Under columns I wish I had written...

(...with apologies to Norman Spector.)

Today's National Post op-ed by David Menzies is one of the best pieces I've read lately. It encompasses the whole convenience store wine-Lottogate fiasco and points out the underlying influence of the LCBO.

The entire column is well worth the read, but he sums things up here:

Bottom line: State-sanctioned wine sales in Ontario translate into less choice, questionable security and dubious policies that damage the domestic wine industry. Much of this would've been addressed with the passing of Craitor's bill. Alas, for Ontario oenephiles craving more choice and Ontario wineries hoping for a new distribution channel, it remains business as usual under the McGuinty Liberals.

The Red Star's Ian Urquhart has also written an interesting column (Queen's Park Blows Chance on Lottogate).

But there are still unanswered questions surrounding when the government first learned of the problem and what it did about it. Such questions were not the purview of the ombudsman's inquiry, nor are they subject to the OPP probe.

Are these questions worth the time and trouble of a multi-million dollar judicial inquiry? No. But they could certainly be posed by a legislative committee in a timely manner – that is, before the fall provincial election. Conservative Leader John Tory proposed this option to Premier Dalton McGuinty in the Legislature yesterday. Unfortunately, the premier rejected the idea.

Urquhart goes on to explain why he thinks that Dalton made a mistake here and how the Legislature is little more than a 'shell', as Conservative House Leader Bob Runciman refers to it.


The system sure does seem broken. As an Ontario taxpayer and voter, are you happy with the status quo? Are you satisfied with the way things are going?

Or would you like to see some real change? If so, get involved. You can start here by checking out this website, "You Deserve Better Results".

Talk to friends and coworkers. Get involved in the political process. Write letters to the editor.



Otherwise, it won't be just the Legislature that is a 'shell'. It will be the whole province.

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One more question - Why all the secrecy about what we Ontario taxpayers are spending on hospitals?