Targeting the education budget and bureaucracy would equal real progress on the deficit
Thanks to the reckless policies of former premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, when Ontario Premier Doug Ford was elected three years ago the province was well on its way to being driven into a fiscal wall. Ford promised Ontario voters that he would hit the breaks. Unfortunately, it seems like he hasn’t been able…
With less than a year until the next election, taxpayers expect Ford to live up to the promises that got him elected in the first place
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has less than a year to make good on the affordability agenda he promised voters while on the campaign trail. “We have a very simple theory,” said Ford. “Put money back into the taxpayers’ pocket instead of the government’s pocket because we believe that the taxpayers are a lot smarter at…
It’s time to bring their sky-high pay down to earth
While thousands of Ontario teachers are receiving six-figure salaries, a budget crunch at the Ministry of Education means it’s time to bring their sky-high pay down to earth. A report released by the Ontario Financial Accountability Office shows a $200 million funding gap between what the province has budgeted to spend on education and what…
Premier Ford's faith in science doesn't extend to reopening outdoor sports
Through all the political and personal inconsistencies we’ve witnessed during COVID-19, there has been some consistent messaging: practise social distancing, wear a mask in public spaces and crowded areas, wash your hands regularly and go outside as much as possible. With nice weather having arrived, this is the perfect opportunity for Canadians to take leisurely…
Ford's free-spending ways surpassing those of Kathleen Wynne
Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to end the party with taxpayers’ money. Instead, he’s replaced the iPod playlist and chip dip with the booming beats of a live DJ and a laser light show. When he was campaigning across the province during the 2018 election, Ford promised to end the government’s free-spending ways and restore…
A bailout would only encourage risky financial decision-making at other universities
It’s a bad idea to keep adding water to a leaky bucket. Millions of dollars have been gushing out of Laurentian University for years. And it’s not right to plug the holes with taxpayers’ cash. Laurentian University is facing a debt crisis of its own making, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s political opponents are calling…
Political messages that flip-flopped. Controversial policies announced, modified and removed at a mere snap of the fingers
Seventy-two hours – 4,320 minutes – three days. Doesn’t sound like an enormous stretch of time. In most cases, it’s not. Yet what Ontario experienced from Friday, April 16, to Sunday, April 18, could easily be described as an insane roller-coaster ride for the ages. Wild highs and lows. Political messages that flip-flopped and flop-flipped. Controversial…
He should honour his 2018 promise and cut the provincial gas excise tax
Going for a drive is one of the few things families can do to get out of the house, but now they’re being hit with gas prices that have spiked to their highest point in two years. Filling up a minivan now costs $95. But it shouldn’t cost that much because Premier Doug Ford promised…
The people need a way of giving politicians the pink slip more than just once every four years
In a democracy, voters are supposed to be the boss, so we should always have the ability to fire politicians for poor performance. Unfortunately, in Ontario, voters often need to wait years before handing out a pink slip that should have come long ago. But there’s a simple way Ontarians can change that: Premier Doug…
The claim that merging Ontario’s government-run and Catholic school systems will save “an estimated $1.6 billion a year” is blarney
In terms of cultural insensitivity, the latest call for ending Ontario’s Catholic school funding wins the shamrock, coming, as it did, on St. Patrick’s Day. But if we overlook that faux pas, we still have to consider the pot of gold that would be saved by absorbing Catholic schools into the government-run system. Or do…