Walking Out On Queens Park...Walking Out On Democracy

Last week Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak and his Conservative MPP’s walked out of the legislature in protest of Premier McGuinty's proposed Harmonized Sales Tax. Not only was this walk out rude and disrespectful to the Ontario Liberal MPP's but this was a clear indication that the Ontario Conservatives have little to no regard for the democratic process in Canada. In Ontario, we elect politicians to represent us at Queens Park. By Tim Hudak and the rest of the Conservative caucus walking out of the legislature, they are leaving all the people that voted for them without representation. If they truly cared about the HST they would have cooperated with the Liberals instead of pulling an amateur move and walk away. It is disheartening to see such a blatant disregard for the democratic process.

Hudak and the Ontario Conservatives are opposed to the Harmonized Sales Tax simply because they see this as a chance to sway support from the Liberal to the Conservative Party. They are angry that Premier McGuinty has not allowed public hearings on the proposed HST, but one wonders why? Have opposition parties asked for public meetings about proposed taxes in the past? NO!

Hudak and the Ontario Conservatives tell tall tales about the implications of the Harmonized Sales Tax. However, Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management and chairman of the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress and James Milway, Executive Director of the task force's research arm, the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, wrote in a recent Globe and Mail editorial about the proposed HST "The provincial government is proposing bold tax reform. Part of it is politically unpopular – but the package will improve Ontario's global competitiveness and benefit us all through more investment, more jobs and higher incomes. If we want to improve economic prospects for us and for our children, we should implement these proposals."

I urge the public to see through these partisan distractions that the Ontario Conservative party is trying to blind you with. Instead of listening to the lies and unnecessary partisan opinions of Hudak and his MPP’s, look at the big picture.

The Ontario Conservatives are opposed to the democratic process and representing your views. I don't know about you, but I like being represented at Queens Park...

Hudak...Give Your Head A Smack

The Ontario Conservatives have again brought a selfish view to politics by their actions in the past week. This week Opposition Leader MPP Hudak announced his opposition to the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax....AGAIN. In addition on Thursday multiple Conservative MPP's were thrown out of the legislature for not acting in a professional manner.

All this because the Conservative MPP's cannot put Ontario ahead of partisan attitudes. The Conservative MPP's do not see the HST as something that will help the struggling Ontario economy. They do not see it as a way out of the recession. They do NOT see the HST as a way to make Ontario more competitive. The Conservative MPP's at Queens Park see this as a way for them to grab votes and sway support from McGuinty's Liberals to Hudak's Conservatives.

Yet the Conservative leader announced when he was Finance Critic a few months ago that "There are a number of models for harmonizing the PST and GST, ranging from full harmonization ... to various ''made in Ontario" models that allow for certain products to remain exempt from the PST portion of the harmonized tax,''. Hudak and his Conservative cronies know that the HST is a good thing and that it has to happen in Ontario. Their meaningless tactics to try and bring in partisan feelings and opinions into the HST debate will only hurt Ontarians. As listed before on this blog, the Conservative Party on the federal level are in complete support of the introduction of the HST. British Columbia is also harmonizing along with Ontario. The Ontario Conservatives are attempting to destroy one of the greatest things that could ever happen to Ontario and its economy.

My message to Hudak and the Conservatives...Put your partisan politics aside and give your head a shake...quit playing games and find another issue to jump on...the HST is a good thing for Ontarians, and it WILL be implemented in July of 2010.

GO GREEN GO!

Green is the new colour of Ontario. This colour has even made its way onto license plates for some Ontario drivers. The McGuinty government announced last week that all cars that are electric (environmentally friendly) will be given green license plates. This will allow the drivers to drive in the high occupancy lanes even when there is only one person in the car. Furthermore, Ontarians will receive tax reductions by driving these new cars. This is yet another brilliant idea coming out of Dalton McGuinty's cabinet at Queens Park. Dalton McGuinty has successfully turned Ontario from a polluter province to a green machine!

