We’ve seen this movie before and it was not a pleasant experience Gardeners, be nice to bees!

Re: No more government cash for companies, Doug Ford says — May 15

Among the many promises Progressive Conservative party leader Doug Ford has made thus far in the campaign, one simple error stands out. How can he simultaneously promise billions of dollars in tax cuts, forgo billions of dollars in government revenue and at the same time spend billions more on subways, health care and child care? He also says he’ll balance the books without cutting jobs. If he is elected premier and makes good on these promises, cutting income taxes for middle income earners ($42,960 to $85,923), reducing the corporate tax rate from 11.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent, cutting gas prices by 10 cents a litre, giving a tax credit to minimum wage workers, reducing hydro rates by 37 per cent, cancelling the cap and trade greenhouse gas emissions program and reducing the small business tax, he will be add more than $14 billion to the provincial deficit. This sounds like voodoo economics to me.

I remember the Mike Harris years and the Common Sense Revolution, which promised similar tax cuts and balanced budgets. Harris did deliver tax cuts. However, he also closed hospitals, laid off thousands of nurses, drove doctors out of the province, cut infrastructure spending, sold the money-making 407 ETR and caused years of turmoil in our education system. As a final legacy, he downloaded numerous provincial services to municipalities resulting in steep increases in property taxes.

Does anyone seriously believe Doug Ford’s promises? We’ve seen this movie before and it was not a pleasant experience.

Dale Ingrey

Waterloo The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association thinks this might be the worst winter on record for losses of bees. They are calling on Canada to follow Europe’s lead and protect pollinators by ending neonics use. As you enjoy this spring and visit garden centres, here’s an action you can take to help bees. Ask your garden centre if their plants are neonic-free. If not, or if they don’t know, you have the choice to purchase them or not and buy your plants at a place you know is safe from bee-killing neonicotinoids. There are lots of choices of neonic-free nurseries, if we look.

Bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. A world without pollinators would be devastating to our food production. Almost 90 per cent of the world’s plants rely on pollinators for reproduction. Up to 75 per cent of our crops would suffer some decrease in productivity. Everyone would be badly affected by a decline in insect pollinators.

Our food supply, our quality of life and the ability to maintain a healthy beekeeping industry in Ontario is being compromised.

Frank Glew

Kitchener