Personal priorities will drive voters
We, as a society, need to stop thinking about ourselves and focus on the greater good. What would be better in the long run? Saving 10 cents per litre on gasoline or getting your children (or yourself ) dental care that is often put off until it is too late? Even if you use 100 litres per week, you will only save $10 per week. Sure, it’s money in your pocket, but what is the true cost of that $10? Fewer nurses? Fewer social services? We owe it to ourselves as Ontarians to think of the long term and not worry about the nickels and dimes. Brad Globe, Whitby Even at historically low interest rates, Ontario is paying $11 billion per year just to service the provincial debt. That figure could triple by 2023 as interest rates rise. Meanwhile, the leaders of all three main parties are merrily promising to increase that debt, either through new spending or tax cuts. Whoever wins on June 7, we face a cataclysmic financial disaster. If ever we needed a ballot with “none of the above” as an option, this is the time. Jim Garner, Ottawa None of our politicians will deal with a very real problem crippling our economy — as exposed by the Star’s coverage of the Panama Papers — trillions of dollars being hidden offshore to avoid taxes. These untaxed dollars could invigorate our economy if recovered. Every tax dollar not paid by business is added to the burden of ordinary Canadians. An election is a great time to demand answers and accountability. Rick Lockman, Orillia The NDP remains, not a governmentin-waiting, but more aptly a party-inwaiting, comprised of a small band of professional politicians herding a collection of well-meaning neophytes, social fundamentalists, special-interest-supporters, local celebrities, oddballs, extremists and last-minute ballot-fillers.
For the past 15 fifteen years, the Kathleen Wynne government has been implementing the NDP platform, stealing and delivering one NDP experiment after another, while proving the impracticality and long-term harm of placing ideology above realism.
Consider today’s realities of hallwaymedicine, heat-or-eat energy and carbon taxes that don’t reduce carbon. Now consider that NDP policies implemented by the Liberals have more than doubled the provincial debt. How can they spend so much without fixing the problems?
Voters need to learn from the past 15 years of Liberal/NDP follies that politicians never pay for their mistakes. Taxpayers and the vulnerable do. Brian Densham, Ajax Re Wynne can be proud of her legacy, Editorial, May 29 It is rare that I find myself nodding my head vigorously in agreement with an editorial. I did so in response your Editorial Board’s assessment of Kathleen Wynne’s legacy. “Wynne is still the most impressive leader among the three people vying to lead Ontario’s next government.” We will wake up on the 8th of June diminished as a province if the current polls are right. She indeed has nothing to be sorry for when one takes a real look at her policies and their positive impact on Ontarians, young and old. Dennis Sutherland, Etobicoke
The day Wynne lost the election, Hepburn, May 31
Columnist Bob Hepburn says that when Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals decided to sell off Hydro One, that was their defining moment. Dead wrong; the Liberals haven’t been trusted outside of Toronto for years.
Their overhanded disdain for rural Ontario with the Green Energy Act and the consequential overpriced electricity bills have caused a rural-urban divide that will sit in the craw of rural Ontario for years to come. Most people in rural Ontario want nothing to do with the Liberal nanny state and that has been seen in the past couple of elections. Ron McCulloch, Allenford, Ont. I thought PC Leader Doug Ford was for the “little guy”? His buck-a-beer promise, in its populist appeal, is decidedly unhelpful to small business.
Assuming he could deliver on this promise, who benefits? Big brewers who can mass-produce. People will return to Coors Light and Budweiser in droves at rock-bottom prices.
Who loses? The hundreds of hardworking craft brewers across the province who are winning increasing market share at great personal cost and financial risk. Ford the populist is willing to take from the small business entrepreneur to line the pockets of the multinational beer companies. John Rowinski, Port Perry Re Debate highlights triumphs, weaknesses, Letters, May 29 I am so happy that letter-writer Peggie Fitzpatrick had the words to say exactly what I feel. At the debate, Kathleen Wynne stood high above the other two, who were mainly flinging slogans right and left, repeating themselves ad nauseam.
