WhatFinger


Ideology and the pursuit of an elusive socialist utopia

Containing Ontario’s Socialist Madness



The Ontario election of 2014 confirmed a number of tragic realities that many troubled conservatives have been aware of for some time. Above all, the outcome painfully reminds us that elections in Canada are becoming more and more about which party hands out more stuff.
Platforms, a party’s track record, the moral character of its candidates and presenting a vision for the future that reflects the actual needs of citizens have fallen by the way side. Instead ideology and the pursuit of an elusive socialist utopia – although hitherto undefined – seem to drive today’s political discourse and voter decision-making. Furthermore, the potentially ruinous moral hazard that results from the apparent lack of accountability both on the part of voters and politicians will surely lead to more irrational outcomes. Without restraint, spending, borrowing and taxing are sure to reach breathtaking and unsustainable levels. As Ontario inexorably heads towards a Detroit-like fate there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight, as their politicians become increasingly arrogant and feckless, pushing their beguiling potions on a public that has become intoxicated by the snake oil being peddled to them. The promise of Valhalla is indeed difficult to resist. In response to the ever-increasing destructive socialist mania that’s spreading not only in Ontario but to other reaches of Canada, perhaps it is important to present a few solutions before all of us are dragged into the abyss of financial ruin and immorality. Even for Liberals, the spectacular string of scandals in Ontario over the past 11 painful years reached a new low. For those of you too busy watching sports on TV or ogling their gadgets, a quick review is in order. The website, jackandcokewithalime.ca lists over 30 scandals worth noting along with the gory details. But the list is so long that we’ll have to limit ourselves to just the most egregious ones.

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Ontario collects federal equalization payments, officially making it a “have-not” province

In the 2009/2010 fiscal year, for the first time in its history, Ontario collected federal equalization payments, officially making it a “have-not” province. Ontario’s debt, including long-term financing and other liabilities but excluding employee pension and benefits as of 2013 was over $300B. Nearly $10B was wasted in 2013 through interest payments alone. But in spite of chronically high unemployment in the private sector, Ontario government employees – more specifically the unions – are celebrating glory days. Ontario’s sunshine list is growing as thick as a phone book with over 63,371 members in 2009, including TTC ticket agents and bus drivers earning in excess of $100K a year. Compare that with the average Canadian salary of $48K a year, without the lavish benefits and gold-plated pensions earned by their so-called public servants. And by the way, the $300B debt doesn’t include unfunded liabilities for those lavish government employee pensions, which stood at $4.3B in 2013. It was also generous of the Liberals to give billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the GM and Nortel pension funds in a cynical effort to buy votes. For those of you Ontario residents that lost their job in the past 11 years, were the Liberals there to bail out your troubled employer? And then there were the massive tax increases, including the tire tax, new Eco-Tax, the hated HST (which taxes many items that had been exempt up to that time) and the Ontario Health Care Premium that raised the cost of health care while de-listed many services that were covered up to that time. All these taxes were introduced after the Liberals promised not to raise taxes. If all that wasn’t enough justification to put the entire Liberal Party of Ontario in prison, then surely the string of scandals does. Recall:
  • eHealth debacle
  • Ornge
  • Lottery and gaming
  • McGuinty slush Fund
  • Caledonia stand-off
  • CancerCare Ontario
  • Municipal Property assessment Corp debacle
  • Various untendered phony green energy project failures,
  • Infamous Nanticoke Coal Power Plant shutdown
And many others all cost Ontarians tens of billions of dollars as a result of Liberal mismanagement, incompetence and corruption. So what do Ontario residents do about it? Well they elect their beloved Liberals for a fourth term, with a majority! Are Ontario voters masochistic or just plain dumb? If politicians aren’t made to the feel the pain and consequences of their actions, and when Ontario residents are willing to pay practically anything for socialist governance secure in the fact that others will share the cost, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that madness has run wild. It’s far too easy to write-off the 2014 election as an Ontario problem. After all, many people outside the province argue that voters there will get – and have gotten – the kind of government they deserve. But folks, Ontarians seem to like the governments they get! Unfortunately many Canadians outside of Ontario will also feel the pain, including responsible provinces that exercise discipline through careful management of their own affairs. The cost of Ontario’s addiction to government programs and spending are mitigated courtesy of the various so-called social transfer payments, which in effect force “have” provinces to share the costs of the Greek-style programs and benefits that Ontario residents have voted for themselves. Sadly Ontario voters who cast their ballots against the Liberals will also be sucked into the debt and corruption vortex, forced to pay for the magnificent programs given to them – courtesy of their Liberal neighbor or co-worker - whether they want them, need them, or can afford them.

