Ontario has a severe debt problem because too few politicians and special interest groups care to solve it.
A case in point is reaction to last Thursday afternoon’s announced cuts.
The Ontario government is cutting by $1 billion from Toronto Public Health’s funding over a decade as part of a plan to consolidate local public health units across the province.
The second cuts funding for Ontario’s two public library services by half.
The province has an $11.7-billion deficit with debt approaching $350 billion. Ontario’s taxpayers are giving up $1 billion worth of their hard earned income every month just to pay the interest on the debt. Something has to be done. Cuts have to be made.
It is fair to say that Doug Ford and the PCs were elected to address the issue.
The CBC quoted Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy — chair of the Board of Health –saying only moments after learning of the health-care cut: “People will die.”
Others, including Mayor John Tory, immediately decried the move. None were quoted offering a solution or an alternate way to save money.
The government says it will achieve the savings by consolidating and reducing the number of province-wide units.
To be fair, the government is going to have to explain how that move will maintain good health care while saving the money.
But my point is that it is rare to see opposing forces to any attempt to save money — and our situation is critical — come forward with alternate solutions. What would they cut? Often they won’t cut anything. They fall back on threats to raise taxes.
How does Cressy know people will die? He didn’t appear to even spend time thinking about it. He merely ran to a CBC reporter to scream hysterics mere minutes after learning of the cut.
As for the library cut, those in smaller communities around the province may have cause to be worried about their services.
But, in Toronto, the city is better served than many other great cities.
According to a report from World Cities Culture Forum Toronto has 3.4 libraries per 100,000 people. Montreal has three, while New York and Los Angeles each have 2.4.
Perhaps cutting back would not be the cultural apocalypse some suggested when former Mayor Rob Ford proposed cuts.
This is anecdotal, but I can walk to three libraries in my area of town in addition to the Family History Library. I bet we could get by with one less.
Cuts are painful in government as they are in business and in households. No one likes it.
Responsible businesses and families do it when they have to. As a province we have to.
Think of all the services we could provide with the nearly $12 billion we spend on interest if we had balanced the budget and cleared the debt.
Big Doug is of course right. I just hope he continues to cut the bloated size of the Ontario public sector – big time! Let those smug, overpaid, lazy, entitled pricks try to make it in the real world – wherein any one of them would be lucky to make half what they are now making in their cushy public sector jobs. …And good luck to them scoring such gold plated pensions in the real world!
Wynnebags Liberals left a $15B deficit, as a parting gift to Ontario voters
In Ontario, the province expects to spend $11.4 billion servicing its debt this year
The list of Ontario public sector employees earning $100,000 or more grew by over 19,000 employees last year, to now include more than 151,000 people Jeffery Lyash was paid $1.7 mil in 2018 $1 mil in 2017 The top ten spots on the 2018 sunshine list were rounded out by three other Ontario Power Generation executives, a pair of Crown agency heads, three hospital CEOs, and the president of a corporation that manages investments for a university Whynnebags failed fraudulent Green plan Over staffed Over paid public sector employees A Liberal disaster
Cressy is a Hogwart NDP member Big on talk little on solutions His solution is to keep spending which is what got Ontario into this mess in the first place
Cressy is a very far left NDP councilor. He knows how to win elections with big spending promises. He would be the last person to admit that that this $12 billion deficit would be better spent on taxpayers than globalist banksters. Wynne made a bloody mess of Ontario’s economy by making her wind and solar friends rich for no reason.
The Heads of those Departments make an awful lot of money to run things efficiently and properly. Simply tell them to find cuts of at least 5% or their replacement will. Their choice.
There is plenty of fat to trim. Any responsible householder knows what has to be done.
with 310 dead in Sri Lanka over Easter… how many are wearing a Christian cross today to show “solidarity & support” ??
Any bets the New Zealand pandering submissive Hijabi hardly gave a thought to the killings as she was selecting a good color of hijab or niqab or burka to hide in today. Hmmm. Should I wear black today? How about black for a change? No, I think I’ll wear the black one.
How many Muslimas removed their hijabs and niqabs and burkas in “solidarity” with the Christians? Absolutely friggin NONE. Disgusting.
Arderns is ignoring native kiwis and giving the new arrivals maximum attention to the new arrivals from the mideast.
that was kind of my point 🙂