I must admit (to my shame) that I was, for a few days, toying with the idea of voting NDP or Green, but having heard Wynne speak at the debate confirmed to me that I would be a total idiot to go with any other party.
I think many voters are simply parroting thoughts they have heard others express, but are too sheepish to dare oppose. It’s as if slapping down Wynne and her accomplishments is the thing to do these days and to say you appreciate what she has done for Ontario makes you sound as if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
It’s not too late to unparrot yourself. Wynne’s policies have made Ontario the greatest province in Canada with the fastest economic growth. Why should we change what is not broken? Kaarina Brooks, Alliston, Ont. No matter what happens on June 7, I want to thank Kathleen Wynne for her dedication and her commitment to better the lives of so many Ontarians. She and her team implemented many changes and updated laws for the better of all of us. From child care to student loans, pharma care and welfare reform, she tackled it all. In the meantime she invested in badly needed infrastructure in the province and encouraged a robust economy. Thank you, Kathleen. Erdmute Gottschling, Mississauga What a choice we have. We can vote for the radical, pro-union NDP, the oneman-show of Doug Ford and the PC party, or the Liberals, who launched pharmacare for those under 25, free university/college tuition for low/ middle-income families, free child care for preschoolers, increased in the minimum wage and reduced the corporate income tax rate from 4.5 to 3.5 per cent. We will look back on this election in a couple of years and wonder what was so bad about Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals. Carole Wilson, Toronto I am perplexed by my fellow Ontarians. Some have said they are thinking of not voting in this election because there is no one they want to vote for. Some have said that change is necessary. Others look at the benefits for their niche rather than the province as a whole. Some views are visceral reactions that don’t take the big picture into consideration.
The current Liberal government has taken the long view. It has invested in infrastructure (we really need that after years of neglect), transit, education and health care. Workers are looking at an increased minimum wage and better working conditions. The economy is doing well, although the results might not be consistent for everyone. Work must continue to balance these benefits between urban and rural areas as well as the different geographical areas of the province.
These investments must be paid for. It can be done by increasing taxes, increasing debt or by asset sales or some combination thereof. The Hydro One share sale has provided some of this funding.
Some have been concerned about taking control of Hydro out of public hands because the government will no longer have the ability to control prices or allow service in areas where the costs outweigh the benefits. Governments of all political stripes have meddled in rates and a result pushed current costs into the future with an inevitable escalation of rates. Less government control of Hydro may be a good thing.
Whatever one decides on voting day, I hope the ballot cast is based on thought and how the province as a whole will benefit. Betsy Mills, Toronto
Re Ford’s vague promises for health care don’t add up, Hepburn, May 24
As a registered nurse, I share Bob Hepburn’s concerns about what will happen to health care if Doug Ford becomes premier.
How can you trust a leader who muzzles his candidates during the election process and does not allow freedom of speech? Working effectively requires teamwork with all parties at all levels. If Ford is not allowing candidates the opportunity to participate in the democratic process of all-candidate debates — meeting constituents they will represent, discussing and debating local and provincial issues, listening and responding — how will they be the voice of their constituents at Queen’s Park once elected?
After the election, what will Ford’s process be toward the complexity of health-care delivery? Will there be tolerance to listen to and respond to intricate issues as perplexing as the various mazes within health-care delivery? What happens to inclusiveness when you do not tolerate debate and discussion ? Hilda Swirsky, registered nurse, Toronto We have no idea how oil companies price gasoline, so they could simply overcharge us by 10 cents per litre without us knowing it after they factor in the Conservative tax rebate plan. The rebate would then simply be a way of transferring public dollars from public service straight into the pockets of wealthy oil company shareholders. More money in pockets, true, but whose pockets, and at what cost? Mark Davidson, Toronto