Let’s remember that Dalton McGuinty’s throne speech is just the rough framework of the plan. All the meat is sure to follow., right?
And yes, I’m not the only one living in Wonderland. Dalton obviously is too.
I’m just biding my time – with gritted teeth. What can you do? The Mad Hatter is in charge.
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Related:
Tim Hudak fires up PCs to take on ‘reckless’ Ontario Liberals – Globe:
Ontario needs the Progressive Conservatives to clean up after a “reckless failed” Liberal government, Opposition Leader Tim Hudak said Saturday as he fired up the Tory troops for the 2011 election.
Mr. Hudak unleashed a blistering attack on Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals during his keynote address to about 1,000 delegates at the Conservatives’ annual general meeting in Ottawa, with the theme “Ontario can lead again.”
“Our economy may have fallen apart — but our lawns are perfectly pesticide free,” said Hudak. “Our factories may be closing — but Ontario is protected from the menace of the plastic grocery bag.”
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Wednesday Update:
Advice for Tim Hudak: Beware the coasting trap – Adam Daifallah.
And from Alice in Wonderland to The Exorcist – Double-talk Dalton McGuinty – Christina Blizzard:
Premier Dalton McGuinty just pulled off the fastest head spin since Linda Blair grossed us all out in The Exorcist.
One minute the premier thought mining was a dying industry. The next, it’s alive and saving the economy.
In a news conference Feb. 11, McGuinty had this to say:
“In a highly competitive, knowledge-based global economy, we are not going (to) succeed in Ontario by pulling stuff out of the ground.“Our natural resource sector is very important to us but we know that future growth will come on the basis of the development of our imaginations in innovative capacities.”
By Monday’s throne speech, McGuinty had put his imagination to good use — and changed his mind. His message was mining will save the northern economy.
“In 2008, northern Ontario became home to our first diamond mine.
“Your government will build on that success — particularly in the region known as the Ring of Fire.”
The speech went on to enthuse about the large chromite deposits found there. Chromite is key to the manufacture of stainless steel.
So, within four short weeks, “pulling stuff out of the ground” had gone from a dead-end business to our great stainless steel future…
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Thursday Update
Green Energy Bubbles – Terence Corcoran:
…While investment analysts are telling their clients to get out of solar power firms and warning about the continuing risks in wind and bioenergy schemes, Ottawa and the provinces are on a mad populist stampede to throw billions of dollars at the green energy monster. The politicians don’t seem to be keeping up with the trends...
This is a must-read!
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Friday Update
Time to privatize – Jack Mintz (FP):
…In its recent Throne Speech, the Ontario government announced it will seek to attract more international post-secondary students who pay exorbitant fees for the privilege of studying in over-crowded classrooms with students who only pay a fraction of their education costs. The province will also set up an online university with the best Ontario professors to teach people at home, maybe to make room for all those new international students.
These initiatives are not as good as they sound. If universities generate more teaching revenues with privatized-like programs, they will eventually shift their best teaching faculty to those programs to satisfy demands. I suppose the low-fee-paying students will get what they pay for but it does raise issues as to what governments are trying to achieve with post-secondary education — accessibility or quality…
