Provincial Liberals need some intellectual Viagra
It is almost beyond comprehension how the Queen’s Park Liberals can consistently make decisions that are so clearly against the interests of Northern Ontario.
Over the years, Northerners have become accustomed to being ignored by southern politicians. As bad as that was, at least when the North was ignored, it meant we were being left alone.
It’s much worse now. Queen’s Park is imposing policies and changes on the North that defy reason. Things such as the changes to The Mining Act, The Far North Act and the Endangered Species Act fly in the face of reality. Some of it borders on junk science.
The decision announced last Friday that Queen’s Park is selling off Ontario Northland assets is another example of how that government is out of touch.
It was five years ago that The Timmins Times reported that Timmins Chamber of Commerce president Ken Peterson and Timmins Economic Development Corporation chair Dave McGirr were warning that unless Queen’s Park did something about energy rates, our industries were in peril. Their message was endorsed and sent to Queen’s Park by Mayor Tom Laughren. (June 8, 2007.)
The message was ignored.
So, here we are five years down the road. Our two biggest forestry plants, Grant and Tembec, are both shut down. Our huge Xstrata copper smelter is shut down and moved to Quebec. Hundreds and hundreds of local jobs have been lost.
Dalton McGuinty hasn’t even visited this city in all the time he has been premier of the province. That in itself is nothing less than an insult. How is it possible that after being in office since 2003, the premier cannot visit this city?
The Queen’s Park Liberals have not merely become ineffective, they have become detrimental to Northern Ontario. There are some Northern Liberals who are popular in the North. Michael Gravelle is a good example. But it is obvious that his influence at the cabinet table is sorely limited.
The Liberals, once considered a party of nation-builders, are on a downward spiral, at Queen’s Park and in Ottawa.
For one thing, the Liberals are sorely in need of some intellectual Viagra. Every now and then somebody in the party has a bright idea, but by the time it gets to the premier’s office, the idea doesn’t stand up.
The decision to sell off Ontario Northland shows the Queen’s Park Liberals are scraping and scratching to find any savings anywhere they can. Our provincial economy is in the crapper.
There are those who will argue that the Liberals inherited the financial failures of the outgoing Progressive Conservatives.
For crying out loud, that was nearly ten years ago. What’s wrong fellas? Three times now the voters have given you a mandate to get things in order and every time, it gets worse.
Dalton McGuinty has become the Toronto Maple Leafs of Canadian politics. Oh yeah, he’s got tonnes of support in Toronto. But politically, he’s not scoring any points.