Want a good laugh ... Or Cry?

Here is what Deb Mathews (deputy premier of Ontario, Lib.) had to say in the legislature, yesterday:

Matthews said the Liberals "were the first government since 1996 to actually REDUCE SPENDING." 

[You remember Mathews. She was the Minister of Health who presided over the ORNGE fiasco that cost Ontario taxpayers another Billion dollars.]

Well, here is an example of how the Liberals "reduced spending"...

 *Actually, the above numbers are now outdated. To get the current numbers add $500B to the gas plant waste.

Sign the petition if you're fed up with being gouged by Chiarelli, Wynne, and OPG.

It's time to take a stand! If you can do nothing else, sign the petition:

http://ontariopc.com/energyrates

And if you wish to say more, here are the parliamentary addresses of Wynne and Chiarelli:

Hon. Bob Chiarelli
Ministry of Energy
4^th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

Tel: 416-327-6758
Fax: 416-327-6754

e-mail: bchiarelli@mpp.co@liberal.ola.org 

And if you want to go directly to the top, here is Kathleen Wynne's coordinates:

Hon Kathleen O. Wynne,
Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Tel. 416-325-1941
Fax. 416-325-9895
email: wynne.mkpp@liberal.ola.org 

Enough is enough!

Here's a good one....

The old Ontario Hydro debt was $7.8 billion, and the Ontario government has already collected $10.6 billion, but they're not going to stop collecting payments until 2015!

They claim the surplus is interest!!

To quote Christine Blizzard in the Sun Newspaper:

"Hello? Successive governments of all stripes mismanage the electricity system. They gouge cash out of your pockets to fix their mistakes — and have the nerve to charge YOU interest?"

But, wait, there's more laughs to come. In explanation of all this, this is what Bob Chiarelli had to say:

“There will still be increases in electricity rates moving forward, but we have increased very significant mitigation measures by the actions we’ve taken and also by these announcements today,” he told reporters.

What?....

What the hell does that mean?! There are no tricks to plain and simple language, but when a politician launches into bafflegab there is generally something underhanded going on. So here's a plain and simple message to Wynne, Chiarelli, Roseanne T. Leclair, and 'political has-beens' Bernard Lord and Sandra Pupatello:

Your policies stink - Your management stinks - And your government stinks!

and if you don't like my language, I've damned well paid for the privilege!

Hydro's odious 'debt retirement fund' ("rip off") to end in 2016...

After it's collected a few extra billion from already burdened consumers.

But there's a catch.

"Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli announced Wednesday that his government will retire the Debt Repayment Charge (DRC) on hydro bills starting on Jan. 1 2016, an annual savings of just under $70," according to ANTONELLA ARTUSO, QMI AGENCY, for Sun news. [See the full story at: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2014/04/20140423-131935.html. 

But at the same time, the government intends to bring an end to the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit (OCEB) which takes 10% off bills, adding about $180 to the average family's hydro bill.

Chiarelli also announced a new program funded by ratepayers to help low-income earners in the province with the cost of electricity -- another $11 more a year on the average hydro bill. Mind you, the intent of this program is to help families with an income of less than $40,000 pay for their electricity, so how it will translate for singles is as yet uncertain.

Therefore, the typical Ontario residential hydro consumer can expect to see their bills leap by roughly $120 a year in 2016.

It's a cynical Chiarelli, Wynne, Sandra Pupatello, Roseanne Leclair, Bernard Lord, shell game (the various 'lords-a-leaping' of energy), and as usual the hapless consumer is the net loser.

Once again I say: If you're as fed up with this charade as I am, here is the man to complain to:

Hon. Bob Chiarelli
Ministry of Energy
4^th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

Tel: 416-327-6758
Fax: 416-327-6754

e-mail: bchiarelli@mpp.co@liberal.ola.org 

And if you want to go directly to the top, here is Kathleen Wynne's coordinates:

Hon Kathleen O. Wynne,
Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Tel. 416-325-1941
Fax. 416-325-9895
email: wynne.mkpp@liberal.ola.org 

Enough is enough!

From on high....

Why Ontario drivers pay the highest insurance premiums in Canada

It seems like everyone in Canada can see this except Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario government.

ROBERT COLLISON

Special to The Globe and Mail

The Fraser Institute’s landmark 2011 study on public-versus-private delivery of auto insurance in Canada concluded that Ontario’s private-sector insurance regimen enjoyed the questionable distinction of being the most expensive in the country – a conclusion even more damning because the report’s major takeaway was the overall superiority of the private system in other parts of Canada.

The Ontario government’s 2010 reforms to private insurance were supposed to address the system’s problems – high premiums, fraud, over-regulation, a punitive cost structure – but have they? As it stands “post-reform,” the insurance industry and many of its major stakeholders are in a state of undeclared war. And the government is caught in the middle, dodging volleys of angry rhetoric from opposing sides.

Ontario’s private auto insurance industry is a train wreck. “When we concluded our study, Ontario had the most expensive system in the country due to regulatory severity and massive fraud,” says Emrul Hasan, an economics instructor at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University and one of the author’s of the Fraser study.

