Politics-Provincial

McGuinty's Car – One Forward Gear, Three Reverse Gears

Mulder

“I will not raise taxes.”

And then he brought in the health premium and cut health spending on numerous services.

“No NEW Taxes”

And then he proposed the HST, which albeit a merger of the PST and GST, will become the largest single tax grab in Ontario history once all is said and done.

And then we have legal obligations being avoided and buried 164 pages into the budget.

Under the Local Health Systems Integration Act, 2006, the McGuinty Government is legally required to subject the LHINs to a full public legislative review by March 28, 2010. Rather than be forced to subject the LHINs to public scrutiny, the McGuinty Liberals have instead buried a provision on page 164 of the Budget that would eliminate the obligation to hold this review.

Are we getting OfficiallyScrewed? You Betcha.

H/T MPP Lisa MacLeod

ex-Liberal MPP Jim Watson Under Scrutiny In Mayoral Bid

Mulder

It seems the local CityHoller blog and columnist Randall Denley in Ottawa have started to expose the soft underbelly of ex Ontario Liberal MPP and Ottawa Mayoral Candidate Jim Watson.

It looks like Jim Watson, who was the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in the McGuinty Liberal Government, was instrumental in the decision to let corporate donations stand in Ottawa municipal elections as recently as December 2009. The Baby New Year of 2010 was hardly crawling before Watson announced his candidacy for the mayoral race and not three months later, Jimbo is holding a corporate fundraiser IN TORONTO.

What I find distasteful in all this is that the rebate Watson is touting to his Toronto corporate friends will be paid by Ottawa tax payer dollars. Dandy.

Ottawa taxpayers might be getting OfficiallyScrewed by the perpetual, musical chair playing politician.

What’s your take?

Tim Hudak in Senator Mike Duffy's Leader Studio

Mulder

Senator Duffy’s questions for Tim included 10 staples from the original TV show. Below are the questions and Tim Hudak’s answers.

Inside leaders studio questions

Q: What is your favourite word?
A: Miller (his daughter’s name). (Insert beer joke here)

Q: What is your least favourite word?
A: Can’t (big round of applause)

Q: What turns you on?
A: his wife Debbie

Q: What turns him off?
A: Chick flicks

Q: What sound does he love?
A: His daughter’s laughter

Q: What sound does he hate?
A: Early morning cat meows for food

Q; What is your favourite curse word?
A: Liberal

Q: What profession outside of his own would he like to attempt?
A: Pro quarterback for Buffalo Bills

Q: What profession would he not like to do?
A: (2 answers) a) Toronto Star columnist and a job in trades due to lack of handyman skills.

Q: What would like to hear from God at pearly gates?
A: Hey Hudak, you barely squeaked in.

Sent via Borgberry cybernetic implant.
(You too will be assimilated)

Ontario PC AGM Highlights A Revitalized Organization

Mulder

I can honestly say that the Ontario PC Party appears to be moving in the right direction when it comes to motivation and organization.

The PAC (Policy Advisory Council) meetings held yesterday wrapped up two years of build up in 12 key areas:

  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Energy
  • Social Energy
  • Heritage and the Arts
  • Agriculture, Rural and Resources
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • Urban Issues
  • Toronto Issues
  • Northern Issues

In the forefront for the party, however,  is job creation.

“It is clear what the most important issue to address is: create a business environment in Ontario that once again attracts and sustains private sector jobs.  The valuable input from our fellow Conservatives helps to support and inform the Ontario PC Caucus’ Job Creation Plan.”  (Peter Shurman, Ontario PC MPP for thornhill and Co-Chair of the Toronto PAC)

The party was also highlighting the numerous Town Hall meetings, the Policy Convention and an online survey as part of the PAC process.

The keynote speech by Leader Tim Hudak was full of great lines and was obviously something that built up from beginning to end.  You could see build up in the supporters through the speech when it came to a) the level of applause and b) the quantity of people giving standing O’s.

Following the speech, I socialized with a few of my old friends from the federal level of politics and joined in on an interesting conversations about pending nominations for the next election.

The dinner was an interesting event with the food service being marché style.  From what everyone had said about dinner fiascos in past provincial events in London and Niagara, this style let everyone eat as much as they wanted, there was seating or cocktail table space for everyone who wasn’t in a food line up and despite many people wanting a sit down dinner, this was probably the smartest way the party could a) cover everyone’s desire to eat  b) allow for mingling in the food lines and c) allow for several changes in table seating which was a wonderful way for delegates/supporters to mingle and meet new people.

The later part of the evening was highlighted by a visit to the spacious Federal level Conservative hospitality suite.  Being far more associated with the Federal party, I was very comfortable here.

Through the weekend, I noticed a few MPs milling around.  Peter Van Loan, Tony Clement, Gord Brown and John Baird all made appearances at some point through the convention.  Today (Sunday) will be highlighted by a Tim Hudak/Senator Mike Duffy show.  Having seen Senator Duff speak a couple of times, I sense this will be another scathing attack on what Liberals across Ontario and Canada have done to the country and how at the Federal level the Conservatives are rebuilding what the Liberals tore down and that it can also be done at the provincial level with leaders like Tim Hudak.

