What is not in question is that while our attention is directed southward, things at home in Ontario continue to deteriorate under our homegrown demagogue, Doug Ford and his many enablers. Content to drive up the deficit while willfully cutting off sources of revenue, the strains are evident in a number of areas, healthcare and education not the least of them.
However, it is always reassuring when caught in moments of despair to know that others think clearly and are able to see the self-inflicted damage of a government still riding high long after winning its third-term majority. The following letters are instructive.
Doug Ford’s big deficit
Why are Doug Ford and the Conservatives in charge at Queen’s Park blaming Trump for Ontario’s financial woes?
It was Doug Ford who scrapped the modest vehicle plate renewal fees, a hole in Ontario’s economy of more than $1 billion every year.
It was Doug Ford who handed The Beer Store $225 million to get out of the contract a year before it would have expired anyway. That, and losses to the LCBO (that pay for education and healthcare) add up to another $1 billion, annually.
I’m not an economist or a Finance Minister, but I’ve never blamed anyone else for any mismanagement that I have caused.
If Ontario is hurting. At present, it isn’t because of Donald Trump, it is because of our Premier, Doug Ford.
Brigitte Nowak, Toronto
This Ford government has 37 cabinet members which is more than any previous government in Ontario history. How much is this costing Ontario taxpayers?
Ford campaigned in 2018 on responsible spending and reducing government costs. There are many examples I could cite of irresponsible spending by this government. Consider the costs related to their new Ontario Place, the Science Centre and the Skills Development Fund where much of the $1.3 billion dollars was spent giving money to lower-rated applicants who had hired lobbyists. So much negligence in the government’s spending ... it irks me that they use our tax money to advertise about how well they are doing.
Bill Fox, Oshawa
From the Globe and Mail is this missive.
Don’t bet on it
Re “Ontario calls for new investors in Niagara casinos, slashes tax rate for operators” (Report on Business, Oct. 29): Doug Ford’s desire to attract big-name casinos is all part of his plan to boost the Niagara region as a tourist destination, add billions of dollars to the provincial economy and add thousands of jobs.
I can only assume either Mr. Ford is ignorant of the numerous studies that illustrate the growing negative impact of gambling and its relation to the health and welfare of Ontarians, or is blinded by billions of dollars in tax revenue. He touts the jobs that casinos will bring, but there would also be jobs in social work and addiction treatment centres for those tasked to deal with the consequences of this policy.
Maybe I am naive in believing that governments are elected to serve the best interests of the public.
Michael Gilman Toronto
Perhaps government members should read this report, which outlines the deleterious effects of gambling, including suicide.
A CBC News investigation has found that at least 220 problem gamblers in Canada have died by suicide in the last decade, which includes a tripling of gambling-related suicides in Ontario since 2022.
Keeping an eye on the government ball is an onerous, if not impossible task, for many. The cost of such dereliction of civic duty, however, is very, very high.
No comments:
Post a Comment