Another out-of-province expert is even more frank. “Insurance company margins have increased incredibly over the last decade,” says British Columbia-based Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada. “The companies are making a lot of money and people are getting less benefits … to be perfectly honest, I don’t know how you’re going to fix Ontario.” ~ More.

Related posts: Ontario auto insurance premium reduction: Why the delay in the first place?...

***

Ed. note: The auto insurance industry is just one voracious money grasper. The travel insurance industry needs a thorough examination as well. From my own personal experience, the premium asked by RBC (Royal Bank) increased 63% in one year (2012 - 2013) for the same coverage, and with no change in my age or health status.

Why is it that governments seem afraid to touch insurance and credit card companies?

Globe and Mail's editorial cartoon ... There is much truth in jest.

Ontario hydro rates going up (Yet again!) May 1, 2014...

According to City News (http://www.citynews.ca/2014/04/16/ontario-hydro-rates-going-up-may-1/):

Starting next month, homeowners and small business owners will be paying more for electricity.

The new prices will be in effect from May 1 until October 31.

Hydro officials say consumers will be paying 0.3 cents more per kilowatt hour during off-peak and mid-peak hours and  0.6 cents more during peak hours.
Allan Findlay with the Ontario Energy Board says this is about a 2.4 per cent  increase.

“For the typical household consumer that would be an increase of approximately $2.83 on the electricity line or the bill,” he explains.

The energy board reviews prices twice per year based on updated estimates of costs.

The market price of natural gas rose during the long winter, but that impact was somewhat cushioned by previously signed contracts with natural gas and other generators.

If you recall, the Ontario Energy Board is the same outfit that recently 'rubber stamped' a 40% increase in natural gas (Enbridge 40% natural gas hike OK’d).

And as for another increase in the cost of electricity, McGuinty touted the so-called "smart meters" as a reward to those conscientious individuals who toed-the-line on energy use. 

Well, so much for that 'Pinocchio' promise.' This increase will affect off-peak users as well.

I weary of asking my fellow, cash-strapped-Ontario-citizens to please, please, please make some small token of protest before we are all freezing in the dark.

The minister in charge is Bob Chiarelli, and you can contact him as follows:

Hon. Bob Chiarelli
Ministry of Energy
4^th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

Tel: 416-327-6758
Fax: 416-327-6754

e-mail: bchiarelli@mpp.co@liberal.ola.org 

Hydro costs are crippling Ontario - Windsor star

Tales of skyrocketing household hydro bills are commonplace across Ontario. And understandably everyone — even with modest bills — should worry for the simple reason that it’s only going to get worse.

Thanks to the Liberal government’s “long-term energy plan,” Ontarians can count on their electricity rates going up 33 per cent over the next three years. And within five years, the average monthly bill of $125 will rise to $178 — a 42 per cent increase.

Based on 2012 power prices, AMPCO — representing almost 40 of the largest power consumers in the province — says Ontario industries pay 7.6 cents to 9.4 cents for a kilowatt hour for electricity.

That’s higher than the average prices of 5.6 cents a kWh in New York, 5.4 cents in six New England states, 4.5 cents in 14 jurisdictions in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland region and 3.2 cents in a group of 15 Midwestern states. The average price paid by large industrial power users in Toronto is nearly 11 cents per kWh, according to a Hydro-Québec 2013 survey. That compares with 4.8 cents in Montreal, 5.45 cents in Chicago and 8.12 cents in Detroit...More.

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It's hardly any good to ask if government is going to do anything about it, because it's government that is causing it! Another one of Dalton McGuinty's poisoned pills that Kathleen Wynne refuses to do anything about. 

A 50% increase in insurance for taxi companies and drivers ... When are governments across Canada going rein-in these out-of-control insurance companies?!

Taxi companies brace for rough ride on insurance rates

Taxi companies and their drivers in the province [Newfoundland and Labrador] are bracing for a second big increase in insurance premiums in as many years.

At least one St. John's business says it's been notified that an application for a 50 per cent increase in insurance premiums is before the Public Utilities Board.

That would be on top of a similar 50 per cent increase approved by the PUB last year.

Up until then, there had not been an increase in liability rates since the mid-1990s.

Still, cab companies say the double-whammy in back to back years is too much to bear.

"It's understandable ... that things go up and things have to change," said Doug McCarthy, general manager of Co-Op Taxi and a member of the St. John's Taxi Committee. "But it's got to stop some place. At this rate, they're going to drive taxis out of business."

McCarthy says he understands rates are set to cover Facility's expenses, which begs the question why they want such a large increase now.

"Because in talking to other companies, they haven't seen an overall increase in the amount of accidents that are occurring where taxis are at fault," he said. "I know with our company, we haven't had an at-fault accident in at least two years, if not three."

McCarthy also dismissed the idea that older vehicles are creating greater risk and liabilities.

