The Proletariat Congress

The Liberal majority government of Ontario, lead by McGuinty with Dwight Duncan as Minister of Finance have released the annual budget for the province, at a time when it is becoming apparent that the fall out from the credit crisis (sub prime and all that jazz) in the US is affecting us north of the border. We have been alerted to the fact that we may face a recession.

Even with that sword hanging over our heads, the government released a progressive budget that significantly strayed from the “advice” of heavily despised former Ontario Minister of Finance, Jim “the tax slasher” Flaherty and his audacious suggestion to “cut taxes” despite that doing so at the federal level proved to be a massive set back for the Canadian economy.

Flaherty and Harper have led a dual-pronged attack on the liberal province of Ontario because of the refusal to cut business taxes, claiming that it is a magical solution that will ’stimulate’ the ailing economy. Of course, anyone here knows that it’s a bunch of conservative tripe and that Flaherty is a remnant of the Harris ‘Common Sense Era’ that saw the destruction of key social services, including and not limited to education.

Refusing the “sagely advice” of the federal government (and it’s willingness to treat Ontario as a cancerous growth on the backside of Canada), Duncan released the budget with no tax cuts in it. Instead, to help our economy, he included money to invest in labour retraining, to help those get a new trade if they are unable to find work with their skills.

Other keys areas include ageing and crumbling infrastructure (also a key to the economy; smooth roads make it easier to truck in goods, for example), and the environment, something that we need for the future.

“This Budget is about making sure people have jobs and Ontario’s economy grows,” said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.

“This Budget is about ensuring that all Ontarians have the opportunities and skills to succeed, so that they are working in jobs that will strengthen Ontario’s economy.”

“This Budget is investing in infrastructure such as roads and public transit, which creates jobs in the short term and strengthens our economy in the long term.”

The budget had its focus on education, as well as the economy. Education is one key part given that it is instrumental in developing a skilled, competent workforce that is highly competitive and can bring the economy back to its feet.

Here are some of the highlights from the provincial budget for 2008…

EDUCATION (including post secondary)

• $18.8 billion towards grants for school boards in 2008–09, a 20 per cent increase since 2003–04
• $9,821 in 2008–09 in average per-student funding, a 24 per cent increase since 2003–04
• More funding for literacy programs and for children with special education needs.
• $135 million over three years to provide dental services to low-income families
• $32 million over three years for the Student Nutrition Program, doubling its annual funding
• $1 billion over five years for a proposed new property tax grant of up to $500 a year for senior homeowners with low and moderate incomes.

ECONOMY

• $1.5 billion, three-year Skills to Jobs Action Plan that will provide new skills for new careers, expand postsecondary student aid and programs, and build places to learn, including:
  • $355 million over three years for a Second Career Strategy to help 20,000 unemployed workers get long-term training for new and better careers
  • $75 million over three years to increase the number of apprentices.
• $750 million in proposed tax measures over four years to encourage business growth, particularly in the manufacturing and resource sectors
• Proposing a 10-year Ontario income tax exemption for new corporations that commercialize intellectual property developed by qualifying Canadian universities, colleges or research institutes
• Modernizing regulation to reduce the paper burden for Ontario businesses.
• The five-year, $1.15 billion Next Generation of Jobs Fund will help secure new investment and jobs
• The government’s initiatives will help key sectors such as financial services, the entertainment and creative cluster, tourism, manufacturing, mining, forestry and agriculture stay competitive in a rapidly changing global marketplace.

There is more than one way to skin a cat (if you’ll pardon the expression), and our provincial government is showing us that we can help our economy that involves much more than tax cuts. You have to spend money to earn money.

Ontario Budget coverage

Despite that in recent months, the Conservatives have mounted an election-style smear campaign against Stephane Dion and the Liberals, alleging that the Liberals would blow the federal surplus (wait, wasn’t that surplus a result of former Prime Minister Paul Martin’s tenure as Minister of Finance? Not that it matters but it seems that there would be no surplus to speak of without Martin…), soften the sentences for repeat offenders, take away the child tax credit (a whole $1200/annum, which doesn’t even pay for a month of child care in a major city)… and basically polluted the air waves with their diatribes about how Dion is unfit to be PM… the same Conservative Party is now sueing the Liberals for $2.5 million…

So, what exactly is Harper having a tantrum over? Oh right, the Cadman affair, in which the Conservatives supposedly funded life insurance for the former MP. The condition was based upon his return to parliament in 2005 to help topple Martin’s minority Liberal government. And this would be easy to clear up if Cadman (Chuck Cadman) hadn’t been diagnosed with terminal cancer and hence had his time on earth cut short.

Here’s the kicker, it seems that in the end, Cadman didn’t follow throw and instead voted with the Liberals. This makes the situation sticky, but either way, unlike the allegations being used against the Liberal party, this one actually has water and could hold up in court. That’s if the judge doesn’t decide that this lawsuit is frivolous and throws it out, leaving no recourse other than a parliamentary investigation (just what we need, another snore-a-thon a-la Mulroney-Schrieber affair and the endless pointless questions…).

As for evidence indicting the Conservative Party and Harper, there is a tape (isn’t that convenient?) in which party officials are heard making the offer to Cadman. Nevertheless, Harper and his cronies are alleging that it was doctored, according to court documents. That doesn’t change the fact that there is still a tape implicating them as key players in this scandal.

