A blog to give a voice to our concern about the continued erosion of our democratic processes not only within the House of Commons and within our electoral system but also throughout our society. Here you will find articles about the current problems within our parliamentary democracy, about actions both good and bad by our elected representatives, about possible solutions, opinions and debate about the state of democracy in Canada, and about our roles/responsibilities as democratic citizens. We invite your thoughtful and polite comments upon our posts and ask those who wish to post longer articles or share ideas on this subject to submit them for inclusion as a guest post.
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Sunday, February 3, 2019

Ontario's Downward Spiral

A not so slow downward spiral from our hard won support services here in Ontario is happening under the Ford regime, almost daily we see reports of this or that being cut or 'reviewed' (Ford speak for I've already made the decision but will let the public let of steam for a bit before I make the cuts irregardless)

Lets look at just a few of the recent announcements, appointments and opposition commentary.....

Ontario is 'reviewing' 82 municipalities, a move that raises the possibility of amalgamations and comes not long after the Progressive Conservative government slashed the size of Toronto's city council nearly in half. The province said that it has tapped two experts to conduct the review of Halton, York, Durham, Waterloo, Niagara, Peel, Muskoka District, Oxford County, the County of Simcoe and their lower-tier municipalities.

Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights, requires the government to begin a 45-day public consultation period as part of what it is calling its 10th-year review of the endangered species law. The review of the act comes a month after the Ford government axed its environment watchdog, and is part of a track record of anti-environment policy decisions, according to opposition MPPs and environment advocates. The government has also canceled the cap and trade program — a market-based system to reduce heat-trapping carbon pollution — and it has taken the federal government to court to oppose carbon pricing.

The Ford government has decided to cut approximately $15 million from the Ontario Trillium Foundation's (OTF) 2018-19 budget.
The OTF is a provincial government agency that provides funding to not-for-profit organizations and charities in Ontario to help launch projects and cover costs for major renovations and upgrades.

The Ford government passed legislation just before Christmas eliminating three independent officers of parliament. Claiming that they represented an "unnecessary cost," the role of Ontario's environmental commissioner will be transferred to the auditor general, while the functions of the child advocate and French language commissioner will be moved to the ombudsman. https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/9121888-doug-ford-s-pre-christmas-attack-on-accountability/

The premier's new Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine, a handpicked panel of 11 senior administrators says says the province "may not have the appropriate number of hospital or long-term care beds to meet the health needs of the population," The council is led by Dr. Rueben Devlin, the longtime CEO of Humber River Hospital, a former president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and a Ford confidant. He was appointed to the post the day the Ford government took power last June but there is no conflict of interest here eh!.

Thats enough of that for now, its too depressing, but it should be noted that any 'consultations' promised will in all probability just be a rubber stamp from appointees hired by Ford and paid for with our dollars. The content of these changes along with the speed and volume of 'cuts' in the name of 'efficiencies' should be of great concern to all Ontario taxpayers. Beware what you wish for because the cowering Con back benchers sure wont stop his premiership, they will however be 'efficiently' silenced if they dare to disagree with his edicts.
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2 comments:

Lorne said...

We cannot look to anyone but ourselves to protect the things we value, Rural. Hopefully, people will understand this before it is too late.

Rural said...

Unfortunately Lorne our very ability 'to protect the things we value' seems to be one of the things increasingly under attack!