Ontario PC AGM Opening Quotes and Info for Armchair Observers At Home

Mulder

MPP (and AGM Co-Chair) Lisa MacLeod’s quotes from the press conference include the following.

“The next provincial election is only 19 months away and this weekend’s AGM will serve as a springboard for delegates and party members across the province to get us ready for October 6, 2011. Under the leadership of Tim Hudak, the Ontario PC Party has the momentum, the ideas and the energy needed to ensure that Ontario can lead again.”

and

“We are breaking the mold of past AGMs with a fun, interactive and focused agenda that is consistent with the resurgence and energy of the Ontario PC Party. Every Ontario family that wants to build a better future should have that chance and the Ontario PC Party is the only party that is fighting to give families the opportunities they deserve.”

For those of you who want to view video clips of the AGM direct from the floor, as well as a streaming version of Tim Hudak’s keynote speech, the AGM has a website (http://www.agm2010.ca) where you can sign up for the facebook group and even get your tweets.

You can’t say the Ontario PC Party is not well “connected”

I almost wish I had a toddler. This AGM has, for the first time ever, an all-day childcare where parents can drop their kids off at Miller Hudak’s Kid Convention. (I think that sounds more like my speed!! Especially if they have an X-Box)

Stay tunes for more.

Where's The Beef?

Mulder

Where's The BeefMany of you out there know I am on the Atkins diet. So one thing I notice is when I get two slices of plain white bread and no meat.

Well today the Ontario Liberals left me hungry. Because today, Rita Burak, the Chairwoman of eHealth apologized for the missing 100’s of millions of dollars associated with the eHealth scandal. Why does this make me hungry? Well I feel that we are being jipped out of the juicy part of this burger. The good questions remained unanswered.

How can we go from the auditor generals report directly to an apology with no meat in the middle.

Will there not be a detailed audit with full disclosure of the graft and who I’d responsible?

Will there not be a clear indication of whether or not there was graft worthy of criminal charges?

Was this not 10 times bigger than the federal Liberal sponsorship scandal and as such deserving of a criminal investigation?

Will the Liberals not make sure their name is cleared?

Would a criminal investigation and detailed audit not do this?

Can tax payers not find out how badly we were bilked out of our hard earned tax dollars?

Will the (Smither)man who created eHealth not answer the questions?

Hey Dalton, where’s the beef??

Smitherman, Master Of The Boondoggle, Strikes Again

Mulder

The man who was the Ontario Health Minister when the eHealth boondoggle started was recently was in my neck of the woods to announce another boondoggle.

George Smitherman was in West Carleton to announce the opening of a massive solar farm this past week.

So where’s the boondoggle you ask? Just read this to find out where we are getting OfficiallyScrewed by Smitherman (and McGuinty).

The Arnprior project, which has been undertaken by EDF EN Canada, the Canadian arm of a French renewable-energy company, EDF-Energies-Nouvelles, has been the beneficiary of about $100 million in funding from Ontario taxpayers. It is supposed to be operational in December and feed into the provincial power grid. The site, which the company has leased for 20 years, is expected to generate about 20 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to provide for the peak electrical demands of about 7,000 households.

Critics have questioned whether Ontarians are getting their money’s worth. They point out the province is subsidizing solar companies like EDF EN to the tune of about 42 cents a kilowatt-hour for their power, when conventional electricity sources such as coal cost consumers about five to six cents per kilowatt hour..

$100 Million in funding to a French company for the solar farm set up…BOONDOGGLE.

Subsidizing them 42 cents per kilowatt-hour when coal power costs 5 to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour…BOONDOGGLE.

But the insult to injury here is the fact that this solar farm is opening in December. Correct me if I am wrong but we have two things that make solar energy very tough to produce in December. 1) it’s Dark from 430pm through to 8am and 2) It snows in the Ottawa valley … ALOT. Hmmm….BOONDOGGLE.

Now let’s do some math. The farm is going to produce 20 Megawatt-hours of power which is 20,000 kilowatt-hours. And 46 cents x 20,000 is $9200 per hour. In Ottawa we get approximately 4000 hours of daylight a year which means the subsidy is going to be about $3.7 Million per year. Over 20 years, that’s another $74 Million dollars. Added to the $100 Million to build the farm, that’s enough money to produce 2.9 gigawatts of power.

For those who remember, that’s enough for Marty McFly to travel back in time twice.

Too bad Ontario voters can’t go back and time.

Enough is Enough. Wake Up Ontario. McGuinty's Cronies Committing Larceny Of The Grandest Kind

Mulder

I’ve had it. You should have had it too. OLGC boondoggles (not one but TWO), HST implementation without cutting the mill rate, A health tax levy weeks after taking office and now eHealth.

I’m sick and tired of Dalton “YellowBellied” McShifty running rickshaw over Ontario taxpayers.

The Gomery Commission was called by a Liberal when it was reported a $250 Million dollar program could possibly have as much as $100 Million wasted.

