Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘economy’ Category

…Turning Ontario into a ‘WEAKER SISTER’ .

Well at least we’ll have Danny Williams to bail us out.

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Update : One thing Dalton could do is crack down on the illegal cigarette trade , and try to regain control of the lost tax revenue. But Weak Sisters don’t do that kind of thing.

Anyway, who would want to invest in a province where natives are allowed to barricade highways at will, and told they have the legal right to intimidate business developers ? Go west, young man!

Thursday 10:00 a.m. update - 570 News’ Jeff Allen will be interviewing TD’s Donald Drummond next regarding Ontario’s possible future status as a have-not province.

Sunday Update : Lessons heading into a recession - Toronto Sun .

My brother’s keeper? Not if he lives in Ontario - Herald.

Have-not status a blow to the psyche, expert says - Citizen .

Reader Rich feels that we’re wasting too much precious time talking about Brenda Martin . Instead, he would like to focus on the economy. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Just to get started, here’s his comment:

"Joanne; Enough of BM rantings, I would like to get an opinion on the state of Canada’s economy.

The LPC keep harping on their 8 (eight) balanced budgets and 8 years of surpluses and critize the CPC for bringing Canada to the brink of deficit. If a government continually does this it usually means that the Canadian people are overtaxed to the max with no services provided. Services like the Canadian Armed forces, Cities Infrastructure, Highways & bridges. Under the LPC what we got was spending of 2 billion dollars to an ineffective gun registry, HRC commissions, CPP that do nothing for the majority of Canadians.

The CPC believe that they are the stewards of tax payers money and if there is any left over after providing for necesaary services, it should be returned to the tax payer in the form of refunds. I for one am glad for the handling of the economy."

Thoughts???

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Update : Ontario will be a have-not province:TD !!!

Campbell’s closing in Listowel, Ontario - The Have-not Province?

And from the Record :

…Falling to have-not status is an important psychological barrier for Canada’s largest province, Drummond added.

"It gives the signal that Ontario is not the mighty king of the economy anymore,” he said. "It’s one of the weaker partners, but again it’s not so much Ontario’s being weak as the other provinces are really roaring along.”

So…. Is it Jim Flaherty’s fault for slagging Ontario or Dalton’s for not listening to his advice ?

Thursday Update : Carbon Tax a fuels paradise . - Lorrie Goldstein .

And from the Post : How Stephen Harper ruined our national balance sheet - Ralph Goodale .

Angelo Persichilli’s column in today’s Sun is a must-read - Ontario must create jobs to prosper.

Great to have a job-training program, but at some point you need to have places for those people to work. So if we spend a pile of money re-educating the work force only to have them leave the province for greener pastures, what have we accomplished?

And how can Dalton’s pet projects in health care and education be sustained with a dwindling tax base?

And how can a burgeoning public sector be sustained? John Tory noted recently in the Post:

...Mr. McGuinty boasts that he has created new jobs in Ontario, but he fails to mention that almost half of the new jobs created are public sector jobs, paid for by taxpayers’ dollars. Ontario is the only province in Canada where over the past five years the growth of public sector jobs has exceeded the growth of private sector jobs. Mr. McGuinty wrongly believes this is sustainable. It’s not. We need private sector jobs to pay for those in the public sector…

In spite of what we think of Mr. Tory, his message rings true. If we continue on this path we will end up being the ‘caboose’ instead of the economic engine of Canada.

Jim Flaherty was right that the conditions need to be made favourable for investment to be attractive in Ontario. At the moment, they’re anything but.

Persichilli says we have to start immediately to create the jobs that the skilled labour is being groomed for. He wonders why we are selling our raw resources to other countries to be manufactured, and then shipping the products back to be bought by Canadians?

Of course, nobody is addressing the real issue - that we have priced our labour right out of the market.

Unless we’re willing to accept lower wages and abandon the union mentality, we will never be competitive.

And then the other provinces with natural resources will become the economic engines of the country - until everything has been depleted.

For Canadian political junkies, these are interesting times.

The Globe’s Daniel Leblanc gives us a peek into the inner turmoil of the Liberal party’s Quebec ranks, and it ain’t a pretty picture (Dion facing revolt in Quebec ranks).

We first heard of this discord several weeks ago when Joël-Denis Bellavance alluded to a révolte silencieuse on Mike Duffy Live. Both Bellevance and Jean LaPierre had heard rumours that Bob Rae had control of the Quebec wing and was wanting to wait until the March 17th by-elections had passed and Rae had time in front of the cameras in Parliament before forcing an election.

However, the Silent Revolt is getting louder - LeBlanc suggests even more serious in-fighting and lack of faith in Stéphane Dion. Lisa Frulla in particular is surprisingly candid with her remarks:

“He has no instinct,” former Liberal minister and political commentator Liza Frulla said in an interview.

“At a certain point, people feel it if there is something wrong, even if they don’t know exactly what it is. But he, poor Stéphane, doesn’t feel it.”

