Ontario’s Greek Tragedy

It seems that every other jurisdiction is raising the alarm about deficit spending and the looming sovereign crisis in Europe. Conversely, Ontario would be rowing against the current of world opinion and towards a possible tipping point.


From Maclean’s

Under McGuinty’s watch, Ontario’s debt has almost doubled to $230 billion, due to massive stimulus spending as well as unrestrained growth in health care and education. And it will continue to rise despite announced plans for greater austerity. By the time a balanced budget is contemplated in 2017, the province will have added an additional $67 billion in new debt. On a per capita basis, the current provincial deficit is almost twice as large as that of its next nearest wastrel, New Brunswick. While low interest rates have made the debt burden manageable to date (about 10 cents of every dollar goes to interest), the prospect of higher rates in the future presents a dangerous worst-case scenario.
Tackling this debt problem will require far more immediate and drastic steps than the premier has revealed to date; his new minority government will make this job even tougher. But whether McGuinty gets serious about the debt or not, his past profligacy will cause suffering across Canada.



Anyway you cut it, the two headed hydra debt and deficit cannot be tackled by a Liberal NDP tag team.   This problem is made more acute by the skyrocketing under- employment of Ontario’s youth. Ontario has the highest per capita unemployment rate for youth in all of Canada sitting at 15%. When you have more young people enrolled in university than out in the work force with well-paying jobs before the age of 30, it’s a major issue. Simply put, the current generation can ill afford four more years of the status quo, where politicians try to out promise and maneuver each other.  First there was Generation X, then there was Generation Y and now there is a Generation growing up with the prospect of paying off Ontario’s ballooning debt  . 


However, if past behaviour is a predictor of future events at all, there is a grave doubt that any combination of a Liberal minority being propped up by an emboldened NDP, will confront the gloomy economic realities that Ontario might be facing.  With all this talk of debt and deficit this reminds me of the old Chinese proverb, may you live in interesting times. For those who follow Ontario politics, it’s about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Why We Should Remember the War of 1812

War of 1812 Queenston Heights
It has been almost 200 years since the fog of war, loomed thick on battlefields all across the North American continent from Sackets Harbour to Queenston Heights. Although the events of 1812, have receded into the mist of our collective memory the impact of those events still echoes through the centuries. Compared to other global conflicts during the 19th century, the war of 1812 is rather a minor affair. However, it had a significant impact in shaping the national character of the cobble together: colonies that became Canada.
This week, the forgotten war, took front stage with a slew of federal announcements aiming to reintroduce Canadians to an important part of their past. The Canadian government invested over $28 million to commemorate the quickly approaching bicentennial of the war. As well this is another step for the Conservatives in rebranding the Canadian identity. It started with institutions like the monarchy and it continues now with historical events like the war of 1812. Simply put, the Harper government is adding to the idea of what it means to be Canadian. More importantly, providing a counterbalance to the traditional post modern liberal interpretation of Canadian history that our identity consists of the charter the flag and a gaggle of social programs.
In addition, there is something remote and distant putting so much stock of our identity in symbols of postmodern Canada. Furthermore, it is healthy for a country to call upon cultural touchstones from our past it shows where we have come from as a country. Beyond the political context of our citizenry is a serious lack of understanding of our own historical events. When only four out of ten Canadians from the ages of 25 to 34 haven’t even heard of the war of 1812; that is a significant gap in our collective understanding of how Canada came to be. Not only did the events of 1812 inspire a sense of nationhood, the outcome of the war determined the border of North America for the last two centuries. In this writer’s opinion it is hard for the Canadian psyche to perceive our country, with having drastically different borders and culture.
To the detractors that say that the government should not be spending any of the public’s money on historical events like the upcoming bicentennial. Conversely, what is wrong with a country reinvesting in points of its patriotic pride, especially when it is such a crucial historical event like the war of 1812. Now, a valid argument can be made for how much money should have been spent commemorating the war especially in a time of economic uncertainty. Finally, what’s wrong with a tad of chest pumping patriotism now and then? In retrospect, this “rebranding” and recognition of the role that the war of 1812 played in the Canadian sense of self is long overdue.

Going To Vote

I will leave the high-minded discussion of  tending the garden of our democracy till tomorrow.  simply put it is a right and mostly a privilege to be able to cast a ballot in a free democracy. In 2007 our province only achieved a 52% voter turnout rate. That is alarming in many respects. There is a whole host of reasons why there is such a low voter participation So get out there and exercise your democratic duty and vote.

Former Head of OPA Admits Green Program is Unsustainable

Jan Carr, who was head of the Ontario power Authority admitted that the cornerstone of the Liberals program energy initiative the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program is unsustainable.  I said it once and I’ll say it again, you can’t subsidize your way to prosperity.

From Ottawa Citizen

In an interview, Carr said FIT has “a lot of merit” as a concept. But “it’s being implemented incorrectly and we need to get back to basics.”
He said the FIT program is an industrial strategy, not an energy policy. “What we’re doing is essentially driving up the cost of energy for the purpose of creating jobs.”
But the strategy is self-defeating, he said, because higher energy costs will destroy jobs. “I’m really arguing for untangling energy policy from all these other things, which is making a mess of our energy strategy.”
Homeowners are already complaining about the cost of electricity, Carr noted, and the high fees paid under the FIT program “haven’t even hit customers’ bills yet. The worst is yet to come.”

Four more years of McGuinty means higher costs on your Hydro bills.