The alleged tape, used by Vancouver author Tom Zytaruk who penned the newest Cadman biography is also said to be incomplete, though the author, unconnected to the parties involved says otherwise.

Now then, to complicate matters further, the Liberals had gone as far as to publish this issue on their website, giving it a spot on their site’s headline.  And this is precisely why the Tories are taking them to court, because the material was published on the Liberal’s website.  Never mind that the Tories were using other mediums to get out their hate messages.

Pot, meet kettle…

Harper files lawsuit against Liberal over website claim

With many ways of ‘improving’ the lives of Ontarians, the provincial Liberals have decided to pass a legislation that would appease the Tories and NDP, who want a law that protects children. A law that bans the smoking of cigarettes in vehicles where children passengers are under the tender age of 16. A meaningful and symbolic move, nothing more.

This legislation should it go on the books would be entirely unenforceable, especially in an era where the windows of vehicles are now tinted and people no longer dispose of cigarette butts in the cars’ ashtray, yet another thing of a not too distant past. And how so easy it is to dispose of the incriminating evidence. Smell alone means nothing. Cigarette smoke is notorious for clinging to fabric, the odour hanging in the air for long periods. Proving that the smoke is fresh is futile, as the driver or other of-age adult passengers could have been smoking before the young passenger got into the vehicle.

And the fine, if someone is actually caught, though it is unlikely, is a mere $200, and that is Canadian. If this is a crime, why is the amount so low? It’s more of a cash grab than a crime. It’s the government merely pretending it gives a damn, because at the end of the day the only thing politicians truly give a damn about is votes and as long as appearances are maintained, nothing else matters.

What’s more, if the police start pulling over people at random, there will be an incredible amount of public outrage at the blatant invasion of privacy by the nanny state in the pursuit of the elusive few who flout the law. After all, if someone isn’t speeding and they are following the basic laws of the street, there is no legal justification for pulling them over.

Even if a programme similar to RIDE is implemented, it’s easy to dispose of the incriminating evidence. Unlike alcohol, cigarettes do not intoxicate the user and hence, it’s legal to drive while smoking. Even if there are spot checks, smell alone is not grounds for charging someone because there is no way of proving when the smell got into the fabric of the car’s upholstery or into the person’s clothing.

And how will age be determined? A sight test will fail no doubt and not all people upon turning 16 years old immediately go out and get a license. There are no mandatory ID cards and not all people look their age at this point. Some people will look older, and some will look younger, much younger than they actually are.

What of court appeals? How will it go down? Will the officer take names of all the people in the car? There are too many problems with a piece of legislation like this. It provides too many ways for a person to get caught up on a law design to placate a few without thinking of the overall repercussions that will be incurred from the existence of a law such as this.

Ontario to ban smoking in cars with kids

Today I was asked by my father who is out of town to go check on his plants and water them, as well as pick up any mail that would be on the floor. Two of the pieces of mail on the floor caught my eye. Both were propaganda leaflets from the Conservative Party, attempting to brainwash the voting public into buying their line.

The first one challenged voters to pick whether or not they wanted to keep the ‘Child Tax Benefit‘. The two options were yes, represented by Harper and no, represented by Dion, who had voted against it in the first place. What this little piece of paper fails to inform you of is that this Child Tax “Benefit” that Harper is pimping out really doesn’t cover the true cost of child care and that in created this “benefit”, he scraped the federal childcare programme, which despite its flaws helped more people than this paltry hand out would. Mere peanuts and we’re expected to jump for joy because the government is pretending it understands what it means to make ends meet every week and the burden of sacrifice in order to put hot food on the table.

The child tax benefit is a mere $1200 per annum, which barely covers one month of child care in any Canadian city. It does nothing for those who need it, and those who can afford it, it’s just peanuts for those citizens anyway. It is nothing more than an insult to the tax paying public.

The second leaflet was more general, targeting Dion’s poverty elimination programme, which would involve spending and raising taxes. Again, the public was presented with options, either accept the tax and/or debt or neither if they go with Harper. The thing is however, that in order to reduce poverty, there needs to be money spent. Money needs to be raised to reduce the total deficit that may be acquired during this campaign to raise Canadians above the national poverty line.

The federal government is touting a 10 billion, yes, that’s BILLION, dollar surplus in this year’s budget; 10 billion going towards the federal debt, with Flaherty saying that the government needs to spend less. And the public… we get just peanuts. Of course, what the government isn’t telling the people is that it inherited this carefully managed surplus from the Liberals; that this budget is a product of the Chretien era, when Paul Martin was Minister of Finance.

The budget, being touted as prudent does nothing to aid the crumbling infrastructure of Canadian cities nor to alleviates the crippling poverty that has some Canadians struggling to survive. Nothing for child care.

The two flyers in question do nothing to shake my immense hatred of the Harper administration and its pandering to the Bush administration and it’s failing war on terror, as well as other failed policies. It merely reaffirms what I have always believed.

And “Hon” (nothing honourable though) Peter van Loan, MP (c/o CRG Government Caucus Services, 131 Queen Street Suite 8-02, House of Commons, Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6)… it’s obvious you are in line with the party on the environment because your little flyers are nothing more than a waste of paper and yet more garbage to add to our ever growing landfills. Of course, there are some environmentally minded Canadians out there who will merely toss this tripe into their black boxes or use it to line their bird cages…