The Teflon Premier

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's battle with the Ontario Liberal Government seems to have produced two unpleasant results (from my POV) - Support for the CPC in Ontario is going down, while numbers for both federal and provincial Liberals are going up in this province.

While Flaherty may be responsible for the federal polling results, the Ontario picture is likely due more to an extremely weak opposition. As the Ottawa Sun's Antonella Artuso reports, nothing seems to be sticking to Dalton McGuinty:

...Pollster Nik Nanos said the Liberals now enjoy a 15-point advantage over the Tories, up from 11 points in the October election.

Supporting the McGuinty government is a "default" position for voters who don't see the opposition as proactive on important issues, such as the province's economic slowdown, Nanos said.

"They're not wearing anything as a government," he said. "It's classic ... free ride politics."

The Nanos Research poll finds the Liberals have the support of 45% of decided voters, followed by the Conservatives at 30%, the NDP at 14% and the Green Party at 10%....

Strangely, even the media seems outraged today by Dalton's arrogance. Joe Warmington is especially angered the way Dalton dodged the media surrounding his closed-door session with Chinese business people:

...Somebody has to call out the premier and remind him he's in that job at our pleasure in an open, democratic society where the press is entitled to cover his every public move. This means his meeting with a business delegation from Jiangsu, China, and its Vice-Governor Zhang Weiguo, should have some reasonable media opportunities. As premier, he's on our clock -- as were cabinet ministers Michael Chan and John Wilkinson...

Well, Joe. I don't know about that. With polls like the one that just came out, I think you can be assured that Dalton's actions will become even more arrogant and secretive. Don't look for any transparency from this guy in the near future. He has the Ontario Lemmings eating out of his hand.



But I do wonder if any of that Teflon the premier wears was made in China?

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Update: Aww... Doesn't this warm the cockles of your plebeian heart? - I talked rights: Preem. Chinese VIP 'listened intently':

...McGuinty said he made it clear to Zhang that he would be attending question period following the meeting and would give opposition MPPs an opportunity to hold him to account.

"He was surprised at that process," McGuinty said. "But I embrace that process."

Yeah, right.

Who's telling the truth? With update

Update on hydro increase: It gets worse - Government caught in middle of electricity rate battle Nov. 5 (Ian Urquhart):

...But just in case, the Liberals kept one foot firmly on the brake, with a hard cap on rates charged by government-owned Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for electricity from its "heritage assets," the nuclear plants and major hydro facilities such as Niagara Falls.

That cap comes off on April 1, 2008, however, and now the province's tolerance for higher electricity rates is really going to be put to the test, as OPG served notice late last week that it will be seeking a 14-per-cent hike...

...The government was silent on the matter last week. "The intention is just (to) leave it with the OEB," said a spokesperson for Energy Minister Gerry Phillips...

A footnote: It is no accident that OPG's proposal for a rate hike was released three weeks after the Oct. 10 election. An informed source says OPG was ready to roll last summer but was prevailed upon by its single shareholder, the government, to wait until now.

So that's a second source saying the same thing. Sounds like somebody was pulling some strings.

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From Nov. 3 Globe - OPG to seek 14-percent rate hike:

...The spectre of rising electricity prices is a sensitive topic for the government. OPG's announcement comes just three weeks after the provincial election, when Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals won a second majority. Energy industry sources said government officials instructed OPG not to apply for the higher rates until after the election.

Energy Ministry spokesman Steve Erwin responded, "It's up to OPG, not us, to decide when they do or do not want to file such an application."

"McGuinty gets re-elected, and the cost of living goes up for Ontarians at a time when they can afford it least," said Progressive Conservative MPP John Yakabuski...

Yeah, that's sure going to help the old manufacturing sector.


More Ontario comment: Cross-border medicine (Christina Blizzard)

We don't expect much from this Liberal crew - (John Snobelen):

...The dismissal or demotion of several senior ministers and the promotion of many new MPPs will consolidate more power in the premier's office. Dalton and a few key ministers will run the show and that tells me Dalton isn't planning on leaving any time soon. Why should he? He has won two majorities in a row and both opposition parties are now in disarray having squandered the chance to defeat McGuinty over his broken promises.

No opposition, low expectations and a very compliant cabinet spells a cake walk for this premier into the next election. Maybe McGuinty will go for three majorities in a row. Maybe he will be handed a third election victory by opposition parties that just aren't up to the job of defeating him. Maybe.

There is some good news in all the changes. Michael Bryant can't be happy about the shift to aboriginal affairs but the creation of this ministry is a good idea and maybe the energy Bryant brought to banning pitbulls will help bring some justice to Caledonia...

