Author: Jon Siemko

The Ontario legislature is back in session and the spring  sitting promises to be a minor overture to the provincial election this fall. However the premier decided to take his show on the road instead of staying for what promises to be an eventful time at Queen’s Park.

From Ottawa Citizen

McGuinty’s staff say the premier would use those days to deliver a speech on his government’s accomplishments in its first seven years in office.

But longtime Queen’s Park observer David Docherty says there is some irony to the premier’s new approach. As an opposition leader, McGuinty railed against the then-Conservative government’s indifference to the legislature.

“It’s a very different kind of strategy for someone who was elected on a pledge to bring back relevance to the legislature,” said Docherty, a political-science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University. “It was McGuinty who brought in rules saying cabinet ministers had to be there 75 per cent of the time. So it’s odd now that going into an election year he’s decided not to be in the House to answer questions but would rather be on the road taking it directly to the so-called people.”

From a optics standpoint this is a bad decision, this looks like the premier does not want  to deal with the daily grind of  slings and arrows in a increasingly feisty legislative session.

Electricity rates  are skyrocketing on March 1, now the question should be this fall can Ontario taxpayers afford this increase and are they better off now than they were four years ago.

From  Canadian press

Hydro One, the giant transmission utility that also acts as a local distribution company for about one million customers, is threatening to cut off power to people it knows are struggling to pay their bills.

“We recognize that some Ontario families are experiencing financial difficulties and having problems paying their utility bills,” wrote Hydro One’s manager of public affairs, Enza Cancilla, Jan. 27.

I admit this issue is more complex than partisan rhetoric but cutting or threatening to cut people’s power off because they can’t pay the bills is unbelievable.has Ontario now become unaffordable for a great swath of families .

If you believe the national citizens coalition it could, that’s a scary proposition in itself. One just has to take a look at states like California to see the folly of a bloated bureaucracy and big government.

From NCC

With Ontario now officially a ‘have-not’ province in Canada, we cannot rely on a robust economy and thriving manufacturing sector to drive growth and underwrite foolish spending. Ontario needs more than simple band-aid solutions, or nominal spending freezes – we need to reduce government spending immediately.

“The horse is already out of the barn,” comments Stephen Taylor, Director of the National Citizens Coalition. “This is not a potential problem, on the distant horizon – this is an urgent matter that needs attention now.”

Many Ontarians are wondering where all of this out-of-control spending has been directed, as services have not improved in the province. “After nearly doubling provincial spending in less than eight years, Ontarians’ lives have not improved, our economic situation has not improved and our access to services has flatlined. Where has this money gone?” asks Coleman.