Politicians shouldn’t be wasting tax dollars on their political vanity project
Consider this: for every minute that Toronto and Vancouver host World Cup games, taxpayers will be on the hook for $644,000. Last week, Canadians learned that Toronto and Vancouver had been tapped to host five World Cup games each as part of North America’s bid for the 2026 World Cup. Politicians in both cities have…
We need to get serious about freeing up interprovincial trade once and for all
July 1st marked five years since the coming into force of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), whose goal (its website tells us) is to “establish an open, efficient, and stable domestic market” in Canada. Has there been any progress in the half-decade since then in reducing and eliminating barriers to interprovincial free trade? According…
$10-a-day child care plan least efficient, most expensive and complex way to tackle affordability
The rising cost of living is doing a number on family budgets. In response, the federal government recently released its “affordability plan” that includes the previously announced child-care fee reductions under its Canada-wide $10-a-day plan. In May, some Ontario families had expected to see reduced child-care fees and a partial refund backdated to Apr. 1.…
Schools must avoid the equally misguided extremes of zero-tolerance policies and permissive idealism
Saunders Secondary School in London, Ont., is home to approximately 2,000 students. It’s been in the news a lot lately, but not in a good way. A recent CBC story quoted an anonymous teacher who described Saunders as a “tinderbox of violence” where students regularly challenge teachers to fist fights after school. Over the last six…
It’s time for taxpayers to get out of the political party welfare business
Ontarians should listen for a giant sucking sound from Queen’s Park. Now that the election is over and MPPs know that they don’t have to directly answer to voters for another four years, you can bet that Ontario’s political parties will team up once again to funnel even more money from taxpayers’ wallets into party…
His fiscal record is no better than that of the Liberal government he replaced
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is surely celebrating his decisive re-election victory. But Ford should not be complacent. He was re-elected despite his record, not because of it. It’s worth remembering former premier Kathleen Wynne won re-election in 2014. She wrongly took her re-election as a go-ahead from voters to pursue her spend-happy agenda. But four…
It's time our politicians did what's right and cut taxes to help Canadians afford their daily needs
As far as Canadian politicians are concerned, the soaring cost of living is like winter slush, summer mosquitos and other unfortunate forces of nature. They would love to help, but what can they do? Here’s an idea: our politicians just need to follow the lead of other countries and cut the stack of hidden taxes…
Simply put, NDP and Liberal supporters found nothing of value in their parties' platforms
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives were triumphant in the June 2 election. That hasn’t stopped their critics and opponents from pouring cold water on this impressive victory for something not of their own making. The PCs won 40.82 per cent of the vote and 83 of the 124 contested seats. This was…
Young people aren't able to afford the homes they grew up in
A poll by highly respected IPSOS, released by BILD-GTA, shows a strong awareness of the Greater Toronto Area’s severely unaffordable housing. In the 15 years from 2004 to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, the median detached house price rose more than 160 per cent (inflation-adjusted), about 5.5 times the rise in the consumer price index.…
Canadians tend to apply some odd words and phrases to our politics and they often make no sense
Okay everyone, it’s time for political trivia. Of the 124 provincial ridings in Ontario, how many incumbents are running in the June 2 election? The answer is zero. Hold on. If there are members of provincial parliament (MPPs) running in this campaign, and all four major party leaders held a seat in the previous legislative…