Liberal Platform Critique

I've read the Liberal platform.  It flushes out the ideas on their website The Ontario Way," and adds some new ones.  For me it comes down to money; there's some pretty good ideas in there.  But how do you afford them?

Tuition money for middle-class families? Great idea; post-secondary schools are expensive enough.  But how do you qualify "middle class?" Is it through parents' income level? Is it some kind of social definition? Or perhaps its a mixture of the two; some kind of socio-economic definition- "Parents income comes up to this level, and have more than two kids in the family."

Three post-secondary campuses promised for the Greater Toronto Area (G.T.A.).  That's a great idea that would help address the problem of needed post-secondary spaces.  It goes with their latest statement that a Liberal Government would decide where future campuses would go.  It takes away the institution's ability to make decisions; who would know better about their own needs, than the institutions themselves? For example Laurier definitely needs a new campus- the campus at Waterloo, is tapped out for expansion.

They cover themselves when it comes to hospitals in their "Build Ontario"" document.  The phrase "subject to fiscal capacity" is bandied about a lot.  If they can't afford it, they won't do it.  As I've increasingly blogged- that's not good enough for this community- or any other communities that have been promised hospital expansion.

Their job creation strategy leaves a lot to be desired.  I understand how a $10 thousand credit for companies who hire them might benefit the economy.  In theory the money is given to these companies who hire the foreign-trained  workers and maybe will eventually pass on the savings to the customers, or invest in it back in their business.  In reality, it's divisive and could create a really negative environment for immigrants.  Speaking as a job-searcher for a moment; it's hard enough to find a job as it is for the rest of us.  In my industry everyone wants experience, and yet few are willing to give you a chance at it. Imagine an engineer who gets let go after working for the same company for five years.  He's got an incomparable resume; experience, management skills, sterling references.  He won't get the job because he's up against a foreign-trained engineer who brings with them the $10 thousand tax credit.

What I've seen of the costing is fairly weak.  Program expenditures, and interest on the debt outweigh net revenues.  Even after the next four years; in t he event they a) win, and b) win with a majority the deficit will still be $7.8 billion.  The full deficit won't be at 0 until 2017-2018- and that's assuming the economy continues any kind of growth.

The platform manages to mention the Progressive Conservatives, and N.DP every few pages.   The Platform document isn't a place to tell me what your opponents won't do for me, it's a place to tell me what you will... I can't stand that kind of negativity.

To read the Liberal Platform for yourself click the link.    Make an informed choice this provincial election.








 

To fund or not... We may not know the answer until after the election

Premier Dalton McGuinty prorogued the provincial legislature until after this October's election.  He did it without a whisper of opposition, without an outcry from the public.  It also happened without the release of the list of who gets what infrastructure money over the next 10 years. Milton's hopes for a hospital expansion have to wait another few months yet, and that's not right.

Milton has been fighting for its expansion for the last 15 years or more, and the need has become critical in the last five.  The pressure  reached a fever pitch with the Friends of Milton District Hospital postcard campaign, and most recently with the petition that got 6 thousand signatures and was presented by MPP Ted Chudleigh at Queen's Park, and the rally held at Milton's Victoria Park.

Milton was supposed to be on a list of 50 communities slated to be released this month.  But that may not come out now until after the October election.  I doubt we were even on it.  I was able to cover the Mayor's Breakfast a while back, and the special guest was Infrastructure Minister Bob Charielli.  Ted Chudleigh was seated near the front of the room to hear the Minister go after both Tim Hudak, and himself in what was an extremely partisan speech.  It left me the impression that it was vaguely personal- Chudleigh had been a pain in the Liberals' backside, and they were going to do and say whatever they had to, in order to stop the P.C.'s from taking the riding again.  And if that meant denying a town that so obviously needs expanded hospital facilities, then so be it... the election campaign is on- all's fair in love and elections.  The hospital may be dangled like a carrot to get us voting Liberal.


An expanded hospital has become a vital need for Milton.  There is no room for proper surgical waiting areas, and the infrastructure that could support the latest equipment (sterilizers) has reached the end of its useful life.  In the fairly recent experiences I've had, the great staff are doing their best with what they have.  But I'm sure even they grow as frustrated as various councilors are.


I think the only thing to be done is to give up.  Give up fighting this government- wait until the next one is elected; because I believe it will be Progressive Conservative.  Having toured the facilities, I think Hudak has a much better grasp of what Milton needs than the Premier ever would.  And if he doesn't give Milton the money, then Chudleigh could become as big a pain in Hudak's rear end as he is to the Liberals.