She also has strong words for Dion’s Quebec lieutenant:

Ms. Frulla also said publicly what many Liberals are saying privately about Mr. Dion’s lieutenant in Quebec, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.

“She is abrasive and she is narcissistic,” Ms. Frulla said.

The former minister of Canadian Heritage argued that Ms. Hervieux-Payette is failing to connect with grassroots organizers.

“The more people know her, the more they run away. She has met a number of riding association presidents, and these people … are leaving,” Ms. Frulla said.

(I sure can agree with her on that one. I can barely stand to watch the woman on MDL.)

In any case, it would appear that Quebec cannot be counted on for Liberal support at this moment in time, which may push the likelihood of an election off until the fall or later - especially after the dismal performance of the LPC in two of the four recent by-elections.

If that happens, it will be hard to imagine Bob Rae ranting about the government on one hand, but then actually joining the Party of Hand Warmers on the other, as the LPC continues to run away from votes in the Commons. Will Bob Rae declare mutiny?

Which leads me to the slugfest between Jim Flaherty and Dalton McGuinty. Why would Flaherty continually poke McGuinty in the eye regarding tax policy and its alleged affect on the economy?

The answer may lie in John Ivison’s observations in today’s Post:

…But Mr. Flaherty’s unprecedented interference in Ontario’s budgetary process was not designed to persuade his Ontario counterpart, Dwight Duncan, to shred the already printed budget and present a cobbled-together alternative more to his liking.

It was designed to send the message that, even though many Ontarians often think of the federal Conservatives as villains, they are really the “goodies” — the guardians of fiscal probity. By contrast, Liberals, both federal and provincial, are spendthrifts who will lead us all into a new era of deficits, unemployment, homelessness and rickets…

So all this may well be a carefully honed-plan to set up the CPC as looking like the party to rely on in times of economic difficulties which would, if it all goes according to Hoyle, allow a rich harvest of discontented Ontario voters assuming a worsening of the economic downturn - especially if provinces that follow Flaherty’s advice end up faring better than Ontario.

And with the Quebec wing in tatters and Ontario voters looking for responsible, effective fiscal policy, the scene becomes fertile for either an election with positive results for the Conservatives, or else the Liberals continue to enable the present government to enjoy a tacit majority.

Your move, mon petit empereur.

After watching the dynamic between Jim Flaherty and Dalton McGuinty these days, I’m torn between assessing it as a parent-child relationship and at other times I wonder if Jim Flaherty feels he needs to take over the role of the Ontario opposition parties, which occasionally need a little instruction on how to critique Liberal policy.

McGuinty’s effectively boxed himself in a financial corner and can’t afford to cut taxes, so he goes crying to the feds.

Now that Dalton’s whiny ‘Gimmee Ottawa’ attitude threatens to affect the rest of Canada, I think that the Premiers in other provinces should be backing Flaherty in driving home the message that Dalton needs to be accountable for his actions. The Big Federal Liberal Nanny State is not in power at the moment, but Dalton just doesn’t seem to get it.

He’s still acting like a spoiled little child trying to defy his parents, and expecting a bail-out at the end.

By contrast, the Federal Conservative approach is to allow the provinces the freedom to make their beds, but they have to lie in them afterwards - even if they wet them. (I could throw in a Smitherman- diaper reference here, but I won’t.)

So Daddy Flaherty is now trying to guide little Dalton and Dwight on how to make the best of the mess they find themselves in now. Raising their allowances won’t teach them a thing about responsibility and the consequences of pandering to special interest groups and other bullies that steal their lunch money.

And if Ontario voters finally wake up one day, perhaps we can even take some responsibility ourselves, and get rid of a provincial government still caught up in the whining-entitlement era.

Until that day, we may as well get used to Rick Mercer’s chant, “Ontario is the last place where, we don’t check the rear view, no one there!”

You may have missed this very important editorial by Finn Poschmann, because it was tucked way at the back of Saturday’s Financial Post - Misbehaving MP’s pass RESP bill.

Poschmann, who is director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, was on MDL Friday and called the way Dan McTeague’s private member’s bill (C-253) was pushed through Parliament without the approval of the government an ‘abuse of Parliamentary procedure’. (Sorry no direct link to that but I made note of it while watching the show).

In his Saturday FP article Poschmann follows the historical development of PMB’s over the last several years, and the issue of whether or not those that affect the government’s budget and bottom line should be considered votable.

C-253 may or may not contain solid policy, but that is not the point. The fact is that by pushing a financial bill through the H of C, the opposition parties have expressed a tacit lack of confidence in the Government.

…Hence Bill C-253 on RESPs. Presumably the committee looked at the bill, which passed on Wednesday evening–making contributions to an RESP tax-deductible — and either did not look hard, did not recognize it was a money bill, or felt that because it represented a tax decrease rather than an increase, it was on side. Whichever the case, it was a mistake to let the bill arrive in the House as a votable bill.

