Time to reflect on Dalton McGuinty's decade in office (...And weep!)

On October 1st of this year, CHRISTINA BLIZZARD | QMI AGENCY, wrote the following in the Toronto Sun Newspaper. I reproduce it here because it should be read again ... and again..

"My how time flies when your government is breaking promises, hiking taxes and squandering your tax bucks.

"Can it really be a decade since the 2003 election swept Dalton McGuinty and 71 other Liberals to power?

"Three Tories held a news conference Tuesday to lament the “lost decade.”

"Frankly, when you look at the gas plant scandal, the Ornge boondoggle and the $1 billion poured into the pockets of Liberal friendly consultants at eHealth, I don’t think it’s so much a lost decade as a stolen one.

"It got me thinking about the Liberals’ 2003 fantasy election platform.

"Most of their promises could have been written on the back of a napkin.

"It was only after the election we discovered the civil service pegged the price tag on McGuinty’s 200-plus promises at a whopping $18 billion. The platform also assumed a $900-million asset sale in the first year.

"Most of the promises were laughable. Others were ridiculous. Most were broken -- or forgotten -- soon after they came to power.

"McGuinty’s biggest fib was when he looked into the camera during that election campaign and told us our taxes wouldn’t go up “one cent” under a Liberal government.

"The following year, without blushing, he and finance minister Greg Sorbara introduced the hated health-care levy that dinged most families $1,000 a year and raised around $2 billion for provincial coffers.

"What were the other pledges? Well, they said they’d shut down coal-fired electricity generating plants by 2007.

"They delayed it to the end of 2009. The last two should shut by the end of this year.

““We will balance the budget.”

"No, seriously. Stop laughing. That’s what they said.

"In fact, they increased spending from $80 billion to $128 billion and doubled the debt to $273 billion. [Emphisis mine.]

"They’ve had credit watches and credit warnings from rating agencies.

"Our annual deficit is sitting at $11.7 billion -- almost twice what it was when the Liberals took over.

““We will fund medically necessary health-care services.”

"Then they delisted eye exams, physiotherapy and chiropractic.

 "“We will cap hydro rates at 4.3 cents a kWh until 2006.

"In fact, in May of 2006, the price of electricity was 6.7 cents a kWh. [Now 10.9 cents as of November 1, 2013]

"In 2010, Dwight Duncan announced electricity prices for homeowners would skyrocket 46% over the next five years. That’s before you take into account the cost of scrapping two gas plants.

That didn’t include the 10% rebate the Liberals borrowed another $1 billion to give us. [Emphasis mine.]

"“We will cap tolls on Hwy 407.”

"The peak rate for cars was 12.95 cents a km in 2003.

"This year it’s more than double that -- 26.2 cents a km.

"“We will stop school closings.”

"Rural Ontario has been devastated by school closures.

"“We will offer a pre-paid tuition program to make it easier for parents to save for their children’s education by guaranteeing them today’s price for tomorrow’s education.”

"Hello? Is anyone paying 2003 prices for university?

"“We will make sure health dollars are spent wisely.”

"Um, eHealth, Ornge. Need I say more?

"“We will stop the privatization of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.”

"Too bad. If they’d actually sold ONTC to a private company, northern Ontario might still have rail service. Which they now don’t -- because the Liberals shut down ONTC.

 "“Reduce private consultants.”

"Right now, 31 committees are probing various aspects of government. Just two weeks ago, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced another group of 13 consultants will look at ways to hike taxes to pay for transit. The leader of the pack, Anne Golden, will make $900 a day -- to a maximum of $90,000 for three months.

"And finally, among the dross, I found this gem:

 "“We will govern with honesty and integrity.”

"Hmm. Cancelled gas plants, deleted e-mails.

"You decide."

***

Source: CHRISTINA BLIZZARD | QMI AGENCY

Re Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty

Is there something wrong with this picture?

One of my royalty cheques just bounced, which is bad enough, but then the Royal Bank (RBC) charged ME $7.50 for returning it.

Meanwhile, the only thing those buffoons down at Queen's Park are concerned about--in the midst of economic chaos caused by Dalton McGoony's regime--is making sure small businesses are registered with the Ontario College of Trades (whatever that is...) for $130 a pop.

Now, those same buffoons at Queen's Park want to saddle barbers--possibly the last predominantly male bastion left--with a $5,000 cost to retrain. Why? So that they can dye and perm hair.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?

Dalton McGuinty and Hydro One (OPG) ... A study in incompetence! (A repost from May 1, 2012)

Specifically: It is a study of incompetence, waste, greed and downright stupidity on the part of Hydro One and various politicians--including Ernie Eves and Dalton McGuinty.

Consider this: In 2002 the then Chairman of Hydro One, Eleanor Clitheroe, was fired because she: "used credit cards contrary to company policy. They [Ontario Power Group Board] said she also obtained club memberships at the company's expense. Many of those memberships had no business-related purpose, the board said. Clitheroe is also said to have used Hydro One service providers to do renovations to her home."