And yet Yellowbelly himself rejects a call for a public inquiry into the eHealth Boondoggle that is over 10 times as bad.

What’s that you ask? 10 times Mulder? Surely you jest.

No friggin way! The numbers don’t lie. The Auditor General says that in a billion dollar program, the tax payers received only hundreds of millions of dollars in value. Well do the math. 1000 million minus hundreds of millions means hundreds of millions may have been wasted.

The Sponsorship Scandal was $250 Million over 33 Million Canadians. That’s about $7.50 for every man, woman and child in this country.

And eHealth? Just do the math. $1 BILLION, that’s 1000 Million being wasted of Ontario taxpayer dollars. $1 Billion over 11.4 Million people is a whopping $87.72 for every man, woman and child in Ontario.

That’s 11.7 times how bad the Sponsorship Scandal was to the Federal Liberals.

But this is not the only reason “blood is shooting out of my eyes“. The fact that the Premier is not willing to investigate should ring bells loud and clear that a criminal investigation should take place. Yet who is responsible for administering the Canadian Criminal Code? The provinces. So who would be the authority in Ontario that would appoint a special prosecutor to this? The Ontario Attorney General. And who appoints the Ontario Attorney General? Dalton Friggin McGuinty.

If this isn’t the Fox watching the Henhouse then nothing is.

I think the Federal government should be putting in a special request to the Province of Ontario to uphold the Criminal Code and investigate this larceny of the grandest kind.

McGuinty’s government put the Mayor of Ottawa through the ringer for posible influence peddling that (if it had been true) would have cost the tax payers a few hundred thousand dollars, yet he won’t investigate A BILLION FREAKING DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE!!

Blood should be shooting out of your eyes too!!! Talk about taxpayers being completely bent over and getting OfficiallyScrewed.

Ontario Liberals Blow YOUR Dough

Mulder

In what is a classic example of the taxpayer being OfficiallyScrewed, the Ontario Liberal government is diving for cover today after two years worth of OLG expenses are revealed indicating that write offs on our tax tab included the following:

  • gym memberships worth $250
  • Weight Watchers memberships
  • club link golf fees
  • a $1,500 bar tab at a $3,700 dinner for 38 people
  • a $500 nanny fee so that a vice-president member could attend meetings, an amount since repaid

Simply disgusting.

And acting like the knight riding in to rescue us tax payers, Liberal Dwight Duncan is shedding political tears over this and vowing to clean up.  Shame on us.  We are going to send ourselves to our rooms with no dinner.  No dessert for us.

Boo freaking hoo.  I am astounded even more by two other pieces of information that have come to light about this OLG Scandal.

1)  The OLG was issuing untendered contracts.  The same way the $6 Billion dollar E-Health scandal had.

and

2)  All this is following a slew of other problems with the OLG.

The gaming corporation has been scrutinized for the last two years after questionable insider wins, malfunctioning slot machines, spoiled scratch-and-win tickets and a controversial decision to purchase foreign cars as lottery prizes at a time when the Ontario government agreed to a financial bailout for its struggling auto industry.

The OLG should just fold itself up and go home.

I'm Waiting For The Man, $26 In My Hand

Mulder

It’s a hot sticky Friday night. Since I look like a narc, I have made sure I haven’t shaved for three days, toss an old Grateful Dead T-Shirt and a beaten up Ottawa Senators hat and head down to Lowertown in Ottawa. As I glide my Honda through the streets, I keep an eye overhead for a sign.

About 5 minutes in, I spot them. An old pair of sneakers tangled up in the overhead wiring. I slowly pull my truck over and wait.

Out of the darknes a shady looking guy with an oversized T-shirt and baggy pants comes over and leans in the window of my truck.

    “Whatcha want man?”

    “Whatcha got?”, I ask.

    “I have some Killer X, man.”

    “Killex?? I’ll take three cans.”, I reply.

    “How about some weed, my friend. You interested in some weed?”

    “Sure”, I say, “Weedex is perfect. Give me two big bottles.”

    “How about some fungus, man? You need some fungus?”

    “Damn straight I reply. Give me a couple of batches of antifungal.”

    “Now man … you need some doses?”

    “Nah… but I’ll have me some nice roses.” I reply. “See you next year my friend.”

This may seem a bit farfetched. But is it really? Look what happens when cigarettes hit $7 or $8 a pack? Everyone and their brother starts buying them out of the back of some guys trunk who has a friend who knows the cousin of the secretary for an agency that hires a manpower guy who used to fix cars for a mechanic who also fixes the car of some lady whose son knows a guy with a boat that skims from a native reserve to and from Cornwall weekly.

In addition to Premier of Ontario, Yellow Bellied McShifty, announcing that the use of chemical pesticides use will be banned, this past week the Supreme Court of Canada said that random searches are illegal, which sent left leaning ACLU types partying into the streets.

This begs the question…

If I have a stash of these illegal pesticides hidden under a tarp in my garage, would having a beautiful, safe, green lawn be enough probable cause for the cops to search my home for the contraban?