In a Comment page article May 23, Bryan Kerman compared apples to oranges in comparing Canadian provincial politics to American state politics. Let us look at the facts and forget about the past and the Mike Harris era. That was then, this is now, 2014. Now Ontario is a province deeply in debt and sitting on a poor credit rating and lavishly spending taxpayers’ money without consultation or proper bidding.

In simple numbers, after 10 years of Liberal government, Ontario has a provincial debt that has doubled from $150 billion to $300 billion. Ontario has increased yearly spending from $65 billion to $130 billion. Ontario, now in 2014, is running a $10 billion-plus deficit each year. Ontario’s population, now in 2014, is 13 million, up from 12 million a decade ago.

Where have all the jobs gone? Where has all the money gone?The size of provincial government has increased dramatically, along with the total provincial debt and yearly deficit. Yet, the population has only increased by about one million. Government mismanagement is the reason. There is plenty of opportunity to allow 100,000 government employees to be released by attrition over the next four to eight years. This means the well paid remaining government employees will have to work more efficiently just like the private sector.

Energy:

There is plenty of opportunity to allow 100,000 government employees to be released by attrition over the next four to eight years.

Energy is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, especially because of our Northern climate. Ontario’s growing population cannot cut back on energy usage to heat their homes, run their appliances or turn on the lights when it is dark. Steel mills or any manufacturing company cannot run a business on expensive electric power and try to compete internationally. The Ontario Liberals signed an untendered $19-billion electrical energy contract for 25 years with Samsung without a cost-benefit analysis.

For example, aluminum production companies are located near cheap electricity, as is the case in Northern Quebec. The excess electricity Ontario generates, it sells to Quebec at a loss, which resells it to the Northern New York power grid for a profit. A billion dollars-plus, wasted on cancelling two natural gas plants for political reasons. This is not responsible management of taxpayers’ money. This is a blatant example of misguided ideology, needlessly saving the planet on the taxpayers’ dime!

A billion dollars has been spent on smart meters, yet Ontario’s electricity rates are at 15 cents per kilowatt hour in Burlington and Hamilton. Before Dalton McGuinty took Ontario’s rudder, electricity was four cents per kilowatt hour. Currently there are 1,000 wind turbines in Ontario and another 5,000 planned and they will be forced upon municipalities by the Liberal government. Why did the Liberal government spend billions on the new tunnel at Niagara Falls to get inexpensive hydro electricity and still go ahead with very expensive wind turbines? Why did the government plow ahead with a solar panel installation in southern Ontario? They promised it would provide 300 jobs, yet when finished it provided only three jobs and they are low-paying security guard positions.

Health care:

Billions of dollars have been spent on an unfinished computerized eHealth database and taxpayers are still not reaping the benefits. Money has been wasted on the Ornge helicopter mess, an arms-length, government company that only benefitted its directors, not to mention the tragic Ornge helicopter crash that killed innocent people.

Privatization:

At one LCBO location, a union leader justifiably pointed out there are eight employees and 11 managers. This is insulting to taxpayers.

Religious Schools:

In his article, Kerman appeared to be intentionally regurgitating the religious school issue by alluding to a hidden Conservative “agenda,” saying at least one lobbyist is running under the Conservative banner in the provincial election, thus rekindling fear in the voters. Who is this lobbyist? Name him or her so that he or she can be questioned. Publicly funded private schools are not the same as publicly funded private religious schools. This so-called “short step” is scare mongering.

Ontario is in deep, deep financial trouble. Kathleen Wynne’s government needs to be replaced. When you vote on Thursday consider jobs, jobs and jobs. Please do some serious soul searching before voting.

 

Ron Cirotto, BASc., P.Eng., lives in Burlington.