"Most of the taxis out there are all well within the 10-year life cycle. Most cars on the road now are 2006, 2007 to 2009. And we have several 2013s and 2012s. So it's not the age of the fleet. So, why the second increase in two years? I don't know." ... More.

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What is that makes governments so reluctant to curtail insurance rates? It's not as if we're talking 'invisible hand' markets here. Ontario makes auto insurance a mandatory provision for licencing a car, and so it is not a take-or-leave-it proposition. Moreover, insurers in Ontario retain $0.61 cents on every dollar paid out in claims. So why are Greg Sousa (Minister of Finance for Ontario), and others, so reluctant to tackle insurance companies beyond lip service?

It is a question that remains open, even if consumers are bleeding money.

It is also a display of remarkable gutlessness!!

The CBC is even more relevant now than it was in the past...

A recent poll indicates that only one-in-five Canadians know what Vimy Ridge is, or what it meant to Canada as an emerging nation. As pathetic as this is, it can only get worse if the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) disappears.

Granted under the existing management and 'nouveau-speak' producers, there is much room for improvement, especially in the relevancy department, but overall who else is there to speak for Canada or serve the tastes of classical music lovers? Certainly not the lowest-common-denominator-fluff offered by commercial stations, with 10 - 12 commercials every ten minutes.

As JOHN DOYLE of the Globe and Mail observes:

 Fact is, the CBC is ever more relevant in the current Canadian broadcasting landscape. A landscape that the CRTC has allowed to come into existence. A landscape in which only three main commercial players exist – Bell, Shaw and Rogers.

Those three look increasingly arrogant, reeking of hubris, and each is, in its own way, in a narcissistic bubble. Each owns multiple outlets and each looks on the competition, other media and the public with scorn. Commercial broadcasting in Canada is protected to the point of being coddled by regulation. And this has created a mood of self-satisfaction, which makes the CBC’s alleged sense of entitlement look puny.

Vastly profitable, thanks to protection, and continuing to fetishize the old and easy business model of buying and simulcasting U.S. network shows, only one thing scares the big three – Netflix. Looking at Netflix, the big three ask, where’s our cut? They exist like three Mafia gangs who have carved up a neighbourhood and are spooked by the arrival of a new player who offers the same narcotic, but cheaper...more.

Harper would dearly love to get rid of the CBC, but then again, there are a lot of Canadians who would like to get rid of Harper (and the 'Canada One' airplane) too.

With this act (so-called "Fair Elections Act"), Conservatives might win the battle, lose the war

KONRAD YAKABUSKI

The Globe and Mail

I’m not sure whether Pierre Poilievre dreams of becoming a Republican when he grows up, but the Minister of State for Democratic Reform and his boss, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, should consider the mistakes of their U.S. brethren before ramming their flawed elections bill through Parliament.

From its patronizing title to its self-serving provisions, Mr. Poilievre’s Fair Elections Act is a Conservative version of the kind of bills Republican state legislatures have tried to pass, in some cases successfully, as a seawall against the demographic tsunami threatening their party.

The origin of such bills lies not in any high-minded desire to make elections fairer or root out voter fraud. They are blatant attempts to tilt the playing field in favour of a party that has been unable, nay unwilling, to increase its core support beyond a shrinking base of the electorate...More. 

THE LIBERAL RATS ARE TURNING ON EACH OTHER (IN AN ATTEMPT TO DISTANCE WYNNE FROM MCGUINTY)

It was inevitable...

Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty at Liberal convention
2011

Posted by Donna Quixote.

The Toronto Star has an article today that goes into great detail about how Kathleen Wynne is furious at Dalton McGuinty for leaving her holding the bag for the gas plant scandal.  This, of course, is the same Kathleen Wynne who upon winning the leadership for the LPO, stood up and proclaimed to the world how she was so proud of her role in the Dalton Gang cabinet and how she intended to stay the course and continue building on McGuinty’s legacy.

But with an election looming on the horizon, it appears that the Liberal cheering team at the Toronto Star are in full damage control mode by trying to tell us that all manner of civility is now gone between the former and current Premiers. “Tensions are high, relationships fractious, nerves frayed.”

Naturally, in trying to distance Wynne as far as possible from The Quitter, they fail to mention that it was Wynne who signed off on the cancellation of those gas plants.  As much as she likes to deny knowledge of any wrongdoing, she either has to admit that she’s a liar or one of the dumbest people on the planet, to have not known the details of those cancellations.

(Read full article at: http://quixoteslaststand.com/2014/04/05/the-liberal-rats-are-turning-on-each-other-in-an-attempt-to-distance-wynne-from-mcguinty/) 

Time to take a stand,

We have been gouged and pilfered too long by voracious oil and gas companies who feel they have carte blanche to pick our pockets whenever they feel like it.

As usual, this time it is with the Ontario government's blessing. Well, tell Bob Chiarelli that you're as mad as hell, and your not going to take it any longer. You can contact him as follows:

Hon. Bob Chiarelli

Ministry of Energy
4^th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

Tel

416-327-6758

Fax

416-327-6754

e-mail: bchiarelli@mpp.co@liberal.ola.org