Socialist mania infecting Ontario

More alarmingly, the socialist mania infecting Ontario – and Quebec for that matter – spill over into national politics. With Ontario and Quebec allotted a majority 170 of the 282 seats in the House of Commons (60%), these regions can and do affect the rest of Canada. When Ontario and Quebec residents elect the same kind of incompetent and corrupt knuckleheads federally as they do provincially, the entire country pays the price. We need solutions and we need them now! The first solution would require amending the Canada Social Transfer program so elective costs and costs incurred through mismanagement and corruption are disqualified. If Ontario voters were on their own to pay for the political decisions they make, it may deter their liaise fare attitude when choosing their government. The second solution is to institute an election accountability act, which will hold politicians – and the people who voted them in – responsible for costs associated with new programs, scandals, corruption and mismanagement. Alternatively the people who voted against these politicians should be exempt from paying. As part of this measure a penalty formula would be developed so some amount is deducted from a politician’s salary or pension as a punitive measure against misdeeds. These fines would also apply to the gargantuan salaries that top bureaucrats earn who are suppose to be managing all these programs and agencies. And finally, where appropriate, criminal charges and jail time ought to be instituted to send a clear message that governments and their minions are not above the law. In other words, wasting other people’s money should have consequences beyond the odd angry constituent letter since most Ontario voters are clearly unable to vote the bums out.

Disproportionate political influence Ontario and Quebec have federally must also be addressed

The disproportionate political influence Ontario and Quebec have federally must also be addressed either through a constitutional amendment regarding seat allotment in the House of Commons, or through a reorganizing of the Senate, through election reform, or through more aggressive use of the notwithstanding clause by the provinces. If senate members were elected and contained more representatives from smaller regions, these smaller regions would at least have some measure of protection from the nutty political ideologies that emanate from the lefty provinces. Conservative regions within Canada ought not be affected by the lunatic progressives in Ontario and Quebec, and should be free to self determination, free of the socialist “mobocracy” that’s currently prevailing. Given the distribution of the population within Canada –where larger centres such as Toronto and Montreal seem to attract the most socialists – majority rule simply doesn’t reflect the needs and wants of smaller jurisdictions outside these areas. For example, Toronto has declared itself a sanctuary city – that is we assume they want open boarders so anyone can enter Toronto without having to apply through the normal channels required for legal immigration. Is this a policy we want to be pushed nationally? Of course not, but if the people of Toronto elect MPs who support open boarders the destructive policy may begin to infect national policy.

Out-of-control public sector unions

Another area which must urgently be addressed is the out-of-control public sector unions. In an ideal world, government employees should be prohibited from voting as the conflict of interest has the potential to skew election results; what government employee would ever vote to reduce the size of government? Barring that extreme albeit effective measure, at the very least, Canada must institute right-to-work rules which allows workers to opt out of union membership. Furthermore, union members should have discretion as to how their dues are spent, and no union dues should be used to advance political interests. Dues are suppose to go to support the workers not political agendas. We have cases where unions are spending more in ridings than are the political parties so one must wonder who is actually driving the process. And one final change that is sorely needed in Canada to combat the apparent long-term memory disorder that seemingly inflicts too many voters in Canada is to hold elections the day after income tax returns are due. American radio talk show host Mark Levin suggested this change to the American voting cycle in his book, The Liberty Amendments and I think it would be a fantastic idea to implement here in Canada. Again, perhaps if voters are reminded that their decisions have costs associated with them, then perhaps they will not be so willing to vote for irresponsible and corrupt politicians. Also people who had nothing to do with these bad choices – including citizens outside of Ontario and Quebec as well as future generations – should be protected from the damage inflicted by ignorant and selfish voters.


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Tom Barak -- Bio and Archives

Tom is a Canadian-based freelance marketing consultant and writer and has been a long-time member of the Conservative movement. He received his MBA accreditation from the University of Manitoba and splits his time fundraising for community centres and mentoring and consulting with local and national businesses.


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