One Scandal Too Many ?

 

Well just maybe.

I am speaking of course about the MARS Scandal currently enveloping the Party of Scandals – Ontario’s Own … The Liberal Party led by Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty.

By Their Sub-standards this scandal is relatively small … merely half a billion dollars which of course pales compared to the multi billion dollar fiascos we have come to expect from them but this one is important for the fact that it has come out with mere days left in the Ontario Election Campaign.

And it was revealed by the best Tory in the ranks .. Frank Klees, sadly he who has decided not to run in this Election.  He did though leave his hapless Leader with a well timed gift.

Even the Liberal Banner aka the Toronto Star, was aghast at Wynne and company’s temerity.

Here are the facts:

• MaRS Discovery District is a non-profit organization with a supposed mandate to promote technology and medical research.
• The Liberals initially gave MaRS a loan guarantee of $234 million as well as an additional $150 mill “in related expenses” to invest in an Office Tower to be located in the Queen’s Park District.
• The money went to an American Development Company which then defaulted on repayment for lack of tenants.
• You, the Ontario Electorate - has just inherited the office tower and all the expenses associated therewith.

What this has to do with promoting the MaRS Mandate “technology and medical research” beats me and I expect you too.

A Whistle Blower in the Government Cabinet Docs Section didn’t like it either and brought it to Klees’ attention.

Wynne scoffed it all off calling the Government’s support of MaRS and the American Developer “a responsible decision” and said it would allow for the consolidation of government workers in the empty tower.

Pardon me, but I do not see – the consolidation of government workers in high priced real estate - to be part of the MaRS mandate.

And all this occurring with yesterday’s Ipsos Reid Poll showing the Provincial Tories taking the lead and all in advance of this coming Tuesday’s Leaders’ Debate.

Now to be fair to the Liberals, MaRS was not an invention of theirs.  Indeed, it dates back to the short-lived Tory Government of Ernie Eves but I do not think anyone then envisaged how the current day Grits would improperly make use of it.

Regardless, as for me, MaRS should be returned to its own orbit…

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

Let’s Pretend Again That Today Is June 12th

 

Election Day in the Province of Ontario.

So Galagher what are the Polls saying today?

Glad you asked.

The most recent Forum Research has the Tories and Grits tied at 36% with the NDP way back at 20 per cent.

Poll 308 is close to that … 35.8 Liberal; 33.2 Tory; and NDP 22.7.

Abacus: Liberal 36; Tory 33 and the Dippers at 24.

So let’s do a rough round-up:  Liberals 36%; Tories 33%; and NDP 22%.

Minority Liberal Government.

This would likely buy Ontarians time before another election – 3 years or so – since the NDP would in all likelihood lend their support to Wynne especially now that the Liberal Party of Ontario is more left than our home grown socialist party.

This now sets the stage nicely for next week’s full Debate on June 3rd.

Some interesting developments since I last reported – Hudak continues to have trouble shedding his ill thought 1 million job plan and 100,000 reduction of the public service.  If he loses this election, as he well may, these will be the main reasons for that.

Horwath, has become more combative .. much more in fact, and if she brings that spirit into next week’s debate I predict her numbers will rise significantly.  Then again, they will have to rise significantly if she ever hopes to have a bearing on June 12th.

The Liberals continue to skate and duck and have been rather successful in distancing themselves from their last decade’s horrendous handling of Ontario’s affairs. It boggles the mind that voters can be so gullible.

That said, there has been lots of talk lately about the need for a 4th choice on the June 12th ballot …none of the above and given the choice presented to us by the 3 main parties, the 4th choice would have a good chance of winning.

Okay Galagher, we hear you but what do you see from the above?

Glad you asked.

I continue to see, as I have from the beginning, a Tory win; the question for me is whether it will be a minority …which is really a loss for reasons I believe you are well aware of .. or a majority. 