At the time she made over $2.2 million, including $174,000 for a car and $172,000 in vacation pay. Clitheroe also stood to get $6 million in cash if she left Hydro One for any reason, and she stood to receive an annual pension of up to $1 million."

During Clitheroe’s tenure, no bookkeeper, accountant, civil servant or administrative chief at Hydro One ever noticed that the same employee costing us $330,000 in limousine rides was taking some $214,000 in car allowances. If any of them did notice, they kept mum. During the entire Clitheroe reign, there were no enterprising reporters ringing alarm bells.

Oh, and by the way, she got a $6.5M severance package and a $300,000+ annual pension when she went out the door.

And if that isn't bad enough, her replacement chair, Tom Parkinson 'resigned' after it was disclosed that he improperly charged his secretary's credit card with $45,000 of expenses.

The then Minister of Energy, Dwight Duncan, (now Minister of Finance) wouldn't reveal the exact amount Parkinson was paid to walk away, but Parkinson was Ontario's highest paid public employee, earning $1.6 million in salary and bonuses last year. His severance package could have been worth as much as $3 million.

So, if you want to know why hydro bills went up an average of $4.00 per month, take a long hard look at the above.

Gerry Burnie

PS. Has anyone any idea how much money has been collected through the "debt retirement charge?"

***

And while we're on the topic of Debt Retirement Charge...

Anyone know what "defeased" means? In the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation's statement it reads: “The Electricity Act, 1998, provides for the Debt Retirement Charge (DRC) to be paid by consumers until the stranded debt is defeased.” see: http://www.oefc.on.ca/debtmanage.html. However, I've checked two dictionaries, i.e. Webster's and Oxford, and I can't find it.

Yet another Hydro On rate hike

The legacy of McGuinty lives on

In April, the OEB announced that electricity rates would jump about $3.63 on the electricity line, or about 2.9% on the total monthly bill as of May 1.

The latest hydro hike comes just over a week after Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk released her report that pegged cancellation costs related to the Oakville power plant at up to $815 million -- most of it to be repaid over the next two decades on hydro bills.

For consumers on time-of-use pricing -- and that includes most households in the province -- the price of electricity during winter peak hours of 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays will rise 0.5 cents to 12.9 cents/kWh. [Up from 9.2 cents in 2011]

During the daytime weekday hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the mid-peak rate will hit 10.9 

cents/kWh. [Up from 9.2 cents in 2011]

The cheapest time to use electricity-gobbling appliances will remain weekends and overnight, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., at 7.2 cents/kWh. [Up from 6.1 cents in 2011]

This is up from previous years as follows:

Ontarians on Time-of-Use Pricing (TOU) will see their lowest rate for electricity — overnight and on weekends and holidays — rise to 6.5 cents per kWh from 6.1 cents per kWh.

On a weekday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., prices increase to 10 cents kWh from 9.2 cents kWh.

Firing up the electrical appliances during peak times, which will be between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays for the rest of the spring and summer, will set consumers back 11.7 cents kWh, up from 10.8 cents kWh.

Those increasingly rare hydro customers not on Smart Meter billing will pay 7.5 cents kWh, an increase of 0.4 cents kWh, on the first 600 kWh per month.

Any use over that threshold, which drops from 1,000 kWh in winter months, will be billed at the new higher price of 8.8 cents kWh, up 0.5 cents kWh.

Politician calls seniors the "greediest generation."

Alan Simpson (R) Senator from Wyoming compares social security to "a milk cow with 310 tits."

Here is a response from PATTY MYERS in Montana ... 

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole (tit) for FIFTY YEARS.
2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and "your ilk" pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age, 67. NOW, you and your "shill commission" are proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN.

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now "you morons" propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because "you idiots" mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal our money from Medicare to pay the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you "incompetent bastards" spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt. To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" to your incompetence.Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU:

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?
2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?
3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?
4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcase thieves who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers.And for what? Votes and your job and retirement security at our expense, you lunk-headed, leech.

That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic, political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.
And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch.

P.S. And stop calling Social Security benefits "entitlements". WHAT AN INSULT!!!! I have been paying in to the SS system for 45 years "It's my money"-give it back to me the way the system was designed and stop patting yourself on the back like you are being generous by doling out these monthly checks .

EVERYONE!! If you agree with what a Montana citizen, Patty Myers, says, please PASS IT ON! 

Dalton McGuinty is gone, but his stench lingers on

Dalton McGuinty, arguably the worst premier since Confederation, skipped out the back door of the legislature just as the 'sheriff' was coming in the front. However, here's part of the mess he left behind:

And that's only a bit of it.

I've been censored!...

I've been censored by Huffington Post! The article dealt with "Female Board Directors Better At Decision Making: Study..." [see:http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/25/female-board-directors-decision-making-study_n_2951084.html"]

My comment was "I am so damned weary of the press perpetuating this myth of male/female differentiation. The right person will always make the best decision regardless of gender. To appoint either on the basis of gender is not only contrary to common sense, it is also utterly stupid.