His goal once he became Premier was to get rid of all coal fired generating plants. In addition to this he has also made "going green" a profitable venture for Ontarians. When Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of the Environmental Defence (which is a completely independent organization) was asked what he thought of the Ontario government's green shift, he commended the McGuinty government on their "environmental leadership in such areas as protecting green space, banning Bisphenol A in children's products, the Green Energy Act, and more."

Dalton McGuinty could not have done this alone. He has had an enormous amount of help from MPP John Gerretsen (Minister of the Environment), MPP Jim Bradley (Minister of Transportation) and MPP George Smitherman (Minister of Energy and Infrastructure).These four men have made it their top priority to make Ontario the greenest place to live and work. In addition all of McGuinty's caucus are in support of making Ontario as environmentally friendly as possible. Take MPP Kevin Flynn for example. The former Parliamentary Assistant to the Minster of Environment jumped on the "green" bandwagon long before it was the popular thing to do, and is now the proud owner of a new hybrid vehicle. It is because of the entire Liberal caucus of Dalton McGuinty that Ontario has been able to go as green as they have.

Ontario residents should applaud the great things the Ontario Liberal Government has done for them with respect to our environment, and in turn our health. This forward-thinking by the McGuinty government will make our province greener and healthier for each of us, and more importantly, for future generations of Ontarians. Other political parties surely would not have put as much emphasis on Ontarians health as Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal Caucus.

Qualities of a Leader: Does McGuinty Have Them?

Recently I attended the Ontario Liberal Party Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Windsor. At this AGM I had the pleasure of hearing Ted Sorenson speak about what it takes to be a successful and very good leader. Ted Sorenson was the speech writer for the late President John F. Kennedy. He wrote the famous speech for Kennedy "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Mr. Sorenson listed Courage, Ideals, Compassion, Integrity and Information as the most important qualities a leader should possess. I compared these qualities to our Premier Dalton McGuinty and found that our Premier exhibits all these qualities.

The first quality listed by Mr. Sorenson that I see in Premier McGuinty is courage. Mr. Sorensen wasn't talking about physical courage, but the courage to tackle issues head on regardless of its popularity. Dalton McGuinty has had to deal with many difficult situations, ranging from the introduction of the health tax (due to inheriting the previous Conservative government's undisclosed deficit), EHealth and the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax. The Premier has had tremendous courage while dealing with all these situations. He has made the right decision each time and sticks with it no matter what people or the polls say about him. He has shown extreme courage to lead a government through the world's worst economic conditions since the great depression are upon us. In terms of Courage, Premier McGuinty has a ton of it.

Secondly, Sorenson mentions one's Ideals as a very important quality of a leader. Again, Premier McGuinty's ideals are in the right place. Dalton McGuinty grew up in a home of 10 brothers and sisters and learned how to share and be fair. His family instilled in him strong values and ethics. His lessons learned as a child have directly helped him be the outstanding leader he is today.

Thirdly, Compassion is listed by Sorenson as one of the most important qualities. A leader must be able to show compassion to everyone with whom he deals. This includes opposition members, voters, etc. One needs to go no further then the daily proceedings at Queens Park. During question period, Premier McGuinty never raises his voice nor pokes fun at any other members of the house yet others do this to him quite often. This is one of the best examples of McGuinty's compassion. Another prime example is the fact that the Premier was unwilling to introduce the HST unless the federal government gave the provincial government money in order to support Ontarians, especially those most in need, while the HST is implemented. This money is going to be given out over a select period of time to all of Ontario.

Information, in other words having all the information available in order to make a decision, is another a very important quality of a leader according to Sorenson. I agree with this and could also say that the Premier has this exact quality. Premier McGuinty seems to be very intellectual. When ever the press ask him questions (including ones not pre-prepared) he is always able to give a substantially informative answer. His decisions are soundly based on all information available to him - he doesn't just use the most convenient information for his purpose.

Finally, Integrity as one of the most important qualities of a leader. Integrity is defined as being honest, fair, truthful and sincere. I believe that Dalton McGuinty holds every single one of these qualities.

Ted Sorenson was a close assistant to one of the greatest presidents this world has ever seen. When comparing all these qualities to Dalton McGuinty, one could say that he is one of the greatest premiers this Country has ever seen.