centralized computer system [to] keep up-to-date information on those who use shelters and hostels.”
- Will ban pan-handling on city streets.
Keeping the homeless out of sight and out of mind by making homelessness illegal does not solve the problem, even if it is accompanied with a promise to request support funding from the provincial government. I don’t believe in treating the underprivileged and unfortunate as criminals.
I also did not appreciate Nunziata’s attempts to spend a night in a Toronto homeless shelter. This obvious stunt would have cheapened the plight of the homeless. Thankfully, Nunziata was not allowed to hold his sleep-in.
While it’s “goodbye” to John Nunziata, it’s “hello” to John Tory. I previously discounted Tory as a mayoral possibility as he seemed to come from the government-as-business school of thought. I firmly believe that government can’t be treated as a business. Sometimes you have to carry a deficit. Businesses don’t balance their budgets all the time, but for some reason people expect their governments to always do so. I’m not sure where I got the impression that John Tory was a strong proponent of efficiency at all costs. Perhaps it was his past experience with Rogers Cable and Rogers Media Inc. Regardless, his platform doesn’t read that way and so John Tory has been placed on my list of likely candidates.
I like much of what Tory is proposing, especially his plans to confront the provincial and federal governments for proper funding. One statement caught my eye, as it summarises my contempt for other governments’ treatment of Toronto:
“Federal and provincial governments have to stop treating Toronto and other cities like geese that will just keep on laying golden eggs no matter how badly they are treated. Between 10 and 20 billion dollars more are taken out of Toronto in taxes than the city gets back in funding for programs and services. While Torontonians are committed to doing their part for nation and province building, the city has a huge physical and social deficit that must be addressed.
While I appreciate Tory’s vision for a better Toronto, I am none too fond of his focus on crime. This is not to say that I enjoy crime, but I am often wary of politicians who promise to crack down on a problem which has been in decline for years. Money spent on police would be better spent on social services to prevent the increase of a criminal element in the troubled regions of Toronto.
For those who are keeping track, I am considering the following candidates for the mayor of Toronto, in order of current preference:
Stay tuned for more updates as I reduce my selections for the upcoming November municipal elections.
Update: I have since finalised on David Miller as my choice for mayor of Toronto.
Posted on September 12th, 2003 in ontario, politics - No Comments »