I realize this crap sells papers to the non-thinking, but it is also an unmitigated bore to anyone who has moved passed this manufactured debate. Please do move on!"

This is what Huffington post had to say: "This comment has been removed. Most comments are removed because of an attack or insult on another user or public figure. Please see the guidelines here if you're not sure why this comment was removed."

Microsoft ... Microcrap

As a writer I spend at least eight hours per day on the computer, and a good portion of that is wasted on wrestling with MS Word. Annoyances like:

• chasing the pointer as it jumps around the page;
• deleting and retyping the misplaced copy that results;
• undoing the blocking of copy that mysteriously appears on its own, and is then deleted with my next key stroke;
• struggling to undo the alternate characters (the blue ones on the keypad) that arbitrarily appear.

Before I cancelled the automatic updates, Windows would suddenly reboot without warning (wiping out whatever I hadn't saved), and to add insult to injury it would then send a pop-up to say that, "Windows has just updated your computer." No kidding!

A while back I purchased an update from Word 2007 to 2010 ($160), thinking it had remedied the above-listed glitches, but to my utter chagrin it hadn't. Moreover, when I saved my unfinished manuscript to 2010 it deleted the spaces between words on over 200 pages - (130,000 words)!

So why don't I complain? Believe me I would if I could, but unless you are writing to tell Microcrap how good it is, there is no "contact us" feature anywhere on their website.

In short, Microcrap is the best advertisement for Macintosh there is, and I'm sold on switching with my next computer purchase.

The last bastard offspring in the great everlasting, never-ending genealogy of Liberal scandals, boondoggles and screw-ups.

[A repost of Christina Blizzard's column "Presto! Another Ontario Liberal screw-up." See the complete story at: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2012/12/20121213-182727.html]

Provincial auditor general Jim McCarter produced a scathing report on Presto Wednesday (December 12, 2012), saying when all the costs are factored in, Presto stands to be among the highest-cost fare cards in the world.

And you wonder why it is that this province continues to re-invent the wheel when it comes to big IT projects.

They're invariably fraught with cost overruns and come in late and over budget -- if they ever get completed at all.

Which reminds me: Where are our electronic health records?

Canadian history made boring...

I had reason to go looking for a Canadian web site similar to Legends Of America, an excellent history resource with some real ‘meat’ to it—meaning, it is history made interesting. It also features some Canadian characters who have played a significant role in American history, i.e. Pearl Hart, Bat Masterson, etc., for which there is hardly a mention in Canadian-based histories.

A veritable wasteland

What I found was a depressing collection of thumbnail sketches, afterthoughts  to American frontier history, a roll call of stodgy Canadian/British statesmen (John A. Macdonald, etc.), and lesson plans so dry you could strike a match on them.

For example, here is one lesson directed toward grade 3 students:

The earliest settlers who made their homes in the wilderness were known as pioneers.

Many pioneers of Upper Canada came from France, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany and other countries in Europe.  Some settlers went to other parts of North America and later moved into Upper Canada. 

They came to Upper Canada for many reasons.  Some came so they could freely practice their religion.  Some did not like the way their home countries were being run.  Some just hoped they could have a better life in a new country.

Interesting Facts about the Early Settlers

	in 1800, only 10% of the population lived in towns or cities - most lived on farms
	in 1800, the population of Upper Canada was 35 000
	before 1800, most immigrants came from America
	after 1815, large numbers of  immigrants started to come from the British Isles (England, Ireland, Scotland)
	between 1825 and the 1830's more people came from the British Isles than from America

(see the full lesson plan at: Pioneer Life in Upper Canada)

Is it any wonder kids find history “boring” and “irrelevant?”—That is if they study any Canadian history at all.

There is better (more interesting) history available

Admittedly, it wouldn’t be hard to find a more interesting perspective, but even here there is very little effort to promote it. With very few exceptions the major Canadian media are more interested in politics and scandal—oh, and Kate’s pregnancy—than promoting  Canadian heritage. Mind you, if they got their history from the above lesson, it is perhaps understandable.

There are interesting examples of Canadian history

On my own blog, Gerry B’s Book Reviews, I have reviewed several excellent histories that are in-depth as well as interesting. Some of these include:

Sam Steele: The Wild Adventures of Canada’s Most Famous Mountie, by Holly Quan

Real Justice: Guilty of Being Weird: The story of Guy Paul Morin, by Cynthia J. Faryon

The Dieppe Raid: The Story of the Disastrous 1942 Expedition (Twentieth-Century Battles), by  Robin Neillands

To Wawa With Love, by Tom Douglas
Wild Canadian West, by E.C. (Ted) Meyers
Tecumseh: Diplomat and Warrior in the War of 1812, by Irene Gordon
Klondike Cattle Drive – Normal Lee
Blazing the Old Cattle Trail, by Grant MacEwan

In the near future, I will be launching a web site dedicated to finding interesting examples of Canadian history. Until then, I leave you with this vignette:

John A. Macdonald, first prime minister of Canada, trained all the Parliamentary Pages to serve him gin in the House of Commons, because it looked more like water than whiskey.