On that last note, we can only hope.

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Update: Halls of Macadamia features a great link that gives us a glimpse into Dalton's cold, calculating mind. Tony covers this too.

In case you missed it, please read Linda Leatherdale - Unions feed at the trough.

Check out that Campaign Literature!

If you're anything like me, when you get campaign brochures from a candidate on the 'other' team, you throw it out after drawing on the mustache and horns.

However, reader Paul recently alerted me to the importance of examining this literature during an election campaign. In his own riding he found several half-truths and falsified information (dare I say lies?) on a Liberal pamphlet:

1.In four short years, we have reduced Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels.

2. And hiring 8000 nurses so far for better patient care and 9000 more in the works.(A quick search of the Ontario Nurse's Association website shows this as being untrue.They have hired but nowhere near 9,000.

Paul said he was going to take the brochure to his local PC candidate. I haven't heard the outcome yet.

However, the incident made me decide to check out the brochure from our local Liberal incumbent, John Milloy. One item in the pamphlet really stuck out - "Smarter Ontario - Test scores are up".

Now that is just not true, according to the Society for Quality Education. Test scores have flat-lined. Now if John really wanted to stretch the truth, perhaps he could say he was referring to a few years ago. But I feel this is a misleading statement.

There is another line in the pamphlet which says "No days lost to teacher strikes". Now that is not completely true either because there was an Ontario College teachers strike during the McGuinty reign. Our family was personally affected. It caused a lot of stress and worry for students and families alike.

Those are just two examples. Check out the campaign literature sitting around at your house.

Perhaps being 'Liberal' means being liberal with the truth.

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ASTTR - Will McGuinty fool us twice?

Post - Premier makes no tax increase pledge - again.

Sun - Dalton II: No New Taxes. Yeah, right.

Dr. Roy - Dalton McLiar Show.

Happy Anniversary, Ontario

Today is a wonderful day in Lemming Land.

Four years ago today the 2003 Ontario election ended, and as this news release notes, "every day of that campaign that Dalton McGuinty made a promise, Dalton McGuinty made a promise that he broke."


Sandy brings us up to speed on all those broken promises here.

But hey, Ontario. This is what you live for, right?

Never mind that some people are actually suggesting that we may need some kind of reform in education; maybe even a voucher system? And *gasp* competition? And actually firing incompetent teachers?

No, that's not the Ontario way. We are the way we are and we're not going to change.

Even if we're left behind.

NDP losing ground

According to pollster Nik Nanos, president of SES Research, the Ontario Liberal Party is moving into majority territory at the expense of the NDP (H/T National Newswatch). Women voters, in particular, seem to be heading in that direction:

"New Democratic women are moving out of the NDP column and into the Liberal column, potentially to block John Tory," Nanos said.

The poll indicates Liberal support among women rose by 11 per cent over the past week and more than half of all women -- 53 per cent -- now say they intend to vote Liberal.

It appears much of that movement came at the expense of the NDP, which saw its support among women fall by 10 points to 13 per cent.

However, the survey was obviously conducted prior to John Tory's announcement yesterday, so anything could happen over the next week.

Margaret Wente has some positive things to say about the PC leader, but wonders if he'll be the best Premier Ontario never had.


I guess when it comes down to it, being open and honest in politics is not always a winning strategy.

Sad state of affairs for Ontario.

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Update: I take issue with Lorrie Goldstein's POV this morning - "Free Vote Won't Solve Tory's Problem". He states:

As Sun Media pollster Nik Nanos of SES Research said yesterday, Tory still hasn't given either opponents or supporters of his controversial policy what they want -- certainty.

People still don't know whether electing a Conservative government means there will be funding or not.

Bunk.

The likelihood of FB Funding actually occurring is very low given that many PC candidates are now openly declaring that they would vote against any such legislation, and the other parties declaring they wouldn't even consider it (except for funding the Catholic system in Dalton's case).

(Even though Dalton could very possibly introduce some version of multi-faith funding himself at some point to placate his Toronto immigrant base.)

However, it might be that Nik Nankos and Lorrie Goldstein are just being realistic about a Liberal Premier and campaign war room that would say and do anything to win.

- And an Ontario population that picks up its news in 10 second sound bytes.

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Christina Blizzard - John Tory's about-face:

On the economy, he (Tory) says the economy "is registered as being last in the whole country in terms of growth.

"When was the last time we heard that as a headline in the newspaper?" he asked.

Exactly.

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Thursday Update: Hampton scolds media for lack of coverage of 'real issues'.