2014 Ontario election

Fear and loathing in the 2014 Ontario election

While the anti-rackets squad of the Ontario Provincial Police was asking the Liberals to hand over documents related to a gas plant scandal that cost tax payers over $1 billion dollars, the Toronto Star was endorsing the Liberals.

Toronto’s largest newspaper never questioned why Kathleen Wynne refused to hand over those documents to the police investigation.  Instead of questioning Kathleen Wynne, who as Liberal cabinet minister and Dalton McGuinty’s co-campaign chair, signed the document that led to the gas plant scandal, the Toronto Star endorsed her and is demanding Torontonians forget about ongoing Liberal scandals.

The Toronto Star says we need to do that to stop Hudak this 2014 Ontario election.  

Stop Hudak in Toronto?  The Toronto Star editors and columnists know full well Hudak doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of gaining any seats in Toronto.

For example, look at the last election results here in  Parkdale-High Park:

Ontario general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	New Democratic	Cheri DiNovo	18,365	46.20	+1.57
	Liberal	Cortney Pasternak	14,877	37.42	+8.13
	Progressive Conservative	Joe Ganetakos	4,668	11.74	-3.06
	Green	Justin Trottier	1,325	3.33	-6.36

Need I say more?

The only two political contenders in Toronto ridings like Parkdale-High Park, are the NDP and the Liberals. The Liberals had their chance here. We had a Liberal MP, MPP and City Councillor for years.  Under the Liberals, Parkdale was rife with corruption including drug dealing, street prostitution and slumlords that ruled the riding.

Under the NDP, Parkdale has changed.  We have more families, more school programs, more community and arts initiatives, farmers markets and many more creative spaces.  If you live here, you only have to look around to see that.  So while Parkdale's community spaces got a whole lot better, the Liberals just got a whole lot worse.

There was e-health that cost tax payers over $1 billion.  Then there was the gas plant scandals that cost more than $1 billion public dollars.  And then there was ORNG, which costs tax payers millions of dollars.

But wait, that's not all. The Liberals announced that our hydro rates will be going up 42 per cent.  The same goes for increases in natural gas to heat our homes. All this while we are stuck in traffic and our transit system is barely able to keep us moving.

How can we afford to elect the Liberals?

So in comes the Toronto Star to fear monger.  'But if you don't vote Liberal, then the Hudak boogeyman will come to getcha.'  Uhm...what about the NDP?  No! says the Star, they will join Hudak in a coalition.  The loathing against the NDP took off from there even though this cockamamie idea was hatched entirely in the confines of the Toronto Star without a single iota of truth to it.

Again, Hudak doesn't stand a chance in downtown Toronto.  Second, Toronto already has a pretty solid slate of NDP MPPs to make sure Toronto has a strong voice at Queen's Park.

Right now Toronto is defended by 5 NDP MPPs.  There is Cheri DiNovo in Parkdale-High Park. Jonah Schein next door in Davenport.  Rosario Marchese in Trinity-Spadina, Peter Tabuns in Toronto-Danforth and Michael Prue in the Beaches.  All of these folks have stood up for Toronto and have the experience to continue being effective MPPs to fight for the priorities of Torontonians.

Look at the NDP's Toronto plan:

1. No Jets
2. Free Toronto from the OMB
3. Clean Trains Now
4. Condo Reform
5. Down-town relief line
6. Alternative voting system for Toronto
7. Line Nine environmental assessment

Compare this to the Liberals.  Kathleen Wynne has refused to say no to jets on the waterfront. The Liberals imposed the pro-big developer OMB on communities. Kathleen Wynne during the Leaders debate recommitted to diesel trains, not clean trains.  And the Liberals have never delivered on Condo reform to make sure condo owners are protected from shoddy deals with developers.  And after more than 10 years of Liberal government, we are still stuck in gridlock in downtown Toronto without any transit relief.

I had to write what I have noticed is missing in virtually all of Toronto's media.  I hope you will think carefully and make up your own mind this 2014 Ontario election.

Your riding depends on it.