I believe that next Tuesday’s Debate holds the key. It will be well watched and I expect that a combination Horwath’s enthusiasm to hold Wynne to account and Hudak’s earnestness, will combine to undermine Ms. Wynne’s smugness.

Post Debate will see a rise in NDP fortunes, a reduction in Wynne’s support and a move into Government Territory for Hudak and company.

The only question that remains for me is whether the Tories will come out of it with a Minority or a Majority.

Let’s pray for the latter or we will all be in big trouble.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

You Have To Give Them A+ For …

CONSISTENCY.

Hudak and his Advisors that is …They Screw Up At Every Given Opportunity.

The most recent is in regard to this evening’s Leaders’ Debate being held in Thunder Bay in regard to policies needed for Northern Ontario.

Issues such as opening of the North’s Ring of Fire which could fuel massive economic growth for decades to come.

Indeed, this is the very first Leaders’ Debate and guess who is passing up the opportunity?

You got it …Tiny Tim.

He apparently has a previous engagement speaking to Tories at a meeting in Peterborough.

So he gives up a chance to reach thousands and thousands of Ontarians …many of whom are uncommitted, for a chance to speak to a few committed Tories.

The guy’s a genius.

And you know what?

I think I am finally on to them …that is Hudak and his Advisors.

They are deliberately trying to through the Election and who can blame them since winning would just be the beginning of their troubles.

Indeed, things are so bad in our once proud Province, who in their right mind would want to win and have to deal with all the problems.

So don’t be too hard on them – they have peered into the future and do not like what they see.  The only solution is to lose the Election and you have to admit they are doing a superb job of it.

So hats off to Hadak and company.

But they are damn sure letting the rest of us down.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

One Little, Two Little, Three Little ….

 

TORIES … who will not be voting Hudak come June 12th.

And dear readers, it is all due to Hudak’s stupid announcement that he will lay off 100,000 public servants.

First there is Tasha Kheiriddin – National Post and long time Tory admitting in writing that she cannot in all conscience vote Tory this time. Kheiriddin has a daughter with a learning disability and she is most dismayed at the thought of a reduction in the number of teachers and teachers’ assistants whom her daughter desperately needs in order to function in adulthood.

Then there is our good friend involved in community service to the elderly but she too does not want to see the number of educators reduced since one of her grandchildren also has a learning impairment. “I have voted Tory all my life” she told me …”but not this time I just cannot do it to my grand-daughter”

And then there is a very close family member who is a teacher and said to me “I was going to vote Conservative but I cannot this time, it would be like voting myself out of a job”.

And you know what, I cannot blame any one of them.  I think they are wrong since in the long run everyone will suffer greatly should either the Liberals or NDP get into power, but these three are concerned, like most folks, for their short term welfare.

And let’s not forget their spouses, adult children, and extended family; indeed when you consider that there are in excess of 1 million bureaucrats in the Province who could be one of the unfortunate 100,000 it means that at least 3 million are on pins and needles worried about the future should the PCs win.

And when you consider that only 4 million, 3 hundred and 16 thousand voted in the last Ontario Election (a paltry 52% of the electorate) it does not leave very many unaffected to still vote for Hudak.

Since making his infamous statement, which I have been most critical of from the very start – Hudak has attempted – weakly in my opinion - to back track saying much of the 100,000 will be dealt with through attrition (i.e. public servants quitting or retiring). Sadly for Hudak, what stands out in everyone’s mind is his initial “100,000” statement.

I said then that he should have kept his mouth shut entirely about layoffs but if he felt obliged to pontificate on the subject he should have initially only said that there would be a cap on hiring and  on wages.  Full Stop.

That he failed to do so, shows to me why he is not way out in front right now.  Indeed, recent polls suggest he is tied in the low 30s with Wynne and that the NDP are coming on.

Hudak can still win but his disastrous campaigning has made what should have been a walk in the park a most difficult journey.

In addition, a minority win really is not much good to him since the other two left wing parties will gang up and foil any attempt at the Tories governing.