With the mistake made, it was the House of Commons’ duty not to pass it. For a group of MPs to band together to seek to override government policy is no small thing. The fact that MPs let it happen is a disturbing turn for those of us concerned about responsible government…

Poshmann calls for the Senate to scrap the bill:

As things stand, if the Senate passes the bill that the House has now passed, we will be in a position where federal budget policy has been set by parliamentarians, not by government. This would be problematic, as I said, because it is tantamount to an expression of non-confidence in the government’s ability to govern.

The situation cannot be helped by passing countervailing legislation, say by way of an amendment to a budget implementation act. That would be a rearguard defence by government, rather than assertion of its authority to govern.

The more dignified resolution would be for the Senate simply to vote down the bill. Partisan sentiment will militate against this responsible course, but it is the route that will preserve the notion of responsible government.

Of course the Liberal-dominated Senate and the present government are involved in a never-ending spat so it’s hard to say what might happen.

If the Senate does pass this bill then I think we need an election. This Parliament has become dysfunctional.

Last week when David Suzuki rolled out his Amazing Carbon Tax Schticht prior to the Federal Budget, I asked Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein if he’d be doing a response. He replied, “All in due time…”

It was well worth the wait.

In The carbon cops are coming, Goldstein exposes the intellectual dishonesty of environmental advocates and politicians who try to woo us to the Green side with tales of how their schemes will be ‘revenue neutral’. As a public service, Lorrie offers his three-pronged guide designed to help us sort through the hot air emanating from Suzuki Nation:

1) When any of them tell you “polluters will pay” to reduce greenhouse gases, they mean you and me.

Whenever they talk about a carbon tax, a “cap-and-trade” system, carbon credits or the regulation of industrial greenhouse gases by government, they are talking about the same thing — higher taxes.

2) This brings us to the second point of our guide: Whenever a politician, or anyone else, claims a carbon tax will be “revenue neutral” nail them down on exactly what they mean.

Politicians and environmentalists like to toss around “revenue neutral” because it sounds as if even with a new carbon tax, you will pay no more in total taxes than you do now.

That’s not what it means. Even if a government was considering a truly “revenue neutral” tax, it may well not be neutral for you. Say you need your car to drive to work because you live in one city and your job is in another. If the government imposes a carbon tax by hiking gasoline prices, it may claim it’s “revenue neutral” because it’s going to return an equal amount in tax incentives for people to take public transit. Problem is, if you don’t have a realistic transit alternative for getting to work, your carbon tax is no longer “revenue neutral.” .

3) Finally, when a politician or environmentalist tells you a carbon tax can be imposed with “minimal” harm to the economy ask them what assumptions they base this on.

In both the recent study on carbon pricing by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and in the one released by the Suzuki Foundation last week, the authors simply assume that while Canada is taxing carbon, the U.S. and our other major trading partners will be doing the same…

And that’s a huge assumption.

Even the Toronto Star takes note of the fact that while this may be a desirable situation, it is clearly not going to happen anytime in the near future. Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, brother of the current Federal Liberal environmental critic David, is not jumping on the bandwagon. He rightly realizes that such a plan would devastate the Ontario economy which is already facing huge challenges competing with China, etc.

As in all things, buyer beware.

Here comes the CAW.

Hey - If it works for the natives, why not? Maybe Dalton could pay off the creditors and let the protesters stay there.

Fantino can send over a few officers to ‘keep the peace’.

Related: At Home in Hespeler - Inflexible Unionism.

Saturday Update: Ledco workers occupy plant:

…CAW officials met yesterday morning with officials from Deloitte & Touche, the accounting firm appointed as bankruptcy trustee in the case, and allowed them into the plant in the afternoon to conduct an inventory of remaining assets.

The union has also talked to customers of Ledco with orders waiting to be shipped from the plant, Dias said.

He said the union had a frank discussion with Deloitte officials. They pointed out that the union is occupying the plant illegally, he said.

“The only thing that’s illegal is that people with as much seniority as employees at Ledco are not getting severances. That’s the only crime.”

570 News - Ledco talks come to a halt.

Southwestern Ontario CTV - CAW: “We’re not going anywhere”.

Sunday Update: Ledco clients could soon get their products - 570 News.

Record - Workers end occupation of Ledco:

Ledco workers gave up their occupation of the auto-parts plant in Kitchener at 2:30 p.m. today after a receiver won a court order. But the workers, who want severance from the bankrupt company, say they’ll keep fighting…

Two more plants are closing in Southern Ontario - Ledco in Kitchener, and Dana in St. Mary’s near Stratford.

But Dalton says, Don’t worry - Be happy. Spend that money you don’t have.

Actually, I’m not sure that governments can do very much about this situation. In the case of Ledco, you have to wonder about the integrity of a union that would rather see people lose their jobs than accept a pay cut.

“We were willing to take the pay cut and try our damnedest,” he said. “I’d rather have a job and fight tooth and nail for it, even if it’s for six months.”

(Elgin) Dezell said he is worried he will lose his house now that he has no job…

Well, Mr. Dezell, about that house. I may have more bad news for you.