Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Felix McGuinty and his ban fetish


Kudos to Graeme MacKay for this one!

Gee, I wonder if the natives could look into a sideline of selling pesticides the way they do cigarettes...



The Star's Jim Coyle compares Dalton to one half of the "Odd Couple" (Less John Robarts than Felix Unger):

...To his great good fortune, McGuinty has escaped the unforgiving demands of nation-building. As such, he governs less as a latter-day Father of Confederation than a political version of Felix Unger, the clean freak from The Odd Couple.

If ever an Ontario premier had the luxury of sweating the small stuff, he's it.

In McGuinty's Ontario, clean living is the ethos of the day, so much so it sometimes feels as if the province is governed by a combination old-time school marm and cleaning lady.

Not lawns, not laundry, not young lungs, not even school lunches have escaped the government's fastidious eye.

Yesterday, the premier celebrated Earth Day by announcing a ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides on lawns in residential areas.

Recently, he liberated Ontarians labouring under the yoke of oppressive local regulation and freed them to use clotheslines to dry their laundry.

His government is banning cigarette displays in convenience stores. Not long ago, it nixed smoking in automobiles in which children were passengers.

In recent months, Ontario has given thumbs down to trans-fats in schools, banning them from cafeterias, vending machines and tuck shops where impressionable taste buds reside...


Christina Blizzard isn't impressed either - Pesticide ban hardly dandy. However, the Ontario Lemmings who voted for Felix presumably love being told how to live their lives.

My better half recently asked me (tongue in cheek), if the next decree will come in the form of how many squares of toilet tissue we're allowed to use each morning?

Well, I hope this is one area where Felix might allow us a little latitude.


* * * *
Update: While you're at it, how about banning the Health-Tax, Dalton?

Good resource here - Urban Pest Management Council of Canada.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am almost embarrassed to live in this Province. We go to the store all the time and chose what we want to buy. We leave behind what we don't want.
Are we not smart enough to chose, without it all being hidden away.
About like hiding cookies from little kids.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Blizzard makes a great observation here:

And look who's exempt. Farmers and golf courses. So it's fine to use the pesticides on crops we're going to eat, but not fine to use them on our gardens. I don't eat my lawn, but I can't use what is a legal, scientifically-tested product to keep down the weeds?

Of course, golf is sacred and untouchable in this province.

I find it odd that indoor use of pesticides, which are underfoot all day, isn't covered by this ban. Bugs outside? No spray. But if your dog or cat brings fleas in the house, just fire away without fear of prosecution.

A pesticide industry spokesman says that proves the folly of the ban.

"It doesn't make any sense. To use it in the house is okay, where you are being exposed to it 14-15 hours a day.

"If there's a health or safety risk there, which it isn't, why wouldn't that also be covered?" asked Peter MacLeod of CropLife Canada, the trade association representing the pesticide industry.


Ruth, I'm embarrassed too - and angry.

Anonymous said...

Ah, feel better now? Had your daily McGuinty rant....it's getting boring!

By the way - do you bother to take the time to find out about natural ways to deal with weeds, etc.? Na, didn't think so.

Sad that someone has to spend their time, on the computer, bitching and moaning and groaning on a daily basis. Sad.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Sad that someone has to sit on the computer watching someone who is bitching and moaning and groaning on a daily basis.

Anonymous said...

"Sad that someone has to spend their time, on the computer, bitching and moaning and groaning on a daily basis. Sad."

So what are you doing, reading and complaining about the "bitching and moaning and groaning" all day, hmmm?
A case of the pot calling the kettle black, maybe?

Anonymous said...

Thank you but I've tried a lot of the so-called natural cures for weeds and they do not work. Watched all the people use some special mixture on their driveways only to have the weeds all come up again in a few days.
I didn't think I was groaning, only thinking it's kind of stupid to treat everyone in Ontario like children.
Can hardly wait until there is a big lineup at the checkout and someone wants cigarettes from the back room. Good luck.

maryT said...

Wasn't there some female actress in the states that said one only needed 4 sqs of t/paper.

Anonymous said...

personally i won't touch the stuff, but I'd pay to have weed-man come and spray for me.

what i love is the exponential growth of allergy provoking weeds because of this ban. I'm horribly allergic to ragweed, and from mid auguest to the first frost, I'm in agony.

Normally, I do not like to turn on my AC, but during ragweed season, I MUST close all the doors and windows so the spores do not come into the house. If it gets too hot, I have to turn on the AC.

One way they tell you to combat ragweed allergies (besides popping pills that you build a tolerance to) is to change your clothes right away and wash them, and to have a shower to wash off any spores on your body.

So increase in power with the AC, increase in power with the washing machine...and now the dryer, because I can't hang dry my clothes outside like I usually do, and an increase in water consumption for additional laundry.

Yep. Perfect ban.

If only we would have a ban on stupidity...then we could get rid of dalty boy once and for all

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Wasn't there some female actress in the states that said one only needed 4 sqs of t/paper.

Oh yeah. Who the heck was that? She ended up saying that she was only kidding. Right...

Anonymous said...

We're bringing back clotheslines, wonder how the outhouse would work in Dalton's Ontario. Don't have Eaton's catalogue any more for it.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Well, Ruth. That would certainly save on water. And we could set up wind turbines to dry ourselves...

Anonymous said...

Joanne regarding the one square of toilet paper, it was Sheryl Crow.

Barb

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Sheryl Crow!! Thanks, Barb.

I hate when artists become activists.

Anonymous said...

Sad that someone has to sit on the computer watching someone who is bitching and moaning and groaning on a daily basis.

....no - actually I only read your blog periodically - because it's such a rant and a bore - every time I tune in it's the same old, same old.

I'm off right now with a disk problem in my back - and my computer chair is an ergonomic model - it happens to be comfortable ...otherwise I wouldn't tune in.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Sorry about your back, Anon. Maybe that's why you're cranky. ;)

Rositta said...

RE toilet paper, don't count on it...ciao

Anonymous said...

I'm curious...what kind of disc problem?

Anonymous said...

This post makes a really good point about the disproportionate number of things that are being banned by the Ontario Liberals. It's actually quite bizzare that they would attempt to gain public favour by taking away peoples' freedoms.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

It's actually quite bizzare that they would attempt to gain public favour by taking away peoples' freedoms.

People are so used to the Nanny State taking over, that they just shrug their shoulders and go on with their lives.