So on that depressing note, stay tuned for my next ‘let’s pretend its election day’ and we will see the lay of the land then.

But don’t be surprised if it is much the same as it is today.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

A Eureka Moment …

 

At least for me …you, on the other hand, will likely have a much higher threshold.

Anyway, I was reading this weekend an article by George Jonas, arguably one of the best feature writers in newspaper – along with Rex Murphy and not to be confused with Canada’s best pundit writer Andrew Coyne.

That was a mouthful, but I urge you to never pass up an opportunity to read articles by any of those three.

Now back to Jonas and his weekend article entitled ‘Canada, a police state? No, but heading that way’.

The essence of his article is that our Freedoms and Rights are in decline especially with the West’s obsession with phobias on sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia.  Ours are entrenched in the Canadian Charter of 1982 and supported by an activist Court and misguided Human Rights Commissions.

It is political correctness gone wild.

The old rights from the 18th Century and before, in English Common Law, have been replaced – the right to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Religion and so on.

And although I have spoken out against this trend in many a previous Blog, the way Jonas sets this out in such stark terms, caught my attention.

To be more precise, up to this point I have considered the old rights to be coexisting with the new charter rights and Jonas has convinced me I was wrong. Rather the new rights are replacing the old.

In other words, rather that Freedom of Religion, Speech etc. we are moving into a Politically Correct World where there is no room for the old.

That was my Eureka moment.

In any clashes between the old and the new, the new now wins out.

Clergy are told what say and are fined if they don’t.  Human Rights Panels do the same to those who once had the right to say what was on their minds.

It used to be you could say what you wanted as long as you did not call ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre or try to incite violence or death to others.

We are now well beyond that.

There is an answer dear reader and that is to drop the Phobias and return to the real Freedoms but I despair of that happening. Good people who have tried have been cut down and marginalized.  We have lost sight of what truly makes us great in the world and in what truly matters.

Many of us are quite happy in our comfortable pews or should I now say, shopping mall food fairs.

The greatest Freedom we once claimed to have is the Freedom of Speech and yet it is the most abused – you need look no further than to two of our major Federal Parties – both the NDP and now the Liberals prohibit Pro Life members from belonging to their parties despite the fact that 60% plus of Canadians want some restrictions placed on abortion.

And this despite Canada being the only Civilized Country that does not have limitations to protect its innocents.

But even if a minority of Canadians wanted to see some restrictions in place, in a free, fair, and open democracy, there would be a place for them to speak.

I could have used other examples but the abortion one seemed apt given Young Trudeau’s recent dictate on the subject.

But let’s look at another – even more recent example of how our freedoms have been diminished and that pertains to the Little Guy in the White House proclaiming this week, at the opening of the Twin Towers Museum, that “nothing can break us up …nothing can change who we are as Americans’'.

I cannot fault him for this statement and indeed if I had to make the same speech, I would have said much the same as he did.

But we would be wrong since as of 9/11 much did change for Americans and since then, America has no longer been the same.

They and the rest of the free world have been placed in a security bubble; our communications monitored, and our lives placed under a microscope.

Recent accounts state that there are 35 or so National Organizations in the US alone dedicated to fighting terrorism and imposing security on a post 9/11 frightened society. Large events have become security night mares as has travel – especially air travel. And they (we) have given up our freedoms willingly in the face of this security onslaught.

America is not the same, we in the West are no longer the same, and as George Jonas so aptly points out, we in society are slowly but surely “drifting into a police state”.

And our politicians, elites and special interest groups are leading the way.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’ 

Let’s Once Again Pretend Today Is June 12th …

 

Election Day for the Province of Ontario.

So what do the Polls show?

PC’s are way out in front – one poll having the Tories @ 42% and the most recent – an Ipsos Reid Poll, showing the Tories at 39%, the Grits at 30% and the Dippers bringing up the rear at 24%.

And this means?

