Tag Archives: Premier Dalton McGuinty

02.11.12
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Will Drummond Report impact STEGH redevelopment?

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A jam-packed City Scope agenda this week, so let’s get right to it.

If you’re not familiar with the name, the buzz next week will be the release of the Drummond Report on Wednesday.

To set the scene, the Dalton McGuinty government hired former TD Bank economist Don Drummond to review all government programs and services to allow for extensive paring of the province’s $16 billion deficit.

Expect some radical chopping, including a proposal to deep six all-day kindergarten.

The alarm is also being sounded for the well-being of the health care system in Ontario.

Is spending out of control or is the province manufacturing a crisis to justify cuts down the road?
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01.28.12
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Public Interest Groups Deeply Concerned About Undemocratic Process, Drummond Commission & Public Service Cuts

ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION MEDIA RELEASE, JAN 27, 2012

Toronto – The McGuinty government is planning sweeping public service cuts and restructuring without public input and proper democratic processes, public interest groups revealed in a press conference this morning at Queen’s Park. The groups are concerned about the Drummond Commission, which was created by the McGuinty government to make recommendations to cut public services and budgets.

Don Drummond, a well-heeled member of the Toronto elite, has strong links to private health care interests and lobby groups. He has adopted a highly political role, conducting rounds of media interviews to sell his proposals even before the Ontario Legislature has had an opportunity to receive his report. At the same time, Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister Deb Matthews are launching major policy changes through speeches to exclusive executive and corporate audiences.

The McGuinty government, which has been elected with a minority, failed to forge an agreement with opposition parties to set up the Standing Committees of the Legislature during the Fall Session. As such, there is no Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and no Pre-Budget Hearings. In a minority government, the ruling party does not hold a majority on the standing committees. These committees have real powers to amend legislation and hold public hearings.

The coalition and public interest groups argue that the process is manipulative and inappropriate.

“Drummond is an extremely wealthy retired bank executive and does not in any way represent the values and needs of regular Ontarians. He selected a very narrow elite of hospital executives and pro-privatization lobbyists to consult while he was writing his report. When we and a few other groups met with him in early December – at our request – the report was already written,” noted Natalie Mehra, coalition director. “Despite no mention of these plans during the election only a few months ago, the McGuinty government has forged a mandate for the Drummond Commission that is extraordinarily biased towards privatization. It has virtually no public interest principles to protect the fairness and equity of Ontarians’ public services.”
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01.07.12
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Accountability and transparency — when mandated

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While this corner will continue to carefully scrutinize the wheeling and dealing of CEO Paul Collins and board chairman Bruce Babcock, we have nothing but praise for the doctors and staff at St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital.
With one exception — the dizzying diagnosis from the desk of Dr. Spin over in the hospital ivory tower.
It was contained in the preamble to a media release sent our way Tuesday disclosing the employment agreements for Collins from 2007 to the present, along with a bevy of executive expense reports and minutes of board meetings.
“We believe in transparency and accountability,” stresses Babock in the missive, “and to that end, we have posted a number of documents that may be of interest to our community.”
And, this has been done in proactive fashion.
Oh pul-eeeze.
Ever since City Scope exposed the resign/re-hire shuffle orchestrated by Collins and Babcock exactly one year ago, we have tried to pry loose this information “that may be of interest to our community.”
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12.26.11
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Health Care and Ontario’s Deficit: The Shocking, Secret Truth About Who and What’s to Blame – Paul McKeever

Paul McKeever

Editor’s note: Paul McKeever is the leader of the Freedom Party of Ontario and coincidently was the Freedom Party candidate in Elgin-Middlesex-London in the 2011 provincial election.He forwarded this letter to City Scope and it is printed here in its entirety.

December 22, 2011

Sunmedia’s Queen’s Park columnist, Christina Blizzard, today wrote about Ontario’s health care system and the deficit. It concludes:

Liberals have socked us with the two biggest tax hikes in the history of the province — the health care levy and the HST. And now they’re crying poor? They created this mess. We’re just paying their bills.
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11.26.11
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Should we go or stay, the answer after this time out

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We haven’t harangued the brass at Elgin St. Thomas Public Health in some time, but that
doesn’t mean they have eluded the City Scope radar.

There is a sense the contentious issue of a new home for the organization is about to surface in the not-too-distant future.

When we last left the health unit in the twilight of the previous board of directors, there was a deep rift between the city council reps — staunchly in favour of locating to new digs — and the county contingent — firmly looking to preserve the status quo with the organization remaining in the county-owned building at 99 Edward St.

This week, the health unit and the county agreed to a one-year extension of the existing lease that will see the organization stay put until the end of 2013.
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08.27.11
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STMHA says policy not self righteous, it’s about playing hockey

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Last week’s letter from Jennifer Swales read here charging rule changes adopted by St. Thomas Minor Hockey Association smack of discrimination prompted a flurry of emotional letters to the editor, phone calls and emails.

In summary, under the new rules, if a child has received a subsidy for house league hockey, they cannot try out or play on a travel team.

“Individuals who made this rule based on ‘financial concerns’ for the parents smack of righteousness and assumptions and we all know what that does,” Swales charged.

In response to her email of Aug. 16, STMHA president Chris Smith offered the following rebuttal.

“Our Board of Directors are not ignorant to the economic landscape of our city, nor are we trying to ostracize any families, however you must understand our economic pressures,” stressed Smith.
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08.20.11
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New minor hockey rule ‘smacks of discrimination’

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Jennifer Swales is hot enough under the collar to melt the ice at the Timken Centre.

In an email to this corner, Swales expressed concerns about rule changes adopted this season by St. Thomas Minor Hockey Association.

Apparently under the new rules, if a child has received a subsidy for hockey they cannot tryout or play on a travel team, advises Swales.

“This rule at the very least smacks of discrimination,” she continues.

“How these families raise the money should have zero bearing on this league. These children work delivering papers, cutting grass, saving birthday money. These families have to qualify for subsidy.”
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08.10.11
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Public-private partnerships (P3) need to be an Ontario election issue

Taken from the OPSEU Diablogue website. Full story also available here.

As the coming Ontario election unfolds, it is unlikely the opposition parties will go after the dozens of public-private partnership (P3) deals signed by the McGuinty government.

The darling of governments of all stripes who want to move debt off-book, P3s have been a costly boondoggle across Canada. At a time when the public is bracing for cuts to public services, the lack of debate over the squandering of billions on such enterprises is sadly missing.

The Maritime Provinces were early adopters of so-called “public-private partnerships” to build and operate public infrastructure.

The Confederation Bridge betweenPrince Edward Island and New Brunswick was one of the first mega projects developed under the model, while Nova Scotia embarked on an ambitious program to privately build and operate public schools.
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06.11.11
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No financial accountability? Then no public funding

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Members of city council will don their referee shirts Monday as the Downtown Development Board and North America Railway Hall of Fame escalate their funding feud.

The jousting dates back to last summer when the DDB, under chairman Mark Cosens, “loaned” NARHF the sum of $10,000.

Now, the DDB wants the sum repaid, however it is being stymied at every turn by NARHF.

Dan Muscat, current DDB chairman, is attempting to obtain records from NARHF to determine the status of the loan.

“This situation is a city council issue as it is the past DDB board (under the leadership of Cosens) that sanctioned the loan,” asserts Muscat, in a letter to council.
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