A Tory Majority with the Liberals forming the Official Opposition.

In the Toronto core, the Liberals still lead with 37% but in the important GTA, the Tories come in at 48% with the Grits way behind at 34%.

So if the election was held today, the Tories under Tim Hudak would become Ontario’s next Government.

But this is no thanks to his blunder in recently announcing that he would cut 100,000 government jobs.  But it does show that his mistake has not proven fatal … i.e. most civil servants are not apt to be voting Tory any way.

That said, the really important event, besides the actual election day, has yet to come …the one and only Debate between the 3 Leaders scheduled for June 3rd.

That there is only one such Debate, is affront to democracy but we will take what we can get.

But so much for open dialogue with the voter.

As I indicated from the beginning, the Liberals were at their ceiling when the election began (low 30s), the Tories at their floor (mid 30s) and the NDP trailing in the mid 20s. 

In other words – the Liberals could go down …but not up and the Tories could go up, but not down.

And that is exactly what has transpired as you can see from the Ipsos Reid Poll.

But Debates have a tendency to change things and following are the main things that could occur:

1.  Wynne scores big – 8 up to 10 out of 10.  By doing so, she would preserve her core vote in the early 30 per centile.

2.  Wynne could under perform – i.e. 5 to 7 out of 10 and this would see her core vote diminish probably into the 20 per centiles.

3.  Hudak could score big – 8 to 10 out of 10 and this would launch him well into the 40s  - or -

4.  Hudak could under perform – 5 / 7 out of 10 and his party would drop back to the mid 30s.

5. In regard to Horwath, a good performance would likely see her Party climb to be in direct competition with the Liberals. 

6.  Conversely, a poor performance on Horwath’s part would see her Party slip lower into the 20s.

So that’s what could happen.

Here is what I think will happen:

1.  Hudak will be perceived to do well since expectations for him are lower than for the other two.  In so doing, he will be able to hold on to his majority status lead.

2.  Wynne will also be seen to have done well and accordingly should have no trouble hanging on to her support in the low 30s.

3.  Horwath becomes the wild card. If she scores big, and I think she will, the NDP will move up to challenge the Grits for 2nd place.

But as I said, this is what I currently think will happen … it will all depend upon the polls between now and the debate and then between the debate and election day.

So on the note …stay tuned for the next ‘pretend its election day’.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

They Put The World’s Dictators To Shame..

 

The Police in Lac Megantic … that is.

In the early morning hours of July 6, 2013, the town of Lac Megantic was destroyed by a runaway train carrying crude oil.  Some 47 perished in the resulting flames.

Blame has centred around the lone engineer for allegedly not having properly secured the stationary train from its resting place on the outskirts of town.

This week saw that lone engineer taken down in his home by a swat team despite the fact that up till then, the engineer had fully cooperated in the investigation and despite the fact that his lawyer had undertaken on his behalf to voluntarily come into court should charges of criminal negligence be laid against his client.

Not only that, but the police also paraded the engineer around Lac Megantic in handcuffs along with two other officials of the rail road company.

Message to the cops …this was an accident, a very unfortunate accident mind you, but one that occurred without malice on the part of anyone.

That is not to say it does not have a criminal element to it; indeed, when negligence is so gross, it can amount to criminal negligence which appears to be the case here …but it was still unintended.

It did not require a swat team take down nor did it require the three accused to be paraded in cuffs.

Nor did it require the three to be paraded around the town. Would you not have thought a more neutral venue could have been found to read out the charges?

Indeed, given the high emotions there it would not have been that surprising to see a resident try to take vengeance into their own hands.

The old adage that Justice must not only be done … it must also appear to be done comes to mind. But in the case at hand, the reverse is emphasized … Justice Must Appear To Be Done.

More important then for the authorities to appear to be tough even when dealing with a tragic accident.

These are not hardened criminals but you would not know it from what has taken place in Lac Megantic over the last few days.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’